October 1, 2018 Ministry Update

     Let me be the first to wish you all a very happy Fall on this beautiful 90 degree day in Louisiana! If you know me, you know I greatly prefer Summer time; any temperature below 70 degrees is too cold for me. Though I do love Summer time, this past Summer was not an enjoyable one as a whole. After a profitable yet personally difficult trip to Guyana, I found  myself in a proverbial pit, out of which the Lord lifted me with His wonderful grace and mercy. It is actually quite a long and amazing story - too long to include in this update, but perhaps I’ll post it in my blog soon.

     While in Guyana, Greg Mann introduced a wonderful new discipleship training program called The Timothy Initiative which we will be incorporating into our ministry. TTI is a great tool which provides accountability and training for believers to effectively share their faith. I encourage you to check it out at ttionline.org, because it is a practical tool for any ministry setting. During this trip, a minister from a different denomination came to our trainingsessions and our church services. Rejoice with us, because that man got saved!

    
      Recently, I traveled to Florida on my quest to raise monthly support, and I must say it was a very profitable trip. The initial reason for the trip was to attend a wedding in Jacksonville, but there was also a pastor in central Florida who wanted to meet with me the next time I would be in the area. I was unable to schedule a church at which to present, but I decided to take a week to simply travel through the state and connect with new churches. I am blessed with several wonderful friends in Florida who either opened their homes to me, introduced me to their church, or both. After spending the week driving through FL and popping into church offices, I was able to make over twenty new missions contacts. All of these promised prayer support, and some are in the process of discussing my presenting at their church for consideration of financial support. 

     In the last weekend of September, I had the wonderful opportunity to present and preach at Victory Bible Baptist Church of Vidor, TX. A couple years ago, my church received so much help from so many after the Louisiana flood, and it was on our hearts to be a blessing to others who would go through similar circumstances. I was blessed to be able to go with a team from my church to help VBBC after Hurricane Harvey last year, and this year with their facilities back together, Pastor Carl Green invited me to return to share the Guyana ministry. It was a joy to see them again and to see how far the Lord has brought them!    

    
 Please keep praying as I raise support! I currently have 23% coming in, but 47% pledged in total. I am expecting to hear support decisions from two more churches in either October or November, so that is very exciting! Please pray for my dad; he has been facing some health issues since the Spring that have effected his mobility. It has been not only physically difficult but emotionally draining as well. Pray also for my back. I have been suffering with pinched nerves for quite a while now, and traveling for long hours certainly does not help. Finally, pray that I will stay spiritually strong and filled with Godly wisdom to be the man God has called me to be and accomplish what He has called me to accomplish. 

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” ~ James 1:5-6

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support; you mean very much to me. As always, if I can be a help to you in some way, do not hesitate to ask!

Blessings,

Nick LaRocca