Category: From Our President

Words cannot express the blessing of the World Wide Family Fellowship Meeting last month. Pastor Chad Estep and the Valley Baptist Church of Edinburg, Virginia, rolled out the red carpet for the World Wide family. Brother O’Malley and the office team worked along with the church to make the week move smoothly from one blessing to another.

We are indeed laborers together in the Lord’s work. All of us depend on others to see our ministries go forward. For the mission itself we see the missionaries, office staff, board, sending churches, and supporting churches come together to make progress possible. When each of these are dedicated to serve the Lord there is no limit to what can be accomplished.

It was a special blessing to see Mrs. Arlie Wingard accompany Dr. Wingard to the meeting. It is difficult to talk to Mrs. Arlie without a smile, because her presence is so delightful. She doesn’t like leaving home much anymore, but I appreciate the effort she made to be with us.

It is easy to see that many of us have become gray heads, white heads, and bald heads over the years, but praise the Lord there is a generous supply of young missionaries coming behind us. It is a joy to see the young children and teens of missionary families around the church. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Valley Baptist Church staff for making the week so enjoyable for the young folks.

Next year we plan to meet with Pastor Tim Daniel and the New Testament Baptist Church in Kinston, North Carolina. If you are planning to be in the States next summer please put that in your calendar for the third Monday through Thursday of June. We greatly desire your fellowship.

Thank you for your faithful service to our Lord. I pray that He will bless you continually with His divine presence and power. Whatever you are facing today, remember that the One Who has abides in you is greater that he that abides in the world. Your victory is secure in Christ.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Family Fellowship Week always begins on the third Monday in June. This year, we are meeting with Pastor Chad Estep and the Valley Baptist Church in Edinburg, Virginia. I always look forward to these days. Since 1976, I have missed only one of these meetings. There is no doubt that they have changed over the years. The length has been shortened by one day, and the days that we do meet have been made considerably easier to attend. Is it necessary to meet every year? No, but it is very helpful. My heart is always blessed by the messages and by the fellowship.

None of us see each other often. Though Brother O’Malley and I lived beside each other for many years, it was rare that we spent time with each other. I have worked full-time with Pastor Wingard since 1985, but we spend far too little time together. Family Fellowship Week gives us the opportunity to fellowship, and I can hardly wait!

Fellowship is so important. The early followers of Christ continued in some very important things like doctrine, breaking of bread, and prayer. Listed among those things was fellowship. Every family needs fellowship. Every church needs fellowship. Friends need fellowship. You might do without it long enough to begin thinking that it isn’t all that important, but it is very important.

We are strengthened by fellowship. If you go long periods of time without spending face-to-face time with other Christians, you might start to think you are all alone in the battle for this amazing faith. We are made stronger when we have the opportunity to bind our hearts together with others of like precious faith. Will you have the strength to stand alone? I hope so, but you don’t have to stand by yourself when there are so many others that would delight to stand with you.

We are encouraged by fellowship. We are living in a very complex and ever-changing world. Discouragement has a way of creeping into our lives a little at a time. When we realize that there are so many others fighting the same battles that we are fighting, we are encouraged by finding answers in fellowship together.

We are challenged by fellowship. I suppose that everyone feels like quitting a few times in life, or perhaps a few times every day! When we share in fellowship our victories and defeats, we can challenge each other to press on toward victory and success.

Don’t wait for fellowship to just happen. So often it gets pushed into the background because it does not clamor for our attention like so many other things in life. Schedule fellowship. Make it happen! You might have to go out of your way. You might have to rearrange your schedule. But when you do make room for fellowship with other believers, you will come away thinking you should do that more often.

If you can make it to Edinburg, Virginia, this month I will look forward to your fellowship. If you cannot make it this year, please make sure it is in your schedule when you are in the States.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Paul challenged Timothy to “preach the Word.” At that time, Paul was not under house arrest, but was actually in prison awaiting execution. He knew that there would eventually be a turning from the truth. Obviously, not everyone turned to Christ when Paul preached. It seems that Paul’s warning involved religious people that appeared to be drawn to the truth, but would eventually seek teachers of their personal persuasion. They would gravitate to preachers that would tell them what they wanted to hear. So Paul admonished Timothy to stay with truth, regardless of the changing winds that would blow around him.

As proclaimers of the truth, we must not be sidetracked by the desires of others, but rather maintain a straight line with the truth. Paul did qualify his charge: Timothy was to preach the truth with “longsuffering.” Examining his ministry in Corinth would reveal Paul’s ability to deal with a disobedient people while exhibiting longsuffering among them. He also wanted Timothy to preach “doctrine.” The early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” If we are going to say that the Lord said a certain thing, we should know that He said it. I heard a preacher say, “I am going to preach Isaiah 6 in a way that you have never heard it before.” Well, there was a reason that we had never heard it preached that way before! He ignored the Bible completely to say what he wanted to say.

There are many good things to do, but for us, there is nothing more important that sharing divine truth. Many have fallen by the wayside, and unfortunately, many more will in the days to come. Let’s do all that we can to make a difference by consistently proclaiming the precious Word that has been faithfully handed down to us. We are called on to endure affliction, work as an evangelist, and make full proof of our ministries.

We know, as Paul did, that we are soon to be in the presence of our Lord. Can we be as confident as Paul when facing that reality? Yes, we can be, if we handle the truth as he did. We must establish and maintain the priorities in our life as Paul did so long ago. The world needs the truth today as much as any generation before us.

I pray that the Lord will bless your labor of love this month. Digest His wonderful truth and pass it on to those among whom God has called you to minister.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

We are living in an ever-changing world today. Each missionary that is accepted with World Wide has been challenged with the responsibility to have the means to evacuate his family if it becomes necessary. This can be done by an escrow account, a credit card that is dedicated to this cause, or a sending church that is willing to accept the responsibility.

We recognize that God has not given us the spirit of fear. However, He has given us the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. Please develop a plan ahead of time that would afford you alternate ways of evacuation by car, train, boat, and air. This is not only a consideration for those that are in traditionally dangerous areas; it is now important no matter where you are.

Should it ever become necessary for you to make a move, please get a message to the mission as quickly as possible. Your safety is very important to us, and though we cannot do everything, we certainly will do all that we can to guarantee your well-being.

It is very important that we take a balanced look at the changes that are being magnified every day. This is not the time to obsess over what could happen. When this happens, we are of no value to those the Lord has called us to serve. But neither should we simply pass it off as though we have no responsibility to keep our families safe. If they are living every day in an atmosphere of insecurity, your best work has not been done.

Please know that you are loved and prayed for by many around the world. If there is anything that we can do to help you make proper plans and preparations, we would be delighted to do so. We pray that the Lord will bless you with a lifetime of faithful service in that special place that He has called you to serve.

It is a pleasure to be associated with you and your ministry. Our Lord will bless your labor of love. We pray that His promise to never leave or forsake you will be a manifested reality to you with every passing day.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Will you think back to your interview with World Wide during your application process? I know for some of us that was a long…long…long time ago! At the end of the interview you would have been asked to simply make us aware if you changed your mind about the position that you held at that time. In order for any of us to have been accepted, we would have—of necessity—responded with an answer of “yes”.

in·teg·ri·ty: 
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. “He is known to be a man of integrity.”
synonyms:
honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness. “I never doubted his integrity.”

For so many today, the end justifies the means. You see it in politics and in business all the time. But this should not be part of the Christian’s dealings. Anyone has the right to change his mind about almost anything; however, if we establish relationships on our words to each other we should be honest enough to let the other know if we change our position.

Personally, I have no problem respecting someone that has an opinion contrary to mine. As a mission, World Wide has never set out to hurt anyone, even if we disagreed. On the other hand, it is very difficult for me to understand why we would establish a relationship on an even playing field and not maintain a steady line without communicating that for weeks, months or even years.

Once trust is broken it is a very difficult thing to renew. If you change your mind about any of the things covered in the application process, please let us know before it finds its way through some other means to us. We mean you no harm, but the integrity of our relationship must be maintained if we are going to work together.

We are proud to say that by-and-large the people we have worked with through the years have dealt above-board with us. It is rare that situations arise that require us to go separate ways. As we are traveling to various churches we look at the missions’ display, and we are very pleased to talk to the pastor about your ministries. Keep up the good work. We pray the Lord’s richest blessings to be yours.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

There are so many things about the early church that are impressive, things that made them a successful force in world evangelism. They were fervent in prayer. The Holy Spirit obviously empowered them. The Word of God was used skillfully. Along with these was their ability to press forward in good times and bad.

On the day of Pentecost they experienced great success in seeing three thousand saved, baptized and added to the church. However, it did not cause them to accept this as the end of their mission, but rather as the beginning. The church was not content with the advance that they had made. Instead, they pressed forward.

The early success was followed by persecution. This persecution would be repeated again and again with the same result. They continued to press forward. They were threatened, beaten, jailed and rejected. But when they were given the opportunity, they pressed forward.

There was a disagreement in the church in Acts 6. The church quickly found a solution to the problem and made haste to press forward. As a result “the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly.”

Stephen was taken from them. Peter had great success in the house of Cornelius. Philip had wonderful success in Samaria and Gaza. Paul was banished from cities, imprisoned, and stoned. The end was always the same: they pressed forward.

Now, fast-forward two thousand years. We also enjoy successes and endure failures. The question is this: Will we continue to press forward? We can pray. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. We have even more of the written Word than they had. Do we have the conviction necessary to stay in the fight for the souls of men?

It seems that every force on earth is opposed to the forward movement of the gospel, but it had to appear that way to the early church as well. The world was upside-down for them, and without question it is for us as well. We have a command to take the Gospel to the world, and we cannot permit anything to slow our forward march. Take courage, for we have the authority of Christ to accomplish this great task.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

A few days ago, Darleen and I had the pleasure of visiting with Pastor and Mrs. Wingard. It was a blessed time. Sometime during our visit Pastor Wingard gave me an article to read on church planting. It was encouraging to read an article by someone that actually has something good to say about these days. There seems to be a resurgence of church planting in America. This is wonderful news indeed.

I have observed in recent years that our Lord is calling some dedicated servants into His work. We are closely associated with young families who are on deputation to raise support for worldwide ministries they are burdened for; however, that is only part of the story. God is also raising up some amazing young pastors for America, pastors who are deeply concerned about reaching people for Christ both home and abroad. These are men who see beyond their borders.

There is no doubt that we have lost many churches that at one time stood at the front lines of battle and did a great work for our Lord. It only seems to make sense that we need to reproduce good ministries in other places. There will always be churches closing and compromising, and it might be that a few of them can recover. More than likely the answer is to start new churches more rapidly than we lose them. This is not only applicable in America, but also in the entire world.

How marvelous would it be if a real revival of reaching people with the Gospel broke out in our churches today? I am not advocating numbers for the sake of numbers, but might I remind you that the book of Acts has a great deal to say about reaching one, two, three thousand, five thousand and multitudes. But it is not enough to simply reach them. They will need to be baptized and taught. This will require establishing a New Testament church, because baptism is a local church responsibility. It is one of only two ordinances committed to the church.

We have little to no idea exactly what the future holds. However, we know from church history that our God has done great things in difficult times. These are not days to hesitate. These are not days for fainting. We desperately need a generation of Christian soldiers that will rise to the occasion. Let’s go after sinners with the Gospel of Christ and see the ministry as a long term service for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Maybe you are in a dark and dismal place today. Perhaps you think that no one knows your needs or even cares that you have them. Let me assure you that the One who put you where you are does indeed know, and He cares. Prepare your heart for God to do an amazing work in and through your life.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Rarely do I watch a large volume of news anymore. This morning has been the exception, primarily because of the events of recent times in Paris, France. There are so many uncertainties in the world today. Perhaps it is not so new, but it seems that it is, at least in its intensity. What are you facing today that occupies your attention? Physical problems, spiritual problems, financial problems and international problems are on every hand. Oftentimes, it seems to be overwhelming. How much more for the Apostle Paul. He was thrown out of most of the towns that he preached in. However, that was the least of all the things that he faced. Now he takes time to ponder all that the Lord is preparing for us in the future. His conclusion was that these are “light afflictions” when compared to the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” that is in our future.

This is Paul’s advice to the believers in Philippi in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” A vacuum is rarely a good thing. The natural tendency will usually be to think on the temporal. It requires purpose of mind and heart to overcome the natural. We will think, but we can make choices about what we think on. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). I wish that the doing of this was as easy as typing it in this note! This requires diligence on our part. We often rush through life hoping to outrun the thoughts that haunt us. We will never be fast enough to be successful in that race. Sometimes we must be still and purposely push out the thoughts that have invaded the vacuum with the things that are eternal.

Stop! Take a moment to ask yourself, “What am I constantly thinking about?” Would our Lord be better served if we replaced those thoughts with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report? I suppose that some are so made that these come naturally, but most of us probably have to think this way on purpose. Life is generally not easy. It was not in Paul’s day, and it certainly is not in ours. The Lord wants us to be victorious. That victory will be initiated in our thoughts.

I am encouraged and blessed by your continued faithfulness. Let us, by the grace of God, live victoriously on purpose. It certainly will not happen otherwise.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Perhaps many of you read this post by Nikki Brown, but in case you missed it, I thought it worth using in Headquarter Happenings. Paul often shared his hardships. He never did so to get pity. He did it to encourage others. I believe Nikki’s post will do the same.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Shock
by Nikki Brown

Culture shock. The very words that haunt most any person that may be moving away from a familiar environment. Physical ailments, separation distress, or emotional outcries may all play a part in this cruel “shocking” attack.

I’ve been told that culture shock comes and goes in waves. Sometimes you feel as though you can finally call this new place “home.” You almost mentally breathe a sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back for conquering the challenge of living in a different place. Other times, (usually right after that sigh) it hits you like a 100,000 lb. elephant, and then that elephant finds comfort in sitting on top of you for as long as he possibly can. Yep, it’s that bad and seemingly almost impossible to get rid of.

Culture shock also has many different faces. There are times it takes no shame in rearing its ugly head and makes its obvious appearance. Language barriers, poor or no reliable medical care, corrupt government, weather, and critters are good examples of things that can trigger a feeling of culture shock. Unfortunately, on the other hand, it can also creep in slowly and not as blatantly, but effects you very deeply. Maybe a hurtful word from a national, a picture of a family get-together back home, or an upcoming holiday season would be good examples. Either way, it’s attack is very real.

The effects of culture shock can also vary from each occurrence. While you may be “laughing it off” at one point, during a bad case of culture shock, that same event may leave you incredibly angry, upset, or even sad. It’s hard to tell what you may actually feel, but usually it’s not something you’re willing to write home about.

How do you deal with it? When do you get to a point when culture shock doesn’t come around any more? Why doesn’t anyone seem to understand what you’re going through? Well, all I know is that the answer is God. God helps me to deal with each attack of culture shock. God lets me know that no matter how long it may last, He will give grace. God understands when everyone else doesn’t.

I’ve been told by missionaries who have been on the field more than 20 years that they STILL experience culture shock from time to time! Doesn’t that sound crazy? No. Not to me. Not to them. While they have been living overseas all that time and learning to adapt in that country (learned the language, working in that culture, making lifetime friendships in that same country), they still get that slap in the face every once in a while letting them know that they are from a different country.

So, I’d like to share with you just a few things I’ve done/am doing to help me cope with this unforeseen attack.

1. Reading God’s Word.
This is by far my greatest help! I find peace, comfort, encouragement, and help by reading the Bible. In college, God gave me a verse that I still quote most often to this day. Psalm 27:13 “I had fainted, UNLESS I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

2. Talking about it.
Now, this is not always an easy thing to admit to someone, but it is most important to have an accountability partner. For me, the Lord has blessed me in giving me a few very close friends, including my husband, my BFF (who also serves as a missionary on a foreign field), and a close friend that serves as a missionary in Cambodia. Each of these people provide a source of support that help me make sure I’m not checking out of the work here.

3. Reading encouraging letters.
Most of our letters come in the form of emails, text messages, or Facebook posts. Either way, I have a few that I often return to over and over again to remind myself that we do have faithful friends back home praying for us. Two weeks ago, we received 52 emails from a Sunday school class that had read our prayer letter that day! How encouraging is that? Just yesterday, I received the sweetest text from my daddy just saying I was on his mind and he was praying for me. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. All of these things were a great help to me.

4. Singing songs (in English).
Tonight, after a long day—well, really a long week….ok, who am I kidding—it’s been one of those MONTHS….Matt and I sat down together at the piano and just sang some songs. The truths revealed in many great hymns are such a blessing! Music is a great gift from God that He has used many times in my life.

There are many other things I’m sure people can do to help them continue on in their fight.

Don’t worry, this post is not some cry for help or even a plea to go home. I REALLY DO love being here. I would not want to be anywhere else other than where God has us—and Cambodia is definitely the place God has us! We are more than blessed, too! God has made our lives so wonderful, and I believe it’s because we have just committed ourselves to serving Him. His grace is sufficient!

“Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” John 4:34

Our Lord had traveled to an area that was obviously dangerous for Him and His disciples. It appears that His followers did not think that it was a good idea to go, but since He was going they would go also. When they reached their destination the Lord sent them to town to purchase provisions for them. While they were taking care of mundane things—that were certainly necessary for their sustained well-being—the Lord remained by Jacob’s well. He had a divine appointment.

A woman came to get water, and He engaged her in conversation. It would not be long before she would recognize Him as the promised Messiah. She went to town to tell everyone about this One who she met at the well. Many followed her out to see for themselves what this man was like.

When the disciples made their way back with the much-needed food, they felt that He should join them for the meal. They had been traveling and were undoubtedly in need of the nourishment. However, Christ found something that was even more important. He said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me….” He did not fault them for doing that which was only natural, but what He was busy with was even more important. It was His desire to do the will of the Father, and “to finish His work.”

It does not matter how long we have been about the Lord’s work. We must “do” and “finish.” It might be deputation or field ministry that you are involved in presently. The idea of getting the job completed is the same. Surely everyone gets sidetracked from time to time, but we must remind ourselves to lift up our eyes and be reminded of His calling. We do not have to get overwhelmed with sin to fall short of His will. Many have started out right only to be distracted by less important things along the way.

In the beginning it seemed that His ministry would only reach one woman, but soon the followers of Christ would see that reaching that one would result in many trusting the Lord. We will not always see immediate results as they did that day, but nonetheless finishing His divine purpose for our lives is of utmost importance.

May the Lord not only help us to finish the job, but may He help us to love doing it. This is not the time for us to be half-hearted in this most noble cause of reaching the world with the gospel of Christ, and then teaching them to follow Him as they grow in the grace and knowledge of our great God.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone