Balto Goes to Monroe

Before God began to knit our hearts together with Monroe Bible Church, I only knew Monroe, WI, as the location for a fabulous outlet store for yummy cheeses and chocolates. Now we have a better and more significant reason to go there!

Balto posed with the Erickson family--Eric, Debbie, McKenzie, and Jovanny. They also have another son, Brant, 19, who plays guitar with their worship team. Missionaries to the Philippines, Eric and Debbie were supported by our church in Mt. Morris and have since returned to the states where Eric is the Associate Pastor of MBC. Balto wanted to go home with Jovanny, but, since he is promised to Tracy's mom, Jovanny willingly released him.

Tracy preached three times on Sunday and God was truly with him. Accustomed to speaking only twice, he was challenged by speaking a third time. Would his strength and vocal cords hold out? Eric encouraged the congregation to help him in the third service by verbalizing their "amens", which they did. A number of people stopped by our display table and signed up to receive our prayer letter. These times are always encouraging and we felt truly welcomed by the church. Afterwards we enjoyed stuffed pizza with the missions team and their families. We also got to know Pastor Dan Krahenbuhl and his wife, Jennifer, a bit better. Tracy and Dan have motorcycled together in the past. What is it with pastors and motorcycles?

The fellowship of our new brothers and sisters in Christ has been a blessing. We look forward to deepening our ties with the people of Monroe Bible Church.