May 2004

The Apostle Paul often opened his letters to the churches with an expression of thanks to the "saints" and "faithful brethren in Christ". How appropriate it is for us to give thanks to our God for the love that is shown to us through our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have been overwhelmed with such love during these past several months – from prayers, to gifts, to physical help, to words of encouragement, to overwhelming gestures of hospitality – so we "thank our God upon each and every remembrance of you". "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" – Colossians 1:2

As you can see from our letterhead, our mailing address has changed. A few months ago we decided that we would keep our home in Chester, NH and rent it out. The Lord blessed us with the opportunity to have friends of ours, the Wooten family, rent our home. So….we moved in with John & Lorrie Ziemba (address above) for the next several weeks. They have graciously opened their home to us – true friends!

Deputation: We have continued with our deputation as God has allowed us opportunity to do so. Our "circle" has been

growing – with the last deputation stop being in Georgia! Bob had a wonderful time there presenting the ministry to Poplar Springs Baptist Church a few weeks ago. Bob was also able to spend a few profitable days at the mission headquarters in Chattanooga, discussing our upcoming plans. Next month will take us to Ohio to visit a supporting church where Robin’s Uncle is the pastor. We will spend several days with her Aunt and Uncle and will stop to visit friends in several other states.

Ministry: Our biggest news, relative to the ministry, is that we will be leaving for Guatemala the first week of August! During Bob’s visit to the mission headquarters it was decided that things have progressed sufficiently for this to happen. We are very excited about this and are looking forward to joining the Ragan family in Guatemala soon.

Prayer Needs: We continue to covet your prayers for the ministry. Pray for the sponsored children and their families in Guatemala, that the Lord’s care will be shown and that the gospel will continue to be clearly communicated and many will be saved. Please pray for all the co-laborers in Guatemala who work each day at all of the projects throughout the country. Teaching and caring for children carries with it many responsibilities. Please pray for the Ragan family in Guatemala as their schedule is very busy for the next few months, especially July with several groups visiting from the states. Please pray for us as a family as we spend our last few months here in the states. Robin and I would ask that you specifically pray for the adjustment of our children to this new culture. They will enter school at Guatemala Christian Academy the last week of August. Please pray for the worldwide ministry of AMG International, especially the evangelism work in Greece this summer at the 2004 Olympics (please click on "Cosmovision Center" at AMG’s web site to see the details of this project).

Hello everyone!

First off, I would like to thank each of you for your constant prayers and support. I feel truly blessed to have so many people around me that are praying for us and the ministry. It has been so exciting to see God continually provide for all of our needs, and to see our prayers being answered, as well. Deputation has been a wonderful experience for me. I have made many new friends from other churches. I think God has used this to help me get out of my comfort zone and to realize that I don’t always have to be in my familiar church surroundings to glorify and worship Him. I must say, it was a challenge at first, but God has been faithful and I have learned so much. Please continue to pray for my family and I. We are all very excited about what God is doing through us as a family, but all of this can be challenging to us, as well. In closing, I would like to share a verse with you all that has been a comfort to me – "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." I Corinithians 6:19&20.

In Christ, Melody