From Mary Ann's Desk...

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4


Last month was a very busy month for us.

It began with our annual trip to Lighthouse Worship Center, Galliano, LA, where Pastors Eno and Lurie Dantin and church host a mission’s convention every year. This was their 51st Annual Missions Convention, and the Lord blessed it abundantly. Some $75,000 was raised for the work of the Lord worldwide. Everyone left for home having their spirits refreshed from the presence of the Lord, the anointed and timely ministry of the word through Dr. Kemp Holden, and wonderful reports from various missionaries in attendance. It was a good, good time. And…the food for the body was very good, too.

We had not been home many hours when we received news of the untimely death of our dear friend and fellow minister, E. J. Dantin, Jr. in a boating accident. He is the son of Pastors Eno and Lurie Dantin. Immediately, we repacked our things and returned to Galliano to attend his funeral service, to weep with our wonderful friends, the Dantin family, and give them our support. To say we will miss our brother E. J. is an understatement.

A FIRST-TIME VISITOR
Shortly after arriving home again, we hosted one of our Indian Pastors, Vilas Samudre, for a few days. What a wonderful time we had with him as our guest. It was his first trip to the US. In 1971 we learned of his father, Rev. Vishvas Samudre, when we joined the staff of Faith Bible College in Tyler, TX. Vilas was about 11 years old at that time, but as he matured into a young man, he sensed God calling him into the ministry, following in his father’s footsteps. On Bud’s first trip to India in 1987, he finally met the Samudre family, including Vilas, and the rest is history.

While Vilas was with us, he shared that he had worked one and a half years to save enough money to purchase his ticket to the US. He said he wanted to come and honor those of us in the US who have had an important impact upon his life, and just visit with us. He didn’t come to ask for anything. He simply wanted to show us how much he appreciates all our efforts in his (and India’s) behalf. I cannot fully express how deeply this touched my heart, and how much I appreciate this tremendous demonstration of true thankfulness that he has honored us with. By the way, I did not send him home empty handed.

A PRAISE REPORT
On May 5th, I saw my eye doctor. The one who performed my surgery. The short story is – my eyesight is improving! At my last visit, the vision in that eye was 20/200 – meaning I could only read the big E, but not the rest. At this visit, I read two additional lines giving me a 20/70 value. This indicates that the edema is reducing, and the doctor said I am doing very well. Needless to say, I am more than happy and am thanking God for my progress. I am still believing for all the edema to be gone and my sight returned to normal. Please continue to pray with me. Thank you.

THANK YOU, PARTNERS
I cannot express how grateful I am for each one of you who faithfully and regularly walk with us and stand with us in the work God has given us to do. Every prayer you pray and every gift you give enables us to keep on keepin’ on. I know God blesses you. There is no way He would withhold His blessings from you. But I thank Him for blessing you, and I ask Him to continue blessing you, for you are a great blessing to us and those that we minister to.

Because there are over 4.4 billion people in the world who still need Jesus, I remain
Yours in missions,



Mary Ann Cassidy