More Random Ministry Pictures
Christian workers in a Bible Conference where Tom Spoke in Romania
Bible Conference in Romania
On the fast train from Seoul, S. Korea to Daegu, S.Korea
The Rhein River Baptist Church Annual Christmas Retreat held
for independent Baptist missionaries in Europe.
Dinner with the Hamiltons
Pinning the Wolfes, new BIMI missionaries to Germany. We had the Privilege of introducing the Wolfes to military missions when he was a student at Tri-State Baptist College in Walls, MS.
The closing night of a mission's conference in Daegu, S. Korea
On one of our biennial tours of Normandy some of our men had the privilege of helping in the flag raising ceremony.
It was my privilege to participate in the ordination of Bro. Brett Skillen in
Baumholder, Germany.
Some of our good men in our military church in Germany.
2018 Asia Spiritual Leadership Team
My how God blessed in the 2018 Asia Spiritual Leadership Conference held in Manila, Philippins. I was privileged to speak in two Filipino Churches, a youth Rally and one session of the conference on the subject of reaching the military for Christ.
Sweet Reunion
We were blessed in April to have a little reunion in Chattanooga of our ministry team who served with us in Germany. The Simensens were with us for 13 years. Our son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Julie, were with us for about 7 years. We treasure these special moments.
Veteran' Day Service
It is always a special blessing to be able to preach at a Veteran's Day service. This was at Central Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, MS. We owe our veterans so much.
THE MILITARY WIFE
The unsung hero of the military community is the military wife. This article describes the military wife and all the hats she wears and the challenges she faces. One of our great joys in serving our U.S. military all these years has been loving and trying to be a blessing to military wives and children.
I Am A Military Wife
I am a military wife. A member of that sisterhood of women who have had the courage to watch their men go into battle, and the strength to survive until their return. Our sorority knows no rank, for we earn our membership with a marriage license, traveling over miles, or over nations to begin a new life with our military husbands. Within days, we turn a barren, echoing building into a home, and though our quarters are inevidently white-walled and un-papered, we decorate with the treasures of our travels, for we shop the markets of the globe. Using hammer and nail we tack our pictures to the wall, and our roots to the floor as firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by the bootstraps, and raise the best of 'brats' instilling in them the motto, "home is togetherness", whether motels, or guest house, apartment or duplex. As military wives we soon realize that the only good in good -bye is the hello again, for as "salesmen for freedom", our husbands are often on the road, at sea, or in the sky, leaving us behind for a week, a month, a year on an assignment. During separations we guard the home front, existing until the homecoming.
Unlike our civilian counterparts, we measure time, not by years, but by tours: married at Pendleton, a baby born at LeJuene, a special anniversary at Yuma, a promotion in Okinawa. We plant trees, and never see them grow tall, work on projects completed long after our departure and enhance our community for the betterment of those who came after us. We leave a part of ourselves at every stop. Through experience we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car, or hold baggage and live indefinitely from the contents within and though our fingers are sore from the patches we have sewn, and the silver we have shined, our hands are always ready to help those around us. Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our men into battle, will also blanket them in death.
Yet we are an optomistic group, thinking of good, and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterdays, while anticipating tomorrow. Never rich by monetary standards, our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of experiences common only to those united by the special traditions of military life. We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with out stretched arms, with love and friendship, from one sister to another.
THE 2016 ASIAN SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
,
It was an honor and privilege to participate in the Asian Spiritual Leadership Conference in Manila, Philippines, February 1-3, 2016. God gave Dr. Paul Chappell the vision for this great conference that saw thousands of pastors, missionaries and laymen come from all across Asia to be blessed and encouraged through the Word of God. Only eternity will reveal all the good work and the souls that were saved at the conference. The last I .heard there were over 1000 souls saved.. I was honored to preach at a local Filipino church on Sunday, Bethel Baptist Church, and we saw 7 people saved. I spoke at the conference on Missions and Revival.
Dinner With Patch the Pirate and Sissy Seagull.
What a blessing Ron and Shelly Hamilton have been to so many of our children.
Missionary Panel Question and Answer Session at Temple Baptist Church, Lacey, WA
The Blessing of Seeing Our Young People Going and Growing in Christ
It was sheer joy for us to be able to attend the 2015 graduation ceremony of West Coast Baptist College and see three young people from our ministry in Germany graduate. It was a blessing on so many levels. First it was a great illustration of the diversity of a military church on a foreign field. One young man was the child of a military couple who were stationed in Mannheim in the mid 90s. One young lady is a German who was saved the first or second time she ever attended Rhein River Baptist Church and just a little over a year later she was enrolled at West Coast Baptist College. Dottie led the third young lady to the Lord. Her father is Angolan and her mother is French. Dottie taught her in Sunday School and during one of their private sessions where Dottie was trying to help her with her Sunday School lesson, she received Christ as her Savior. Our hearts are full and running over to see these fine young people go on in their walk with the Lord.
Kennet, Marina and Patricia
A full table of family who came for graduation. This is a special
banquet the night prior to graduation.
Marina
Co-laborers in the Gospel
Larry and Phyllis Simensen were our faithful co-laborers for 13 years at Rhein River Baptist Church in Mannheim, Germany. When the military base closed in 2012 and we transitioned RRBC into a German/ International church , the Simensens began working with a new military work in Wiesbaden, Germany. They are beloved friends who were a blessing to work with.
Honoring WW2 Veterans
The Military Ministry arm of Baptist International Missions has begun honoring WW2 veterans when we learn of them. Below are two men who served with honor and distinction in WW2 and it was my great privilege to present them with plaques and gifts on behalf of BIMI.
Sequoia Baptist Church, Visalia, CA
Temple Baptist Church, Lacey, WA
Lancaster Baptist Church's 2014
Mission's Conference Speakers
Drs. Baldwin, Sisk, Chappel, Kim, Lasiter, Lancaster
The Harvells
~ Missionaries to the U.S. Military ~
.JPG)
Our heart's burden is to see more young couple's give their lives to take the gospel to our U.S. military stationed around the world. Jason and Leah Harvell are one of the fine young couple's that God has given us the opportunity to influence for the field of military missions. As of January 2014 they are at approximately 65% of their support goal. They will be serving at Heritage Baptist Church near Kaiserslautern, Germany, a church that God gave us the opportunity to help plant several years ago. Please pray for Jason and Leah and their boys.
_________________________________________
Wonderful Couple's Retreat in Gatlinburg, TN
It was my and Dottie's honor and privilege to speak at this year's Faith For the Family Annual Couple's Retreat in Gatlinburg, TN, sponsored by Temple Baptist Church, Powell, TN. Dr. and Mrs. Eddie Lapina from First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN were also speakers. There was such a sweet spirit in the meeting. Over 250 couples were registered for the Retreat. Dottie and I came away refreshed ourselves and thankful for the opportunity to not only speak, but to attend the meeting. Dr. and Mrs. Sexton, as always, were such gracious hosts.
Couple's Retreat
-------------------------------------------------------------
Rejoicing Over Souls Saved
We never get over the joy of seeing precious souls come to know Christ as their Savior. We have seen 7 people trust Christ in our meetings in January and February. But I want to share one special opportunity that Dottie and I had recently, specifically on Thursday, March 7. We had just finished the mission's conference at Faith Baptist Church in Canoga Park, CA. and were picked up at our hotel by a representative of Enterprise Car Rental who took us back to the Enterprise office to fill out the paperwork. The representative was a kind woman who shared with us how she was from New Orleans and had been devastated by hurricane Katrina. She lost everything she had and then she was called to assist in the rescue efforts because she was an army veteran. Our ears perked up!! She continued to share how she had served in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and had suffered many physical problems because of the hardships of war. We listened with open ears and hearts. When she finished Dottie and I both knew without saying a word that God had orchestrated this meeting and when I asked her if she died was she sure she would go to heaven, she hesitated. "No, I don't know for sure", she said. "Would you like to know?" I said. She nodded her head and said, "Yes". So as Dottie prayed silently I shared the gospel and this dear woman was sweetly saved sitting there in an Enterprise rental car. When we told her that our ministry was to the U.S. military she was overwhelmed. She gave us all her contact information which we turned over to Pastor Tim Rasmussen. Praise the Lord for arranging this special meeting for us.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures from Various Ministry Trips
to Daegu, South Korea
Bro. Larry Ferguson, Pastor
Some sweet Korean sister
Another sister in Christ
A gift presented to Tom
_______________________________________________
Mission's Conference at First Baptist Church, Milford, Ohio
The Conference featured the country of Europe. Tom emphasized
military missions in Europe
The Beautiful grounds of First Baptist Church
I love this one. The church duck who wanders over
from the lake to greet guest.
The children singing their hearts out
---------------------------------------
Euro-Youth Conference
Our son, Mark, directs the annual Euro-Youth Conference for military and missionary teens living in Europe. This year's conference was held on July 17-20 at a beautiful camp ground in Bad Orb, Germany. Young people and counselors came from about 12 different countries. Tom thoroughly enjoyed speaking at one of the morning sessions.
Here is a picture of one of the main sessions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures of Some of the military personnel that we served while pastoring Rhein River Baptist Church in Mannheim, Germany
-------------------------------------------------------------
The ordination of a new military missionary.
There is a great need for more missionaries who will take the gospel to our U.S. military personnel serving on foreign fields. This is one of the burdens of my heart. It was my joy to preach the ordination service of Bro. Britt Skillen who is serving with Pastor Steve Meyer at Grace Baptist Church in Baumholder, Germany. Bro. Skillen surrendered to military missions in a service that I preached at Crown College.
--------------------------------------------
Mission's Conference, Temple Baptist Church, Powell, TN
It was my privilege to preach at the Mission's Conference at Temple Baptist Church where a tremendous emphasis was made on military missions. Here is a group of reservists who attended one of the services. At this conference several young people indicated that God was leading them into military missions.
--------------------------------------------------------
Kristen
This picture depicts one of the heartaches of military missions - the separation of families during times of deployment. This picture of Kristen and her daughter, Annika, appeared on the front page of the local paper in Killeen, TX as Kristen waits to leave for a deployment to Afghanistan. Dottie had the privilege to lead Kristen to the Lord and she and her husband Mark now faithfully serve the Lord. Kristen is back from deployment now and she, Mark and their three girls were at our Rhein River Reunion in Pigeon Forge, TN in August.
W
---------------------------------------------------------
Rhein River Baptist Church Transitions to a German/International Work in August, 2012
When the news began circulating concerning the closure of the military base that our church had been serving for nearly 30 years (I served as pastor for 20 years), we began to pray that God would help us to be able to transition to a German/International church when that time came. Most military churches have to close their doors when a military base closes. For the 20 years that I served as pastor we consistently reached Germans and other nationalities and so God answered our prayers indeed. At the last count before our last military family left in July, 2012, we had 14 different nationalities represented at RRBC. Knowing that God had called us to continue ministering to our U.S. military around the world we also began praying that God would give us the right man to serve our remaining German/International family. Once again God answered our prayers and sent us the Walter Clark family. Walter served with us as our German Minisry Director for a year before we turned the work over to him when we said goodbye to our last military family. Bro. Walter had actually been in our church for a short period of time in the early 1990's when he came to our base for reserve training. We praise the Lord for sending the Clarks to RRBC.
.jpg)
The Walter Clark Family
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sending Our Things Back To America
We never thought we would see this day, but the Lord knew. The U.S. military base that we served in Germany for 20 years closed in August of 2012. It was difficult to see the base draw down and close, but God gave grace. We look forward to the broader ministry that we will now have with the military.
