Furlough News

Tears of Joy

The tears were hard to hold back at the joyful reunion with our families & sending church. We have certainly enjoyed this past month of fellowshipping with our church and visiting with our family members. The food has been wonderful– Texas Bar-BQ, Mexican Food, Country Fried Steak and fast food. Many times we do not realize how precious something is until we have been without it.

Doctors Appointments

We have also been busy with doctor & dentist appointments. Several of the kids had cavities filled and Rachael is needing a root canal done. Hannah has lost some more hearing and is now needing some hearing aids. Becky and myself are needing some new ear molds and hearing aids. The tropical weather got the best of my good aids and I am wearing one back-up aid until I can get some new ones ordered. Please pray that the Lord will provide the funds for these pressing needs.
The doctor found some skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) on my face under my left eye. I had surgery to remove it on my birthday, August 1st. All went well and I will go for a check-up in four months. There was no charge for the diagnosis or the surgery– Praise the Lord! Pray for the open wound to heal quickly, so we can get a new picture made for our prayer cards.

Reporting to our Sending Church

We kicked off our missions month at Spring Valley Baptist Church by showing our video presentation of the work in Cape Coast. There was hardly a dry eye in the service as our sponsoring church saw the faces of souls saved and heard some of their testimonies. My wife and I cried the most as we have greatly missed the people to whom God has called us to minister.

The Mission in Cape Coast

The mission church in Cape Coast is doing very well in our absence. We are keeping in regular communication with the brethren there. The members have remained faithful and they continue to have visitors in the services. Be in special prayer for Sister Araba’s husband who has started coming to church and the Lord is working in his heart. He is in his upper 50’s and needs to be saved. The deaf class had 29 in attendance on a recent Sunday. Continue to pray for God to build them up in the faith.

Pray as we work on booking meetings with new churches and report to our supporting churches. If you would like for us to report on our work or share our ministry with your church, please contact us as soon as possible. My personal cell # is (682) 560-0872, or you can email me at: jwidener@fastmail.fm