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May 2018 New Horizons

Telling the Mighty Deeds of the Lord

 

Contents

Telling the Mighty Deeds of the Lord

The Future of the Reformed Church in Haiti

A New House for Bethel

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Telling the Mighty Deeds of the Lord

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?” (Ps. 106:1–2). I have set myself up for an impossible task. As my family and I anticipate concluding our missionary labors in Uganda and returning to the United States this coming summer, I want to respond to the call of the psalmist. I want to offer thanks and praise to the Lord while recounting the great things that he has done during our time overseas. Yet the psalmist asks, “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise?” The implication is that no one ever could. This ought to be the testimony of every Christian in any and every circumstance, and it is certainly true for us as we close one chapter in our lives and begin a new one. We look back and see that God’s blessings have abounded in such great number that it would be vain to try to recount them all. Yet we are called to do the impossible, ... Read more

The Future of the Reformed Church in Haiti

When you think about the work of the OPC in Haiti, who comes to mind? Most likely it is the missionaries who have labored here on your behalf since 2003. Maybe you think of Matthew Baugh, who gave his life in service to the kingdom in Haiti. Maybe you think of your current missionaries, Octavius Delfils and Benjamin Hopp, who are preaching and teaching in various locations in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and on the rural island of La Gonâve. Who would have thought that God would raise up Octavius, a Haitian man, send him to seminary in the United States, and then return him to his native land? And that he would be working alongside a native of Canada like myself? Yet, even though we see God’s providential hand in bringing these two missionaries together to work in Haiti, they are not the future of a Reformed and Presbyterian church in Haiti. No, it is the men from the indigenous Haitian churches who are its future. The beginning of the regional church in Haiti is based on these Haitian ... Read more

A New House for Bethel

Last summer, Bethel OPC in rural Carson, North Dakota, packed up their pew Bibles and moved. But not just down the street, nor even to a neighboring town. No, Bethel moved sixty miles away to the city of Mandan. There, they are settling into a big brick edifice with maple wood floors and plentiful Sunday school rooms. Built in 1920—only two years younger than Bethel’s building in Carson—the Mandan building was in decline when Bethel first viewed it. As soon as the sale went through, the members spent hours stripping carpet, cleaning furniture, and painting walls. In August, they held their inaugural morning worship service in the new sanctuary. It was the first Sunday morning in years that the doors of the Carson building were shut for any reason other than snow or wind. Having housed services for ninety-nine years, that building has been the site of faithful worship for as long as member Cynthia Swimley, 59, can remember. She attended with her family as a child, and, after moving back to the area ... Read more

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