Greater Portland Baptist Church

Kevin and Stacy Byers: April and May 2008

Dear Praying Churches,
 
April and May were the most eventful months in our lives. We did not send an update last month but judging from the e-mails and phone calls we received; God's people were praying for us.

For those who do not receive our updates via E-Mail, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of Noah Brett Byers. Noah was born May 6th at 12:35 PM. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 20 ½ inches long.

Mom and baby are doing well but we do ask that you pray for Noah as he has not gained his birth weight back yet.
The night before Stacy went to the hospital, I was in the garage replacing a head gasket on our van. I thank God for Bro. Dennis from Fellowship Baptist Church in West Berlin. He came to help with the van when my time was limited.

We borrowed a vehicle from Bob and Wanda McRae at the Cedar Lane Mission homes so we could take Stacy to the hospital and pick her up two days later. We also had a mission conference to attend that weekend and Stacy went with me even though she was recovering from a C-section delivery.

Our schedule was very full with meetings and conferences throughout April and May; we are praying the Lord will use these meetings to burden the hearts of God's people for the military. So far we have added 2 more churches to our list of financial supporters bringing our support level to 78%.  Please pray that every church we visited will begin supporting our ministry. It is very important that we gain the necessary support to return to Germany soon.

Recently I spoke with Pastor Herb Curriden at Eifel Baptist Church and they are in much need of help. Several months before he became pastor, the church entered into a ten year rental contract. The horrible thing about this contract is; it cannot be broken and the payments increase with time. God has miraculously met the needs during this contract even through the devastating change in currency. The church is two months behind in rent at this time which totals roughly $10,000 in U.S. dollars.

Please allow me personally to ask for your urgent help in two ways.  First, we ask you to pray that God will keep Eifel Baptist Church standing strong for the glory of God. Second, please consider collecting a special offering for the church building fund. This will be used to help the church finish the year with a good testimony in the German community. Once the rent obligation is met, the building fund will be used to secure a place to worship. I know God is calling us to work in this ministry and we desperately need your help. Funds may be sent to:
Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples
P.O. Box 37043
Jacksonville, FL 32236

Please remember to designate any gifts to "Eifel Baptist Church Building Fund." Thank you so much for your help with this burden.

Last month we moved from Laurel Springs to Pemberton.  As we were cleaning the house at Cedar Lane, Josiah opened the door, his eyes rolled back in his head; and he fell to the ground. I thought he was playing games and told him to get up. When I called to him, he did not respond and I quickly began checking his vital signs. He was unresponsive so I immediately dialed 911 and called for an ambulance. After moving Josiah to the couch he regained consciousness and began talking. He said he could not move his body and felt very strange.

Before the ambulance arrived, I was able to determine a possible cause to his problem. Josiah said he had not been eating or drinking because his throat hurt. With all the chaos of moving, fixing vehicles, and recovering from surgery; we never noticed a decline in Josiah's appetite. We are thankful that Josiah was only dehydrated and at the hospital they healed him with some crackers and Gatorade. Satan has been busy at work trying to deter us from the goal. We really do need your prayers.

Last week I was given the opportunity to present faith promise missions to the people of Leonardo Baptist Church in New Jersey. This was the church's first mission conference of any kind in 10 years. Before the conference, the church was giving $12,000 annually to missions and much of that was out of the general fund. The Holy Spirit moved during the conference and God's people committed more than $20,000 toward their new faith promise mission budget. This commitment was over and above the tithes and offerings and we give God the glory for the wonderful meeting. During the conference we saw a young lady walk the isle to receive Jesus as her Savior. Stacy had the joy of dealing with her and we praise God for this added blessing to the mission conference.

Recently at a mission conference, a family offered to purchase the Rosetta Stone software for us. Now the whole family is learning the German language and we are excited about the answer to prayer. We also had an evangelist send over $2,000 worth of software for editing websites, photos, and flash video. This software will be invaluable in our ministry for creating websites, bulletins, tracts, prayer cards, and countless other projects. The Lord has been very good to us and we praise God for the blessings.

Please remember to carefully consider helping Eifel Baptist Church during their financial difficulty. I believe God will bless you for your help with this great military church. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support each month. May God richly bless each of you.
 
Kevin, Stacy, Josiah, Gabriel, Bella, Caleb and Noah