Dear Soldiers of the Cross,
I trust everyone is doing well and busy about our father’s business. I ended my last month’s prayer letter with a plea that our RV repairs would go well. Praise the Lord, God came to our rescue with an overwhelming response. I cannot at this time see or understand the whole of what God is doing through our camper problems, but I do see His hand working. Our initial problem was an injector tip that blew off inside the engine and was dumping too much fuel into the system that also caused a fire from the exhaust. After a $1200 tow bill to Missoula, Montana and a $3500 repair bill, I was back on the road to my next VBS in Blackfoot, Idaho. Before getting to our destination, I knew that we still had some issues with the RV. I was able to make the last night of the VBS were we had 4 kids ask God for salvation. Praise the Lord!
After the VBS I was able to get the RV into another dealership in Pocatello, Idaho for more repairs. The injector tip that was not found or removed by the other dealership had caused serious problems. The long story short, we had to replace the engine. Again, we are not able to see all that God is doing, but this we can see. God’s people have come to our rescue and have covered the full cost of this more than $21,000 repair bill. Our hearts are overwhelmed and we are so humbled by your gracious generosity. Ms. Sheril and I will be flying out to pick up the RV in a few days. I want to thank all the churches and individuals that have prayed for us and have financially met our needs. You truly have blessed our souls.
My grandson Levi, now 11 years old, has traveled with me for nearly a month helping with our VBS’s. He has been a tremendous help to me in the ministry and a comfort in these days that Ms. Sheril is not able to travel with me due to taking care of her mom. The Lord saved Bro Levi at 9 years old and has put such a love for native missions in his heart that thrills my soul. Each day I pray for my replacement that God will truly give him a heart for our native people.“I wonder who he is?”
I received a call from Pastor Caleb Mitchell from Walworth Baptist Church in Ulen, Minnesota asking me to come and help them with a VBS on the White Earth Reservation. I was blown away by his request because he was the first Pastor to ever contact me wanting to get his church involved in native missions. So, I went and assisted them with the VBS and it was a success. God met with us in a special way and the kids were wonderful. While I was there, I traveled up to the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota for a survey trip and discovered that there were no solid Gospel works on that reservation. The Lord gave me a good contact person that agreed to help me set up a VBS for next year. “Praise the Lord.” Please help us pray about this wonderful opportunity.
As we labor for Christ.
Gerry and Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans