Hardisty's 2007

Hardisty Update Feb 23, 2007

Just a short note of praise. Yesterday we purchased our tickets for our return to Manila! We are thankful to the Lord for this provision. Seats were beginning to fill up on some of the flights so we are very thankful to Him for this very timely provision. We are booked to leave out of Chicago on May 15^th to San Francisco. Then we depart from San Francisco to Manila on the 21^st arriving in Manila at 11 pm on the 22^nd. It is a short 16 plus hour flight, including the connection in Tokyo, for which we are thankful. Thank you for praying. Now we have our passports and tickets in hand. We are much encouraged and excited to be heading back in about eleven weeks.

We will be leaving the Florida area on the 5^th of March for a meeting in Alabama. From there we are heading to Dallas for three weeks of meetings, then on to Kansas City, Detroit, Dubuque and finally Chicago and San Francisco. So we still have many miles to travel. We know you will be praying with us.

February 7, 2007 Update

Greetings to you all once again. We thank the Lord for a very encouraging time in the Carolinas and Georgia. We left Chicago on the 5th of January and our first stop was in the mountains of West Virginia, at Hinton. The work of the Lord there has a wonderful history, which Harry Pilkington shared with us. From that little assembly in the mountains of West Virginia over 50 have gone out, over the years, into the Lord’s work full time, in missions or work here at home. What a testimony to the faithfulness of the Lord! It was a blessing to get to know some of the dear saints there, and to be so welcomed into their homes.

From there we were off to South Carolina. We stayed with Joyce’s brother Dale and his wife Lois while in that area, and we thank them for their warm hospitality to us. During our stay we were enabled by the Lord to share at the assembly of the Lord’s people in Winston Salem, where we were blessed to visit briefly with Jason and Angela Beverly who once served the Lord in Russia, and are now serving Him with Child Evangelism Fellowship. It is always good to see His people going on for His glory, serving as He directs.

While in South Carolina we were blessed as well by being able to fellowship with the saints at the assembly at Charlotte, where Rex and Nancy Trogdon are currently laboring for our Lord. What a lovely assembly of the Lord’s people. It was a blessing to be with them, at Believers Bible Chapel.

During our stay in South Carolina we were also able to travel over to Greenville and spend some time with our dear friends Joe and Ramona Marquez, missionaries to Paraguay. It was a blessing to my soul to be able to spend some time in the word with Joe, he, as always, challenged my heart with his love for the Savior. It was good to catch up with what the Lord is doing in their lives. During our time with them we were given the opportunity to share of the Lord’s work in the Philippines with the saints at Overbrook Gospel Chapel. After the meeting we spend a couple of hours over the home of Paul and Carol Bramsen, missionaries to Senegal, along with the Joe and Ramona as well as several students from Bob Jones. It was an encouraging evening to hear of what the Lord is doing in the lives of each. Paul’s new book should be hitting the presses soon. It is another work on Islam which we are praying will be used of the Lord to the saving of precious souls.

Following our time in the Charlotte we traveled over to the west side of the state to North Augusta. There we stayed with Klaas and Francis Vietje. What a wonderful couple. It was such a blessing to be so warmly and lovingly cared for by these dear saints. We cannot thank them enough for their hospitality to us. While there we spoke at a missions conference in Augusta GA which was held at Bethany Bible Chapel. On the Lord’s day I was privileged to once again speak at Bethany. The saints, as in every place we go, warmed our hearts and made us feel welcomed as their own. On Tuesday we had the wonderful blessing of spending time North of Atlanta with John and Helen Best, and their son Nathaniel. It was good to see them again. The assembly which that evening met in their home, was an encouragement to our hearts. Special thanks to John and his dear wife for the warmth of their hospitality to us.

The following day we were in Lincolnton GA for an evening meeting, again we were welcomed and encouraged by the saints in fellowship there. Just before the meeting we had dinner with a lovely family. I look forward to the Lord giving us another opportunity to meet with that family so that I can witness their maturing in the things of the Lord.

We left the Carolinas on Thursday the 25th of January and arrived in Florida at Park of the Palms that afternoon. It was good to see the Dan Bursons again. What a wonderful work is being done by our Lord at Park of the Palms. The improvements made since the last time we were there are truly amazing. That evening we shared the slides of the work in the Philippines. Mr Muchmore, a former missionary to Africa, much encouraged me following the meeting as he stood in the aisle talked with me. I am thankful to the Lord for those few minutes he gave to encourage my soul.

We have now settled into Joyce’s parent’s home for the next month. It felt good to finally unpack. We spent the last two Sundays at Hiawassa Bible Chapel in Orlando, where I was given the opportunity to speak both mornings, and to share the slide of the Lord’s work in the Philippines on the second Sunday evening. Hiawassa is one of our commending assemblies and it was so good to be with “the family” again.

We also enjoyed an evening over near New Port Richey on the Gulf Coast this past week at the assembly in Holiday. They graciously opened up the apartment at the chapel for us to spend the night, and encouraged us in the Lord.

I know in the course of this long update I have used the words “blessed” and “encouraged” over and over. It is the genuine way that I feel as we travel around. To my heart they are not worn out words but experience from the hand of our wonderful Lord.

Thank you all for your prayers. He is faithful and we will not forget your labor of love….

Jan 10, 2007 Notes from the Hardistys

Greetings to you all once again in that name which is above every name, the name of our blessed savior the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. He, by His grace, has brought us safely into South Carolina where we will be staying for about a week. We left Chicago on January 15th and traveled to West Virginia for the weekend. What a beautiful trip through the mountains. We arrrived in Hinton West Virginia, nestled into those beautiful mountains, on Saturday the 16th and were greeted warmly by Harry Pilkington who has lived and served the Lord in that area since the early 60s. We learned in our discussions with him that the Lord, by His wonderful grace, used that small assembly to send out over 50 men into His service full time over the years. That is quite remarkable, and stands as a testimony to the faithfulness of the Lord and to the faithfulness of His bondservants. We were privileged to share from the Word of the Lord on the Lord's day there, both morning and evening. We much enjoyed our time and the warmth of their hospitality to us.

We left the Hinton on Monday to head for South Carolina. The continuing trip through the mountains was absolutely breathtaking. We arrived in Lancaster SC late in the afternoon and will be staying with Joyce's brother Dale and his wife Lois for a week or so. The Lord in His grace, has provided opportunities for us to share in the assembly in Winston Salem on Wednesday night, then in Charlotte NC on the Lord's day both in the morning and evening. Then we have a Wednesday night meeting in Greenville SC where we will have opportunity to visit with our good friends Joe and Romona Marquez, mssionaries to Paraguay. Then we are off to Georgia for a missionary conference in Augusta on Saturday and to speak at the assembly on the Lord's day as well. The following week we have a meeting at Lake Lannier Bible Chapel north of Atlanta, on Tuesday. On Wednesday we will have opportunity to share of the work in the Philippines in Lincolnton GA, before heading down to Florida, for a meeting at Park of the Palms on Thursday. So we have a rather busy schedule ahead of us, so please keep us in your prayers.

Dec 22, 2006 Notes from the Hardistys

Thank you all for praying for the believers in the areas devastated by the last series of typhoons which past through the Philippines . Relief efforts are underway. Continue to pray as the assemblies seek to rebuild their buildings and the saints begin to rebuild their lives. May the Lord use this time of “testing” to build endurance in their lives for His glory. Join with me in praying that this will also open up opportunities for the spread of the gospel and the growth of the kingdom.

Thank you all for your prayers for us over the past couple of weeks. My sister Laurie entered the presence of the Lord on December 12^th. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. We are thankful that the Lord allowed us to be there for her funeral.

We have now returned to Chicago after a week in Connecticut and 11 days in Wisconsin . It is hard to know where “home” is at this point. Seems we are waking up in a different bed each morning. But we are pleased to now be in Chicago for the next couple of weeks. The family will all be here for Christmas. Abby and Daniel will be driving down from Dubuque on Christmas Eve, Rachel flies in on Friday the 22^nd, and Kim and Larry and family are just a short drive away in Aurora . So it will be nice to be together one last time before heading overseas.

We leave Chicago on January 5^th for West Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia and Florida . We will hang our hats in Florida for the month of February. Keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Assembly Believers Need Prayer - Dec 2006 - Typhoon

The following is an excerpt of an email from Rose Brooks received on Dec 14, 2006.

We have five assemblies in Albay on the east coast of Luzon, where two super typhoon hit recently. Actually we have hed four strong typhoons in past few weeks all going through central Luzon.

All the five chapels were blown away leaving only some cement walls. Almost all believers' homes were blown off leaving only cement floors and posts. Being mostly farmers, all their crops were flattened or uprooted by very strong winds and buried by mud from overflowing rivers. One member died from a heart attack during all this.

All in all more than 200 believers in the five congregations are now homeless and without livelihood for 3 to 6 months.

Two fulltime workers from Luzon are making a fact-finding trip and bringing initial gifts. A second trip will be made shortly after this.