Lot of Exciting News

Psalms 100:4 "Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving , and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name." We all have so much to be Thankful for. As we enter this Thanksgiving season I am reminded of how blessed we are. Some may remember this hymn; "Count your many blessings name them one by one, and it may surprise you what the Lord has done." If we all really took the time to do that , I think we may be surprised what the Lord has done, and how truly blessed we all are. I believe if we were to start counting our many blessings we as the Psalmist we too would enter into his gates with thanksgiving and unto his courts with praise and surely would Bless His name. Second Mile has been so very blessed this year. God has opened so many doors of ministry for us , Diane and I are humbled that He is using us in so many ways. As many of you know Swaziland is experiencing the worst drought in their history. Thank you to all that have prayed and are praying for rains. God hears your prayers. Praise be to God the rains have started, there is a very long way to go before the drought problem is over but we praise God for every drop of rain. We returned to Swaziland on September 12 after escorting Brett back home. We literally hit the ground running. Everyone especially the children were ready to get things back up and running full force. Kids Bible clubs and adult Bible study continues to grow. Diane is averaging 60 kids in each club, I am continuing to average 15. Now that it is planting season some weeks the adult attendance is off, but all in all the "faithful few" continue. So thankful for their faithfulness and hunger for God's word. The "Kids Bible Club" is as energized as always, Diane is teaching them new songs and even tough some of the younger ones are not able to read they are picking up the words very fast and joining in. We continue to minister to and with Hawane Baptist Church. This is a Baptist mission church plant that has never had a pastor. We are praying God calls / sends someone to pastor them. As for now we are doing what we can in leading and encouraging them. We will be planning a Baptism service in the very near future. We have had some of the children in kids club and some kids and adults at church make a profession of faith, to God be the glory! We have partnered with a Baptist mission that provides 20 liter (5 gallon) buckets filled with items focused on helping terminal ill patients be more comfortable at the end of life and also helps their caregivers provide better care. Some of the items include , facial soap, body lotion, wash clothes, towels, socks , linens and toiletries. The ministry is called Baptist Global Response , BGR for short. We average taking 5 buckets out per month. The idea is not only to help the terminally ill be more comfortable but also provides an evangelistic opportunity as well. During these "bucket " deliveries we have had some accepted Christ but all have heard about the love of God and the gospel message . We have received a 20 foot shipping container filled with 800 BGR buckets that we will have to give as we identify the need. Thankful for this partner- ship. In addition to the BGR buckets we also have opportunity to give out blankets , not so much needed now but come July (our winter) they will be needed. On some follow up visits we have been encouraged to see people that received Christ during some of the bucket distributions continue to read the bible we gave them and continue to be excited about their salvation. Praise to God we will be opening a community outreach center in Nsangwini. We meet with the Chiefs Inner Council and spoke to them about the vision we had to help further in the community and they approved our vision and offered to partner with us in ways they could. Though The Outreach Center ,will be able to provide orphans and vulnerable children with a safe place that they will feel love, be valued, taught the basics in pre-school, proper hygiene, fundamental early childhood development, fun and games a daily meal but most of all taught the word of God. The caregivers of the children and cooks will be volunteers from the community. We will be meeting with them and begin the necessary training soon. We are so very excited about this new ministry opportunity and anxious as well. This is a big undertaking but one we feel God has lead us to. On a personal note, as Diane and I continue to be blessed with birthdays we notice that these "getting older " bodies are having issues. One in which for Diane is a worn out left wrist. It has been very painful and at times very limited in use ongoing for a few months now. The orthopedic surgeon in South Africa says since other treatments have failed surgery is the only solution. As for me it is my right thumb, I have chronic " trigger thumb" and is requiring surgery. This is really not a good time for this however we know without the surgeries the pain will continue to increase and eventually the loss of use . These surgeries are much cheaper in South Africa than the states however still expensive for us. Together we are looking at a cost of $7,000 dollars. We are trusting God that He will provide the money needed . Love in Christ, Don & Diane Page If God leads you to donate, please send donations to Piney Grove Chapel Baptist Church, 4440-A Piney Grove Road, Angier, NC 27501 If donating for the medical need, please put Medical / Page in your memo line. Thank you and God Bless.