Greater Portland Baptist Church

Donavan and Laura Bangs: February 2006

Dear Friends,

February has been a busy month. It started with the arrival of our friend, Tina, a Bible college graduate. There was a problem at immigration when she mentioned she was going to be helping us in our ministry. She was asked for her work permit, which of course she did not have one because she is not being paid for her assistance. Trying to explain to lost government officials that you will be working voluntarily for God is a difficult concept for them to grasp.

Then immediately after that fun, we drove to a different airport where Tina and Laura flew to Germany to attend a Ladies' Retreat. There are very cheap flights from England to Germany, which is only an hour away. This was a good thing for Laura as she does not get very much Christian fellowship with other women. When I picked her up a few days later she brought me back dinner from Germany. Now that is what I call a good wife.

In preparation for our first services in our new location, we printed flyers and tracts for distribution. We were assisted in the distribution by two other missionaries, who drove about an hour to get here. This went well and we covered all of Lower Cambourne.

Our first service went fairly well. There were a total of 8 people including us and two of which came as a result of our distribution. They are Mr. & Mrs. Bird and what was very encouraging was when they arrived they said they would probably be our oldest church members. They are both well into their 80s. They seemed to enjoy the service and they knew some of the hymns. We will be visiting them on the 28th of February.

After this we were able to do some more distribution and one time even in the snow. When the next Sunday came, we were encouraged by two different visitors, Sony and Mary. These are young women from India, who live locally. They seemed to enjoy the preaching of the word and we will be following up with a visit soon. It looks likely that they will continue to attend and one expressed an interest for membership.

Another piece of good news is that we were finally able to get broadband. This will be very useful as Donavan does a lot of communication online.

We thank God for the encouragement He has sent with these visitors and we pray that this blessing would continue. We thank you for your continued prayer and support and we hope that you are encouraged as much as we are by the marvelous grace God has bestowed upon us.

In Christ,
Donovan & Laura Bangs