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Wayne S. Murphey

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He Came Clifford Wilson
Selected Changed on Christmas Eve
Readers Letters
Doug Goins What God Can Use
Bro. Wayne Editorials
Ministers Forign Mission Reports

Bringing Chrisitianity to the World!

He Came

A tiny babe in mother's arms

Was snuggled to her breast,

Nobody thought or even cared

If there was room to rest.

There was no place in public inn

Its rooms were long since filled,

But there's the sheepfold near at hand

'Twould shield them from the chill.

So babe and mother settled there,

A manger for a bed,

The world passed by in busy throng

Not noticing the shed.

For who would question this tiny child

Had come the King of Peace,

Or that He'd come our souls to save

And bring from sin release?

Or who would think that every heart

Could know His love sublime,

Or that He cared for every man

With love that was Divine?

`Tis hard to see in babe at hand

The man that's soon to be,

And what might be His life and work

And how it would touch me.

But this babe came the world to save

No one would be ignored,

He'd pay a price that reached us all

For souls that He adored.

To purge our sins He had to die

For sin exacts a toll,

No mortal price would meet the need

So He would fill the role.

From tiny babe to full-grown man

He dwelt here where we dwell,

And taught us all along the way

The truth He had to tell.

He spake to us of heavenly land

Where He would go to stay,

And told us if we'd follow Him

He'd bring us there someday.

Let's set our hearts with purpose true

And walk the path He trod,

We'll let Him live and reign in us

And bring us home to God.

Changed on Christmas Eve

A young English woman married a man in government service. Her husband was a lighthearted young man who smoked, drank and gambled. As the years went by, he was promoted in service and had large responsibilities, but he became a hardened gambler and drinker.

As her husband went deeper into sin, she, through anxiety on his account, became deeply anxious about her soul, and as a lost, guilty sinner cast herself and all her burdens on the Saviour and became a new creature in Christ, with one burdened desire-to bring her husband to Christ. For 13 years she prayed with never-failing faith that the Lord would convert him. Every Sunday she would ask him to accompany her to services, and he as often refused. He would sometimes say that if she would go with him to some worldly place that he would go to church with her 40 times. Her invariable reply was, "As much as I long to have you with me, I could not bring reproach on my Saviour by going where He could not be."

On the Sunday before Christmas she repeated her invitation, when he laughingly said, "You have not converted me yet, old woman." She immediately threw her arms around his neck, and said, "No, and I never can; but the Lord Jesus Christ can convert you, George." From that time he became very uneasy, but more determined to resist his wife's entreaties.

On Christmas Eve he went with some of his companions to a dinner. After the dinner, he went home to take his usual Christmas gifts to his wife and children. When he was distributing them he found that for the first time since he was married he had forgotten a gift for his wife. He was utterly at a loss to account for this and said to her, "I've never forgotten you before; now you may ask what you like, and I will give it to you." She quietly and earnestly said, "Come with me to the meeting tonight-that will be my gift."

"Oh, no," he said, "I cannot do that; ask for some gift." But she was firm and reminded him of his promise. When the time came for his wife to go to the meeting, she waited for him.

The children asked, "Do you think Father will go with us?"

"Yes," she said, "your father never broke a promise to me." He had returned, and overhearing this remark, began to feel very uneasy. When they started he went with them, to the great joy of his wife. At the church door he turned and left them, intending to go back to his companions and cards, but something compelled him to return to his home.

There were pictures hanging on the walls, and his eyes fell on a representation of Christ on the cross. It attracted him, and smote him to the heart. The words which his devoted wife had so often read in his hearing came afresh to his memory: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; . . . But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isa. 53:3, 5. The past, with a wasted life, and the future with an awful eternity, rolled in like billows over his soul. Here in this One who was despised, rejected, wounded and bruised, appeared the only hope of true peace now, and true joy hereafter.

He looked and looked, until it seemed to him as if it were Christ Himself hanging on the cross, and He said to him, "I died for you."

"For me, Lord ?" the wondering man replied, and then and there, in agony of soul, he called on the Saviour to save him and to put away from him forever the taste for liquor and the desire for all sin. Like "the chief of sinners" he "fell to the earth" (Acts 9:4), and upon his knees in his own house, with no one near but God, he acknowledged his "manifold transgressions and mighty sins" (Amos 5:12), and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. He believed on Him, "Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification" (Rom 4:25), and rose from his knees a free man, with Christ as his Saviour and his mighty Deliverer.

That very night he wrote checks paying off all his gambling debts and ceased playing cards. He never tasted liquor again, and he who had smoked 20 cigars a day never smoked another. His deliverance was complete. The gospel demonstrated itself in his life.

On that memorable Christmas Eve, the occasion of his new birth, he went to his old companions and told them what the Lord Jesus had done for him. They thought he was joking and laughed at him. They tempted him to their utmost to drink with them, and when he was firm, they emptied their glasses over him and he walked out wet with the liquor. Then they followed him home with offensive songs and jeers.

Surely if God can save a drinking, swearing, smoking, gambling sinner of the deepest dye, and make him a "new creature" in Christ, He can save anyone, even you. Burdened, weary, sin-sick soul, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.'' (John 1:29.) Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and obtain eternal life. God is able to save the worst sinner, and He is both able and willing to save you. -Selected

Letters

KS-Dear saints of God: I surely thank God for salvation and for His keeping grace to help me endure the trials of old age.

The Lord has blessed me to reach my 90th birthday on October 21st. I appreciated all the cards, letters, phone calls and personal visits during that time. On Sunday afternoon my children had a special time of celebration for me. They recorded the memories that everyone told on tape, so it continues to be a blessing.

God has blessed me with reasonable health, but numbness in my fingers hinders me a lot, especially since I am blind. I would appreciate your prayers concerning this.

My evenings are long and sometimes lonely, but I am so glad to have the Bible on tape to listen to. I am also thankful for the Faith and Victory on tape.

I was thinking about the goodness of God to me, that my parents accepted the truth years ago when I was young. Now I have a heritage in the Church of God and I want to pass it on to other generations.

Pray that my spiritual eyesight will be ever clear. Your brother in Christ, -Albert D. Eck

PA-Dear saints in Guthrie: We greet you from Pennsylvania. We pray for the Lord's blessing on the efforts for His kingdom that you put forth.

We were surely encouraged and challenged during our revival services in September, and wish to stay that way-to "keep swinging the bat" as Bro. Larry Abbott said, and to be able to let the minuses be turned into pluses as Sis. Mary Lawson expressed.

May God bless, -Sis. Barbara Campbell and the Duncannon congregation

KS-Dear Bro. Wayne and saints: Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I am still encouraged to serve God and follow Jesus all the way to glory.

About a dozen people whom I have known well have died since August, and it makes me sober about death, its finality and how quickly it can take us out. I want to be completely ready when death comes my way. I want to be close enough to God that when He is ready for me to leave this life I will welcome death as my passage to the wonderful home which I am looking forward to living in for eternity.

I appreciate life here and I am enjoying my journey to heaven, but I don't want to get so attached to earth that I draw back from the passage to my heavenly home.

I love God and the saints, and I am pressing on the upward way.

Christian love, -Shirley Knight

LA-Dear family of God: My heart thrills with the love and tender mercies of my heavenly Father. Psalm 68:5 is very special to me this morning. "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation."

May God continue to bless each of you with strength and courage....

Your sister in Christ, -Sis. Dorall Forbes

KS-Dear Bro. Murphey and saints: Greetings from the Kansas City area to everyone across the nation. I thank the Lord for salvation and His healing power.

This past summer at the Monark Springs camp meeting I asked the congregation to pray for me that my faith be increased in the area of divine healing. Within ten days I was in a battle with a serious eye problem. My left eye was bright red and swollen. The continuous throbbing left me with a headache and blurry vision in that eye. During the next eight weeks there was little relief.

On the first Sunday of November, a carload of saints from across the state came to minister to me. On Friday saints from another state came by. From that week forward, my condition progressively improved. Today I can thank the Lord for the complete healing of my eye. I thank the Lord for His kindness and mercy given unto me. I thank each of you for the many prayers, calls and cards.

Please remember me and my mother in prayer, that we be faithful. -Gertrude Lounds

KY-My name is Elizabeth Cooper. I have attended the Church of God for about eleven months. I remember feeling totally different when I got saved. It was like I was a new person.

The Lord has done many things for me. He has been there for me. He has answered many prayers of the saints, including our pastor, Sis Mary Hughes. She has been a very strong spiritual person for us. She teaches us everything that we need to know and she doesn't hold anything back. So I thank the Lord for a true leader to lead us in the way the Lord wants us to go.

The Lord has healed many of the sick in our congregation, including myself. I remember one time in particular when I had very sharp pains in my stomach. The pains were so severe that I could hardly move. We called several of the saints for prayer. One of the sisters had an agreement of prayer with me over the phone. I was instantly healed, and I thank the Lord for that. It goes to show that the Lord does hear and answer prayers. I praise the Lord for healing me.

If it wasn't for His mercies to me I might have still been lost. So I truly thank the Lord for saving and sanctifying me. I know that with God nothing is impossible. (Luke 1:37.) With the Lord by my side I mean to continue on until I reach my heavenly home.

Sincerely, -Sis. Elizabeth Cooper

MO-Dear Bro. Wayne and all the workers at the Print Shop. May God bless you for the work you do for Him. I received my November Faith and Victory paper and enjoyed it very much.

I want to thank all the saints for your prayers for me....

Christian love, -Sis. Mamie Butcher

IN-Dear ones at the Print Shop who are working so much to send out the truth to people all over the world: I do enjoy the truth, and I love to read your Faith and Victory paper.

I am up in years and I am so glad that many years ago the Lord saved me. I am going to trust in His truth as long as I am in this world.

I have had a broken hip and God has been good to help me. He is my help. May God bless one and all of you is my prayer. -Sis. Mary Rogers

CA-Bro. Wayne: I once again want to thank each and every one of the workers for all your labors which have blessed me.

I want to thank God for loving me. I desire your prayers for a daily increase of faith in every area of my life, not just for healing of the body, but of mind, soul and spirit. God is a big God and I praise Him.

I thank God for healing my back which I suffered with for years. My faith would not take in healing until about four years ago. I also thank God for healing some tumors I had until I went to Monark Springs, MO, camp meeting last year, and went up for prayer on fast day. I was sitting there looking at others going, and I thought, "Well, I have had this so long I will just endure it." Then the thought came to me, "Is anything too hard for God?" I went forward in faith believing, and from that day until today, Oct. 20, 1998, I have not had another problem.

My God is awesome. He is wonderful. He is big. -Sis. Dorothy Gray

FL-Dear Bro. and Sis. Murphey and saints: Greetings in Jesus' precious name-the name above every name. I would like to tell how the Lord is still looking after His little children.

Early this summer, as we were at home planning and preparing to attend a certain camp meeting, the Lord gave me a message for that meeting on "Joy." After I got there and observed the people, I did not want to bring the message. These people were so sweet and precious that I asked the Lord if He would give me another message to preach. I said, "Lord, these people are going to say that I am `laying them out' because they are a quiet type of people." So the Lord did give me another message, although He did not say when it was for. He kept showing me that He wanted me to preach the message on "Joy" the following morning. I kept begging the Lord to please change that. I finally told the Lord that that message was too hard for me to preach, "Lord, You know I am not a good preacher and this other message is much easier." After that He ceased to impress it on me. So then I thought it was okay to preach the second message, the easy one.

I went on to bed. At 8:30 a.m. I woke up and the Lord said, "Get up." I said, "Lord, You know that if I don't get enough sleep I get headaches, and I need more sleep." The Lord said, "That message that I gave you, go over it."

So I sat up, threw off the cover, lowered my legs to the floor, and where I had been lying was a big bed of the biggest fire ants I had ever seen. There were hundreds of them. I was so afraid. All I could do was to take my hands and start rubbing them over those ants. I looked, and they were all under my bed, all over my blanket, pillow, everywhere, and I was in this women's dormitory all by myself. There was no one to call on but Jesus. Some of the sisters had wanted to take me home with them the night before, but because of the weakness in my body, I preferred staying alone in the dorm. And I love to get alone with my Savior at times.

When I saw those ants all over my bed and this big, live mess under me, the scripture in Daniel 6:22 came to me, and my God, whom I serve, shut those ants' mouths. Saints, I believe that had I not obeyed God and gotten up then, those hundreds of ants would have bitten me, and I am allergic to ant bites. God is so good to me, I could write a book of His goodness.

I got dressed and went to service. I still thought it was okay for me to preach the second message the Lord had given me. But once I was in service, everything started pointing me to the message the Lord had given me in Miami for that place. When it was time for the Word, the Lord said to me, "If I don't help you with the easy one you can't preach it anyway." I said, "Yes, Lord," and got up without my notes for that message on "Joy," (I had left them in my room). I could only remember one scripture, I Chronicles 16:23. I told the saints in the congregation what had happened, and that they would have to help me preach the message. And what a good job they did! I could not have done it that well. I have to stop even now to weep when I think back on how we think sometimes that we can do something, and we really can't do anything good unless the Lord helps us. After the message everyone said that they were so blessed by it-that that was what they had needed.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. I would like to encourage all ministers to ask God for your messages and preach what He gives you, even if it is just John 3:16; maybe that is what the people need to hear. Only God knows, we don't.

Pray for me and thanks to all, especially to the one who encouraged me and helped me to go to this meeting. May the good Lord reward you for it. My Christian love to all of you. Keep me in your prayers for my memory.

Yours for souls, -Sis. Lydia Bennett

MO-Dear Bro. Wayne: I would like to share three things the Lord has done for me recently. First of all, I had an ingrown toenail on my right foot for six or seven years. It became so bad that I had almost lost all hope of it ever being normal again. A few months ago the Lord told me, "I can take care of this for you." I responded by saying, "I would sure appreciate it!" This problem has completely cleared up! I do not have to buy steel-toed shoes any longer!

The second miracle involved something a little more serious. I developed a hernia a few years ago. It did not pose too much trouble, usually, but I did desire healing for it. The Lord inspired my faith for healing just before this last Monark camp meeting and I was anointed and prayed for on fasting and healing day. I took my healing by faith, and left it in God's hands. About a week ago I began having severe pains with this affliction. Praise the Lord, I am healed now. The other day I lifted whole sheets of plywood by myself!

The third miracle is my spiritual healing. When I was being anointed at Monark for my physical need, the Lord reminded me of some "spiritual wounds" that had been afflicting me. He reminded me that He could heal these just as easily as a physical problem. Thank the Lord, He has taken care of these too!

Our God is a wonderful physician! He is a specialist.

Your Brother, -Clifford Cole

TN-Dear Bro. Wayne and co-workers: Greetings and best wishes to each of you for the good work at the Print Shop. I enjoy the Faith and Victory paper each month and look forward to receiving it. It gives me spiritual help and encouragement for my daily walk with the Lord.

I am nearing 90 years old, and thank the Lord for a good and long life. My dear and precious wife, Margaret, died this past January. She would have been 89 in March of this year. I hope to meet her again in the sweet by and by.... I am so thankful for good health, a good home and neighbors.

May the Lord bless and encourage each of you in the good and responsible work being continued there.

Christian love and best wishes, -Bro. Charles B. Williams

KS-Faith Publishing House: Thanks to all the workers for the time and effort put into the Faith and Victory paper and the Bible Lessons booklet. I do enjoy and appreciate the literature. The Word has been made plain and ever dearer to our hearts through some of the writing and explanations.

Ever since I was a toddler and can first remember, I knew God made the world and everything in it. I often marveled at the works of His hands. The last Bible Lesson quarterly has caused me to take those days of creation one by one and think more deeply about His wonderful works.

Knowing that God is able to put the moon, stars, sun and planets in their orbits, all moving precisely in split second timing, makes us to know that He is able and willing to keep us in the path of righteousness when we are willing to submit to His will and His ways.

Thanks again to each of you, and may a special blessing of His love and spirit be upon you. -Naomi Hiebert

What God Can Use

From our human perspective, God's choice of the province of Galilee seems suspect. Why didn't He choose Judea, the geographical heart of Israel, the center of His dealings with mankind down through the centuries? Judeans took great pride in their identity and place. Galilee, by contrast, lay to the north, in the hill country. It had been long disdained. Here is what the prophet Isaiah said about it back when the Galilee of the New Testament period encompassed the tribal territories of Zebulun and Naphtali: "In the former times God brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and Naphtali." Even in the Old Testament times, Galilee had been overrun by pagan religion. Now, at the time of Gabriel's appearance, Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, was tetrarch of Galilee. He had followed in his father's footsteps, introducing Roman idolatry and barbarism into the life of this province. Yet God chose Galilee over Judea.

God's choice of cities also seems illogical from our human point of view. He did not choose Jerusalem, the city of David, the heart of religious influence and life in the nation. Jesus called it the "city of the great King." (Matthew 5:35.) Jerusalem was the religious, political and social seat of power and authority in the life of Israel, but God chose Nazareth, situated some 70 miles northeast of Jerusalem, just above the main caravan route between Jerusalem and Tyre and Sidon, on the north coast of Israel.

Nazareth had a population of about 15,000. The city had many hostelries to serve the needs of the myriad travelers, Roman soldiers, pilgrims and merchants who journeyed back and forth on the caravan route. Under these influences, immorality and corruption had become commonplace in the life of the city. No wonder Nathaniel responded, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46), when he learned that Jesus came from that city. Yet God chose Nazareth, not Jerusalem, "the city of the great King."

God's choice of the specific site of Gabriel's annunciation of the coming Messiah can cause us to wonder also. He chose a stable, not the temple. The temple was God's very dwelling place, the designated holy place of worship and sacrifice, the place where God's glory and blessing had been known. But God chose a private stable, a humble dwelling in all likelihood, devoid of any institutional religious sanctions or influence. God passed over the temple and chose a simple Galilean stable.

We have been confronted in this passage with a God who takes insignificant places and graces them with His blessing, with His usefulness. Do you feel insignificant? Do you ever wonder if God can use you, if anybody even knows who you are? The truth of this revelation is, there are no insignificant people. God is looking for obedient, not important people. He can take your life and use it for His purpose.

Editorials

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30.

John the Baptist expressed this noble sentiment to his disciples in relation to Christ. The only power able to motivate such a desire to crucify self is that of love for the truth, and in particular Christ-for He is the truth. (John 14:6.)

Such deep-seated devotion should be a quality of every minister of the Gospel. The message which Christ brought to us is too valuable to taint with our humanity. If a preacher can be completely hidden behind the cross, Christ will be so well portrayed that the listeners will not necessarily be conscious of who the messenger is. Their minds and spirits will be captivated with the beauty of truth rather than the one who is speaking.

This is a challenge for all involved in ministry. Workers for the Lord should make a conscious effort to display Christ and not themselves.

It is possible to gain admiration from people when self is exhibited, and it is possible to gain a personal following, but these kinds of works will be burned up on the day of judgment. (I Cor. 3:13-15).

"He must increase, but I must decrease," is a good motto for daily living. The apostle Paul said, "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." I Cor. 9:27. Life is too short and much too precious to allow carnality to be at the forefront of our living. Yet there are many things to entice us in that direction.

Paul also exhorts us to strive to live in the fullness of Christ. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Eph. 4:13.

Our lives can be compared to an hourglass. Before we are saved, all of the grains of sand are in the top portion. But through justification and sanctification the grains begin to flow to the bottom and we start to acquire Christ's attributes. But when temptation presents itself, when we are hurt by something someone does or says, or if the base things of this world catch our eyes, the glass is tipped and the grains of sand flow in the opposite direction-Christ begins to decrease and self increases. We cannot flow in that direction long before the image of Christ is marred and we are unrecognizable as Christians, no matter how high our profession.

This is a careful walk in which we must keep focused on Christ. We must not allow anything to draw our attention away from Him. When we maintain a close relationship in which He has predominance in our lives, it brings satisfaction to our hearts and merit to our ministry.

May the Lord help us to apply to our daily lives the principle of, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

On the evening of November 1, after several days of rain in the Guthrie area, authorities from the Civil Service began warning the residents and businesses in the Cottonwood Creek flood plain that the creek would come out of its banks and crest several feet above flood stage. This is the same creek which flooded the Print Shop in years past, causing much damage to printing supplies and equipment.

Prayer was offered that God would hold back the water, and He did just that. The water did spill over the banks, but not in an amount to cause any damage. We thank the Lord for this merciful favor.

However, it did reinforce in our minds the urgency of the need to complete the new Print Shop building so we can leave this flood area.

In last month's editorials, we related that we had enough cash on hand to buy and install interior doors. We are happy to report that job is now complete except for a few remaining details.

The next project we are seeking God to provide for is ceiling tile and insulation. After that the remaining major expense will be for sealing the surface of our drive and parking in order to obtain an occupancy permit. These two major stages of construction require approximately $23,000. Beyond that, there are only small finishing projects which we are confident will be easily taken care of.

We are so grateful for those whose interest in this building project has made the current progress possible. Each stage of completion is cause for thanksgiving. Our earnest desire is to be able to get into the new Print Shop sometime next year. Please pray that we may soon see the fulfillment of this goal.

The Lord has blessed us to continue printing the gospel. At this time, Bible Readings for Bible Students, by S. L. Speck and H. M. Riggle, is on the press. The book has been out of stock for several years because printing plates and negatives for it were destroyed in the flood of 1995. Since then we have reset it on the computer and remade negatives and some of the plates. We hope Bible Readings will soon be ready for sale.

1999 wall calendars are in stock and ready for sale. The calendars feature a colorful nature scene with a Bible verse for each month, and make nice Christmas gifts. They measure 7 1/4" X 13 1/2" and are available for the cost of $3.00 each, which includes postage and handling.

Bound volumes of the 11 issues of the Faith and Victory paper for the year of 1998 will soon be in stock. The price is $2.00 per book, plus $1.50 for postage and handling.

Also for sale are the 1998 Beautiful Way yearbooks for Juniors (52 papers for the year) at $1.00 each, plus $1.00 for postage and handling. The limited supply of these books will be sold on a first-come basis.

Income tax time is right around the corner. If you have contributed to this work during 1998 and need a receipt for the purpose of deductions, please let us know.

The next issue of the Faith and Victory will carry the date of 1999, the year which closes this century. The thought causes solemn reflection on how close Christ's second coming may be. There is no time to be lethargic about our soul's condition or sharing the gospel with others.

Please keep this work and those who labor here in your prayers, that we may accomplish much for the Lord.

We wish each of you a blessed Christmas and the happiest of holiday seasons.

-Wayne Murphey

Forign Mission Reports

From the Philippines...

November 9, 1998-Dear Bro. and Sis. Murphey: Greetings to you in the lovely name of Jesus. May this find you happy and healthy, working for the Lord. May the saints in the Print Shop be happy helping one another working for the most precious thing-the eternal salvation of men.

With God's loving grace and mercy, we are also doing what we can to preach the gospel in this area of the world. I am sending you a photo of our baptism of five precious souls on Wednesday, November 4, 1998, in Gandos, Rijal, N.E. I am also sending a photo of the little group with some pastors in front of the little house where they meet for worship. They are so happy that they have found true salvation. We hope for more to be baptized later this month.

When I was preparing to go to attend the baptismal service in Gandos on Wednesday morning, my son-in-law arrived from the farm. He told me that my cow was lost. When I arrived home in the afternoon, I immediately went to the farm and they said that my cow was already butchered by thieves. Only the head and skin was found along the riverside. The cow has a little calf-two months old. We are feeding her with milk, thinking that she may survive.

The economic condition is very bad with our new leaders, and wickedness is now very rampant. There is economic sabotage, drug addiction, kidnapping for ransom, and the Muslim and Communist rebels are becoming strong. It seems the government soldiers cannot do anything to stop the crime.

There is hardship of living conditions because the plants and crops have been destroyed by strong typhoons and floods. Surely these are the signs of the end of time.

There is danger everywhere, but these will not hinder us to go to preach the gospel and help precious souls to be saved. We are very much encouraged and our joy is beyond measure to see sinners repenting of their sins and living a new life with the Lord. It is more than all the wealth in the world to bring precious souls to the Lord.

Greetings to all the saints in the U.S.A. Please give them our heartfelt thanks for their kind cooperation to support the mission work in the Philippines. May the loving Lord reward them so richly.

Your brother in Christ, -Matias S. Tangunan

From Nigeria...

August 31, 1998-Dear Bro. Wayne Murphey and saints everywhere: Greetings in the all-prevailing power of the Lord Jesus-our Captain who has never lost a battle. We hold His authority to put foes to flight in His might. "Behold, I give unto you power...." Luke 10:19. He is unchanging to the end. "For I am the Lord, I change not." Malachi 3:6. Praise Him forever.

We are going higher, yes higher, steadily on the way to the glory world, with hope as sure as death of seeing Him face to face in a short while. His love for us is bringing us nearer to glory. He is not far away in the sky.

We have cause to be thankful in our heart for our achievement in the field of evangelism. Through the labors of the young people in the Kwale congregation, another congregation has been added to the existing ones. This new congregation at Okolori was officially declared open by this writer on June 21, 1998. Saints at Kwale and Umuachi-Afor came in a large number to Okolori to hail the birth of the new congregation with an exceedingly great joy. Okolori is predominantly a village of idol worshippers. The Church of God is the first Christian movement to establish a church in this village of over three thousand inhabitants. The community is educationally enlightened, but yet in the gross darkness of heathenism. Ministers are sent in turns from Kwale to Okolori at a high cost of transportation every Sunday to share spiritual food to the new converts. Their number is most encouraging and steadily on the increase. Worship here is held in the classroom of a Primary School allowed us by the community and the headmaster. The headmaster is recognizing the Lordship of Jesus and has turned his face thitherward to Zion....

Faithfully yours in Him, -Titus U. E. Enu

From India...

October 20, 1998-Dear Bro. Wayne Murphey and saints in America: Greetings to you again in the glorious name of Jesus Christ.

Heavy rain in our state for the last two weeks has resulted in flooding and many calamities. By the grace of God we are all safe. Floods, storms, landslidings, earthquakes and other calamities are taking place all around the world, which shows the quick appearing of our Lord to this world for the relief of His children.

We had a wonderful ministers' meeting here during the first week of October. It was a good time for our ministers to share the Bible doctrines and teachings of the Church of God.

Please pray for the needs of our twenty ministers. Our van is about ten years old and it is not running good now. We need to buy another one if God opens the way. Your prayers are requested. Our prayers are for the saints everywhere.

Yours in Him, -John Varghese


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