"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;"

Psalm 118:29a

 

 

"For the beauty of the earth, For the beauty of the skies…

Hill and vale and tree and flower, Sun and moon and stars of light…

Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”

 

In a recent trip to mid-Pennsylvania driving through the Appalachian Mountains, we were blessed with the good fortune to see scenes full of the bright fall colors of reds, yellows, oranges, browns, and greens of the mountains filling our windshield around every turn as we drove around the mountain curves of the road.

 

In reflecting on that experience, I am reminded of the words of the song, "For the beauty of the earth." As the colors of this fall season begin to transform the green leaves of the trees on the mountains, the last words of the chorus go through my mind, "This our hymn of grateful praise,"   and usher me into the Thanksgiving season which is soon to be upon us.

 

This year of our being in the US is filled with many things for which we are grateful. We had an excellent time of rest and renewal, including several visits with our children and our respective families. In addition to having wonderful opportunities at numerous churches to speak of our ministry in Nepal, we have also been blessed to be fairly regular attendees at our home church. We formed a Missionary Partnership Team, a small group of people in the US to assist us in many ways.

 

We are thankful for the many people who contributed to our support. Those who contributed between March and June had their gift matched by the Luther Rice Matching Gift Program. Through this generosity, God provided for our needs and we reached our goal for the fiscal year! It was so encouraging to have friends and family support us.

 

We continue to move toward our return to Nepal. In that process we still need specific additional support for the coming year.

 

We are also thankful for many of you who support the World Mission Offering (WMO), which is being received in American Baptist churches this month. The WMO goes toward missionary support, and so it is also an important component of ours. At IM's website you may give online to either the WMO or our support.

 

Once again, thank you so very much for your prayers and support this year! It was essential for us, and for International Ministries. We appreciate it immensely and pray that God will repay you on our behalf according to Heaven’s storehouse of riches.

 

May the beauty of the fall colors, the beauty of the earth, guide you to being grateful this Thanksgiving season so you may join us in the words, "This our song of grateful praise." 

 

Gratefully,

 

Carole and Bucky

 

Carole and Bucky Sydnor