Dear Friends,

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, and who also has poured out on us such abundant grace in this life. We praise the Father for all of you who have been praying for us. We want you to know that our heavenly Father has been pleased to hear and answer your prayers on our behalf.

We have returned from our three-week trip to Africa. The days were long, but oh, so rewarding. I have taught in Zambia dozens of times, but I must say that this trip was the best ever. We taught classes in three different venues, about six hours per day. The enthusiasm for Bible teaching was very high. Their hunger for the Word of God was so very evident as the attendance kept on growing throughout the week, people taking copious notes, and excited conversations about the things they were learning. Hundreds of people attended the last two conferences, the majority of them being pastors and church leaders. We have received many requests from pastors to come to their churches to teach. We had one pastor who traveled for four days on buses to come to the conferences. He came all the way from Maputo, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean. He wants us to come to his country next year to put on a conference for all the churches of his denomination. I will be so very pleased to see the Lord open that door for us.

Kafue, Zambia -- More than 20 hours of teaching on the topic of biblical prophecy.

Our good friend, Todd Attwood, joined us in Zambia and was a great help with the teaching load. This was his first time in Africa. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he absolutely loved the experience and was just overwhelmed by the eager reception of the Word. He has said that he definitely wants to return next year.

From Zambia we flew to South Africa and got to spend some time with our good friends, missionaries Tom and Cheryl Molinar. They are so passionate about preaching the gospel and teaching the Word of God to both blacks and whites in that country that is so divided by prejudice. We had opportunity to speak in two different places and to give a clear gospel presentation. We also had a couple of days to marvel at the beauty and diversity of God’s creation as the Molinar’s drove us through one of the largest game preserves in the world, Kruger National Park. We saw everything from elephants and rhinos to exotic birds and bugs. What a treat!

Jim and Todd Attwood after teaching a Bible class for park rangers at Kruger National Park

As many of you know, I took another tumble while in Zambia. I didn’t see a piece of metal that was only about an inch high in the ground, and I tripped and fell and hurt my left shoulder. It has been a hindrance for sure, but it has not prevented me from teaching. I thank all of you who have been in prayer for me and my recovery. I was also blessed by so many of you who wrote to me. I will go to see an orthopedist on Wednesday. I expect that he will have me get an MRI, which was not a possibility where we were when I fell. Of course, being banged up as I am puts added burden on Phyllis. She takes wonderful care of me, and because of her ministry to me, I am able to carry on with what I do. So I would ask that you keep her in your prayers also.

On the 11th of June we will be leaving for a month-long trek to the Philippines to teach there. This will be our first time in that country, thus a new experience in a different culture. But we take the Word of God to people who are hungry for spiritual food and to those who desire to feed their own people with the milk and meat of the Word. We have lots of details to be taken care of before we go, but we are eagerly anticipating our next mission trip.

Thanks to all of you who have been so faithful in supporting us with prayers and material gifts. You make it possible for us to keep on keeping on.

By grace alone,

Jim