Dear Soldiers of the Cross,
We trust you are doing well and serving the Lord faithfully at your post of duty. This August seems to be the hottest time we have ever experienced out on the mission field. We were in temperatures up to 117 in southern Arizona. Ms. Sheril and I were at our boiling point and wishing for better days. Thank God we found relief at our next mission project.
The first week in August my home church, Hoopers Creek Baptist Church, assisted us with a VBS on the Fort Hall Reservation in Blackfoot, Idaho. We were blessed to have my son and daughter-in-law, along with our three grandsons, join us as well. It was also a blessing to have my pastor, his family and my church family with us. It was a joy seeing and laboring once again with our dear friends, Bro Joe and Sister Lela Copley. God is using the Copleys to reach a multitude of Native people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Truly there is a crown of righteousness laid up for them. The Lord sent in a good group of young people as well as adults to the VBS. What a time we had giving out the Gospel and loving on these precious people! We had 6 to ask for salvation and what joy it was as I knelt with one and witnessed them with tears and joy receive Christ into their heart. Thank you, group, so much for giving to the Lord your time and resources.
We then headed over to the Spokane Reservation in Washington State. About 40 miles south of Butte, Montana, our camper broke down on a very rural section on I-15. We sat beside the interstate for two hours. Time will not allow me to share all this with you, but God touched our camper and allowed us to move 6 miles up the road to safety in a rest-stop, where I was able to make the repairs the next day. Thank the Lord we serve a GOD that has all power.
We finally made it to the Spokane Reservation where we had a faithful group of workers from Faith Baptist Church from the city of Spokane assist us with a VBS. God met with us in a special way. We didn’t have as many kids as we would have liked, but most were repeats from last year. It was a great encouragement to me because there is no solid Gospel work on this reservation. The Lord has given us a dear brother in the Lord to help us start a new Baptist church on this reservation. Bro Tom Stastny has done mission work in Canada for many years and is now back in the USA. Please pray that God will open this door for the spread of the Gospel to these dear folks. Matthew 9:38 “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Please make this a matter of prayer.
Please pray for us as we recover from quite a bit of hail damage to our camper and jeep. On August 25th we were visiting with the missionary Baker family in Gillette, Wyoming, when a very severe hailstorm passed through. Pray for the Baker family as well. They also had damages to their home and vehicles.
As We Labor for Christ,
Gerry and Sheril Locklear
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