"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel". Is. 7:14 Thanksgiving then Christmas. Like day follows night, you can’t have one without the other. For me, it is a natural progression for we who believe. First, thanking God for the blessings in our lives, followed by thanking God for sending Jesus, who is, Himself, the source of all the wonderful blessings we enjoy. Ever being thankful. But it doesn’t stop there. Thankfulness turns into joyful celebration, and we decorate this most wonderful season with overflowing happiness at the thought of giving to others, as we remember how generously God gave to us. May your Christmas season be filled with more wonder, joy and love than ever before.   Activities Report Bhalchandra Kamble with Mary Ann during his visit to the US in October/November 2012. We were so blessed last month to be able to host Pastor Bhalchandra Kam...

Greeting from the snowy North,   Winter is in full swing here in Juneau with temps in the 20’s and snow on the ground. Great deer hunting weather, but the shoveling part gets old. The price we pay to live in the most beautiful place on the planet. Now, let’s get back to relationships and their eternal value. Did you know that the majority of unchurched adults that come to Jesus cite a personal relationship as the major influence for their decision? Not pastors, not evangelists, but their Christian friends are the ones that lead them into the Kingdom. With this in mind, keeping our relationships with our unbelieving friends and relatives healthy becomes an eternal imperative. But this isn’t just about winning souls, it’s about loving people, saved or not. It’s about Jesus’ admonition to love each other, His instruction on how to deal with the fallen brother (Matt. 18), His example of grieving with the family of Lazarus. It’s about Paul’s exhortation to bear up...

Greetings. I trust all is well with you today as you begin the transition into holiday mode. All of us will be quite busy from now until January 1st, but we love this time of year, don’t we? We are already quite busy at LTI. We end October and begin November with a visit from our main leader in India, Bhalchandra Kamble. He called me one day and said, “Auntie, if you can’t come to us, I will come to you.” I am very glad he is coming. Even though we visit by telephone and email, there is nothing like sitting down together in the same room for detailed discussion and planning for the future of the work in India. Thanks to Skype, Mark will be “with” us, as well. I wish I could take him around to all of you and let you meet him. Since that is not possible, I will have to settle for giving you a report next month and supply you with photos. Then, the next important thing this month is “Voting Day”, Tuesday the 6th. All eyes will be on the result of our participation.  What an i...

Greetings from the already freezing North, Yeah, you read that right, this morning our low was 14. That’s cold for October, even here. Here’s hoping it doesn’t last. It’s been a bit of a struggle to write this month, with the recent passing of my  Mom and trip plans awaiting Bhalchandra’s arrival, but I believe I have heard the heart of the Father and I’d like to share with you. As believers we often and rightfully think of what will last, what is eternal.  Our souls, our lives, our loving service for the King and His Kingdom, and our loving, intimate communion with Jesus. But there is one other facet of our lives that is eternal – relationships. And I suspect many of you are like me and far to often neglect to think of relationships from the perspective of eternity. Right after Mom joined the Lord, He impressed upon me quite powerfully that a broken relationship in her life was being restored. She had suffered the effects of that broken relationship her entire life...

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obrtain it. And every one who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subejection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Warm Christian greetings to you today. My heart rejoices in the goodness of the Lord. He is great and greatly to be praised. As Jennifer and I were watching the Opening Ceremonies of the XXXth Olympiad Summer Games in London, she commented, “I wonder if this is the first time that every nation in the world is being represented at the Olympic Games?” The answer is a little complex, but simply put, the answer is “Yes!” Then, as we watched the Parade of Nations ...

You know the saying, “When it rains it pours.” Well, just a week before Hannah’s wedding, my (Mark’s) mother fell and broke her hip. This is always a bad thing to happen to anyone, but her case is complicated by the fact that she suffers from multiple life threatening diseases, and is a dialysis patient. She was not able to be treated here in Juneau, Alaska, where we all live, so she had to be medi-vac’d to Seatlle for evaluation and care. Sadly, this meant that she and my father were not able to attend Hannah’s wedding. It is still not known what her outcome will be. For a while, it was thought she would bed bedfast for the rest of her life. However, she is now now able to sit up some. Her medical problems prevented the doctors from performing surgery on her hip, but the break is healing a bit on its own. This unfortunate event has resulted in problems of catastrophic proportions. Needless to say, this is my only contribution to this month’s newsletter as Julie and I are overco...

Have you ever lost your keys? Your wallet? Your cellphone? How about a favorite piece of jewelry? One that has intimate sentimental value to it and cannot be replaced? How ferociously do we search for that lost item? Almost to the point of panic we search. Our hearts start racing, we hit the verge of hyperventilating and sometimes tears. We become consumed with finding it. Our focus is microscopic. We can think of nothing else until it is found, right? J ust like the woman searching for her lost coin in Luke 15:8-10, w e’ll even turn the house upside down with no care for how much time it will take to put it back together again, even if our search comes up empty. Albeit costly nowadays, keys can be replaced. So can money. It might be a big hassle, but credit cards, driver’s licenses and cellphones can be replaced too.   But, there are some things that are too precious to be replaced. Some of them are one of a kind and can never be replaced. Some of them hold memories atta...

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 Greetings in Jesus’ wonderful name. This week our nation celebrated its 236th year of Independence from Britain, and I hope you and your family enjoyed the day very much. My contribution to the newsletter this month is about family, as we are preparing for two very important and very different events. One is a joyful occasion – the wedding of Mark and Julie’s firstborn, Hannah, my first granddaughter – in Boise, Idaho on July 21st.  Jennifer, Janna and I will be flying out on the 19th, and we are looking forward to participating in this wonderful time in Hannah’s life. The other, is the approaching death of my youngest brother, who is under Hospice care for terminal lymphatic cancer. Of course, no one knows the day nor the hour when this event will occur, but he seems to be declining now at a more rapid pace than before. That means another trip to Austin, Texas, where he resides, is necess...

India Ever After by Bill Paddock Nearly three months have passed since I stepped into the mission field for the first time. I keep asking myself: “self, why didn’t you do this sooner”? The experience was nothing short of amazing! India is truly the richest culture I have ever encountered, and I’m not referring to material possessions. What I found was a beautiful collage of colors, smells, warmth, and passion. I saw and felt God at work like an artist preoccupied with a masterpiece. I love the way He is working in the lives of the people, through all the diversity and intricacies of life. While in prayer one day with Mark and Bhalchandra, I saw a vision of the presence of God rushing through the streets of Pune. His form was like a blue comet with a long tail – and as He passed by at supersonic speed, dust and papers and anything not tied down was blasted up and away. Chains were being broken, doors were being opened, and freedom was being released. God was confirming that...

“ And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2 We arrived home on May 30th, safe and sound from a wonderful time of ministry in Uganda. KAMPALA - the capitol of Uganda, and the place where we ministered, is a most beautiful city. Originally positioned on 7 hills, now spilling over onto 10, Kampala is a lush paradise of tropical plants, trees and flowers, and home to some of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. Although its location is just barely north of the Equator, its altitude of 4300 feet above sea level provides a moderate climate year round that is most enjoyable. The southeastern part of the city is on the shores of Lake Victoria, the world’s 3rd largest lake by area, Africa’s largest lake by area, and the largest tropical lake in the world. As a result, the city enjoys the benefits of breezes that blow across the lake into the city. My travels in Africa a...

Ahh, Summertime in Alaska... Brings our oldest daughter, Hannah, home from college to get ready for her wedding next month, high shcool graduation for our middle daughter, Ellen. And company. Our home church, Valley Chapel, hosted a group from Redding, CA for a week of services, and we were blessed to be able to house some of them while they were here. Incredible services and wonderful company. Just on the heels of that, our nephew, Ryan (Jennifer’s oldest son), and his wife, Lindsay, have come to visit. So, needless to say, summertime in Alaska has been busy, busy, busy so far. And, we’re loving every minute of it. Next month, I want to share with you Bill Paddock’s view of the India trip. He was one of the ministry team members. I think it will bless you to see through additional eyes and hear a different voice. Although this is just a quick family note, we want to take every opportunity we can to say “Thank you” for all that you do, both financially and in prayer, to help...

“And you shall be witnesses unto me …unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 May has finally arrived, and on the 16th day of this month Bron, Jennifer and I will depart for Uganda. By the time you receive this newsletter, I will have been vaccinated for the 4th time for Yellow Fever, after which we can send in our visa applications, and then all the technical functions of preparing for a trip to a third world country will have been performed. As you know, this is Jennifer’s and my first time to go into East Africa. Now Africa is Africa, so there will be many aspects of life in Uganda that are “familiar” territory. On the other hand, it will be “different”. We will be meeting new people and learning what their particular needs are, as well as where they are in their walk with the Lord. It is going to be an exciting time, and we are looking forward to it with much anticipation. The most important part of any of these trips, of course, is to impart some spiritual life and...