June 2016 Reinhardt Update

June 2016 Greetings from the Reinhardts in the hot, sunny deep south!

It's hard to believe that in a few more months, we will have been here in Mississippi for seven years! Today we would like to give you a glimpse into our life and ministry over the past six months.

In February, we had the opportunity to attend the Good News Fellowship (GNF) "denominational" meeting in Montgomery, AL. There were fellow believers there from all over the south-east.

A few weeks later, Duane's brother Carl and Marleen Reinhardt visited us on their way to Texas. It had been awhile since we'd had extended family members here!

Laurie's mother Carole, who had moved in with Duane and Laurie in late November, celebrated being five years cancer-free at the end of the month! :)

In March, our dear sister-in-law Delora Reinhardt went Home to be with the Lord after a very brief, severe illness. She had been a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was an anointed counselor and deliverance minister and was in the process of writing a book. We miss her so very much.

Delora and her family Dec. 2015

We at Pearl River Mennonite Church had our traditional Easter Sunday sunrise service at 7 AM, followed by brunch. 

Closing on the sale of Carole's house back in New Milford, PA happened later in March. We will miss the beautiful rural, wooded acreage, but it is a relief to know that we don't need to be concerned about maintaining the house or property from such a distance.

Every time it rained hard in our area of MS, water seemed to find its way into our church sanctuary. We were usually able to extract the water out of the carpeting with a Shop Vac, but we were concerned about the recurring moisture trapped in the drywall. Our congregation was greatly blessed by Ray and Jay Troyer, of Cornerstone Community Church in Macon, who brought their huge excavating machinery to the church one Saturday and corrected the drainage problems which were responsible for most of the issues.

In May, we were greatly refreshed spiritually by attending an awesome contemporary Christian concert in Jackson featuring Mandisa, Jeremy Camp, and Finding Favor. We went with our church sisters JoAnne Ben and Geri Jeanguneat.

We were able to spend a week over Memorial Day in northern Indiana with our daughters Heather and Brittany and their precious families. It was the first time we'd all been together since well before little Tucker was born. We enjoyed having new family photos taken, although Tucker was constantly on the move with each pose! We were also able to attend Maile's 6th birthday party during our visit. It's always fun to spend time with Duane's extended family, many of whom attended a South Bend Cubs baseball game together one evening. We loved attending our "home" church, Wakarusa Missionary Church, and seeing old friends that week.

Our Family: Glenns, Reinhardts, and Teruis

Great Grandma Carole with Maile, Kaira, Tucker, and Emelyn

 A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of praying at church with Jane Ben for her to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior! She looks forward to being baptized later this summer.

In addition to being the pastor of our small Choctaw church, Duane continues to work full time as the data manager of Educational Leadership Solutions in Meridian.

Laurie leads a women's group during the school year. This year the group is studying Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind. She also continues to fill the role of church co-treasurer.

Please pray for us to be discerning and wise when counseling troubled persons or couples. Also, please pray that persons who accept Christ as their personal Savior through our church would commit themselves to discipleship to strengthen their faith. Also, please pray that our congregation would see the importance of spending time in the Word and in prayer each day. Lastly. please pray that our church members would repent of and renounce sexual immorality and any occultic Native traditional religious beliefs and practices.

Until our December blog...

Blessings!
Duane and Laurie Reinhardt

duane_reinhardt@yahoo.com
FB:  Duane Laurie Reinhardt

January 2016 Greetings from the Reinhardts

Greetings once again from the Reinhardts of Pearl River Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi! We've had an exceptionally busy past four months, so we are a bit late in getting our Christmas update done and available for you!

But before I explain, let us go back to July. As usual, we enjoyed an evening together at the Choctaw Indian Fair; the musical attraction that night was the Oak Ridge Boys. Duane, as always, took in some of the World Championship Choctaw Stickball games. (Note: He did NOT participate as a player!).

The following Sunday morning, Dr. Negiel Bigpond of the Euchee Tribe in OK came and led a special service at our church. A few months later, our Women's Group studied his book, "Women Warriors."

In August, Duane had the privilege of baptizing seven people at the Pearl River Community Pool.

Duane and Hank

In September, we went on vacation to PA to visit Laurie's mother Carole and relatives and friends in the area. Brittany and little Kaira flew in from Kauai! Duane visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown one day. Laurie got to spend an afternoon with her dear friend Terry. Later that week, we invited Carole to move to MS to live with us, and she accepted! Preparations began.

 Later that month, some of our youth attended Fall Youth Rally at Pine Lake Fellowship Camp (PLFC) near Meridian, MS.

 We attended and supported the annual PLFC Camp Sale in Gulfport, MS the first weekend in October, during which we also celebrated our 33rd anniversary. Duane enjoyed eating alligator, which is always a popular menu item at the sale! That evening, we ate supper at The Shed with Dave and Sue Weaver (Sue is formerly of Wakarusa, IN) and Louis and Kim Ferris. The following morning, Duane gave the sermon at Gulf Haven Mennonite Church.

At our annual church business meeting, it was decided that instead of teaching the Youth Sunday School class, Duane would now be teaching the adult Sunday School class, and Daelin (the young man he'd discipled since 2010) would start teaching the Youth class.

Each year our church families collect coins in little banks to give to a missions project. This year, we collected coins for Teen Challenge. On a Sunday morning in November, the Teen Challenge Women's Choir of Brandon, MS did a special program at our church; after the service, we presented them with a check reflecting the total amount of coins collected.

Pastor Duane, Geri J., and Laurie attended the Good News Fellowship (GNF) Fall Gathering in Atmore, AL. The pastors from our MS, LA, and AL churches were recognized, officially welcomed into GNF, and prayed over by the executive leadership during the assembly. What a wonderful experience!





Laurie spent three weeks in November in PA getting most of her mom's house sorted and cleaned out. God was so very faithful in raising up and providing family, friends, acquaintances, and services like Goodwill of Northeastern PA to help with this challenge. Laurie had a welcomed break one day and met with friends Terry, Deb, and Vickie for lunch. We hosted a party for Carole at the Methodist Church in New Milford so she could see some of her family and friends before moving south. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Duane drove her few remaining special possessions to MS in a U-Haul truck, while she and Laurie flew to Jackson, MS. We praise God for safety while traveling. So now Carole lives with us. And she has been warmly welcomed into the PRMC church family.

Major transitions are never easy. But change can be good.

The three of us spent Christmas in Indiana with Dustin, Heather, Eme (3), and Tucker (11 months). It was a very special time for all of us. We were happy to be able to attend church at Wakarusa Missionary Church on a Sunday morning during which Heather led the worship team. And we were also happy to be able to participate in the Reinhardt family Christmas celebration at Bill and Karen Martin's house.

We did something a little different at our church New Year's Eve party this year. After a brief worship service followed by snack time, we had fun singing contemporary Christian karaoke!

Please pray about Duane's employment situation; for us as we continue to help Carole get her many business affairs in order; for Laurie's brother Randy Fiske who has started a 4 month interim pastor position at Pine Glen Church of the Brethren in Lewistown, PA; and for our sister-in-law Delora Reinhardt who is seriously ill but is claiming to have a Grand Deliverance or a Grand Exit-- either one glorifying to Christ!

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 

I Cor. 2:9. (NKJV).

Blessings!

Duane and Laurie Reinhardt