Very soon we will be in another culture, language and worldview. We will see, hear, and experience things that will make us say “how do we say…this/that?” But we have already experienced searching for words in our mother-tongue language (English) this past Wednesday. Wednesday was a day we will remember forever, it was one of those days that we will look back on and reflect upon for years to come. Seth was ordained and we were commissioned by our home church in Pennsylvania. Seth sat down with several Pastors for almost two hours as they examined his theology/doctrine, and his philosophy of ministry. After they were done, they all came to a consensus and ordained Seth. Shortly after the ordination we had the commissioning service, the auditorium was full, and God was gracious and spoke to us all that night. It was such a special event! THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WAS A PART OF THIS SPECIAL DAY!
What happened during the commissioning service:
First, It all started off with a charge to us by the man who encouraged Seth to first come to Harvest, Pastor Seth Leeman. He gave us a challenging thought to live a life and have an “attitude worthy of the Gospel”. Next, Pastor Greg Stine from our co-sending church in Kansas gave the church a charge to take responsibility of us, keep track of us, send us, and to partner with us. What else occurred that night, Pastor Skelly orchestrated the service seamlessly, Seth’s grandfather gave the dedicatory prayer, the young kids of Harvest sang a beautiful song (and they were all soooo cute!), the church provided an opportunity for people to mingle at the end of the service over cupcakes and lots of hugs and tears. So what made you at a loss for words? Two things: 1. The church gave us an overwhelming love offering that stunned us. We tried to say thank you, but we were overwhelmed with emotions and in shock of how much people sacrificed for us. 2. The service ended by everyone lining up and saying good-bye and giving us hugs… THIS LASTED FOR CLOSE TO TWO HOURS!!!! Many tears were shed, hugs were given, good-byes were said, and to see a line of 100’s of people wanting to say good-bye to us was overwhelming. We want to say THANK YOU to our church body at Harvest Baptist Church, Pastoral Staff, other participating staff, family, and friends! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Other thank you’s (which we still see as an inadequate word) that we want to say and express our deep appreciation for:
- Journey, in Rochester, NY
- Canatella family, in Rosedale, MD
- Evans family, in Kiski area, PA
- Humble family, in Mansfield, OH
- Edgar family, in Natrona Heights, PA
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SACRIFICES! Your over and abundant love and sacrificial giving humbles us and makes us at a loss for words. Thank you for being used by God to bless us.
Update: We are at an approximate 91% of our monthly support.
-We are still waiting for our visa, we had another hang-up in the process but we are not worried. We have been in communication with both the consulate in Washington DC, and our leadership in Papua New Guinea. We “might” get our visa Thursday or Friday or anytime really, only God knows. On the plus side! We were informed by leadership that since we are a part of a small group coming we can assimilate into our language study class anytime we get there…whether the end of January or the beginning of February. We were encouraged to keep pressing on and expect to get to Papua New Guinea ASAP, whenever God allows. Be encouraged prayer warriors, we will get there in God’s timing. But please keep praying, so that we can get to PNG (Lord willing) by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week (1/29-2/2).
Thank you prayer warriors, thank you for reading this post, thank you to all those special families and churches mentioned above, thank you Pastor Leeman and Pastor Stine for bringing your families, representing your churches we love, and challenging us, thank you Harvest Baptist Church, thank you to our adult Sunday School class, thank you to both of our parents for being there and always being supportive, thank you to all of you who came Wednesday night from the Pittsburgh area, Beaver Falls area, Rochester NY, and New Jersey. Thank you, thank you, thank you! From the bottom of our hearts.
Because He said Go,
Your Feet To The Unreached in PNG,
Seth & Nicole Stokes
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7
Stoking The Fires 