IMS Editor's Note: In July of 2013, Mike and Kristen Balzer moved from Portland, ME to Burlington, VT to lead the Burlington church. In this article, the Balzers share a few highlights from the last two months in Burlington.
After studying the Bible for several months, Ryan Robbins was baptized into Christ in April! A junior on the rugby team, Ryan's conversion is already having a major impact on campus. In becoming a disciple, Ryan made some dramatic lifestyle changes that have gotten the attention of his friends and family. He has friends coming to church and studying the Bible, two of whom are close to getting baptized! He is eager to use his influence for the Lord when he comes back for his senior year in the fall.
The third weekend in May, we had a baptism and a restoration! Robert and Marcelle Whitcomb are the first married couple to be added to the fellowship in Burlington in quite some time. It is absolutely amazing to see how God has worked in their lives. Marcelle became a disciple when she was sixteen, and walked faithfully with God for many years. She eventually married a non-disciple, though, and in 2011 her marriage fell apart, as a web of lies and sin on the part of her husband was revealed.
After a few dark years, she reentered the dating world and met Robert on Christian Mingle, eager to be with a man more devoted to God. As they began their relationship, they started looking for a church to go to together, and through a connection with a coworker who is a disciple, they first visited the church in Burlington a little over a year ago. They loved the fellowship, but attended intermittently at first, focused on getting married and merging their families. This spring, however, they started coming regularly, having decided to prioritize church more, and eagerly signed themselves up for the Northern New England Marriage Retreat in Portland Maine.
God worked powerfully in their hearts over that weekend. Sam Laing preached to the men about being the spiritual leaders of their households, and Robert left asking the brothers in Vermont what he needed to do to study the Bible, get baptized, and lead his family spiritually! Marcelle was overjoyed as she had been urging Robert to get more involved, and he finally was in a place that he was able to wholeheartedly agree with her. They opened wide their schedules to study the Bible with members of the church in Burlington.
Marcelle made the decision to be restored and place membership with the church in Burlington. The weekend of May 24 was a joyous one, as many of the brothers and sisters gathered at the Whitcombs' house for Robert's baptism in Lake Champlain, and Marcelle read her letter and was restored at church the next day! Robert and Marcelle are already sharing their faith with family and friends, and their teen daughter is interested in studying the Bible as well.
Shared from International Missions Society.