A Nauru sunrise.

Happy New Year

from Nauru.

 

A new year,a new day and a new beginning!!

 

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

and lean not unto thine own

understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths."



Prayer

~ Prayer Request ~

 

 

We are asking you to please pray with us regarding our next 'Standing In The Gap' field. We want to be exactly where the LORD would have us to be. We are available from Mid-June 2013 through April 2014. We have a 'tentative' place to be for a missionary from June 2014-November 2014.  Please contact us through our email address: landcpaine@yahoo.com or Pastor Bill Marshall at 816-279-9967 or the Global Independent Baptist Missions office at 972-221-5600.

Matthew 21:22 "And all things,

whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,

ye shall receive."

 

Provisions

Psalm 68:19

 

"Blessed be the Lord,

who daily loadeth us with benefits,

even the God of our salvation. Selah."

 

~ ~ ~

 

We are so thankful for the Lord's daily provisions in our lives. Sometimes we think we may need this or that but HE always provides us with what we need.

The weather has taken a bit of a turn the last two weeks, after a bit of a dry spell we are having a lot of rain and a drop in the daily temperatures (in the mid 80's instead of the mid 90's).  We are again experiencing car problems and are not able to use the Land Cruiser at this time (waiting for a part to come from Australia) and so we used the Cub Cadet to go and run the 'Monday errands'.  We got caught in a rain storm and by the time we got to the store we were drenched. We figured we might as well do our shopping and hope that by the time we were done the rain would have stopped. Well, it did not stop but it did reduce to a sprinkle.  

Life on the island of Nauru can be a bit of a challenge but we are thankful for the privilege of being here and watching over the work of missionaries Adam and Christie McGeorge.  Please pray for them as they continue on their furlough and report to as many churches as is possible.



Monday, October 15, 2012

 

The Lord has provided in all sorts of ways since arriving

on the island ... look what we found last night.

 

Pawpaws growing in the front yard. They need

to start yellowing before they are ready to eat.

 

The church folk helped Leo celebrate

his birthday  in September with cake and

they gave him a shirt. It was

very thoughtful of them to do that for him!

 

Beauty all around the island ~ Frangipani as

we call it Plumeria.

 



 

Ocean view

 

We are very thankful for all the churches that support 'Standing In The Gap' without you we could not do what we are doing.

We are asking you to pray in regards to our next area of

service. We return to the U.S. in April of 2013 and have

been asking the LORD to 'open the door' to what HE has for us next.

 

 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
 In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths"

Proverbs 3:5-6





God's Provisions!

Sunday, September 30 was not like any Sunday we have had in Nauru. Since it was the 5th Sunday of the month we had lunch following the morning service then we closed the day with an early afternoon service. Leo took everyone home while I cleaned up the church area and did the dishes. We had a couple of hours rest and we headed to Bro. Danio's and Mona Lisa's Naurun church. What a blessing it was to be there, everyone was so friendly and kind. The singing was special and a real blessing to our hearts. Bro. Danio did the announcements, in Naurun, and gave the pulpit over to Leo, he preached from Matthew 9:35-38. We said our good byes and headed homes because we had arranged with a church group in the Netherlands to say hello to everyone on Skype. We had 'stood in the gap' with this group in 2011 and it was good to 'see' everyone again. What a blessing these folks were to us during our time there.

This is for you Bro. Richard ~~ God has provided in many ways including bananas growing in the front yard.

June 4, 2012

 June 8, 2012

 

 June 20, 2012

Ripe Bananas. October 1, 2012

They look wonderful. October , 2012

 Yummy! October 1, 2012 

Ready to eat!  October 1, 2012

 

Even though they look very ripe they really aren't.

A good flavor!

 

When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder *Washington* Will Be There!!!!

On September 2, 2012 it was Father's Day in Nauru.  The man on the far left is Washington, he was a first time visitor ~ After the service during our fellowship time Leo sat down with him and showed him from the Bible his need to be saved. PRAISE The LORD he saw his need and accepted the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour. He had called early Sunday morning to find out what time the services were.

 

 

Sunday, September 9, 2012 Washington returned bringing his youngest son with him. We had a wonderful day with 34 in attendance, we were excited to have Merhonda back to the services.  The day began with dark clouds rolling in and so we had Sunday School / Junior Church inside. The children have been learning the books of the New Testament and we played a game which they really enjoyed.

 

 

 

The boys won this round. Two of the children are able to say the New Testament books  'backwards' ~ I was impressed. 

 

 

~ This is for Pastor Adam ~

 

(We know we are a few days early but ...)

 

 



 

 

 

Visitor

We had an unexpected visitor the other day, a

visitor that is not at all demanding. It

keeps the bug population down and that

is a HUGE blessing.

Not that I would want one of these

critters all over the house but I do like the

fact that they take care of some of mosquitoes.

 

 

Although the attendance was up from the

week before the number of children

were down. Ever since we had vehicle problems

the number of children attending has gone

down so ...

We are going to make

Saturday visits to encourage them to return.

It was extremely humid Sunday morning and

since there were so few of us we met inside. (That

was more for the teacher than the kids~the kids

don't mind the humidity at all)

These children loved class and ALL participated.

Left to right

She, Sina, Mabel, Dash, and Joe.

 



The Sunset

After a busy Sunday we decided

to watch the sunset over the

ocean...

Isn't it beautiful????

Psalm 68:19

"Blessed be the Lord,

 who daily loadeth us with benefits,

even the God of our salvation.

Selah."

Mail from home!

A package from home filled with all sorts

of goodies. The box included gum,

yellow mustard,

dvd's, coffee, and much more!

Mailed on July 2 and arrived today,

July 31~that is a reasonable amount of time.

On the other hand,

my Mother's Day card arrived today

and that was mailed on May 5th!

~ ~ ~

Teen Time on Friday night and we are

looking forward to devotion time,

fun and games, of course the all important

snack time.

Please pray for the 3 young men that

last month raised their hand

indicating that they are unsure

of their salvation.

~ ~ ~

More Than It Appears

Standing In The Gap is just that ~ we stand in

for missionaries who need to go on furlough

for whatever the reason.

While we are here in Nauru our duties include:

preaching and teaching, Sunday School, 

visitation, hospital visits, counseling,

weekly Religious Instructions for

high school students, 

providing transportation for all services,

Teen Time, ladies meetings,

watching over the missionaries home, pets, etc.

Letting nature do the work...
Taking care of plants  and pets!

This morning we set a trap to catch

some ants...and it is working.

Satan sets traps for us too...

The trap of focusing on earthly things

instead eternal things.

Hebrews 13:5

"...and be content with such things as ye have;..."

~ The Island ~

We have been on the island of Nauru for 2 months and a few days. We have learned names, still have a few children's names that we get mixed up like Steve Austin, Pecos, and B Johnson, but it gets easier each week. We have found our way around ~ how do you get lost on an island of approximately 8 square miles?   The heat is something we are getting used to - sort of!!

Life is simple and slow on the island, the people are friendly but generally not too open. The children that come on Sunday morning listen intently  and answer with raised eyebrows, an island habit. Some learn their memory verse and some even remember the Bible story from the week before. They enjoy helping to serve the adults their juice drink after service. Most rather climb the side of the wagon than to climb the stairs.  Kids are kids all over the world.

Teen Time on Friday night went well, some would say the numbers aren't too impressive BUT the boys that attended all responded that they are not sure of their salvation ~ a real matter of prayer!!  They enjoyed the devotion, snacks and games ~ we were thankful that Bro. Junior came along to help.

We are learning to trust the LORD more and more and that is what its all about. We ask you pray concerning our next stop for 'Standing In The Gap'.

Soul ~ Sand ~ Salt

Yesterday we took a few hours of 'us' time. We went to a spot under a palm

tree and enjoyed the sand and salt.  After walking and picking

up sea shells we were talking about how did two

little Vermont kids end up on the island of NAURU!

The LORD ~ that is the answer. HE gets all the glory!

We are so thankful that HE has allowed us to be a part of this amazing

ministry ~ Standing In The Gap ~ furlough missionary relief.

It is a blessing not only for us but also for the missionary who can leave the

work and rest assured it will be taken care of.

~~~~~~

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Know ye that the LORD he is God:

it is he that hath made us,

and not we ourselves;

we are his people,

and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

and into his courts with praise:

be thankful unto him,

and bless his name.

For the LORD is good;

his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.



Friend Day

International Baptist Church

Nauru ~ Central Pacific

Friend Day

June 17, 2012

The Lord blessed the efforts of the members of International Baptist Church in Nauru. We had 17 visitors with a total of 51 people present. Some of our visitors were there for the first time and others were returning visitors.  The children on the "Wagon BUS" ministry also got involved ~ two of the girls brought 2 NEW visitors each. We are Praising the LORD for a wonderful day.

God's provisions.

God's Provisions....

Banana Tree in the yard!

Ham, $17.70 a kilo ~ that is approximately

$8.00 per pound.

********************************

Sunday, June 17 will be FRIEND DAY at

International Baptist Church

Please pray that the LORD would send visitors

and that they would respond to the preaching!

Pictures

Church Sign

Church 'bus' ~ pulled by a Toyota Land Cruiser 

Frangipani (Plumeria)

Our protectors ~ Brutus and Samson.
Samson, under the table, is the BOSS!

Looking down on the 'church'.
Attached to the house.

Pulpit

Finally figured out how to reset the camera so we could
post pictures to the blog.

We are adjusting to island life,
services have been going well.
The roads are not in very good repair so we
don't have a choice but to go slow and easy ~ it
is better for the people as well as the vehicles.
The 'bus' is the classroom for the children.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

May 2012 Prayer letter

Dear Pastor and Church,                                                                                                   May 2012

So…We’ve arrived! Well on the island of Nauru anyway.

April was a busy month, we were in many churches and driving over 5,000 miles and countless “see you later” and a few heart breaking “good bye’s for now”.  Our dear friend, mentor and big brother, Pastor Dan Inman has graduated to heaven. Also Alice Frink, a very Godly helpmeet to Norman Frink, her life was a testimony to my wife and many others. We also stopped to see my only remaining sister and it was sad to see her becoming so frail. My wife’s dear friend and visitation partner, Janette is also struggling physically. Cathy often commented that when making visits, Janette always knocked the door with authority (the King’s authority), please pray for these families.

This ministry of Standing In The Gap is filled with hello’s and goodbye’s (neither of which we are good at). Now we understand the missionary’s heart when they lose a loved one while they are on the field.

Now, the island of Nauru is not at all what we expected!! Our first Sunday ~ what an experience! I drove a 1983 Land Cruiser for the first time, “no big deal” you say. I had to drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel on the right, shifter on the left, direction signal on the right. Not only that but pulling a very well built hay wagon with a roof and seats/church bus.  The only thing that was familiar was the clutch, brake, gas were in the right order but on the wrong side of the car. Let me tell you OLD HABITS DIE HARD!! Road wise there is no registration of vehicles, no insurance, no license required ~ you are supposed to be 16 years old but if you can see over the wheel and reach the pedals it’s okay. I caused much laughter when I asked about vehicle inspection (it was a dumb question). Food is expensive and not always available, especially fresh vegetables. For example, fresh eggs are cheap at $4.50 a dozen and a jar of Nescafe instant coffee is $14.00. The people seem generally “laid back” and most are very quick to smile! Island life is very different! Many homes do not have windows and some don’t have doors, not needed they don’t have anything to steal.

We were so glad the McGeorge’s were able to be with us for a few days to help us get acclimated to the island.

PRAYER NEEDS ~

~Our finances, we have commitments from various places that have not yet come in.

~McGeorge furlough time.

~The church here (International Baptist Church)

Thanks to Pastor Mike Leslie of Australia for arranging to pick us up at the airport and to his parents for the wonderful accommodations while waiting for our flight to Nauru. We have made some new friends.

“Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:24

 Your missionary to missionaries,

Leo and Cathy Paine

We have arrived safely in Nauru ~ a bit of a culture shock but other than that all is well. We had a bit of a rest in Brisbane Australia before we flew on to Nauru. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Leo has learned to start the generator since the power has gone off three times since our arrival, whoever told us there aren't any spiders here is wrong, AND we are dealing with the heat and humidity etc. We have enjoyed the Thursday night Bible study and Teen Night on Friday night.

A lesson learned!!

When a missionary has a death of a loved one and they are on the field ~ it is a difficult time! Standing In The Gap can fill a need during that time if the missionary needs to go home. 

Now we are in the place of the missionary but the LORD allowed us to say our goodbyes before we left for Nauru and we will see our friend again. Pastor Emeritus Dan Inman, of Lincoln Nebraska is in heaven with the LORD. We will miss him but heaven is rejoicing. Our prayers go with his wife, Jeanne and his family.

Our new ministry video

You can also share and view our video on Youtube at: http://youtu.be/_q6znnxv-l8

Nailing Down!

We are in the process of 'nailing down' meetings

for the remainder of our time before

we leave for Nauru.

These include the states of:

Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi,

Texas and Oklahoma. Lots of miles!!!

The time is getting shorter ~ we are

leaving May 3rd and arriving

in Nauru on May 7th.

The suitcases are ready to be filled and

as we think of things

we add them to the piles.

Last minute details are accumulating.

BUT

"We can do all things through Christ..."

Thank YOU!!!

February 20-22 we attended the

Global Independent Baptist Mission meeting

in Tememculah, California.

Calvary Baptist Church hosted

the meeting.

The mission board endorsed us

as missionaries and the

GIBM will be

our clearinghouse.

Palm trees in California.

This is a sight we do not see in Missouri,

a car with surf boards on the top.

Calvary Baptist Church in

Temeculah, California.

Pastors and assistants who

attended the meeting!

*******************************

Sunday, February 26, 2012

We would like to thank "Wilson Creek Baptist Church" in Battlefield, Missouri for allowing us to take a bit of time at their morning service to tell them about Standing In The Gap. Thank you for the fellowship, meal and very generous love offering.

Also thank you to "Hillside Baptist Church" in Springfield, Missouri for allowing us to present Standing In The Gap at their evening service.  Thank you for the fellowship, meal and the very generous love offering.



Display

Our Display...a work in progress!

Also...

Thank you Pastor Dave Noffsinger and

Northwest Baptist Church

in Leavonworth, Kansas for allowing us to come

and present 'Standing In The Gap'.

We are very thankful that you and your church

have caught the burden and the

need missionaries have.

Nauru

Island of Nauru

Our home from May 6, 2012 to April 2013.

Standing in for missionaries Adam and Christie McGeorge.

John 3:16

^"For God so loved the world,

 that he gave his only begotten Son,

 that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish,

but have everlasting life."

John 3:16 --- KJV



New Prayer Cards...

Standing In The Gap is a ministry of Bible Baptist Temple

5401 Mitchell Avenue

St. Joseph MO

64507

Front of our new prayer card...

Back of our new prayer card...

Designed by: Bethany Olson

Freelance Graphic Designer from

Lincoln,  Nebraska

Design Initiatives

Thank You!!

We would like to thank the following churches for allowing

us to present "Standing In The Gap".

Lakewood Baptist Church of Elkhorn, Wisconsin,

Bible Baptist Church of Highland, Indiana,

Whittier Lane Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana,

Faith Baptist Temple of Eureka, Illinois,

AND

Averyville Baptist Church of East Peoria, Illinois.

During this trip we traveled, 1,758 miles in complete

safety...Praise the LORD!

New prayer card

It is hard to believe that we have gone through nearly

1,000 prayers cards!

Here is the new look...

The front of the card...

The back of the card...