Blog Update | Operation UK

Good Day!

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:36:06 -0500

I had the wonderful privilege to baptise our first person here in the UK today! A young man by the name of Saccintha Raj was invited by a co-worker to attend our church. He has been coming faithfully for the last five weeks. Sunday evening following services, he came to our home and he gave me a very clear testimony of salvation when he lived in India. He stated "I was born again in 1999, but I have never grown, what should I do next?" I wish everyone was that open!!!! He was baptised today, and has a desire to follow Jesus Christ in his life! I also asked you to pray for Bradley, the Jewish man that came last Sunday. Bradley attended services again this Sunday, he told me that what I showed him from Scripture last week from Isaiah 53 has been burning in his heart. I truly believe that God has opened this dear mans eyes to the truth of Messiah! He will be away in Holland on business this week, please pray that when he returns, I will have the opportunity to "preach unto him Jesus" just as Phillip did with the Ethiopian Eunech. Overall, we praise the Lord for a good weekend, first time visitors, and a wonderful baptism service this afternoon. Thank you for your faithful prayers for us!

Sincerely,

John

II Cor.4:7

The water was freezing!

Praise the Lord!

Children's Activity!

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:31:42 -0400

We had our first children's activity today, God really blessed with twenty children attending this morning. Sara and a few ladies in the church did a "Balloon Blast" and the children had a wonderful time together. Sara was also able to teach a short Bible lesson and character lesson to the children today. Overall, it was a great joy to see the children having a great time at church and learning about the Lord! It is also exciting to see the young people of the church growing up in church! We look forward to the day when they will bring their children to church and to activities!

Tomorrow!

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:48:53 -0400

We believe as Christians that Sunday is the first day of the week not the last one! Tomorrow, we are praying and expecting a great day. Please pray for two guests that have committed to attend services tomorrow. Elaine is the lady that sold us our Volkswagen when we first arrived in the country. She has committed to attend services tomorrow! Elaine has recently suffered from cancer and it has caused her to think about eternity. I have had three great conversations with her, she is very tender towards Christ at this time, please pray for her salvation. Also, there will a Jewish man named Bradley in services tomorrow. Bradley phoned my mobile two nights ago and told me that he has had many questions as to whether or not Jesus Christ was the true Messiah. Thank God that a man has been witnessing to him over the last three months. After services tomorrow morning, Bradley and I are to sit down and discuss Isaiah 53. Please pray that God will give me wisdom and power as I witness to this dear man! It is so exciting to see God at work in this city, please pray that He will continue to use us in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, our family has adjusted extremely well to the new community and our new surroundings! Please pray that our container will arrive. The last we heard it has been delayed in Florida! This is not the end of the world, but winter is getting ready to set in and most of our winter clothes are in the crate!!! Beside this, everything else has gone extremely smooth with the transition, please pray that God will use us tomorrow!

Sincerely,

John

II Cor.4:7

P.S. Titus has already made some new friends with people from Egypt!

Sorry for the delayed correspondence!

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:07:24 -0400

"We live in a first world country that moves at the rate of third world countries." At least that is what a man that lives near us feels. We have had a roller coaster five weeks attempting to get internet to our home. I think we have finally turned the corner and we are up and running! Praise the Lord! We have so very much to update you since we first moved over. We have been in the UK for one month exactly today. We have already seen God do some incredible things for our family, church, and ministry! We praise the Lord that we have seen souls saved, and have at least three people to baptize in the very near future! God is already working! I will update you very specifically in the near future, thank you so much for your patience for our lack of response in emails. Please pray for us tomorrow, we are praying that the Lord will give us a great attendance and that people will be saved. I will be preaching from Luke 15 on the subject of "Lost." Three lost things a coin that did not know it was lost, a sheep that did not want to be lost, and a son that did not care that he was lost. Pray that the Lord will use the Word mightily tomorrow. Thank you for praying, we have settled in and we are running full speed! We love you and we are praying for you as well!

Sincerely,

The Anderson

II Cor.4:7

IN LONDON!!!

No More Boxes!

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:11:03 -0400

The past week has been a very busy one for our family! I returned home from preaching last weekend in Virginia and North Carolina on Monday late. We started packing boxes, selling items, and giving away many other things. We finally finished packing late Saturday evening. Our truck came Monday morning, now all of our things are on the way to London, England! We have been busy, but we also had alot of fun while we packed and moved boxes! Thanks for praying!

John

Coming Together!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:52:22 -0400

We want to thank you for praying for our housing situation in London. The Lord provided the exact home that we were looking for. The home had all of the things that we were needing and quite a few more than we were expecting. The greatest thing, it was in our budget and in a safe area of London to live in! We praise the Lord for His goodness to us and we thank each of you that are praying for us. Please pray for us this week, we are getting our crate ready to ship, so there are quite a few boxes and odds and ends to square off this week! Thanks again for praying!

John

P.S. We have to bring the bicycle.

Commissioning Service!

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:16:05 -0400

Sunday evening, our home church had a commissioning service for our family. We had a great time of fellowship with our church family and were challenged from God's Word by Dr. Thurman Wade, and my father and pastor, Doug Anderson. The preaching was great and the time of prayer and fellowship was wonderful with our families and home church. We appreciate so very much the privilege to partner with Bible Baptist and for all of the dear people that pray for our family on a daily basis. We are counting down the days until we leave, until then, there is much work to be accomplished! Please continue to pray as we finish our preparation and preaching schedule!

John

II Cor.4:7

Sara's Dad and Mom with the children.

Dr. Thurman Wade is the General Director of Macedonia World Baptist Missions.

Commissioning Prayer.

Pastor's Presentation.

Ladies in the church made this beautiful cake!

John & Dr. Wade.

An Open Door

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:08:00 -0400

Throughout the last two years, we have seen the Lord open door after door for our family and ministry. We have been praying diligently that the Lord would open the right door for us in London. We have been preparing to move 25 miles from the heart of London and work with three churches on the southeast side of London. The Lord has opened a new door, the right door for our ministry. Seven miles from Heathrow Airport on the west side of London, the Lord has opened an opportunity to work with a group of people that have a desire to reach their community with the gospel. After prayer and counsel, we believe that this is the Hand of God at work and the door of opportunity that He has opened to establish an autonomous work on the west side. We praise Him for His leadership and guidance in our lives. Please pray that God will give us great wisdom and favor as we begin reaching out in this extremely international community with the Gospel of Christ! Also, we will continue to help the three churches on the southeast side by preaching, and conducting home Bible studies, and praying that God will send the right pastor their way. I am convinced that God is wanting to work in this great city, we need more laborers than ever before. I have been and continue to pray that over the course of the next seven years, God will raise up 50 pastors to come to the "forgotten mission field" of London England. Will you join us in prayer and ask that God will work in a mighty way in the days ahead!

Happy Birthday Titus and Sydney!

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:44:44 -0400

July 23, our son Titus turned four years old! We are so very thankful for Titus and for what he means to us! He has been such a good boy as we traveled and presented our ministry across the country to many churches. His name means "Pleasing", we are praying that he will grow up to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord! Happy Birthday buddy!

Also, our daughter Sydney turned two on July 25. She is such a pretty little girl, she takes after her mom, thankfully! She also has been a blessing to our family and we are so thankful that the Lord has given her to us! Love you Sweetie! Below are a few pictures from their party.

Got The Visas!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:48:24 -0400

Praise the Lord! Fifteen minutes ago, our family was issued our two year Minister of Religion Visas to enter the UK! Thank you all for praying for us, it has been a long task, but thankfully, they are on the way to Atlanta from New York. This is such a blessing! Again, thanks for your prayers!

John

II Cor.4:7

Reputation versus Integrity

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:14:31 -0400

I rarely post things that do not relate directly to our ministry and what the Lord is doing in our lives; however, this subject in a measure relates greatly to any ministry and every Christian's life. I hope you don't mind me being a little personal tonight: My father has been pastoring eighteen years at the same church. Quite an accomplishment for any pastor in any ministry, especially when the average pastor's tenure is 21 months nationwide! You do not stay somewhere this long without being misunderstood, misrepresented, and even outright lied about! I praise the Lord that through the thick and thin, he has stuck it out! It is a great testimony to the grace of God! I recently was speaking to someone about my father and the ministry, my friend asked me, "What do you admire the most about your father"? Without hesitation I said, "My father is not a perfect man, but my father is a man of great integrity." I began to think about that, just because you may have a great REPUTATION does not mean that you have INTEGRITY! You see, your reputation is what people THINK about you; your integrity is what GOD KNOWS about you! The last fourteen months have been the most difficult that I have ever seen my father go through. People who have benefited from his life and ministry, their homes are together today as a result of his love and counsel, their children are saved today because of the ministry of our church, their lives enhanced spiritually; turn and attack and say things that are harmful to the work of God, the man of God, and the NAME of God! It is difficult to watch your pastor, mentor, friend, and father be attacked by people of low or no integrity, but it is a great blessing to see that through every bit or it, he has maintained his integrity! Praise God! Thank God that there are men, just like my father, who have great integrity. Let us not concern ourselves more with what men think, than with what God knows! By the way, if you live a life of integrity, you will have a good day at the Judgement Seat of Christ; if your life is solely dependent upon the opinions of others, you may need to do some house cleaning! May God help each of us to determine that we will be a people of integrity! Thanks for letting be brag on the Lord and a little on my dad tonight!

Love you Dad!

John

II Cor.4:7

Titus and Grandaddy!

Looking forward to the Lord's Day!

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:35:15 -0400

I always look forward to Sunday! Many believe that it is the last day of the week, but for believers, we believe that it is the First day of the week! We honor God on the Lord's day by devoting it completely to Him! It is the only way to start the week out properly! This Sunday we will be in Dalton, GA all day. Sunday morning, I will be preaching an Anniversary service, then that afternoon, I will be preaching again. I am excited about the text that the Lord has laid on my heart to preach! Sunday evening, I will be going to across town to preach in another church for the evening service. I always anticipate the Lord doing something! Please pray that the Lord will use us for His honor and glory. I hope you have a great day as well as you honor the Lord on His day!

John

Progress!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:02:48 -0400

All of our final paperwork is in for our visas. Please pray that the final process will go smoothly and that we will receive our visas in quick order. We have sold half of our belongings and are preparing to sell the other half! We are greatly anticipating our move, but there are many details that must be cared for. Thank you for your prayers, we were able to open our British bank accounts and get our UK banking situation resolved. This week we will know the final costs on our shipping and deposit for the home in the UK. These will be extremely busy days, so please pray for wisdom and direction!

God Bless!

John

Mrs. Joyce Riley

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:43:08 -0400

I want to send a special prayer request to you this evening. A friend and supporting pastor, Brother Judd Riley, called me this afternoon and asked me to pray and have my friends pray for his wife Joyce. Brother and Mrs. Riley serve at the Ridge View Baptist Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. They both came down recently with salmonella and were very ill for a few days. After a couple of days, Brother Riley was back to good health, but Mrs. Joyce could not shake it. She went into the doctor and found out that she not only had salmonella but also had colon cancer. First of all, we praise the Lord that she went to the hospital in God's Divine providence and the problem was discovered. I would like to ask each of you to spend a few minutes praying for Mrs. Riley that the Lord would place His healing hand on her body. Also, please be praying for Brother Riley, he is a dear brother in Christ and has been a great encouragement to me. The Rileys have been serving the Lord for many years faithfully in Colorado and they continue to do so. I would also ask that if you have a minute, please jot Brother Riley a quick note via email to let him know that you are praying for him and his dear wife. His email address is: rvbc@msn.com I know that he would greatly appreciate the encouragement and your prayers at this time. This verse has come to me this afternoon while I have been praying for the Rileys: But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;...Malachi 4:2

We do not believe in Divine Healers, but we do believe in Divine Healing!

Instant Messaging

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:23:12 -0400

I love technology today! One of the "fads" in the last three years has been instant messaging, or better known as text messaging. This morning, I was up early praying about some of the needs in our ministry and for our move over to the UK this summer. We have been praying specifically about one decision that needed to be made, but we were needing an additional $1000 to take care of it. I prayed this morning very specifically about the $1000 need. I finished my prayer time and started checking emails, when my phone vibrated this morning with an instant message. It was a friend of mine in Ohio that I have not seen or heard from in over 8 months. I called him on the home phone and we caught up with what was going on in our lives and with our families. Before we hung up he said " We want to be a blessing and help you guys get over to England this summer, we are sending you a check for $1000, will this help"? Don't you love instant messaging?!?! I know that each one of us have needs and have requests that we have prayed to God and God has answered; but isn't it great when it is instant! A friend of mine, who is a missionary in India, preached a message with this thought: "God always answers your prayer! When you pray outside of the will of God, the answer is NO! When you pray in the will of God but the timing is wrong, God says SLOW! When you pray in the will of God, but there is something that God wants to teach you before He answers, God will say GROW! But when you pray in God's will, the timing is right, your heart is right, and your willing to obey God no matter what the answer is, God says GO!" Thank the Lord for His provision and for His Instant Messaging and Answering Service called Prayer!

Happy Fourth of July!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:01:25 -0400

We hope you have a great holiday today!

Wrapping Up!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:21:00 -0400

We are in the process of selling off our "stuff", ordering our container, and making final preparations for our move abroad. It is amazing when you start going through all of your "stuff" to see how much can fit in small places! Sara is having a yard sale on the Fourth of July, we are hoping to get rid of most of our "stuff" then. We also have made contact with a new realtor in the UK that is currently assisting us with finding the right rental home for our situation. Please begin to pray that through this relationship we will be able to introduce her to Christ. Her name is Frances.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. Mark Stewart is the Middle East Director for Macedonia World Baptist Missions. Brother Mark's wife, Sandra, passed away on Tuesday after a two year battle with cancer. Please pray for Brother Mark and his two precious daughters, they are eight and six. Brother Mark has always been a great encouragement to me, there have been many late nights when I have been driving alone that Brother Mark has called to say hello and that he is praying for me. I think he stayed on the phone to make sure I did not fall asleep while driving. He has been a dear friend to me, please pray for he and his family at this time. Also, please pray for me as I plan to attend the funeral sometime this week.

2. England is the most difficult country in the world to open a bank account in. Please pray for me tomorrow as I work diligently to finish the final requirements to open the account.

3. Please continue to pray that the Lord will provide the necessary funds that we need for this move abroad.

We look forward to all that God will do in the days ahead! May God bless you in a wonderful way!

John

II Cor.4:7

Youth Sunday

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:31:34 -0400

Please pray for us this weekend as we travel to Tennessee to preach all day for a church for their youth emphasis Sunday. I alway enjoy when I get the opportunity to preach to teenagers, I hope that it will keep me young! The Lord has given us some great opportunities to be used in the past preaching to teenagers. When I first started preaching at the age of seventeen, I committed to the Lord that I would always preach somewhere if the Lord would allow me to do so, and with His help I would give it my best! We have been delayed for our departure to London by several weeks, the Lord has continued to open doors of opportunity to preach while we are waiting to move. Please pray that this Sunday will be a life changing Sunday for some teenagers! I never want to preach without EXPECTING that God will do something in someone's life! One of my mentors in the ministry used to always say, "If you preach like nothing will happen, you will almost always succeed!" I love what John Wesley said when someone asked him about his methods of drawing large gatherings and crowds, "If you want to draw a crowd, set yourself on fire and people will come to watch you burn!" I hope that you have a great Sunday in your local church, please pray for us as we travel and minister this weekend.

P.S. Expect something great to happen!

Visa Don't Leave Home Without It!

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:09:07 -0400

Please pray for us, we have been in contact with Home Office of London, British Consulate in the States, and three courier companies regarding our visas to get into the UK. We are not running into any roadblocks so far, and everything seems to be going according to schedule to get into the UK in more than enough time for our departure date. We have two specific things I would like you to pray with us about: (1) We have to have an exact address in the UK in order to obtain our visa. We have almost secured this, but until this is cared for, we will not be able to get the visa. (2) We have been in contact with a church in the UK that does not have a pastor right now. They have a parsonage that is empty at this point. We have contacted them and asked if we could rent this from them until we find a permanent home. Please, Please pray that if this is the Lord's will for us, that He would work out the details in order for us to temporarily move into this parsonage until we settle into a more permanent situation. Thanks to each of you that email and let us know that you are praying for us, we greatly appreciate it and need it during these weeks.

John

II Cor.4:7

Hectic Weeks Ahead

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:37:53 -0400

Please pray for us during the next four weeks. Along with several meetings and many appointments that must be kept, we have many decisions to make and many things that must be cared for in order for our move to London to go smoothly. I want to ask each of you to pray today and tomorrow for a very important unspoken request for our family. God has been so gracious to us by allowing us to serve Him in London! Please pray for these final weeks of preparation that God would do some incredible things on our behalf. We know that He is able!

Praise the Lord Anyway!

Fri, 30 May 2008 16:14:40 -0400

I was filling up our car with fuel the two days ago when I began to have a panic attack, like many of you have had recently, when I saw how the cost of fuel continues to rise. I at first began to complain, then I remembered that fuel costs $10 a gallon in the United Kingdom, most countries do not have a choice of regular, plus, or premium. The countries that do have lower prices are mostly under great oppression by a wicked tyrant that is consumed by his own desires. Then the ultimate conviction came, at least I have a car to put fuel in!!!! As I reflected, I began to realize that God has truly been good to each of us to allow us to live in our country. This does present a great challenge to many missionaries who are driving across the country raising their support. Please pray for these dear families as they follow God's will. We know that God will provide, but please pray that their faith will be increased during this test. As our cost of fuel rises and as we see the world panic, the Lord gave me this verse yesterday, "They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay." - Psalm 18:18 Although the prices may rise, God is our STAY! Praise the LORD anyway!

Memorial Day

Sat, 24 May 2008 08:26:37 -0400

I am grateful that every year our country honors those who have given their lives in order for me and my family to live in freedom. The word "memorial" literally is defined as "something established to remind one of a person or event." The greatest privilege that our freedom has afforded us is the opportunity to freely preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to take His message around the world. The thought occurred to me a few weeks ago that I am grateful that we are on the "sending" end of the spectrum and not the "receiving" end of the spectrum. With all of the issues and challenges that we face as a nation, we should each thank God that we still have the liberty to preach the gospel of Christ! This is more than a day away from work and more than a opportunity to see friends, it is a day that should burn in our hearts the grace that God continues to shed upon our nation. So take advantage of your liberty today friend, grab a stack of gospel literature and share with your world the greatest Memorial Day message that someone needs to hear, Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

Podcast Coming Soon

Thu, 22 May 2008 03:11:16 -0400

I am currently working on a new podcast that we will be airing each week. I have been told that over 50% of Londoners listen to a Ipod or an MP3 player every day! What a great way to begin reaching people via a podcast! These are great days to be serving the Lord, we have more technology opportunities to share the Gospel than ever before! I can't wait until we start!

Welcome to Our Blog!

Thu, 22 May 2008 02:02:31 -0400

I want to welcome you to the new Operation UK blog! We will be updating this blog with articles, pictures, and information about our family and ministry. We look forward to staying in touch with each of you in a regular way. Thanks for subscribing, we will be posting soon!