April 08 Prayer Letter

Dear praying brothers and sisters, April, 2008

It has certainly been an eventful month or so for us. March began with my fourth trip to the Philippines. It was a fruitful trip as God allowed me to be a part of the ministries of a local church through bus (jeepney) visitation and preaching. Being over there this time without an American missionary on this trip gave me opportunity to get more of a feel for the many modes of public transportation by riding buses, jeepneys, taxis and motorbikes. I spent quite a bit of time on the streets passing out tracts and talking to people. Brother Jun Monderin was once again willing to allow me to have part in his jail and prison ministry giving me the privilege of preaching the gospel and encouraging existing believers (both men and women) in the city jails and New Bilibid Prison’s maximum security compound. We also took quite a walk through the Manila north cemetery. I never would have thought that a cemetery would be the site of a children’s extension class but that is exactly the case as many people live in this massive graveyard (the largest in the Philippines). The Lord again showed Himself strong and faithful in taking care of my family and in giving me strength on the trip. The only feeling of disappointment felt on the trip was that the reunion with my family after the trip was to be in Rochester NY and not in Manila, Philippines. Needless to say, we are eager for the day that God allows us to land over there long term.

Upon returning we were able to have a couple days of wonderful family time before getting ready for our first Missions conference. The church was Antioch Bible Baptist Church in Lockport, NY and it was a tremendous blessing. They were a wonderful church family, which were a true blessing to us. We had great opportunities to share our burden and our four little girls did pretty well with a busy schedule during the week. We are glad that we will always be able to look back at the first set of meetings as a time when we were encouraged and God was glorified. The following week was a homecoming for us as we were part of the missions conference of First Bible Baptist Church, the church that Aaron was raised and saved in, that Stephanie was saved through and that trained and encouraged us in ministry. There was a focus on the homegrown missionaries of the church. There are currently 27 families that have been trained and/or sent in the 40 year history of this church.

So now that there is a slight break after the trip and conferences, we look forward to seeing who God will put us in contact with for meetings. Our prayer requests at this time would be that God would allow our calendar to fill up and that the churches we contact would be used of the Lord to join us in prayer for the declaration of the gospel in the Philippines. Thank you for your prayer and interest in the great commission. May we all be passionate for the things that matter most to our Lord Jesus Christ

For the glory of His name,
The Putney Family – Aaron, Stephanie, Autumn, Anna, Sarah, Emma