Greetings,

30,000 Living Waters came to us on July 30. We sent 20,232 to Australia and took 11,600 to the Midwest with our Dodge Dually Diesel (Yank Tank in Australian). We delivered them all around the countryside and proclaimed the Lord’s message of life at:

GES Regional Conference Omaha, NE: Aug 1–2,

Believers’ Bible Church: Omaha, NE: Aug 3,

Cresco (IA) Community Chapel: Aug 7 (visited Pastor Mike Simiele briefly),

Bible class at Tabernacle Baptist Church, George, IA, Aug 8,

Believers’ Bible Church: Omaha, NE: Aug 10,

Jansen (NE) Bible Church: Aug 10,

Rocky Mountain Bible College & Seminary (NTI course) : Aug 11–22,

Northeast Bible Chapel in Colorado Springs: Aug 17,

Brown Bag lunch with chaplains of the Denver Rescue Mission.

We returned with only a handful of Living Waters. Believers everywhere we went welcomed John’s Gospel as a God-given book for sharing the message of life. It is an encouragement to see the booklets going out into the world and to hear reports of God’s faithfulness. His Word does not return void without accomplishing what He sent it to do.

It is great to be back at Grace Chapel! Some puzzle-pieces in John’s Gospel have come together in John 9 and 10. George, our son, has posted those messages on this website. A friend in Perth would say, “Have a listen.”

We will soon travel to the Pacific Northwest for ministry and to visit family. This is a tentative itinerary. A few more speaking opportunities are still being worked out.

Emmanuel Baptist Church, Olympia, WA:

Lakeland Bible Church, Auburn, WA: Oct 12 - A.M.,

Spokane (WA) Bible Church fall conference: Oct 13–15,

Endicott, WA Bible class: Oct. 16 – P.M.,

Alberton (Montana) Community Church: Oct 19 - A.M.,

(possible evening service further west on Oct. 19: details to follow)

(possible evening service in central Oregon: Oct. 22: details to follow).

Two short trips will precede Christmas-time with family in Oregon. They are:

1. Retreat with chaplains of Denver (CO) Rescue Mission: Nov. 5–6.

2a. Victor Street Bible Chapel, Dallas, TX: Dec. 7 – A.M.,

2b. Pre-trib Conference, Dallas, TX: Dec. 8–10.

We proclaim the message of life wherever we go. Our lost and dying world needs to know that Jesus died and rose to guarantee life to believers. We should emphasize what Jesus says in John more than our own (uninspired) words. To that end, we make an abundance of Living Waters available as we travel In keeping with the Living Water imagery, what we do is to prime the pump. For staying supplied with Living Waters, we encourage staying supplied via Absolutely Free, Inc., in Glide, OR.

John

Fountain Ministries to distribute Gospels of John in Australia. Grace Chapel has just shipped over 20,000 Gospels of John. Below are pictures of both crates that have been shipped. The first was shipped in January, and the second is the most recent shipment.

John is currently on his trip throughout the midwest. The schedule is listed below.

July 5th - The ministry of Message of Life is a team effort with many unsung heroes.

Our two sons, George and Joseph, as well as Clay Harrill and Jack Billelo monitor digital audio recording of teaching at Grace Chapel.

Once the digital master has been produced, my wife, Diane, patiently edits out pauses, extraneous noises, etc. At this point, George (also the webmaster) does further editing and posts it on the website (usually within three days after the class occurs).

Both Steve Mahoney and John work on John’s PowerPoints. Even those not attending Grace Chapel often see the slide (with their ears). In his messages, John seeks to create a verbal image of visual aids.

After church, people sometimes seek clarification or may raise questions. This can and does assist John in presenting the text in subsequent sermons.

It does cost money to make messages available on the Message of Life website. It is not underwritten by Grace Chapel. MoL receives freewill financial support. The main thrust of Message of Life is to give out the life-giving Word of God, so we offer teaching without charge. The same God whose Word does not return void without accomplishing what He pleases (Isaiah 55:11) is the God who sends rain and snow to earth that it may bring forth to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater (Isaiah 55:10). We do thank those that support this ministry financially and all who pray for us. Yes, the Lord has brought together quite a team. Some are quite visible; others are in the background, but each contributes to the team. For that, we are thankful.

July 4th - Getting John’s Gospel into people’s hands is a high priority for our ministry. John is the one book of the Bible dedicated to presenting the message of life to unbelievers. A Godsend for our ministry has been the fact that Absolutely Free, Inc., Glide, OR, publishes the Living Water: The Gospel of John, a booklet that we recommend highly.

Our work in Australia since last November may illustrate our passion for reaching out with John’s Gospel. Diane and I brought about 1400 Living Water booklets to Perth in November. While there, plans were hatched for returning in six months. Meanwhile, our shipment of 9000 LWs arrived in March, just as they were running out. In May, Steve Mahoney (of Grace Chapel) and I brought 1200 more LWs. The focus of the more recent trip was to present the Gospel of John evangelistically at three conferences and to offer practical tips on using the Living Water for evangelism. A highlight was the conference at Looma, an Aboriginal community in the northern part of Western Australia. We showed the Gospel of John film and accompanied by teaching sessions. The context of an entire book unfolds the message of life. The power was not in what a couple of white blokes from America might say, but in what God says in John’s Gospel: Jesus Christ guarantees everlasting life to those who believe His promise of life.. Both ordinary folks and ministers from various churches became clear on this issue.

The exciting thing now is to see how our Aussie friends at Fountain Ministries (www.fountain.org.au) are distributing Gospels of John down under. Of the more than 11,000 Living Water booklets that they received from us since November 2007, they have about 3,000 left. We are in the process of shipping almost 16,000 more.

Our ministry resembles that of the woman at the well (John 4). She invited people of her village to see whether Jesus is the Christ (John 4:28–29). They came and gave Him a hearing. Many believed. Some thanked the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said [when you met us in town], since we’ve heard Him ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world, the Christ” (John 4:42). Like the woman, we invite people to come and meet the Savior—by investigating John’s Gospel.

We acquaint believers and unbelievers alike with the Living Water. Unbelievers can learn that the cross took away sin’s death sentence and that Jesus guarantees everlasting life to believers. Believers can learn to share John’s Gospel with unbelievers.

Thus, Diane and I will carry at least 10,000 Living Water booklets on our August trip to the Midwest. Arrangements for speaking are as follows:

GES Regional Conference Omaha, Aug 1–2

Believers’ Bible Church: Omaha, NE, Aug 3 - A.M.

Bible classes Roger Lamfers’ home, George, IA, Aug 3–4

To be finalized, Aug 10 - A.M.

Jansen (Nebraska) Bible Church, Aug 10 - P.M.

Rocky Mountain Bible College & Seminary  (NTI course), Aug 11–22

Northeast Bible Chapel in Colorado Springs, Aug 17 - A.M. + P.M.

We might travel to the Pacific northwest in September, but have scheduled a trip there in October. Again, we will have a stock of Living Waters for distribution.

Lakeland Bible Church, Auburn, WA, Oct 12 - A.M.

Spokane (WA) Bible Church fall conference, Oct 13–15

Alberton (Montana) Community Church, Oct 19 - A.M. (Please check back to see any additions to the schedule)