Greetings in Jesus’ Name,
Fall has finally arrived for us here in Smithville, Oklahoma. It was an extremely hot, dry summer but the winds have changed and as I write this letter it is much cooler and the Lord has sent us some much needed rain. Our God displays His faithfulness to us in so many ways and we are grateful for His “showers of blessing”.
We are grateful to have finally moved from our rental house into our own home. We purchased this house in November of 2018 and began an extensive remodel in March of the following year. It was a lengthy project with innumerable delays and many hours of hard work but we are finally in! I am so thankful for the individuals who gave of their time to help me. Many of you prayed for us as time passed and the demands of ministry limited our time and energy to complete the project. We tried our best to not allow the work on the house to be prioritized over the work of the Lord. I’m grateful to have an understanding wife who also desires to put our Savior and others around us before ourselves. To God be the glory for these blessings!
The Lord again blessed us with the opportunity to minister in 3 Bible schools over the summer months. Our VBS here at Indian Mission was greatly blessed. The teaching and preaching were greatly used of the Lord and three boys professed faith in Christ for salvation. These have already followed in baptism and are growing in grace, testifying often of what God has done for them. In the weeks following we had 2 other couples to join the church here and they have been a great blessing to us as well. We then helped in VBS at Grace Indian Baptist Church and followed that up teaching and preaching at Springhill Bible Camp. I’m grateful for the opportunity to labor in these Native American churches and better learn how to reach the people God has called us to.
After preaching a missions conference at Emmanuel Baptist Church, we left for the Northwest in late July. Trips to this area of our country are lengthy (usually about 4 weeks) and travel is quite expensive. It is a remote and spiritually barren region. I preached 4 times in Idaho, twice in Oregon and once in Washington. Baptist churches and preachers are in short supply in this area. Native Americans and Reservations are largely unreached. I was privileged to preach for Brother Larry McKinney on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. There are many Reservations just like this one without a single Baptist church. As these doors are opened, I am committed to go as often as I can and pray for them, as well as seek the Lord for what our role
is going forward in this region. Please pray for the dear preachers who labor in the Northwest.
Since getting back at the end of August, we’ve been going in many directions. I’ve helped others in multiple building projects, worked on projects for our church, preached and taught frequently, and helped in and attended several meetings. God has blessed us and our church family with many opportunities to serve our community. Our youth has travelled to sing in evangelistic meetings, we’ve started a food pantry, we’re trying to hold services at the home of a dear widow for our church, we visit, we meet often for prayer, we give rides when we can, we work with our hands and labor for our Lord and His people. Most importantly, we are trying to reach the lost with the Gospel. As we are pulled in so many different directions, this remains the priority of the ministry.
By way of special prayer requests, please pray for Brother Jerry Bohanan. He is a charter member and long time deacon in our church. He has been dealing with bladder cancer and has a biopsy coming up. Also, Brother Samuel Crees who just underwent knee replacement and Brother Richard Youngblood who is facing hip replacement at the end of November. Also, remember Swappingback Mission in Geary, Oklahoma, as they determine how to move forward. I will be preaching a Thanksgiving service there on November 20th. There are too many lost individuals to mention that I ask you to join in prayer with me for. I also ask for your prayers for us as we continue our labors here and abroad.
I want to conclude by thanking each of you for your prayers and for your continued financial support. You really are fellow laborers in the ministry. We pray for you, your churches, and the dear pastors who labor over you regularly. We could not do what we do without you. We and our church family would also like to say a special thank you to Bethesda Baptist Church, Broad River Baptist Church, and Brother Wink and Sister Janet Harris for your special love gifts toward a bus for the church. We’re grateful for a personal love gift from the Maldonado’s. Thank you! We also are so thankful for the timely card and words of encouragement from the saints at Warm Springs Baptist Church. We were blessed with the visit of 2 sisters from the Northwest, Molly and Marah, as well as a separate visit from Evangelist Austin Fulton from Idaho. These are dear friends in the Lord and it means a lot to us that they have a love and interest in the church and ministry here. Most of all, we are grateful to our Great God who not only saved us from our sins, but called us into His service. His faithfulness to us is often demonstrated through you. Let us each labor to continue in faithfulness to Him. We love you all.
Yours in Christ, The Silvers Family