Some recent pics...

Here are some recent pics!

 

1. Angie, your little niece takes after you... when mommy and daddy are busy, the best way to keep yourself happy is to find the baby powder and give your dolly a little powder bath:)

 

2. Here is a pic of the leadership training seminar that is hosted once a month.

 

3. Sarah loves to join us at the table, and Hannah loves for her to do that:) (Note daddy's arm behind Sarah:)

 

4.Here is our precious princess getting some beauty sleep. She is getting so big, and growing up so fast! We love her dearly...

 

5.And last but not least, here is our precious Hannah doing what she loves to do: copying mommy and pretending. Here she has set her "table" (the bottom step) and she's all ready to eat. One day last week, she and I had a "tea party lunch" at the coffee table since Victor wasn't able to come home for lunch. So was so grown up acting as she sat on a paint can at the coffee table and fed herself and drank a little every now and then, and then helped mommy clean the table afterwards. Such fun! And Sarah watched it all from the couch:)

Maxson Family Newsletter - July 2009

 

Dear praying friends,

Greetings from chilly Africa!  We're in our cold season, and experiencing temperatures down to 53 F.

This past month or so has been one of joy mixed with sadness.  Beth's grandmother in Iowa passed away on May 25^th from cancer that she suffered from for quite a while.  While we rejoice that she was a believer and is without pain with Christ, we also sorrow for ourselves as she was a dear grandmother.

The leadership training seminars on May 16^th and June 20^th went quite well.  We had over twenty people show up for each.  Dad finished the sufficiency of Scripture and then dealt with regenerate church membership.  These are vital truths that are sorely lacking here.  I taught on the early church and Middle Ages.  Percy Chisenga is teaching on systematic theology, and gave an introduction in May. In June he dealt with the topic of Bibliology or the doctrine of the Scripture.

Dad and I both are involved in personal discipleship.  We have decided to give one service per month to the Malawian brethren who are training for leadership.  This has worked out quite well.

We also praise the Lord that the house in Williston has finally rented out beginning this month, which is a great blessing and answer to prayer.

Our girls continue to bring great joy to our hearts.  Sarah is an adorable, smiley baby.  Hannah is saying small words, and understands a lot of what we say!

Beth continues to love and encourage me.  Her main ministry is supporting me and caring for our girls, but she also has a burden to be more involved in the lives of the young ladies in the church.  Pray for her as it is not easy to be so far from family and friends. 

Some Prayer Needs

We are still waiting on God for housing in town, so we can be more available for the people of the church.

Continue praying for revival and the full establishment of the church here.  Pray for a permanent location for the church also.  Our venue is suitable for the bookshop but will soon be outgrown by the church.  The last two Sundays we had about 45 people, and only one or two empty chairs!

God has met our needs, over and above what we deserve.  We praise Him for that.  Pray for grace and wisdom to reach out and care for others in this needy land.  Thank you for your prayers and generous support!  God bless you!

In Christ,

Victor, Bethany, Hannah and Sarah Maxson

The ultimate healing...

Dear friends,

Many of you may remember that Grandma Gwinn was diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago this month. After one year of treatments, chemo, and a surgery, God gave her the ultimate healing on Monday and took her home to be with Him. She is now painfree and in a better place. We praise God for that, but also grieve for our loss. We all loved her dearly and will miss her SO much. It won't be quite the same now with her gone.

 

Please continue to keep my family in your prayers, especially my mom, as they seek to make the funeral arrangements and minister to others while greiving themselves.

 

In Christ,

Bethany

Victor and Bethany Maxson's Prayer Letter

Dear praying friends,

How thankful we are to God for His goodness to us! Since we wrote last, we have seen God's hand in wonderful ways in our lives! Our praise fails to do justice to the greatness of God's mercy to us! We would like to praise God for the following blessings:

· Sarah Hope's birth - April 3rd

Praise God for adding Sarah Hope to our quiver! She is a sweetheart with long, dark hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She is growing well. Hannah likes to kiss her and hold her too! Pray with us for the salvation of our little ones, for wisdom in training them, and for their health and safety in this dangerous world. Beth has recovered well, and we are thankful!

· Our Second Anniversary

Our second wedding anniversary came and went on April 7^th without a big to-do, since Sarah had just been born. However, we were able to go up to Kuchawe Inn in Zomba on April 21^st, for a special "vision" time of remembering where the Lord has taken us, and planning and dreaming together about the future. It was a priceless outing with the beautiful girl God has given me!

· Church Covenant and New Venue

Late March saw the church covenant, a joyous time of commitment by 18 people. In April we finally found a suitable location for the church to move to in Limbe, a small office room which we use in the week as a bookshop and Sundays for church. The bookshop has some great potential for ministry as well. Not only are we getting sound Reformed literature out at reasonable cost, but it also provides a meeting place in the week for those who want fellowship, counsel or prayer. Please pray for this ministry as well. May 3^rd the people corporately chose the name Antioch Baptist Church, as we are no longer in the Chichiri location. It is our desire that Antioch Baptist Church would be a training point and launch base for biblical truth and missions within Malawi like Antioch in the New Testament. Pray for us as we would like to move closer to town to provide more opportunities for hospitality and interaction.

· The First Leadership Training Seminar – April 18th

The first leadership seminar was a blast! Several from Grace Baptist in Zomba came with Pastor Chisenga. Also we had visitors from within Blantyre along with men from our church. We had glorious teaching on Zambian Reformed Baptist history, the sufficiency of Scripture, and early church martyrs. It was a joyful time of fellowship and study! Please pray for the next seminar on Saturday, May 16^th! Pray that these would help equip the men here to be ready and able to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). A dear church in NC has lovingly sent some study aids as gifts to the men here, for which we are very grateful.

Pray for us, dear ones! We are so thankful for your sacrificial giving and care in so many ways! Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We love to hear from each of you!

In Christ,

Victor, Bethany, Hannah, and Sarah

Hannah homemaker...

    Yesterday while Victor was out doing ministry, Hannah and I set about to do some housework. First, we put on her "Keeper at home in Training" apron (mom made it for me when I was a little girl, and now my little girls are wearing it). Then we set about doing the dishes. I washed and Hannah rinsed (with a little help). Then we swept the floor. Then we made bread. Hannah's favorite part of that, was when I told her to Puuuush on the dough. She loved it. Then she made her own recipe while I cleaned up.

 

Now all we need to work on, is getting dressed for the day before coming to breakfast. (Actually, when mommy is responsible for getting three people ready in the morning, some things slip:)

 

More to come soon...

Bethany