Tiny Teams; God’s Perfect Design
God
sent us a couple of very small mission teams this season. One was a team
of two people, and the other was a team of one! However, God orchestrated
every detail of these “teams”, and their impact was BIG!
Our one-man team was Chris Snyder of Richmond, VA. As
you know from our last update, we purchased our first sailboat for
Maritime Ministries Bahamas. This is the 29’ sloop “Saltair” for use
in the SALT program and other sailing ministry. It needs a lot of work,
and Debra and I were praying about how to go about accomplishing some of
the really daunting tasks required. One of the most daunting of these
tasks was stepping the mast and rebuilding the rig from scratch. The rig
had been previously blown down in a hurricane, and it was not only broken,
it was missing—all we had was the mast and boom. As I looked into all of
the “on-the-fly” engineering, and collaborating that I would need for
the job, I kept thinking about our friend Chris Snyder. He and I have a
great rapport, and I am very confident in his capacity to research and
acquire the skills necessary to do just about anything. The only problem
was, it was getting on in the year, and it seemed very unlikely that he
would be able to get time off on short notice. I had not actually
contacted Chris, but I prayed about it one afternoon, and I asked the Lord
if He would make a way for Chris to come down. That evening, Chris sent me
an e-mail, out of the clear blue, asking how the boat refit was going and,
by the way, if we needed him to come down, he was willing and able, and
could get the time off as early as one-week’s notice! Praise the
Lord!
We didn’t have the money to purchase all of the
stainless steel hardware and wire-rope required for the job—about $1500.
We began to pray and ask the Lord to provide this need, and upon our
request, our home Church—Mechanicsville Christian Center, sent us a
check to cover the need! THANK YOU MCC and God for providing. We also want
to say a big THANK YOU to Oak Grove Baptist Church for a recent donation
to the boat project. 
So we measured and re-measured. Chris and I researched
and collaborated via e-mail, we scratched our heads, read lots of books
and websites. Then we ordered 300ft. of wire, and a bunch of turnbuckles,
and other hardware. It was shipped to Chris’s house, and he flew down
with the whole rig-to-be in his luggage. Then Chris, my Dad, and I worked
feverishly over the whole week, and miraculously, God enabled us to
accomplish the job! Hallelujah! Thank you to Chris and my Dad for your
invaluable help
We would like to say a special “thank you” to Thomas
Geniole and Becky Ferguson for coming to Long Island for a week of
ministry in March. They were our “two-man” team, and their trip was
divinely ordered by the Lord. Not knowing exactly what to expect, they
decided to put the planning of the trip in God’s hands. Prior to their
arrival, Reuben and I were trying to come up with a way to teach purity
from Matthew 5:27 to our 5th and 6th graders for youth night. 
Well,
Thomas and Becky happened to come just after going through a series on
purity with their youth group taken from Matthew 5:27! Becky even happened
to have had her notes with her. God did indeed take care of the planning
in this and so many other ways. Thomas and Becky also helped us to do a
two day training retreat for the S.A. L.T. boys. They used their teaching
skills to equip the boys with vocabulary tools they needed to successfully
take tests at school. These were just two of many things that happened
during their trip. Thank you Thomas and Becky for giving your time to make
a difference on Long Island.
