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Our hearts are thrilled and overjoyed by the things that God has done this month. The big highlight was our survey trip. My wife and I had the opportunity to go to Italy with our pastor and his wife. We spent a little under two weeks surveying the country. When we had been there before, the farthest North we had been was Florence and the farthest South was the Amalfi Coast. This time we were able to visit a number of cities in the far Northern regions. Many of the places we went did not have any kind of an Independent Baptist Gospel witness. This is truly heartbreaking to consider. We pray that God will send forth more laborers into these needy fields.

In preparation for our trip we planned on visiting 3 veteran missionary families. We had a great time meeting and getting to know the laborers that are currently on the field. I had the opportunity to preach 4 times: twice in English and twice in Italian. On Sunday we had great church services and fellowship with the Cook Family. We were able to watch God do a great work in the heart of a 45 year-old Italian man during the morning service and fellowship. During the preaching you could tell that this man was intently listening to the message. During the food and fellowship time God used all of the conversations to continue working in this man’s heart. As the events were wrapping up Bro. Cook, the gentleman, and I were talking in the hallway and he said that he was ready to turn to Christ for salvation. After a few moments, he bowed his head and received God’s precious gift of eternal life. Let me tell you, there were many tears of joy and great rejoicing in that house that afternoon.

Leading up to our trip we had been praying for God to give us wisdom and discretion on where we should start when we first move to the field. We praise the Lord that He has opened our eyes and given direction in this matter. There are still a number of items that need to be put in order, but we are excited about hitting the deputation trail in just two short months. Please pray with us as we move out of our house in the next two weeks and as we finalize our missions presentation.

In Christ,

Clifford Keister

2017 October – Click to download

 

 

Dear Pastor and Church Family,                                                                            September 2017

There is much to be thankful for this month. Most young people in our area started school this month and we also started up our Wednesday night Task Force program for the teens. This year we started running a bus so the children that come on Sundays could be involved. It was a blessing to have the older sister of some of our junior boys visit on the first night. Her younger brothers have been riding the church bus on Sundays for over a year, and this was the first time that she came to church. My prayer is that we will see her start coming to church so she can hear the gospel.

One of the local churches in the region held their annual youth rally this month. My wife and I had the opportunity to take the teen group down for this event. Five of our bus teens were able to come for the event. The games were exciting and the preaching was Spirit filled. God dealt with three of the teens from our group about salvation. Please pray with us as we continue to share the scriptures with these young people.

The Oklahoma State Fair takes place every September and our church had the opportunity to have a booth that promoted the Answers4life.net website. This was a wonderful learning experience for us and our church. Lord willing, we will see this online resource become an effective tool for reaching out into the community so souls can be won to Christ. My goal is to eventually translate all of the material into Italian so we can use it on the field.

Please pray with us as we will be leaving for Italy in less than two weeks. May the Lord prosper our journey, give us traveling mercies, and bless the time we spend with the veteran missionaries.    Upon the return of our trip, we will start moving out of our house. We have already had one garage sale, but we will need another one for sure. It is sobering and yet exciting to think that we will be hitting the road very soon. I would also ask you to pray with us about those who will take over the youth group for my wife and I. We have grown to love these young people and desire that the transition will be smooth.

In Christ,

Clifford Keister

Click to download 2017 September

Dear Pastor and Church Family,

Our cups are filled and overflowing. This August we were able to experience many physical and spiritual blessings. Normally, August is dreadfully hot in Oklahoma, but this was one of the strangest months that I can remember since moving here in 2004. We had rain and overcast skies for the first half of the month, and somewhat mild temperatures for the second half.

We started the month off with a conference that had an evangelistic focus. God allowed us to have the Tharp brothers in as the special singers and preachers. There was much Spirit-filled singing and a different Tharp brother preached each night. My wife also had the privilege to accompany the Tharp brothers on a few of their songs. The Epley family came in at the end of the conference and closed it out with more singing and preaching. God used all of the guest preachers in a great way. The sermons complemented each other and continued to build each night. The Lord worked mightily in our hearts that week.

The Lord blessed in our visitation and soulwinning this month. We saw a number of visitors come to church and the Lord allowed us to see a young lady, named Zaria, get saved during teen visitation. My former coworker, that was saved a few months ago, also led his first soul to Christ this month. He called me late one evening. I thought he was having an emergency, but he was so excited about leading a person to Christ that he had to tell somebody right away. There is no greater joy than to see the Lord working in our lives and the lives of those we are discipling.

A new semester at Beth Haven Baptist Seminary started this month, and I’ve been given the opportunity to teach the Missions class. We asked veteran missionaries to record video lectures on a number of topics. The students have been enjoying this format, but I have also gleaned so much wisdom. I majored in Missions in Bible College, but the timing for teaching this class couldn’t have been better as we prepare to start deputation. God always knows what is best.

Please pray with us as we prepare for our survey trip in October. Please pray for God’s provision of a deputation vehicle. God has already allowed us to book a number of meetings in 2018. Pray that more doors will continue to open.

In Christ,

Clifford Keister

Dear Pastor and Church Family,

Wow! It seems like yesterday was the 1^st day of June. We blinked twice, and the month was already over. The month of June certainly flew by but it was filled with many adventures.

Leading up to June, we had spent much time planning and preparing for teen and junior camp. This would be the first time that the young people from our church would attend Triple S Christian Ranch. This would also be my first time going. Our group had a little apprehension because we were going into uncharted territory, but there was also a spirit of excitement because of the reputation of the Bishop family and the stories we had heard about the camp. I was personally excited about the fact that our young people were going to have the opportunity to hear Bro. Terry Anglea preach. Upon our arrival at camp, we found out that he was not going to be able to be there. At first I was a little disappointed, but God already had a plan. Bro. Kirk Copeland and Bro. Rick Dawson filled in and God used them both to set the spiritual stage for the first two days of camp. Bro. Mike Ray preached the last two days and God used him to speak to the hearts of many of the young people. We truly had a great week at camp and were able to see the Lord move in a great way. My wife and I also celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on the 15^th while we were at camp.

After camp was over we came back home and prepared to hit the road again. This time we went on a much needed vacation. We headed out to Maryland to spend some time with my wife’s family. It was a blessing to spend time with family and it was also good to see many familiar faces at Woodlawn Baptist Church. We also had the opportunity to go fishing in the Chesapeake Bay. Our vacation was wonderful, but now it’s time to get back to business.

This month we were able to get our tickets to travel to Italy. We will be flying over in October with our pastor and his wife. Our goal is to visit with some of the missionary families that are currently in the country so we can determine who we should work with and where we should go when we first move over to Italy. Please pray with us as we seek the Lord’s will and wisdom in this matter.

We have also started to book meetings for deputation. Please pray with us. Our prayer is that the Lord would open the right doors for us, that He would bless in a special way, and that the Lord would allow our family to minister and be a blessing to others throughout this journey.

Sincerely,

Clifford Keister

2 Tim. 1:12

Dear Pastor and Church Family,

The month of May brought to pass a major milestone for our family in preparation for deputation. I scaled down, to only working one day a week at a secular job, and began working full-time as a staff member at Beth Haven Baptist Church. This transition marked the beginning of some practical ministry training and mentorship from my pastor.

As lay people, we had always served in church ministries like the bus route, Sunday School, and junior church, but we never fully realized what life would be like as full-time ministry workers. On the first week, we jumped into the deep end and quickly became intimately acquainted with the rigorous labor that the ministry requires. Truly, a servant’s heart is required to be successful in the ministry.

Some exciting things have happened this past month. The first thing is the discipleship we are having with one of my former coworkers. He trusted the Lord in the latter part of April and immediately got plugged into the Word, church, and soulwinning. In a year-and-a-half, his disposition toward me went from antagonism, to respect, to seeking, and then to salvation. God took two secular coworkers and made them brothers in Christ, and now co-laborers together in the work of the ministry. Please pray for Tyler as he continues to grow in the Lord and seek God’s perfect will for his life.

Another exciting event took place. I was out knocking doors one afternoon and was really struggling to determine where I should start. I decided to drop off a brochure to a lady that I had met a few days earlier. Nobody answered at her apartment so I decided to knock the rest of the doors on that building. Without fail, nobody was home. When I got to the last door, I thought that I would just put a tract on the door then leave, but the Lord said to knock it. A man named Bo opened the door and looked at me as though I was strange. That awkward moment turned into a two hour event. Bo was struggling with alcohol and was considering leaving his wife that very morning. Bo repented and trusted the Lord that day. He and his wife came to church the next day, and she trusted the Lord during the invitation time. On the following Sunday morning, I had the privilege to baptize both of them. Please pray for Bo and his wife as they grow and learn to walk with the Lord.

Genesis 24:27 has a phrase that says, “I being the way, the Lord let me.” It is always exciting to see how God works. Sometimes we may not know exactly where we are going, but when we are plugged into God and are faithfully doing what He desires, we will see him work in a special way. On that Tuesday afternoon, I went out not knowing whither I went, but God had a plan. Isn’t serving the Lord great!

The month of June will be busy with camp and other activities. Please pray that God will work in the hearts of the young people. Please pray for our family as we continue on in our training and preparation for deputation. Pray that we will see many more lives changed in the process.

Thanks,

The Keister Family