This Week in Boston

The Last Two Weeks in Boston

It has actually been two weeks since I sent out This Week in Boston. Last week we attended our son Dave’s graduation ceremony at Bob Jones University. Deb and I enjoyed our quick trip and we are very proud of our son who worked his way through college. Dave will be getting married in August and is planning on returning to Bob Jones graduate school. Last week also included an airport trip to drop Bolin (a Chinese graduate student who came to faith in Christ and was baptized in our fellowship) off for her flight back to China. We need to pray as she endeavors to live a Christ-like life before her family in China.

Please Pray

This last Sunday Jay attended our morning Bible study for the second straight week. After over 18 months of prayer, patience, and the continual feeding of God’s Word, Jay is making significant steps forward. Today, in an individual Bible study, Jay and I will be studying James 5. The Lord willing, next week we will be beginning baptismal studies. Ivan is a few steps behind Jay, and he will be doing a study with me tomorrow on James 2. Ivan is not yet attending Sunday morning services. Jason attends the Sunday morning service but is not yet a Christian. He has English as his second language, and this last Sunday I discouraged him by speaking too fast during the morning Bible study. Also, I did not use a PowerPoint presentation which is very helpful to those who have English as a second language. Tina (Jason’s friend) also regularly attends on Sundays, and, although she is not a Christian, she seems to have a bit of spiritual insight. She reminds me of Bolin who was also immediately inquisitive about Spiritual things. I hope that Tina follows in the steps of Bolin. Peter was not in church on Sunday after attending for two Sunday’s. He is a Chinese Scholar who desires to know something about God. Please pray that he will come back this Sunday. This last Sunday a friend of mine from our Malden community attended Church for the first time. His name is Paul. Paul has approached me several times concerning spiritual matters, and, after developing a good relationship over the last 2 or 3 years, he felt comfortable enough to attend church on Sunday morning. Please pray that Paul will choose to make us his church home.

Next Week

Our daughter Linda is graduating from high school this year and next Thursday is her senior banquet. This is a big deal, both Dab and Linda have been preparing for this for some time. This is the ninth year that Deb and I have been driving our children 65 miles (one way) to attend Trinity Christian School. It has been well worth it. I believe that I will be somewhat nostalgic on Thursday night of next week. On Saturday of next week, I will be leaving for a week in Iowa where I will attend a seminary course on “Orthodox Theology,” speaking in three of my supporting churches and meeting with friends and supporters of this ministry. While I am gone, my son Rob will be teaching several of my Bible studies, and Jianwei (a disciple of this ministry) will be teaching on Sunday morning. Please pray for both of these men and they prepare to teach the Word of God.

Basement Update

I wish I had more to report. Although the finances have been provided, our basement remains a mess. As I survey the situation, it appears that at this stage we do not need help from the outside. Rather, we need the time to do the work ourselves, at least initially. Please pray that we can carve out the necessary time to make progress on our basement. Deb and I are basically without a bedroom at this point, and this makes life difficult to manage. Also our Sunday group is gradually growing, and we need the room for our afternoon fellowships. This may seem minor but it is really pretty important to the Boston ministry at this time. Please pray and ask God to help us get this work completed. Here is what needs to be done:

1. The things in our basement must be sorted and either disposed of or stored.

2. The ceiling must be sealed and painted to prevent dust from continuing to filter down.

3. Portions of the floor must be cemented.

4. The whole floor needs a skim coat of cement.

5. A sump pump must be installed.

6. The steps, floor and supporting poles need to be painted.

Education Finances

As I stated in a recent This Week in Boston Deb and I will be in continual need of help for our educational needs. Because of the ministry goals which God has set before us and since a large portion of the Boston ministry includes ministry to academia, continuing education will always be part of our service to the Lord. Perhaps some of our supporters will understand and have a burden to help in this financial area. If you would like more information about this financial need you can go to Bill and Deb’s Supporters Website for more detailed information (Needs and Wants link on the right side of the site).

The Lord Bless You,

Bill Edmondson