August, 2011

NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD

NEWS FROM RANDY & RONDA
E-NEWS
We just sent out a second quarter news letter, so you may be surprised to hear from us again so soon. We have so much good news to share that we could not wait to share the following stories. In July, Ronda and I traveled to Cochrane, Canada, which is in the providence of Alberta, to present Evangelism and Prayer Walking training for the Canadian National Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers. While in Cochrane, we had the privilege of staying at the Canadian National Baptist Seminary with our dear friends Ken and Darla Ponath, who both serve as MSC Missionaries in Disaster Relief leadership and Baptist Builders and were in Cochrane for their National Baptist Convention. While together, we enjoyed great fellowship sharing God stories, praying, and even a little sightseeing. With Ken and Darla as our tour guides, we set out after church service on Sunday to explore Gods glorious beauty that is engraved in the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountain landscape. Wow, we saw some of the most beautiful country that our eyes had ever beheld. Vast green rolling fields with huge snow capped Rocky Mountains in the distance. As we approached those giant mountains, it was as if God had prepared a table before us set in the splendor of stunning aqua colored lakes capturing with snow melt, long horn sheep, bear, elk, and mountain goats which lined the forest rim as we drove through the breath taking land. As our eyes took in all of this wonder, the first thing we thought was, how could anyone not believe in God after seeing such beauty? The massive Canadian Rockies reminded us of just how great and majestic is our Lord and Creator of all things. Ronda presented prayer walking and I presented evangelism training on July 4th at the Canadian National Convention. The classes were attended by an enthusiastic group of disaster relief volunteers along with several new friends that we met at the CNBC office. We enjoyed fellowship, training and evangelistic conversation with our Canadian brothers and sisters. Although Canada, by total area, is the second largest country in the world after Russia, there are only 250 Baptist Churches scattered throughout the 10 providences in Canada. Spiritually, there is a great lostness in Canada and thus a vast field yet to be harvested. We ask that you please pray that the Lord of the great harvest would send workers into these fields.
Our Blog is: fishermenforjesus.blogspot.com

Isaiah 61:10-11 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

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Less than a week after returning home from Canada, Ronda and I were soon on the road again. During the week of July 10th thru the 16th we traveled to Camp Tipton in Maryville, TN to lead a mission team from our home church, Biltmore Baptist. Our team consisted of several personal friends who are all leaders and love the Lord. Together, we did home repair, servant evangelism, and day camp ministry. It was amazing to experience God at work through the camp ministries and to see everyone having a blast; all in the name of Jesus Christ! One of our teams servant evangelism projects involved traveling to Cades Cove where we had the opportunity to sing in an old historic Methodist Church. As we sang old time Gospel hymns by the piano, a small crowd of visitors began to gather in the church rows. Some requested special songs they had not heard in years, some joined in to sing and some just sat down and patted their feet. As we looked out into the crowd we could see several of them with tears of joy running down their faces. Oh how beautiful it was to experience the presence of God in that old church! Randy took several of the young teens out two at a time and taught them how to share their faith with others. The body of Christ was evident as some sang, some talked to the crowd and some shared the Gospel. On another servant evangelism project, we handed out water to people and families who were hanging out and playing in the local park. Ice water on a hot summer day is always welcomed and as a result, doors were opened for us to converse, witness and pray with the people. Ronda and Dian had a divine appointment with a young couple and their two children. The parents were having relational issues and Ronda and Dian were able to offer them words of encouragement and pray over the mom, dad and children. Before leaving the park, the mother told us that when she saw the church van drive up filled with smiling, happy people; she knew God had sent them for her family. We also had the opportunity to serve meals to the homeless and needy at a local church and do some home improvements for Mrs. McMillan, who is 89 years old and lives in the community where we stayed. Our work for Mrs. McMillan opened up an opportunity to present the gospel and pray with her 32 year old grandson who currently lives with her. Mrs. McMillans prayer request was that her grandson would come to know Christ and that she would live to be 90 years old. She turns 90 on August 17th and we will continue to pray for the salvation of her grandson. On the last day, we offered cold water and bagged goodies to motorcyclist and visitors at the Dragon's Tail, an eleven mile stretch with 318 curves. We had many opportunities to share our faith and pray with the visitors who stopped at the overlook. It is pretty amazing to hear people say, you wont believe this, but we were just discussing that topic today then ask that we pray for them. We all knew God had His hand on these servant evangelism projects; strategically placing us in the right place at the right time. What a spectacular week of serving others and seeing Our Almighty Father in action. On August 5th, Ronda and I attended the funeral of our dear friend, Margie Hester, who went home to be with the Lord and her husband Dr. Joe. It was more of a celebration rather than a funeral, as our spirits were lifted in praise for her life and witness here on earth. Joe and Margie were instrumental in our decision to go into ministry and their lives have directly and indirectly touched so many others. They will always be Missionary Encouragers to us, which by the way was the name of their ministry. They will be missed, but their legacy will live on as their family and friends are compelled to take the gospel even further into the utter most parts of the world because of their love for the Lord and their passion for missions. Whats Next! Ronda and I are excited to travel to Louisville, KY the second weekend of August and present Disaster Relief evangelism training to a large group of Disaster Relief Leaders. We will return home on Sunday and then leave on Thursday, August 18th for Minot, ND where we will be serving 4 weeks on a Disaster Relief Incident Command Team. We will be coordinating with the disaster relief efforts and will be working in conjunction with the Disaster Relief State Directors and the North American Mission Board. Over one hundred Disaster Relief volunteers from across the country are currently working to clean out the homes that were flooded in North Dakota. We are asking everyone to please pray that our volunteers will be able to help the hundreds of people whose homes were flooded; that they are able to rebuild before winter sets in and that opportunities open up to present spiritual hope in Jesus Christ. We ask that you also pray that Ronda and I would have spiritual insight to lead these efforts in a direction that would bring glory to God.
THOSE WISHING TO DONATE TO THIS MINISTRY CAN MAKE GIFTS PAYABLE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD AT NAMBMSC, PO BOX 116543, ATLANTA, GA 30368-6543. PLEASE INCLUDE OUR ACCOUNT NUMBER (8922) AND OUR LAST NAME (CORN) IN THE MEMO SECTION OF YOUR CHECK. ALL GIFTS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE IF YOU ITEMIZE.