Calvary Heights Baptist Church

Last night we had the privilege of being with Pastor Nuijens and the church family of Calvary Heights. We were blessed by their preparedness in getting us set up and situated. They made it very easy for us to be ready for the evening which allowed us ample time to interact with the members prior to the service as well as after. The church family is very warm and hospitable, their words of encouragement and sincere interest in the work in the Philippines was wonderful. It was a blessing to hear the testimonies of so many about how they were saved, mission trips they have been a part or just about life and family in general. They had great wednesday night attendance and really were a blessing to us in every way possible. We praise the Lord for missions minded churches like this and pray that God will continue to bless this church in its zeal for souls.

Happy Birthday to my wife

I praise the Lord for giving me a wonderful wife to serve the Lord beside. Stephanie is softspoken and not one to speak in public or dominate a conversation, she is meek and quiet in spirit and I am very grateful for this. Sometimes the busyness of life and ministry will keep us from having a daily conversation about our quiet time etc but then I will see her journal opened up next to her Bible in one of her favorite spots to sit and read and get such a blessing as I read the testimony of how God is working. She has a way of expressing on paper her heart and walk with God in a beautiful way. She is a tremendous mother to the girls and I know of no better example for them to model after as they grow up. My wife may not play a piano, sing solos or have two college degrees but the Lord has gifted her as a wonderful helpmate, mother and friend. She is sincere in her love for God and ready to take part in bringing the gospel to the Philippines. She has stood by me, encouraged me and prayed for me for many years now, her faithfulness and consistency are treasured. I am just as glad that the fashions of the day, the vanity of this present world and culture and the accepted behaviors of this modern era do not move her, she is a standardbearer and example to the next generation of Christian ladies. It is not favor or beauty that move her but the fear of the Lord, and for that her husband praises her.

I remember Thanksgiving of 2006, I was in Manila and I had spent the entire day with two missionary families - the Avery family and Bro. Paul Perkins who is now my Pastor in Ocean Springs, MS. We had a great day of fellowship and food. We played basketball at the foot of a mountain in the tropical heat and I really overdid it. I had to go to work that night to train a large group of agents for 8 hours. I was taken back to the hotel with only about two hours before I had to leave for work. I got cleaned up and then laid down, knowing it would not be good after having not slept in probably 30 hours to try to rest for one... I was right, when I got up I was feeling quite exhausted and ill. I closed my eyes in the taxi for the 30 minute ride to the call center and then upon arriving the first thing I did was call my wife. I let her know how foolish I had been to play ball and that I was suffering the effects of a lack of sleep and dehydration. Here is why I wrote all this, because my wife did not question what I had done and the lack of wisdom behind it, what she did was said that she loved me and that they would start praying for me immediately. I praise the Lord that He answered those prayers and within an hour of that call I was feeling much better and was able to perform my responsibility to my employer. It is good to know that my wife has access to the Lord of Glory!

Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Pro 31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
Pro 31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Pro 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Pro 31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Pro 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Pro 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Oswego

Sunday we spent the day in Oswego, NY with Pastor Paul Walker and the church family of Bible Baptist Church. We had a great time of fellowship around God's word and were greatly encouraged by the outpouring of love that we felt by the brothers and sisters there. The Sunday school hour where we presented our ministry was very well attended as was the morning and afternoon service. We enjoyed a great meal with the church family and were able to get to know some wonderful people. There was a sincere interest in the furthering of the gospel in the Philippines by the people and we had a good session of Q+A for people to inquire more about us, the Philippines and church planting. What blessed me greatly in this meeting was the testimony of so many members speaking to how much they love their pastor. I heard story after story that demonstrated love and servant leadership. It is obvious that this is a catalyst in the growth of the church and we will be excited to hear how God continues to move in that community as a result. Once again we praise the Lord for the opportunity to share our burden.

Thursday in Chittenango

We praise the Lord for the opportunity to join Pastor Ashton Nelson and his family at North Madison Baptist Church last night. We had some great fellowship at dinner with them and a wonderful missionary family to Papua, New Guinea. The only problem was that the response time at the restaurant was a little wanting so by the time we got our food and inhaled it we had 10 minutes to drive back to the church because that is when the service was to start! It went something like this...Steph wipes hands and faces and tells me of the various diapers that are in need of changing, i have to reply with a fatherly veto. We get back to the church with the pastor at T minus 3 minutes and counting - the members patiently awaiting our arrival. I scramble for the laptop and projector, Steph grabbed the kids and the diapers...the piano is playing, the laptop is booting and we begin the service. Pastor Nelson was great and we had a lot of fun with it. He let us know that while they are serious about God's word, they are informal in areas like this. We had a great service and fellowship after. My kids had a great time playing after the service with some other MK's and that was a blessing. We praise the Lord for the good meeting and the opportunity to once again share our burden for the Philippine Islands.

October Prayer Letter

Greetings to our brothers and sisters in Christ,

1 Cor. 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. We count ourselves truly blessed and praise the Lord for so many of you who have prayed for, encouraged and supported us along the way. It has been a wonderfully encouraging month as we have heard testimony of protection through the hurricanes as well as a great revival going on at Grace Independent in Mississippi, we have seen a number of new meetings scheduled, had opportunities to preach the gospel in various venues and made significant progress in some roofing on our home which we trust will improve its marketability. We also praise the Lord for the amazing testimony of a pastor who called us to tell us how God orchestrated for the rental space they use for their midweek service to be given to them for free thereby allowing them to partner with us! We serve an awesome God, amen!

We are also grateful to have a pretty full calendar this month with meetings in places like Chittenango, Oswego, Elma and Waterloo, NY. It has been a great blessing getting to know so many pastors at various levels through these meetings, personal visits and phone conversations. The years of ministry experience along with their different backgrounds and situations significantly contribute to our growth and the opportunity to build friendships with them has been wonderful.

This month we will celebrate the fourth birthday of our daughter Anna and that of my wife Stephanie as well. Few times do we see or think of Anna without being reminded how God spared her life when she was less than a day old. It was a moment I will not soon forget and I praise God for such mercy in saving her when things seemed grim. Every day we recognize her as a living testimony of the grace of God in our lives. Anna is a treasure and we pray that she will grow to be a godly young lady. The other kids are growing fast, Sarah is working hard at memorizing the books of the Bible, Autumn is getting better with her cursive writing and Emma is crawling around freely now and pulling herself up on whatever she can. We have had opportunity to spend a few hours this past month working on Tagalog learning which thrills us to be doing knowing that there is a coming a day in which we will be able to implement it in the ministry of the gospel.


Prayer Requests:
o That God would allow us to be a blessing at the meetings this month and that He would impress upon others His burden for the Philippine Islands
o Progress on the transition of selling our home and having the support needed to leave work o That the Lord would put us in the path of the churches He would have us partner with and that the calendar would continue to fill
o For many opportunities to witness at home and on the road


For the glory of His name,

Aaron & Stephanie Putney - Autumn, Anna, Sarah, Emma