Only 2 Months 'til Baby #5

"Baby Bean Due: August 9"

When I married Erin, at age 32, I thought I might be an old man before we had any children. But God had other plans! Our first son, Parker, was born only 10 months after we married. Then Jonah came less than 2 years later. Then Gwyneth & Lyla, each less than 2 years from the previous one. And now "Baby Bean," as we call her, again less than 2 years from Lyla. God has so richly blessed us, not because we are such righteous or excellent parents, but purely by his grace in Christ. We don't deserve to have these children, and are extremely privileged to raise them. And we are constantly in need of God's grace & love, otherwise we will do no good for the children, nor anyone else.

As most of you know, we want to serve Jesus Christ overseas. We have an opportunity to go to Suriname in South America. Again, we do not go because we are extraordinary believers, but because of God's redeeming love toward us. It doesn't take extraordinary people, but the extraordinary God, who uses ordinary people. We need other ordinary people to go with us.

Not everyone is able to go & serve overseas. But you can still serve by continually praying for God to work through this ministry, by supporting us financially, and by telling others about the ministry.

Here is one way you can help right now. In anticipation of our Baby "Bean's" upcoming birth, please go to World Team's Give Now page & give a generous gift to help us get to Suriname--just mention the Pfleegors. Then switch your Facebook (or other social media) profile picture to our family picture, and post a link on your page to this blog (www.GoodNewstoAllPeoples.blogspot.com), and World Team's Give Now page. Please help us reach 35% by August 9th, her due date. Thank you very much for your help!

We don't receive anything until we actually move to Suriname. Your gifts now go toward our outgoing expenses, and are held in an account for us by World Team. Our goal, with God's will & provision, is to leave in May of 2013. We would also be glad to visit your church, and tell them more about Suriname. And yes, we will travel a long distance to visit you. Thanks again.

Rockport to Ordain Michael

Lyla & Daddy

I am so blessed that our church, Rockport Baptist, is going to ordain me for the Gospel ministry. We are not attempting to take on this responsibility ourselves. It means a lot to me that our elders & church agree that they see the gifts, calling & qualifications in me, and will stand behind us, and send us out with their blessing & prayers.

The ordination will be one Sunday night in July; we haven't worked out which one, yet. Another brother will be ordained at the same time with me. All are welcome! If you are interested, email me, and I'll send you the date & time, once we have it nailed down.

Lots of Changes

We feasted on some crawfish & shimp, Cajun style,

at the FIRE national conference in Shreveport.

We are been richly blessed by God, though we’ve been through a very trying & discouraging time. This past month we were able to attend FIRE’s National Conference in Shreveport, LA. The theme of the conference was Revival, and though pretty discouraged going in to it, I left refreshed & encouraged; the Word was particularly sweet!

We experienced another kind providence of God there in Shreveport. The last night of the conference, after most everyone had left, and we finally had our van packed—c. 11:00 pm—one brother pointed out that our tire was almost flat. Someone had a pump, so I pumped it up a little. Then we drove back to our hotel, and I parked it at Wal-mart next door, hoping they could help me in the morning if it was completely flat. I was disappointed to find out, in the morning, that they couldn’t fix my tire. I asked for a referral, and they mentioned a tire place about a mile or so away. My tire wasn’t too low, so I drove to the tire store. They did a very thorough patch, and then wouldn’t let me pay for it. God is so good to answer our prayers & help us in our need. We’ve seen many such gracious provisions & special guidance from God in our travels. Praise God!

We were praying that we might move to Suriname this September, but the Lord has delayed us a little. God has graciously provided much through his people, but we still have a long way to go. Thank you very much, for praying for us, and generously giving. The brother we will be joining in Suriname is home on furlough this August through April of next year. We can go when he returns. This is actually good because our new baby is due in August, whom we weren’t expecting when we originally set the September goal, and this way she’ll be a little older when we leave.

Another blessing is that World Team has changed our pre-field training program. The new trainingwill take half the time, and is only a fraction of the cost. We don’t have exact figures yet, but I expect our outgoing expenses to drop at least $10,000 (down from $63,600).

This has also been a challenging & discouraging time. My job hasn’t given me enough hours during the week, and, of course, I need my weekends off to visit churches. As you know, we don’t get any support until we move to Suriname; everything goes into an account for us until we leave. All giving now is held for our outgoing expenses. Therefore, I’m looking for a new job, and it has been difficult finding one which will allow me weekends off.

Also, we have to move. We’ve been renting from family, and don’t want to overstay our welcome. We’ll be here about a year longer, and so are looking for a new place. Please pray for God’s direction & provision in these things.  We are pressing forward, believing that God will provide all that we need to go to Suriname & serve him there. Please labor along with us, pray, give & tell others about this ministry. Thank you!

Single Mom Gives $3,000 Gift

Erin & friends in Minnesota.
 

We are amazed & humbled by the gift of a dear sister, a single mom, who recently sent $3,000 to help us get to Suriname. It reminds me of the story of the widow's mite (Mark 12.41-44). Jesus watched as many rich people gave great sums at the temple. Then a widow gave two small copper coins, which was all she had to live on, and Jesus commended her, saying: "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing...For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty." What faith this widow demonstrated, freely giving all she had despite her own desperate needs, and trusting that God would provide for her, even if she gave all she had away. This kind of faith sees the unseen God, and rests in his love & care & promises. She knew that God would provide her needs, and gladly gave out of love for God & her neighbor. Jesus saw what she did, and God always sees what we do of faith-born love toward him. We can be sure that this widow did not lose her reward from the faithful God.

When we serve God out of a genuine faith in Christ & love toward God, God promises to reward us (Hebrews 11.6; Mark 9.41; Luke 6.35). God graciously will provide our needs in this life, though such blessings will be mingled with sorrow & suffering (Mark 10.29,30), but our real inheritance & reward comes when Christ returns (Matthew 25.31-40).

We praise God for this sister, and for all who are supporting us in prayer & financially. We share these things with you, so that you will know how God is using you in this ministry, and thus be able to rejoice & worship God together with us. We look forward to the day when we can report how God has opened hearts in Suriname, and when he has raised up elders to lead the new churches.

Taste & Send

We are so thankful for the support of our church, Rockport Baptist Church in Arnold, MO (www.RockportBaptist.org). One way in which they are helping, is that the young people are working hard to bake & sell cookies for an organization they formed themselves, called "Taste & Send" (look for them on Facebook). They bake some of the most delicious cookies we've ever tasted, like Oreo Cookie Balls & Gooey Butter Cookies. They volunteer their time, and the proceeds go to help send missionaries from our church. They have already raised $1,000 to help us. Wow! That's a lot of dough. (Pun intended. Sorry.)

If you would like to help us get to Suriname in September, this is one idea of how you can help. You don't have to be a preacher, linguist or doctor to serve in missions. You don't even have to be an adult. Just use the gifts God has given you to help make Him known among all nations. Whatever you do out of love for Christ, even as small as giving a cup of cold water (Matthew 10.40-42), is seen by the Lord, and will be rewarded when He returns!

Added Contacts

Gwynnie's first fish!



"Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up!" (Psalm 68.19) We have so much for which to thank the Lord. "[He] crowns [us] with steadfast love & mercy." (Psa 103.4)

1) The Lord has greatly increased our contacts, and we have planned several trips in the next month which will allow us to meet many more new people.
2) We've presented at some churches, and received some gifts from them.
3) Just yesterday, I met a pastor in Illinois. Now he wants us to come to his church. He also promised to arrange for us to meet half a dozen other pastors he knows. Praise the Lord!
4) I meet with another pastor close by on Friday.
5) At a local homeschool conference, we were purchasing curriculum for 4 years (the length of our first term in Suriname). The company from which we get math books gave us 50% off for being missionaries. That saved us substancially!
6) The homeschool conference was also a great encouragement to us. And we learned, in the seminars, some very practical helps for overcoming the particular reading difficulties we face with one of our kids.
7) We're learning some management skills to help us make better use of our time, arrange more of a routine for the kids, and get more accomplished. We need these skills both now, and when we are in Suriname.

Immediate Prayer Needs: Please thank the Lord with us for his manifold blessings upon us. Pray for our upcoming trips, that the Lord would provide all we need to go to Suriname, and that He would lead us to meet many more believers & tell them about the ministry.

The Lord's Kindness

Jon, Lisa & Rachel with us in Alabama.

God has so richly blessed us in our travels. I was given the opportunity, in Alabama, to preach & present the work in Suriname. The people there are old friends, but Bro. Jon & his family are new friends. They were very gracious, and received us warmly. They have been praying for us for some time, and were very excited after hearing the specifics of the work ahead of us. Jon & his family served for several years in Alaska, and encouraged us. When I preached on Titus 3, he was greatly affirmed in the work he has done.

We also met with the elders of another church there. They were very encouraging to us, and very interested in the ministry. They will be considering how they might help.

Hanna & Parker.

Gwynnie had a hard time at first, but quickly got the hang of the trampoline.

Look out, Bad Guys!

The kids had a wonderful time playing with our friends, and their children, Hanna & Jonathan. Chad & Jyoti have greatly helped us in many ways, including watching our kids for a whole week last September--no easy task. God is so good to give us such loving friends!

Then we traveled to Mississippi, and were warmly received at the prayer meeting for revival. Afterward, we traveled home, washed clothes, repacked them, and left for Kirksville, MO.

On long trips like these, Erin works hard to teach our kids in the car. This is a challenge, but we're able to get our school hours in for the week. Sometimes we even get to stop for something special. For example, on our way home from Mississippi, we stopped at an archaeological museum in Arkansas, where a local doctor/amateur archaeologist discovered an old Native American settlement right there on his farm.

We were greatly blessed by the conference in Kirksville. Bro. Ryan Fullerton of Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, KY spoke on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, including teaching on singleness, marriage & parenting. It was very helpful; I highly recommend the messages. You can hear them at www.lakeroadchapel.org. It was also our privilege to make some new friends, and tell people about the ministry in Suriname.

Finally, we came home for the Midwest Founders' Conference in St. Peters. Sis. Nancy was kind enough to watch our children for two days. Words cannot express how warmly they received us! They graciously gave us some time to address the whole group, and tell them about the ministry in Suriname. There was much interest, and we made many new contacts. Praise the Lord!

Now, we get a little breather before hitting the road again.

Immediate Prayer Needs: Pray that God would grant us more opportunities to speak to pastors & churches, so that we could fill our schedules for March, April & May.

Pray that God would lay it on the hearts of his people to partner with us, and support this ministry. And pray that he would provide so that we can move this September.

Pray that God would use us to be a blessing & encouragement to his people as we travel around. And for safe travel & his upholding our vehicle.

Pray for God's continued guidance, grace & spiritual growth as we prepare to go.

Pray for the people in Suriname, and for those already serving there.

Thank you so much! Joy to you from Christ, as you joyfully serve Christ.

6-Year Old Gives $3 Gift

The kids bury Elaina in corn at a local corn maze.

We are rejoicing in God’s goodness in how he moved our friend Elaina to freely give $3 of her own money to help us get to Suriname. It may seem like a small gift, but it is very large considering who gave it, and that she freely chose to give it.

This reminds me of the simple gift of a child many years ago. Jesus used the five barley loaves & two little fish of a boy (John 6) to do the impossible. He multiplied the modest meal so that it fed 5,000 men & their families--perhaps a total of 20,000 or more people--and still, they gathered up 12 baskets full of bread fragments. We see a small measure of God’s abundant grace in how everyone had his fill, and still there was so much left over. Likewise, God is able to multiply small gifts, such as Elaina’s, to accomplish his purposes. Our hope is in the all-gracious, all-rich God! And we are delighted to receive such small gifts.



Mucho Traveling...

We were blessed this past week to be with Erin's brother & his wife. Their adoption of baby Sammy was finalized, "and there was much rejoicing"! Sammy is our kids' first cousin. We prayed for a long time that God would provide a child for them, and he graciously gave them Sammy. ("Samuel" means "asked of God"; see the story of Samuel the prophet in the Bible: 1Samuel 1.) They signed up to adopt, and before they had everything ready, they found out that Sammy would be born in a few weeks, and his mother wanted them to have him. God is so kind to grant this little boy. I really appreciated the adoption hearing. It was not conducted as a cold, formal legal matter, but in a very warm & joyful manner, fitting the occasion.

This past weekend, we also had the privilege to meet with pastors from two different churches. They were very interested in the ministry, and promised to bring it before their respective churches. So there may be the opportunity to present the ministry in Suriname to the churches in the future. Please pray that the Lord would grant this.

This is a very busy month for traveling, and we are trying to fill our schedule for the upcoming months, so we can stay busy, and get to Suriname by September. Please pray that the Lord would provide more opportunities for us to present & tell people about Suriname. Watch this blog for immediate prayer needs.

Immediate Prayer Needs: This weekend we are traveling to Alabama, presenting at one church, and meeting the pastors of another church. I will be preaching part of the time, also. Please pray that God would make us a blessing to the people, and encouragement in missions. Pray that God would lay it on the hearts of his people to partner with us for the glory of God, and the good of the people of Suriname. Coming back from Alabama, we will stop in the Memphis area for a special gathering to pray for revival. Please pray for our safe travel, also.

More to come...