Thank you for your prayers for Brian Simmons of Mountain Home Church of Elwood (Colton, OR).  Brian has received exciting news from his oncologist following cancer surgery on his neck earlier this month: the surgeon appears to have gotten all of the cancer out, and he will not need any follow-up radiation or chemotherapy.  God is doing an amazing work in Brian’s body!  He still needs your prayers as the surgical wound heals.  It is taking a little longer than he expected, and at times Brian says he feels “fragile and frustrated”, but he is rejoicing in the thought that he is being healed day by day.

Caroline and I had a great time sharing the Word Sunday at Mayger-Downing Community Church (Clatskanie, OR).  Pastor John Thomas is nearing the end of an adventurous mission trip to Uganda, where he has been blessed to see the results of seeds planted when he taught there 15 years ago.  John’s wife Marilyn is eager to have him home, rejoicing in the good reports she has gotten from the mission field, and concerned that John’s knee has not yet healed from a chain-saw accident he had shortly before leaving Oregon. Please pray for John’s safety in his travels and for even more fruit for the Kingdom from this ongoing ministry.

Also up in the NWxNW section of the field:  Hudson Park Bible Church (Rainier) had another blessed Vacation Bible School last week, with help from InFaith puppeteer missionaries Larry and Vonnie Pratt, and they have a baptism service coming up soon as well.  The NWxNW ministry leaders’ fellowship (which met on the 12th in Clatskanie) will next meet in September, as the six churches we serve in that area all have busy summer ministry schedules ahead.

George Community Church (Estacada) is kicking off their annual Vacation Bible School this morning and continuing through Friday.  Caroline and I have many fond memories of VBS at George from the mid-to-late 90’s, when our children were young (and so were we) and the Lord allowed us to call that community our home.

Our Sandy Fellowship Breakfast had a good turnout last Wednesday at the Tollgate Inn, including for the first time pastor John Valnes of the Little Church in the Valley (Carson, WA), and new InFaith approved candidate Joshua Morgan.  Joshua is developing a mentoring ministry in Sandy, focused on discipling men to be godly fathers to their children.  Our next fellowship breakfast is scheduled for July 19 at 9 AM.

As summer settles in, let us all remember each season was created by the Lord for a reason, and ask Him and ourselves often, “What would He have me do for Him in this season of life?”

 Blessings!

Tom Hiscox, NW Oregon Area Missionary  thiscox@infaith.org