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May, 2003 Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord: Greetings once again from the Garden State. The past four months have been eventful— and very busy! I’ll try to get you caught up with the news. If you recall, the Lord first began to work in our hearts about this type of ministry through the presentation of another missionary, John Cofield, who was then the director of Camp of the Woods in Dryden, Ontario. At the time, Heidi and I knew that the Lord was leading us to our current ministry, First Baptist Church of Newfield, but we both were convinced that if He ever led us onto the mission field, it would be to a ministry similar to Camp of the Woods. As you are aware, however, instead of leading us to a ministry similar to Camp of the Woods, the Lord has led us to duplicate that work in the Alaskan wilderness. One of the things that the board members at EBM thought would be important for us to accomplish was to spend some time working with the folks at Camp of the Woods. The idea, of course, was to enable us see firsthand how the ministry operates, and gain some experience working with the native people of North America. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to accomplish that goal last month. Not only were we able to observe the work in progress and spend some time with the Native people, but we were able to experience some of the practical aspects of wilderness living: hauling firewood, taking trash to the dump area, hauling firewood, watching out for bears in the dump area, hauling firewood, watching the Northern lights, hauling firewood, listening to the wolves howl at night, hauling firewood, trying to canoe through thin ice, hauling firewood, trying to find our way back to our cabin without a flashlight when it was really, really, dark, hauling firewood, etc.-- you get the idea. Another benefit was to be able to take a look at a couple different styles of log cabin construction, and examine some examples of rustic furniture construction. The greatest benefit, however, was undoubtedly the time that we were able to spend with members of the staff. The folks there really went out of their way to make us feel at home, and to help with our training. They even offered to let me get some experience operating a jackhammer one afternoon, but I graciously declined their offer, not wishing to hinder their progress with my inexperience. Seriously though, we are deeply indebted to everyone up there who worked so hard to help us in so many ways. From there, we drove about twenty-six hours to Ottawa, Ontario, where we presented our ministry to an Arabic work which has been started by one of our fellow EBM missionaries, Walid Bitar. The brothers and sisters there made us feel incredibly welcome. Middle-Eastern hospitality is an amazing thing. If you’ve never experienced it, you need to take a trip to Ottawa— stop in at Walid’s house and tell him that David Craig sent you— you’ll see what I mean! We had a great time with our fellow believers there, although I’m still not convinced that my interpreter was preaching the same message that I was— I would talk for one minute; he would talk for five . . . it kind of made me nervous. There’s one other thing that I want to share with you about Ottawa. The thing that made the greatest impression on me was the topic of every conversation. Most of the time when U.S.A. Christians get together, we discuss sports, our kids and their school activities, politics, etc. Without a single exception that I can recall, however, the believers in this Arabic church discussed the great things God had been doing in their lives. They discussed Scripture passages that they were having difficulty understanding. They talked about the people that they were trying to lead to the Lord, and the difficulties they were encountering. The difference was astounding. Their entire lives revolved around their Christianity. It was a great privilege to spend time with these folks. I think that the early church must have been very much like that. Our support level in increasing! Heidi’s home church, Berean Baptist Church of Bunker Hill, IL has begun supporting the work, and a couple from my home church in Brazil, IN has also come aboard. It really is a great blessing to have the support of our friends and church families. Including some promised support from a couple of churches that have told us that they will be part of the team, we are at about 32% of our goal. Keep praying that the Lord will provide for the needs of this ministry. We still have a long way to go! Prayer Requests: 1. We still need an airplane— at least five seats (six or eight seats would be better) Donations toward the plane can be made through EBM, or through First Baptist in Newfield. 2. Keep praying that the Lord will lead the right people to join our team in Alaska. It looks like the Lord is already working to get another family on the field with us— This is a very exciting development. More details as they are available! 3. Please pray that the Lord will help us to be able to schedule meetings where we can continue to build our support. 4. Please pray for Andrew, Rachael, and Stephen. It’s not easy to be on the road so often. They miss their friends, and it’s tough to keep up with the school work. Yours in the Lord, The Craig Family |
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