Monday, November 30, 2009

Church added to the schedule!

We just added another church to our schedule, we will be speaking at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Sunday Dec. 6th in the morning service. Service starts at 9:30 a.m. I will be sharing with the congregation around 10:00 a.m. This is my home church so I will be able to share with my own church family as a whole. No other churches yet, still looking for other churches to allow us to come and share. Please continue to pray as things progress.

Gary Phillips

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Prayer Requests

I thought that I would share a couple of prayer requests with those of you who are taking the time to read our blog. I know that a few people are reading this and I hope you are keeping us in your prayers. We could really use some more churches to allow us to visit and share with their congregation about our trip. We also need to ship our barrel by next Wednesday, it will cost $250.00 to ship but we need to fill it with food which will cost around $800.00. We have the money to ship the barrel but we don't have enough to fill it. We are supposed to ship as much food up front as we can so that we have less to buy while we are in Africa. Pray that God will intervene in the next week and supply the food or the money to purchase it. These are our two biggest requests at this time, I could fill this blog with other things to pray about but for now these are the ones that are on my mind.

Here is a list of churhes that I have contacted and have tried to arrange an opportunity to share with. If your church is not listed please let me know and I will contact them. I have found that it is easier to get into a church if I have someone who is a member of that church asking for me. I will still personally contact the church but if someone in the congregation make the request on my behalf it helps immensely in getting me in the door. So I would ask if you see your church listed and I am not scheduled to speak, please contact your church and ask them to allow me in to share. We are not looking to fill the pulpit, just to have about 15 minutes to share with the congregation during a service.

APEX Church any region (I must be invited to speak to a house church) none scheduled yet.
Fairhaven Church (was told no)
Beavercreek Christian Church
Dayton Avenue Baptist
Grace Baptist Church Cedarville
First Church of Christ (Ledbetter Rd. Xenia)
Crosspoint Vineyard Church
Aley United Methodist Church
AHOP Church
Kirkmont Presbyterian Church
Xenia Grace Chapel
Shawnee Hills Baptist Church
First Church of the Nazarene (Xenia) I have not contacted this church yet!
Cornerstone Bible Church (Xenia)
Patterson Park Church
Northside Christian Church
Arrowbrook Baptist Church (scheduled Dec 20th @ 6:00 p.m.)
Freedom Baptist Temple
Bible Baptist Church (Xenia)
Stillwater United Methodist Church (Frederick Pike)
Stillwater United Methodist Church (Miller Lane)
Calvary Baptist Church (Xenia)
Kettering Church
New Song Fellowship
Oakcreek Worship Center (Scheduled Dec. 2nd @ 7:00 p.m.)



Thanks again for reading and praying, hope you all have a great thanksgiving.

Gary Phillips

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Giving God Control

Church was very good today, many moving testimonies and many great stories of how God is at work in our church and the lives of those affected through our church. One story shared was of a young couples plans for the past 7 years to adopt. They had been preparing and saving for this day for 7 years and the day finally came for them to meet with the agency to find out what their options were. When asked how much money they were able to put into the adoption they repeated the amount that they had promised a year previous. They were then told that this was no longer a good amount of money and they would have to be able to come up with at least another $5000.00 but more like $10,000.00. Already stretched to their limit they were devastated. They had poured themselves into this for the past 7 years and now it seemed that God was closing the door. They began to question if God had wanted this at all or if it was just what they wanted. Finally they told God that they were o.k. with whatever He decided and that if He wanted them to wait they would wait but if it was to happen now, God would have to prove Himself sufficient and make something big happen. Needless to say God proved himself BIG within a few hours after this prayer they were connected with a family who was looking for someone to adopt their daughters baby privately. God had this planned for them even though they were not able to see it. Their human plans led them to an adoption agency just to be let down, so that God could show Himself mighty and able at the last minute.

This story resonates with me as I try and determine what it is that God wants for me and my family as far as missions go. I have never tried to adopt so I have never had this exact experience but being called to full time missions work and waiting on God to show me when and where has been a challenge. I have tried to make decisions and take steps that will keep me headed in this direction, most of the time the doors are closed at some point. It is when I finally give up and say o.k. God I am at a lose here what is it You want me to do or where do you want me to go. Sometimes like the couple who was trying to adopt I even get to the point where I think that maybe this is not what God wants but just what I want. I know how they were feeling but God has proven Himself to me over and over and every time I doubt, He comes through and shows me that He still has plans for me. I am not sure exactly what, when or where or if He will ever have me in full time missions work but I do know and believe with all my heart that He wants my family and I to go to Africa. The only thing that I am not sure about at this time is the timing of the trip. We are praying for Jan 29th to depart for Africa as this is when the missionaries in Ghana would like for us to come. The finances however have not been arriving like we had hoped they would (at least not yet) and so I am beginning to wonder if we will get to go when we are planning. I am at the point in this process that I have turned it over to God and said "O.K. God whenever you want us to go we will go, You know about the timing of this trip even though I do not and I am trusting You to work it out." Now the hard part for me is to do just what I have said and wait and trust God to prove Himself, if He wants us to go Jan 29th then He will have to move mightily to bring the funds in. It will be an interesting 10 weeks if He does.

Gary Phillips

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Ouch!!

Well today was the day we started our vaccinations, all of us are sitting around the house with sore arms. We went in to have 1 shot each done and ended up with getting almost all of them today. The girls each had 4 shots, Kelly had 6 shots and I had the most at 7 shots. I am glad that I had to have the most, I don't think the little ones could have handled 7. They didn't want the 4 that they got. Fortunately for the the girls it is over for a while. Each of them needs one more shot in 6 months, we will likely be in Africa by then. I on the other hand have to have 2 more shots, 1 in 1 month and 1 in 6 months, so I will need to go back in a month and get another shot. Yeah!!

There have been a couple of churches that have scheduled us in to speak about our trip. On Dec. 2nd we will be visiting Oakcreek Worship Center in Kettering at 7:00 p.m. to share with their congregation about our ministry. On Dec. 13th we will be visiting Arrowbrook Baptist Church in Xenia at 6:00 p.m. to share with their congregation.

That is about all of the big developments so far, I will keep you informed as things happen.

Thanks for praying for us, please continue to pray.

Gary Phillips

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Were Getting There, Still Many Questions!

Well, it is looking like we are going to be leaving around the same time as we had originally planned. We will be spending about 3 months in Kodzobi, Ghana and then heading to Mango, Togo and working on the construction on the new hospital until the end of June. A that time we may be heading to Adeta, Togo (or we could just spend the entire time in Mango). Where we will work on the existing hospital before heading back to Ghana. We will try to plan it so that our last 7 to 10 days are spent in Ghana with the Butler's before we have to return home. If anything, we may have to push our departure date back 2 or 3 weeks so that we can make all the timing work out. So, we look to be leaving some time between Jan 29th and Feb 18th and arriving back home some time between July 29 and August 18. None of this is definite yet, just as soon as I know definite information, you can be sure that I will get it posted on here so that you can read about it.

As for the finances, I am still relying on God to provide the necessary finances to get us there. I believe that He has asked us to go and that He has a plan for getting us the needed finances. In the meantime, I am contacting Churches to see if we can go and share our ministry with them. I have contacted many and am waiting to hear back from many. I currently have 3 who would like us to come and share with them but am waiting for them to give us a date to come. I have also contacted Christian business owners and have shared with them about our ministry. All those I have met with have agreed to help us but have not given us a $ amount. Individuals who have heard about our trip have also said that they would like to help us. We received our first check tonight from an individual, two others have told us they plan to support us. God is already starting to show Himself faithful, this is perfect timing as we need to start our vaccines this week. Many have come forth with advice or concerns and this has proven to be very helpful as I have never tried to do anything like this before and am learning much.

Thanks for praying but please don't stop. There are many unanswered questions and much money still needs to be committed before we can purchase visas, get our vaccines and ship a barrel of tools and food over. All of which need to happen in the very near future (3 to 4 weeks) and will cost approximately $3500.00. As soon as that is all done it will be getting close to time to purchase our airline tickets, approximately $9000.00. I can't wait to see how God is going to provide for these needs.

Gary Phillips

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Dancing with God

I am not sure who the author of the following verse is but I really like it and I thought I would share it with those of you who are reading this blog.

When I meditate on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps a nudge to the back
or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G", I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".
"God", "u" and "i" dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
and mercies are upon you this day and everyday.
May you abide in God, as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.

I hope you Dance!

This verse is a great reminder to me that I need to be aware of God when He is nudging me to do something. I have been guilty of overlooking His nudges or gentle tugs He often gives me. I am so thankful that God is gracious as I have surely stepped on His toes when trying to lead instead of being led. Kelly and I are both learning to trust God to lead us in amazing ways as a result of this journey that He has asked us to take. I hope that I can learn to be led rather than always trying to lead.

Gary Phillips

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Latest

Tonight I had a meeting with my church missions committee to fill them in on the details of our trip, more specifically the financial details. We are looking at some significant financial needs in the next 2 to 4 weeks. We need to ship a barrel of tools and some food items over to Africa in 2 weeks (approx. $800-$1000), we need to start our vaccinations on Tuesday (approx. $1200-$1700 total) and we need to apply for our visas in about 4 weeks ($1600). These items total approx. $3600.00-$4300.00 and all of these things will need to be paid for within the next 4 weeks. These items in no way fit into our family budget and we have not received any support as of today. I am sure that God will supply the money when we need it and no sooner, this is going to be an exciting time as we wait on God and watch how he supplies for our needs. In our simple human ways we are much different than God. When God asks us to do something like going to Africa we make budgets and lay out plans as to how we think things should work out, all the while God has a plan of His own. So when things don't work out the way we planned it feels like maybe God isn't really listening to us. In reality it is us who are not paying attention to Him and His plan. I say this to explain that as a responsible Christian I have done my best to lay out a budget and make plans for this trip just so that I can sit back and watch God's plan unfold. I hope that I am able to accept his plan with humbleness and without worry and frustration, I am after all human. I believe that God has already put a burden on the hearts of those who are going to help us financially on this trip. They may not know how it is that God wants them to help or who it is that they need to help, but I believe that God will direct me to these divine appointments and when I share with them about our ministry they will know and they will be ready to help us. If you are reading this would you please pray for me that I will respond properly when God prompts me to share with someone even if the person is a complete stranger. Also pray as I have been asked to share my ministry with the Christian Business Men's association this week, that I will allow the Holy Spirit guide me when I speak to them.

Wondering how God will move next,

Gary Phillips

Welcome to our blog.

This blog is an attempt to chronicle the things that God is doing for us and through us both here at home and while we are in Africa. We will be updating this blog weekly while we are home, Africa will be a different story. Due to unreliable electric and Internet we are not sure how often we will be able to but we plan to update daily if we are able.

If you would like to support us financially for this trip to Africa you can send checks to us through our church. Make Checks payable to Emmanuel Baptist Church with a note for West Africa Missions Outreach. Mailing address is 1120 S. Detroit St. Xenia, Ohio 45385 Phone is 937-372-5887.