Good News from the Orange County Singles! “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) God is definitely blessing the OC Singles Ministry with abundant fruit! Two weeks ago, immediately following Ryan & Nikki Williams’ Friday Night Bible Talk, Viri was baptized into Christ! Viri fasted and prayed to have a humble, broken heart and even went with the sisters to the beach at 4:30AM to ask God for a spirit of openness!
Today, a young woman named Janet, who was met by Dennis (OC) and Corina (AMS) four months ago, overcame all her fears and “ran” to the light! Ever since seeing 12 people confess, “Jesus is Lord!” at our Congregational Easter Service two weeks ago, Janet was determined and inspired that she too could confess, repent and be baptized! I’m so proud of my wife Kerri-Sue, who loves to baptize and even more… loves to train other women to be fruitful!
God is also blessing us with Missions Miracles! Abby Chien shared today that a couple of years ago, she had asked a man who wasn’t open to studying the Bible if he would give to Missions… He gave $20 the first time… then $200 and then $300 as each time she asked for more, God moved his heart to give that amount! Then she changed jobs and lost contact with him; however, HE found HER at her new job and asked her if she needed any help this year for Missions Contribution! She had a quick “Nehemiah prayer” and responded with even more faith and asked him for $500… and he promptly wrote the check out for that very amount!
Our OC Missions’ secret weapon is the family team of Lenny and her daughter Lizbeth, who was born with spina bifita. They tagged together for less than two hours and raised almost $100 on the streets of Santa Ana! As well, this past Saturday night into Sunday, Daniel Granger ran a “Ninja Night” at his Martial Arts Dojo for $60 per kid and gave up sleep for 24 hours… He had over 30 kids show up and all profits will be donated to missions!
Lastly, my wife & I are going after pledges for my participation in our upcoming OC Region 50 Mile Bike-a-thon that Wayne Willoughby and John Astwood have masterminded! The first 10 people that I have asked to sponsor me have all said “yes” and pledged between $30 (thanks, Mom!) and $250 (gifted by a generous remnant disciple who I’ve known for 20 years)! By God’s grace, I will not only go over the $1,000 mark this week, but also hit $2,000 by May 17th!