Praise God for His calling which is always accompanied by His enabling!
Having been through the most difficult ear of our lives, Pam and I have continually held on to this truth. Knowing that He has called us to this ministry has been one of the greatest encouragements of all. While there have been many times that our flesh wanted to doubt that God was bringing us through the trials, reminding ourselves that He has called us to this great work has been sufficient to keep that faith He had instilled in us strong and at work. Praise His dear Name!
Since our last letter, chemotherapy treatments have ended and another CT scan done indicating that God truly has taken all the cancer from my body. We had full assurance from Him that this was the case before the last scan was done, but it sure is nice to hear it from the doctors too. If I weren't so dignified I'd have to shout a little in celebration and thanksgiving for God's grace and healing. But wait, I'm not so dignified, so here goes...."WOOHOOO!" What a wonderful God we serve!
Now that I am regaining the physical strength and stamina to resume a full time schedule, the work of the ministry can continue as before my health problems. Please pray for us as we begin to fill our travel calendar again. Please pray for us that we might be a blessing to people across America as we continue our deputation. Most importantly, pray that our vision for the people of Macedonia will increase and that we will be able to see that vision come to fruition as we share it in churches across the nation.
A special thanks to those of you who have begun supporting us monthly. Your faith in God to use us is very encouraging. Your financial support, as well as your prayer support, is very important to us.
Please pray with us for the people of Macedonia; specifically, for the national pastors in Macedonia. With the national unemployment rate approaching 40% in Macedonia, the churches are very poor and the pastors have to do whatever possible when it comes to providing for their families. Pastor Byram Aliti, on of our pastors in Kumanovo, until recently operated a booth in the open market in the gypsy area. Due to economic conditions this is no longer possible, so the Lord will have to supply the needs of this pastor and his family in some other way.
Souls continue to be saved in Macedonia. Thank you for continuing to partner with us.
In Christ for Macedonia,
Lou Hill
Showing posts with label Lou Hill (church plant in Idaho). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lou Hill (church plant in Idaho). Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Letter from Lou & Pam Hill
August 15, 2009
Thank the Lord for His continued blessings on Balkan States Ministries!
Summer opens opportunities for ministry in Macedonia that are next to impossible any other time of the year. Some of the villages are accessible only by donkey or farm tractor in the winter since there are no roads. Ministry has to be optimized at this time of year. These remote areas are like a step back in time. The people live in crudely built houses with dirt floors and no running water inside their homes. Water has to be carried from a nearby spring in bottles. Please pray for the pastors as they reach out to these difficult areas.
Since our last letter, five people have given their hearts to Jesus Christ in Kumanovo church alone. They now await believer's baptism. Please pray specifically for a woman named Jana. Pastor Marjan says she is so excited about her new found faith in Christ that she never ceases to talk about Him to her friends and family. She is truly a witness for our Lord.
On a personal note, Pam and I are both doing very well. She is currently recuperating from a very difficult glaucoma surgery on her left eye. Since this is her only source of vision since losing sight in her right eye, we were naturally concerned. God is truly answering prayer on her behalf as her sight has returned and the swelling seems to be going down almost daily. As for my health issues, I am growing closer to the end of my chemo therapy treatments and tolerating them better than I was at first. The wonderful news is the last week of July they scoped the inside of my bladder where the tumor was removed and did a CT scan of the area where the cancer had spread and both tests were clear of any signs of cancer. Praise God! He is gracious to heal and His love endures forever!
Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we answer our Macedonian call.
In Christ for precious souls of Macedonia,
Lou Hill
Thank the Lord for His continued blessings on Balkan States Ministries!
Summer opens opportunities for ministry in Macedonia that are next to impossible any other time of the year. Some of the villages are accessible only by donkey or farm tractor in the winter since there are no roads. Ministry has to be optimized at this time of year. These remote areas are like a step back in time. The people live in crudely built houses with dirt floors and no running water inside their homes. Water has to be carried from a nearby spring in bottles. Please pray for the pastors as they reach out to these difficult areas.
Since our last letter, five people have given their hearts to Jesus Christ in Kumanovo church alone. They now await believer's baptism. Please pray specifically for a woman named Jana. Pastor Marjan says she is so excited about her new found faith in Christ that she never ceases to talk about Him to her friends and family. She is truly a witness for our Lord.
On a personal note, Pam and I are both doing very well. She is currently recuperating from a very difficult glaucoma surgery on her left eye. Since this is her only source of vision since losing sight in her right eye, we were naturally concerned. God is truly answering prayer on her behalf as her sight has returned and the swelling seems to be going down almost daily. As for my health issues, I am growing closer to the end of my chemo therapy treatments and tolerating them better than I was at first. The wonderful news is the last week of July they scoped the inside of my bladder where the tumor was removed and did a CT scan of the area where the cancer had spread and both tests were clear of any signs of cancer. Praise God! He is gracious to heal and His love endures forever!
Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we answer our Macedonian call.
In Christ for precious souls of Macedonia,
Lou Hill
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Taking the Light of the Gospel to Macedonia
To say the least, the last two months since our last report have been eventful. Having been kept close to our home base due to daily appointments for radiation therapy has not kept us from keeping busy in following God's leadership in our ministry to the Balkan States.
Things are going well in Macedonia as preparations continue for building a new church building int he village of Konjuh. This building will provide a home for a mission work now meeting in a home in Konjuh as well as another mission work in the close-by village of Beljakovce. A water well will be part of the project which will serve the entire community. This will add value to the church's being there from the community's perspective and will hopefully be another tool of God used in reaching the unsaved who need the Living Water Jesus talked about in John 4. The merging of these two works will better use existing resources and allow us to have a stronger presence for the Lord in this entire region. Pastor Marjan reports that two ladies attended a service in Konjuh this past month and accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord!
The other church in Kumanovo, Pesirivo, Amzibegivo, Erdzillia, and Rankovce are all doing well. The Good News Church in Kumanovo reports one new person in attendance since our last report as does the Good News Gypsy Church in Kumanovo. As soon as funds are available, we have hopes to merge the missions of Pesirivo, Amzibegivo, and Erdzilla into one church. These three villages are very close and, again, resources will be better used if they could all three meet together.
On a personal note, please accept our sincere gratitude for the offerings, phone calls, emails, cards, letters, and outpourings of your love in this difficult time for Pam and I. I am currently about half way through my radiation and chemotherapy treatments. I have sensed the presence of the Lord with me through this whole ordeal and I know it is in a great part because of your faithful prayers on my behalf. What more can I say but, "Thank you!" A special thanks to those who said they have plans to take us on for monthly support. Your financial support is needed now more than ever.
We have hopes of being back on the road by late July or early August. Plans are made to go to the field in October, the Lord willing. Please pray that we will be able to meet these goals as planned.
Please pray for the precious people of Macedonia, especially the new believers in Konjuh. Please pray for Marjan and Zoya Angelovski and the other pastors there as they faithfully serve our Lord. Thank you, again, for partnering with us in this great work.
In Christ for Macedonia,
Lou Hill
Things are going well in Macedonia as preparations continue for building a new church building int he village of Konjuh. This building will provide a home for a mission work now meeting in a home in Konjuh as well as another mission work in the close-by village of Beljakovce. A water well will be part of the project which will serve the entire community. This will add value to the church's being there from the community's perspective and will hopefully be another tool of God used in reaching the unsaved who need the Living Water Jesus talked about in John 4. The merging of these two works will better use existing resources and allow us to have a stronger presence for the Lord in this entire region. Pastor Marjan reports that two ladies attended a service in Konjuh this past month and accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord!
The other church in Kumanovo, Pesirivo, Amzibegivo, Erdzillia, and Rankovce are all doing well. The Good News Church in Kumanovo reports one new person in attendance since our last report as does the Good News Gypsy Church in Kumanovo. As soon as funds are available, we have hopes to merge the missions of Pesirivo, Amzibegivo, and Erdzilla into one church. These three villages are very close and, again, resources will be better used if they could all three meet together.
On a personal note, please accept our sincere gratitude for the offerings, phone calls, emails, cards, letters, and outpourings of your love in this difficult time for Pam and I. I am currently about half way through my radiation and chemotherapy treatments. I have sensed the presence of the Lord with me through this whole ordeal and I know it is in a great part because of your faithful prayers on my behalf. What more can I say but, "Thank you!" A special thanks to those who said they have plans to take us on for monthly support. Your financial support is needed now more than ever.
We have hopes of being back on the road by late July or early August. Plans are made to go to the field in October, the Lord willing. Please pray that we will be able to meet these goals as planned.
Please pray for the precious people of Macedonia, especially the new believers in Konjuh. Please pray for Marjan and Zoya Angelovski and the other pastors there as they faithfully serve our Lord. Thank you, again, for partnering with us in this great work.
In Christ for Macedonia,
Lou Hill
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Taking the Light of the Gospel to Macedonia
March 31, 2009
As we said hello to 2009 and the prospects of a new year we hit a detour caused by some health issues. Those issues have now been diagnosed and a plan of action has begun.
On February 9th a golf ball sized tumor was removed from my bladder. Not long after the surgery a biopsy indicated the cancer spread to a nearby lymph node. Surgery is planned for April 1st at which time they will remove that lymph node along with several others which are close by. Three to four weeks following the surgery, a regimen of radiation therapy coupled with simultaneous chemo therapy will begin and last for 7 1/2 weeks.
Thank you for your prayer on my behalf. God has given me confidence that all will end to His glory and that He isn't yet through with me. Like the Lord's message to Paul in Acts 23:11 about Rome, He has assured me "as you have testified for Me in (the U.S.), so you must also bear witness in (Macedonia)." Knowing that He has called me to this ministry has solidified my faith in Him even more.
Thank you for praying for my physical health. If you will, please pray for our financial needs at this time too. Just as we were beginning to raise our monthly support, we had to stop to address these health issues. You can understand, I'm sure, not only are the usual bills we are faced with not going to stop, now we are faced with the enormous cost of surgery, etc. with no health insurance. Many of our friends and past partners in ministry have already begun supporting our ministry and for that we are eternally grateful.
If you, or your church, have plans to take us on for support is it possible for you to start now? If you had not plans to support us, will you consider picking us up even though we have not been able to visit you face to face? Due to obvious circumstances I will not be able to travel until sometime in August at the very earliest, but will be glad to schedule a meeting with you as soon as I know I am physically able to keep my commitment. If monthly support is not possible, a one time offering would be very helpful. I'm sorry to be so direct in my appeal, but I don't know where else I should go, but to my friends and partners in ministry.
God has opened "a great door of opportunity for effective ministry" in Macedonia and the Balkan States. If He is going to use us to this great ministry it is going to require faith. As I consider what He is doing in my life, I understand that He is building that great faith through this trial. I have made myself available, and I am not withdrawing because of this adversary.
Thank you for standing with us in this difficult time.
In Christ's care,
Lou Hill
Balkan State Ministries
PO Box 3124
Nampa, ID 83683
Email: lou@louhill.com
www.balkanstatesministries.org
As we said hello to 2009 and the prospects of a new year we hit a detour caused by some health issues. Those issues have now been diagnosed and a plan of action has begun.
On February 9th a golf ball sized tumor was removed from my bladder. Not long after the surgery a biopsy indicated the cancer spread to a nearby lymph node. Surgery is planned for April 1st at which time they will remove that lymph node along with several others which are close by. Three to four weeks following the surgery, a regimen of radiation therapy coupled with simultaneous chemo therapy will begin and last for 7 1/2 weeks.
Thank you for your prayer on my behalf. God has given me confidence that all will end to His glory and that He isn't yet through with me. Like the Lord's message to Paul in Acts 23:11 about Rome, He has assured me "as you have testified for Me in (the U.S.), so you must also bear witness in (Macedonia)." Knowing that He has called me to this ministry has solidified my faith in Him even more.
Thank you for praying for my physical health. If you will, please pray for our financial needs at this time too. Just as we were beginning to raise our monthly support, we had to stop to address these health issues. You can understand, I'm sure, not only are the usual bills we are faced with not going to stop, now we are faced with the enormous cost of surgery, etc. with no health insurance. Many of our friends and past partners in ministry have already begun supporting our ministry and for that we are eternally grateful.
If you, or your church, have plans to take us on for support is it possible for you to start now? If you had not plans to support us, will you consider picking us up even though we have not been able to visit you face to face? Due to obvious circumstances I will not be able to travel until sometime in August at the very earliest, but will be glad to schedule a meeting with you as soon as I know I am physically able to keep my commitment. If monthly support is not possible, a one time offering would be very helpful. I'm sorry to be so direct in my appeal, but I don't know where else I should go, but to my friends and partners in ministry.
God has opened "a great door of opportunity for effective ministry" in Macedonia and the Balkan States. If He is going to use us to this great ministry it is going to require faith. As I consider what He is doing in my life, I understand that He is building that great faith through this trial. I have made myself available, and I am not withdrawing because of this adversary.
Thank you for standing with us in this difficult time.
In Christ's care,
Lou Hill
Balkan State Ministries
PO Box 3124
Nampa, ID 83683
Email: lou@louhill.com
www.balkanstatesministries.org
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
News from Lou Hill
God Has Blessed! Thank you.
In 2004, God called us to plant a church in Nampa, Idaho. Since you have been in the loop by way of our prayer letters I'll spare you the details other than to say God has blessed our efforts to follow His leadership by allowing Christ since we arrived. One man (our first convert) has surrendered to full time ministry and enrolled in Bible college. A lot of ministry that can't be detailed in this limited space has taken place. It is all to God's glory, but your partnership has been vital to our success, and for that we thank you.
A New Field! The Macedonian Call
Allow me to digress in time. In 2003, the Lord led me to join with four other men in the establishment of Balken States Ministries. The new ministry was designed with the purpose of partnering with national pastors in the Balkan states, specifically those located in Macedonia and Bulgaria at the time. Balkan States Ministries would provide much needed support for pastors and churches in the area until they could become self-supporting.
While we have enjoyed being a part of taking the Gospel to the same area of the world that God led the Apostle Paul to (Acts 16:9), our work has been limited due to our primary responsibilities in the U.S. Even with limited work, our partnership with Marjan Angelovski and the other pastors of the Balkan States Ministries has been privileged to have a part in establishing 7 churches and 7 missions in Macedonia in the last five years. To God be the glory!
Earlier this year, as Pam and I sought the Lord's leadership for our lives and ministry, we began to sense God's call to prepare the church in Nampa for a change in leadership, and for us to devote our full time effort to planting church is Macedonia. It is with gratitude to our great God that we obediently answer His call.
Your Continued Support is Needed!
Needles to say, we are very excited about what God is calling us to do. Having recently visited the field again, I am reminded of the great door of opportunity for effectual ministry the Lord has opened for us. With less that 1% of the population of Macedonia considered to be born again believers and Islam at a staggering 30% of the population and growing, to say the need is great is an understatement.
We cannot do this great work along. Your prayer and financial support is greatly needed if we are going to succeed at this great task. Will you partner with us as we take the Light of Christ to this needy part of the world? It is necessary for us to raise monthly personal support in order for us to answer God's call to this new ministry. Please pray about supporting us as your missionaries to Macedonia.
A short time from now, I would like to call you in order to talk with you about scheduling a service at which time we can share our vision for Macedonia with your church. Since in the past you have entrusted us with the responsibility of representing you as your home missionaries to Idaho, our hope is that you will be able to add us to your missions family as your missionaries to Macedonia.
Thanks again for your prayer and financial support, but most of all for honoring us as part of your missions family as we planted Harvest Fellowship Baptist Church in Nampa.
Sincerely in Christ,
Lou
In 2004, God called us to plant a church in Nampa, Idaho. Since you have been in the loop by way of our prayer letters I'll spare you the details other than to say God has blessed our efforts to follow His leadership by allowing Christ since we arrived. One man (our first convert) has surrendered to full time ministry and enrolled in Bible college. A lot of ministry that can't be detailed in this limited space has taken place. It is all to God's glory, but your partnership has been vital to our success, and for that we thank you.
A New Field! The Macedonian Call
Allow me to digress in time. In 2003, the Lord led me to join with four other men in the establishment of Balken States Ministries. The new ministry was designed with the purpose of partnering with national pastors in the Balkan states, specifically those located in Macedonia and Bulgaria at the time. Balkan States Ministries would provide much needed support for pastors and churches in the area until they could become self-supporting.
While we have enjoyed being a part of taking the Gospel to the same area of the world that God led the Apostle Paul to (Acts 16:9), our work has been limited due to our primary responsibilities in the U.S. Even with limited work, our partnership with Marjan Angelovski and the other pastors of the Balkan States Ministries has been privileged to have a part in establishing 7 churches and 7 missions in Macedonia in the last five years. To God be the glory!
Earlier this year, as Pam and I sought the Lord's leadership for our lives and ministry, we began to sense God's call to prepare the church in Nampa for a change in leadership, and for us to devote our full time effort to planting church is Macedonia. It is with gratitude to our great God that we obediently answer His call.
Your Continued Support is Needed!
Needles to say, we are very excited about what God is calling us to do. Having recently visited the field again, I am reminded of the great door of opportunity for effectual ministry the Lord has opened for us. With less that 1% of the population of Macedonia considered to be born again believers and Islam at a staggering 30% of the population and growing, to say the need is great is an understatement.
We cannot do this great work along. Your prayer and financial support is greatly needed if we are going to succeed at this great task. Will you partner with us as we take the Light of Christ to this needy part of the world? It is necessary for us to raise monthly personal support in order for us to answer God's call to this new ministry. Please pray about supporting us as your missionaries to Macedonia.
A short time from now, I would like to call you in order to talk with you about scheduling a service at which time we can share our vision for Macedonia with your church. Since in the past you have entrusted us with the responsibility of representing you as your home missionaries to Idaho, our hope is that you will be able to add us to your missions family as your missionaries to Macedonia.
Thanks again for your prayer and financial support, but most of all for honoring us as part of your missions family as we planted Harvest Fellowship Baptist Church in Nampa.
Sincerely in Christ,
Lou
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