Jeff Carter
Since it has been quite some time since we have given you all a ministry update, I thought this might be a good time.
Summer is upon us. And with that comes a yearly, predictable, summer slump in giving. It is understandable with the change in the pace of life that summer often brings that giving can oftentimes not remain at the forefront of our minds. Please pray with us this summer that God will move in the hearts of those He would to prayerfully consider how they might support us in this unique and important work—of equipping God’s saints for works of service and for taking that next step in their spiritual journeys.
Another change that this summer has brought is that our wonderful and extremely talented partner in ministry, Jaimi, is about to have her first child. This is such a blessing. But along with that blessing comes the sadness that she will be leaving us in the next month or so to follow the Lord’s leading of being a stay-at-home mom…certainly one of the highest of all callings!
Because of this God has brought to us just the right person to take over the reins from Jaimi. And I say, “reins” because for anyone who has been around here, you know that it is Jaimi who makes this operation function. Let me take this opportunity to thank Jaimi for her tireless efforts and cheerful disposition; for her unique set of giftings and talents, and for her attention to detail which has made my job so much easier. Jaimi will be greatly missed! Please keep Jaimi and her family in prayer as they begin this new phase of their journey.
The person God has brought to us is the soon-to-be daughter-in-law of our evangelism champion, Lynn. Lynn’s son James is marrying Hilliary in the beginning of August. We are excited for the new life that Hilliary and James are setting out on. But this month is when Hilliary is coming on board here at HaDavar and we couldn’t be more excited.
I want to let Hilliary tell her own story. So here is a bit of her testimony:
I was born in Long Beach, California on October 28th, 1992. I started out living in North Long Beach, but we moved frequently due to my father’s job and my parents’ part time hobby of flipping houses. I was fortunate enough to have a very loving family, we would always go on adventures together, such as camping trips, surfing trips and we always enjoyed each other’s company. My mom was a stay at home mom, and my father worked as a hard working contractor and still does to this day. I am the youngest of two, my older brother Travis is two years older than me.
My mom grew up in a Catholic family, and decided that she wouldn’t force me into any religion. She never liked the rituals that came along with the Catholic Church. My dad acknowledged Christ but has never had a sincere interest in Him. It is safe to say that I grew up in a morally Christian home. With that being said, when High School came along I stayed out of trouble, got good grades and was active in sports. A friend that I met in High School invited me to a discipleship group, where I met people who would eventually bring me to Seaside Community Church in Huntington Beach. This was when I started to attend church regularly to listen to a feel good message without any mention of true repentance and what it really means to make Jesus Christ Lord of your life. I would eventually go to college to study cosmetology, yet I still remained active at church.
Soon after I graduated from Golden West College, I started my career at a salon in Costa Mesa and successfully worked there for a number of years. At this point I began to be too busy for Christ, having never fully believed I was always falling into temptations and all the friends who had brought me to church had abandoned the faith for the things of the world.
Nevertheless, in God’s perfect providence, one of my most frequent clients (William Cline) arranged for his brother James to come in for a haircut; which led to a discussion of faith and many other points in regards to Jesus Christ. Eventually James invited me to a HaDavar Bible study—it was Pastor Sherman’s teaching on the book of Acts that brought us together and started our friendship. Slowly God began to work in my life and started to draw me closer to Him but it wasn’t until January of this year (2016) that I was finally assured of my salvation. God used many sermons, many people, and many testimonies to show me how spiritually bankrupt I was apart from fully trusting in the work of Christ and His work alone. By the grace of God I am what I am, I stand forgiven and freed from my sin because of what He did for me at the cross. It took me many years to hear solid biblical teaching, and it took me many years to truly repent, but God did everything in His perfect timing to bring me to where I am today.
Hilliary is starting in June. Please pray that her transition is seamless and that God will continue to bless her in this new position.
Other ministry updates I wanted to pass along include the new class we are beginning the second week of June. It will be taught by Chris Sandoval, the new lead with Ratio Christi ministry at UCI. It will be an 8-week class which will explore tactics Christians can use to share their faith and interact with non-believers. Well known apologist Greg Koukl has written a wonderful book on such tactics, and we will be going through these ideas together. Please join us June 9th at 7pm for the beginning of this rich study. Please see the HaDavar website for more details.
Just about a month ago we completed a 9-month journey through the book of Daniel. What a rewarding study! Daniel is truly an amazing book. Please visit our website to view any past classes you might have missed. We also recently completed a brief study in “Making sense of suffering”—a challenging topic, but one that is in need of study. We also had a wonderful 4-week journey through the book of Ruth with a world-class scholar, Dr. Ken Way; the new head of the Old Testament department at Talbot Seminary, Biola University. This class ran concurrently with an introduction on how to share your faith with Muslims. This is an extremely timely topic in a day and age when fear and suspicion can sometimes prevent us from being salt and light to a group that is often maligned. Steve Esmond just completed a study through the book of Job. Then just prior to Easter, we explored the apologetics of the resurrection, and saw how much solid proof there is for the foundation of our faith—that Jesus really did rise from the dead! Lots of great opportunities for growing in your faith. Be sure to check out any past classes online, in our School of Biblical and Jewish studies.
Our ministry partners in the Czech Republic have recently returned from a trip to Israel and reported having a wonderful time. They are also planning on transforming part of their living quarters in Czech into a ministry retreat for Israeli pastors, in need of times of refreshment. Please keep them in prayer as they pursue this new venture.
Also keep in prayer our friend and partner Todd Morehead as he is participating in the “Walking on Water Surf Marathon on June 4th. He is looking to raise some $4,000.00 to support this worthy ministry. If you are interested in making a donation, please visit:
https://grouprev.com/WalkingOnWaterFoundation-todd-morehead
Todd is also in the midst of raising support and awareness for his next movie that is in the works, which they hope to film in Israel coming up soon. Please keep them in prayer for this as well as their mission trip to Japan in August.
Please keep us in prayer here at HaDavar as we seek to follow God’s leading and do our part in spreading the good news of Messiah.
-Jeff