feeling came over me. As no
one was coming out, I went back into the church and went to the balcony as
the church was dark. They were having a candlelight service, and as I sat
there watching the service unfold, the reality of receiving Christ, who is
the Light of the world, became real to me. I knelt in the balcony that night
and received Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I started reading my Bible some but really didn't grow until
Laura and I got married. We started doing devotions off and on, which helped us
to grow. Real growth took place a couple of years after we were married when we
started working with the youth group. As we studied to teach them, we started
learning the truth of God's Word, which caused us to take giant steps in our
growth. As the years have passed, with their ups and downs, trials and
victories, we have come to know God in a very special way, as He is always there
meeting our every need. We serve a wonderful, loving God.
Laura's
Testimony
I was not brought up in a
Christian home. My parents were Catholic. I had been allowed to attend Sunday
School and Vacation Bible School every once in a while at a church near us.
In my freshman year, our math teacher took a group of us to a Word Of Life
Youth Rally and it was then that I realized I needed my sins forgiven and
trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I didn't share this with my parents, and of
course, didn't grow, as I wasn't attending any church.
When I married Lester, we wanted our family to be brought up in a Christian
home, and that is when I started to grow in my Christian walk.
The plan God had for my life wasn't how I planned it, but I am thankful I
followed His plan. It wasn't always easy or automatic, but because I knew it was
His plan, I knew He would always be there with me. His plan has been more
rewarding than mine would ever have been.
Profile-
Lester & Laura Black
We both accepted Christ as our
Savior while in high school. We were married in 1959 and have two children: our
daughter, Amy, living in San Diego and our son, Kenneth, living in Maine. We
have three grandchildren. In 1961, we volunteered to be leaders of the youth
ministry at our church. In the years following we expanded the youth ministry to
include any of the youth of our town who wanted to attend. We were involved with
this ministry for 16 years. During that time, I was also on the board of
directors for an area wide youth ministry. We were involved in several other
ministries in our church. I received Bible training through extension classes
with Glen Cove Bible School.
Our next phase of ministry was assisting in the planting of an independent
Baptist Church in Winthrop, Maine. While assisting in planting Victory Baptist
Church, I was also interim pastor at Richmond Corner Baptist Church. I
eventually became the pastor there for 14 years. After resigning from the church
in 1990, we took six months to work with missions before going into another
pastorate. We volunteered with New Tribes Mission and went to the Bible School
in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to help with the remodeling project. While there we had
the opportunity to go to Paraguay for five weeks and work with missionaries in a
tribe. It was while we were there that God laid on our hearts the need for
support workers. We returned to Maine and started pastoring Allagash Baptist
Chruch with the idea of going out and speaking in churches, encouraging folks to
get involved in support work. It was during this time that God made it clear to
us that He wanted us involved in mission support work.
In 1993, I resigned as pastor of the Allagash Baptist Church, and we took
the step to become missionaries on staff with Friends of NTM which is now
FRIENDS IN ACTION. We took a year to raise our support and left Maine in
September 1994 with $650 in support and God's promise that He would guide our
steps and meet our every need. The first year our involvement was in the area of
leading volunteers and overseeing the work in the project ministry. In September
1995, we went to our headquarters in Mansfield, Missouri, as Lester was asked to
serve on the Management Committee. He has also been in charge of building,
remodeling and maintenance, managing volunteers and volunteer projects. Laura
has been his secretary an has also helped with office work, bulk mailing, and
housekeeping.
In 1999, we started going to churches as representatives of Friends In
Action. We were only able to do this on a limited basis due to the
responsibilities at headquarters. In January 2000, another couple came on staff
to take over the responsibilities we had at headquarters, and we moved into the
position of full time mission representatives. In 2002, Friends In Action made a
change in direction. After much prayer we felt God's leading to change missions.
In May of 2002, we started the application process to join New Tribes Mission.
In August of 2002, we were approved as Associate Representatives with New Tribes
Mission. Our ministry at this time involves meeting with pastors, speaking in
churches, at mission conferences, group meetings and with individuals one on one
to present the work of tribal evangelism through New Tribes Mission.
We became a member of IFCA International in November of 2001. We present the
work of NTM through the use of a Power Point presentation. We also use videos
and messages to help people understand the work of missions in the areas of both
church planting and support work. We challenge them to become involved, both on
th local level and missions worldwide.
As of January 2002, we have walked with God for 45 years. We have served Him
in many different types of ministries in many different places. He has taken us
through valleys of trials and to mountaintop victories. Through the years we
have found Him to be a faithful, loving God who has guided our footsteps and met
our needs. We give Him the glory for the lives we have been able to touch, for
the accomplishments He has allowed us to be a part of, and for the priviledge of
having been chosen by Him to be His servants. We continue to serve Him through
the ministry of New Tribes Mission
Lester & Laura Black
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