In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

First of all, I thank God for this opportunity to serve Him, by serving the His people at the Baptist Church of the North (BCN) and in all of Mauritius. As Jesus said “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).
I apologize for the delay of my first blog entry. With a variety of initial tasks before me I’m grateful that my wife has helped to keep people up-to-date on certain aspects of life in Mauritius. When describing Mauritius, people come to mind first. Although there are a variety of beliefs and a high burglary rate, most people are friendly. I have learned that if your house is broken into, the thieves try to accommodate you as much as possible, in that they wait for you to fall asleep and then quietly tip-toe around you, as not to wake you.
On a more important topic, I believe the Lord is going to use my family mightily on this island. My prayer is that God uses me, and my family, effectively and efficiently to minister to the people of BCN, to the local community, and throughout the island. As I’m writing this, I’m twisting to look at a dry-erase board on the wall behind me. One the 2nd or 3rd night in Mauritius, I outlined four objectives, making sure to stay focused on the Lord’s work. By His strength I pray I will accomplish His will.

1) Equipping the Saints, for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12) by teaching them word of God, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. While doing this I will focus on building and strengthening the following:
-----a. Servants
-----b. Leaders
-----c. Marriages

2) Community Evangelism. Within the local community I will personally be knocking on gates (no direct access to doors because of all the security walls) and handing out evangelical business cards to people on the street, in the grocery store, etcetera. I will also focus on:
-----a. Establishing a Street Witnessing Team
-----b. Distributing sermons recorded on CDs. Also a great way for visitors from Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa to take the message back to their country of origin!
-----c. Improving the BCN website to include storing my recorded sermons for people to listen to, anywhere on the earth.

3) Pastoral Care. Ministering to the sick and to those who have backslide away from the truth of Christ.

4) Become involved with and establish a stronger connection with:
-----a. Calvary Chapel Fellowship (Pastor Dominique’s church). The Mauritian government will not allow him to use the name “Mauritius” in the church title. I want to fellowship with him and minister to him and his family, as well as work on the physical needs of the building.
-----b. Campus Crusade: This is just a place-keeper for all the Christian organizations on the island. I want to strengthen our relationship with these organizations and hope to fill Pastor Ron’s (CC Myrtle Beach) speaking schedule when he returns to the island in June/July or 2010.
-----c. Workforce: The mostly Hindu Mauritian government does not like the idea of Christian-based initiatives and missionary support, but loves the idea of bringing business to Mauritius. Still figuring this part out.

Well, back to preparing for Sunday’s message in Colossians chapter 3: Putting off the old man and putting on the new man.


Bill - Foot washer