Hope in the Mountains

Dear Friends,

It’s that time again - where Leslie and I update you on how God is blessing your investment here in the Northern Appalachia Mountains of Western Maryland!!  Though I definitely want you to know how much we appreciate each of you, I am even more desirous of helping you realize that your resources are being used wisely and bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God.  

Our first-ever children’s basketball rec. league (what I like to call the “poor man’s version of Upward Basketball”) came to a close this month.  We have spent the last three months ministering to 48 children ages Kindergarten to 5th Grade, as well as their families. Please pray as we are planning a special celebration service for all of our kids on Sunday morning, March 15.  We are inviting all families for worship and then presenting awards and Bibles to all of our athletes, followed by a time of food, fellowship, and open gym!! We are hoping that the Gospel will be clearly presented and many will respond to it on this day!!  

We also hosted our first ever Father-Daughter (“Make Me a Princess”) dinner and dance at BOC this month.  It was a wonderful evening together, which included some men who served as escorts for some of our young ladies who do not actively participate in worship here at BOC.  It was a really cool way to build a bridge to our community families!!

Another highlight this month, in addition to all of our regular ministries, was seeing a young man make a profession of faith at one of our Wednesday night worship services.  Ryan M. is a direct of our Bruce Learning Center preschool/daycare ministry. Please pray for Ryan and his family as there is much healing and work that must be done by the Lord in their marriage and the life of their family.  Please read his testimony that I “cut and pasted” from his FB post after his profession. I included it on the second page of this letter. Please excuse the rough edges of his theology, but he is definitely a brother and it’s exciting to watch the changes in his life.  He has already become active in our Sunday night D-Life Group!!

As the ministry continued here in the Mountains, I was blessed to travel to Wadley, Alabama and preach revival services at our partnering church, Mountain Springs Baptist.   What a joy it was to spend five services with Brother Jimmy Sprayberry, Garry Clark, and the rest of our friends at Mountain Springs. Their hospitality was so wonderful and it was a blessing to experience revival together as His Church!!  I was also honored to preach at one of our two original parent churches this month during a morning worship service. Thank you to the hospitality from our friends at Pleasant View Baptist Church in Oakland, MD. Thank you also to Pastor Wally Weeks, Pleasant View’s pastor, for his willingness to open his pulpit for that day and for his friendship over the years!!

As we enter into March, please pray for us as we host our friends from Millbrook Baptist Church in Millbrook, Alabama.  They will be coming to help us get our missions apartment ready for this Spring and Summer, as well as host a women’s conference for our ladies and a VBS for our children.  Please pray for the Lord to bless their efforts!!

Leslie and I are so grateful for each one of you, for your friendship, partnership, and support!!  We have two major projects we are hoping to accomplish in the coming months that are strategic to the effectiveness of our ministry for years to come.  So, we would greatly appreciate our prayer partners to bring to the Lord on our behalf:

1 - We are in need of putting on a roof on the other main part of our building that 

      covers our auditorium/sanctuary and gymnasium.  This is paramount as we enter into this Spring and Summer as we need to be sure we protect our gym floor.  We need to purchase 50 trusses (at $600 for each truss).  So, we are asking folks to “Adopt a Truss”.  Please pray that we are able to obtain the funding to purchase the trusses by the end of April.  If we can get this roof on, we will be in strong shape for fifty years in regards to our roofing.  Please pray!!  If you would like more information on purchasing a truss, please feel free to let us know.

2 - We are hoping to retire our coal furnace before next winter.  The plan is to insulate all of our classrooms and use individual HVAC units, thus controlling the heat/air for each room according to need.  We want to start with our 8 classrooms on the second floor for all of our Sunday School classes.  To do this, we are asking for mission teams to consider “Adopting a Room”, which would include framing, insulating, and dry-walling the exterior wall of the classroom and then putting in a floating floor and HVAC unit.  If you want to know more information about how to adopt a room and the cost involved, please feel free to let us know.  Most of all, please pray!!!

I think that’s about it for this month.  Your prayers and support mean SO much to us and we know that our ministry would not be possible without y’all!!  So, THANK YOU!! Please let me know how we can be praying for you, your family, and your ministry!! Remember to check out our new brother’s testimony on the next page.  You have a real part in his salvation, my friends!! THANK YOU!!

Your Partners in the Harvest,
Steffan and Leslie Carr