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Preston's Blog   Welcome to my blog. If you would like to keep up with my posts please subscribe using one of the buttons above, which makes it much easier than checking this page everyday. I also would like feedback so please email me at rplong@fbclabelle.org with comments and suggestions.
  Preston's BlogSunday, July 04, 2010This time of year is fun for me because a lot of stuff is happening. I like being busy and enjoy
the summer heat. We are getting plenty of rain and the summer temperature is right on target. We are headed to New Orleans on the 4th and are very excited about this trip. Vacation bible
school will be fun in New Orleans as will the construction with St. Bernard Project. Please keep us in your prayers while we are gone. When we get home and rest for a week I will then load the bus and head to Lynchburg VA to
student life camp with 43 other people. We have never been to Liberty University and are very excited about camp this year because it will be a new experience for all of us. Thanks to everyone who helped with some of the funding for summer camp. Building treasure in heaven is what you have done by giving what has been given to you. I love this church here at First Baptist Church of LaBelle because we have a heart for the youth
and understand the importance of investing in our children. Please continue your relationship with God and love him with your whole self. In His Grip Luke 10:27 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (HCSB) Preston's BlogTuesday, June 08, 2010This is the month of June and summer temperatures are here. The pool has been a blessing to us and we look forward to using it a lot over the summer.
Summer is always busy for us with our mission trip to New Orleans on July 4th and Student Life camp on July 19th. The New Orleans Mission team will be hosting the Wednesday night dinners in the month of June for financial support for the mission trip. With the trip right around the corner monies are needed soon. We are a long ways away from the amount we need, and since the people of New Orleans are still in much need of help from the Hurricane that destroyed many homes I feel that God wants us as a church to go and help the people of New Orleans.
We would appreciate your prayers for the people of New Orleans and the opportunity for this team to go and share Christ’s love with them. I would also ask that you pray for the funds for this trip to become available so we would be able show Christ’s love to the still broken hearted people of New Orleans.
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many."
Last Night In RomaniaWednesday, October 14, 2009Well tonight will be our last night to preach in Romania. I am exited about heading home tomorrow. Tomorrow we will drive to Budapest on a bus for six hours and stay the night and then get up at 3am to get on the plane to head to Germany. After arriving to Frankfort we will then board a 340/600 airbus and head to Atlanta, Ga. I am looking forward to be home with my family. My heart will hurt to leave the people here because I have grown close to some of the people.
We traveled out a little today and were unable to up the mountains because of the snow. I wish that more people from our church could experience this type of culture and just how people with nothing worship God. They praise the Savior with all their heart and soul. I am so thankful that God and First Baptist Church of LaBelle allow this opportunity to see what true worship is like.
His Grace is Enough Reporting live from RomaniaTuesday, October 13, 2009Reporting live from Zalau, Romania the forecast for October 13, 2009 will be 70% chance of SNOW High of 57 Degrees and the Low 28 Degrees with a wind chill 10 Degrees. We were really not expecting this type of weather this week but it has been awhile since I have seen snow. This will provide us with a little extra fun for the day and possibly tomorrow.
We preached last night at 10 different churches and it was so amazing. The family that has been feeding us each day has been with out a doubt a gift from God. Calin is his name and he is 36 yrs old married and has a 7 yr old girl and a 3 mth old baby girl. This man is a pastor and manages three churches at the same time. Calin is a true man of God and my heart goes out to him and his family. What this man does each day is so amazing for very-very little money. He told me that he loves the Romanian people so much because they are a humble people and need to know Christ. I ask you as a disciple of Christ to pray for Calin and his ministry that the Romanian people see God through him.
We were supposed to go see some old Roman ruins today but that might have been put on the back burner for now because of the rain and snow.
In His Grip Report from RomaniaSunday, October 11, 2009Reporting from Zalau Romania, this has been a trip that I will never forget about. I can't think of the word to describe of how the Lord has blessed me this week. The Romanian people are extremely thankful of the team and God's mission. The mission team has preached in different churches each night this week. Pastor Frank and a couple others preached three times today and the rest of us preached twice in the same church today. Today has been extra special because we were able to spend the whole day with the pastor's and their families and learn a lot about their culture and way of life. I am so thankful for the First Baptist Church of LaBelle and Our Lord and savior to allow me this privilege to share God's love. If it were not for the mission minded church this would not be possible and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Forgive me for not writing more but the internet does not always work. I will continue to try and write more tomorrow.
In His Grip God BlessesMonday, August 31, 2009The end of the year is closing in and God has really blessed First Baptist Church of LaBelle. I have been so amazed at what this church has been able to accomplish with the troubled times of our economy. This should not be so surprising to me because the God I serve is capable of anything and He will continue supplying to His children with or without little ole me. I am thankful to Him that He has allowed me to be apart of First Baptist Church of LaBelle and His Kingdom. Trusting God in every part of our lives is sometimes hard. We should always remember to trust God with every part of our life and give up every trouble we struggle with. Thank God He loves me so much.
The month of September in here and we have a lot to do, Night of Joy on the 11th and dedication to God's new education building on the 13th. We also will have SYATP on the 23rd at area schools and any flag pole you can find. See you at the pole is a great opportunity at our local schools for the students to stand up for what they believe in. This is a time to pray for the community, our state, country and the world in our local and private schools. The 2009 SYATP theme is ENGAGE--Go and Pray. The challenge is simple: --ENGAGE your school -- EGAGE your community -- ENGAGE your world --for His glory! The 2009 theme passage comes from one of the greatest revivals and awakenings in the Old Testament--all begun by a teenager--Josiah:
"Go and pray to God for me and for the people" 2 Kings 22:13a
In His Grip Busy MonthMonday, June 29, 2009This month has been a busy one with the mission trip to New Orleans and VBS the week after. Without the strength of the Lord I believe the possibility of completions would be lost. Many of the mission team experienced things for the first time and others experienced things that was not expected. That is why mission trips are so fun you never know what God has in store until the time comes. I would like to express to the church many thanks for their support and prayers while we were gone. Also the financial support of the friends and family of the team members that sent letters of support out and received funds for the trip. God really handled everything, as he always does. In His grip The Last Days in PanamaSaturday, February 14, 2009Well I must say the Rain Forest is a must see when you get the chance to visit Panama. I have posted some pictures on FBC Facebook Page and you can decide for your self. The Canal is really close to where we were and that was also cool. The lessons are complete and I think PF is ready for a break. Today is going to be a rest day just hanging around the hotel and relaxing. This has been a great trip and I feel very blessed to be able to experience such an honor and I will always remember the wonderful people that I met in Panama. We will arrive in Miami on the 16th around 11 am and I can’t wait to see the greatest gift I have ever received from God other then my salvation. Mi esposa e hijos y la hija. This means my wife sons and daughter. Ephesians 1:3 NIV News Flash from PanamaThursday, February 12, 2009I must say that most of the time when we go on mission trips the possibility of losing weight is almost a guarantee. Well this trip is going to be different the food has been wonderful and PF and I need to go shopping for new pants when we get back. We went to a families home today and had fish and birthday cake. The man of the house celebrated his 38th birthday today and it was extremely good. Pastor Frank might have over done it. PF is teaching principles of teaching tonight with Dr. Gesell in the crowd. Dr. Gesell is here from Luther Rice University. He will be presenting their certificate to the students from the last session. Tomorrow I will go and see the rain forest riding a rail car above the treetops. This is something that I was not expecting and I am excited about the trip. Once again I would like to thank the Church for their continued support for foreign Missions. The people in Panama are extremely thankful for this opportunity to grow their knowledge in studying scripture. Mark 10:45 (HCSB) Panama MissionWednesday, February 11, 2009Today has started a little different and I was unsure what would become of the rest of the day. We went to sleep last night and woke up to a great smell of cigarette smoke and I thought PF was going to have throat problems. It was terrible and we might move to a different room tonight when get back if the smell is not gone. I talked to the manager and she said that someone in the room next to us had been smoking and the A\C sucked in the smoke to our room. I think we will be able to get by and I hope that PF can stand the odor. We were able to see some of the inner city today and we also stopped by the mall. This mall happened to be a big mall and I almost lost PF. Tonight PF is teaching a lesson on Pastoral Ministry in the church. He is doing a very good job and extremely patient with the question of some of the people. There are 45 students in this class and they have good questions. Pastor Frank really has a gift of explaining the text of the lesson in a way that is easy to understand. I am excited to see PF in a classroom setting. I think that Luther Rice could not have picked a better Pastor to give this lesson. I love my friend and Pastor Frank Deerey. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (New International Version) |
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