2020 November Newsletter

 We Have Met Our Goal: Our Goal of $20,000 for Cornerstone's Church Building has been met with a surplus!!! Carpenter's House Baptist Church sent us the check that put us over the goal of $20,000 by $59. Also Bible Baptist in OK added to that fund making us a total of $21,059. Thank you to all the churches for helping us Finalize and Smash that goal! 

Cornerstone is now putting on the Trusses of the Church building. Between the Trusses and the Roofing Sheets the estimated cost is about $7,500. We have $2,000 that has  been given toward the Roofing several years ago by Fellowship in PA leaving us needing $5,500 to cover the rest of the Roofing costs. That would be $1,100 a piece for only 5 more churches. Please consider what you can do. 

We started back working on the church building October 26th. It is now being bricked in along with the Trusses being constructed. On November 4th parts of the trusses for the auditorium have been raised by manpower after raising other parts of that Truss is worked on to finish the  construction of that one. There are 6 auditorium Trusses. It is done in that way because the Trusses are made of dense heavy wood that make them to heavy to manually lift. Please remember to pray for the Safety and the Salvation of the workers. There are some videos of the raising. We post on Facebook pictures of the church building progress and on our blog page we put our newsletters with pictures helping you visualize what the Newsletters say at: siekbertnewsletter.blogspot.com

While We Were Gone: 

While being gone I had the work at church building stopped which served for several good reasons one of them being Bro Koasi and Bro Benjamin. Pastor Koasi, the secondary pastor to

Pastor Prince from Cornerstone, took my place in our Anaji Bible Study Sunday Services and Wednesday Services along with teaching my New Testament Survey Class. Bro Benjamin, Pastor Prince's brother, took Jackie's Sunday School and Jr Church classes for the kids that come. They both did a good and faithful job. I always tell them even before Pastor Prince took Cornerstone as the Pastor there, that they are more meaningful to their people. We pray for God's Leading, their Listening, and their Faith. Pray for us at the Anaji Bible Study. In our September Newsletter I mentioned the owners of our ABS room does not want to renew with us for a year's lease so we are looking for another room. One of the problems we are facing is that "Ghana Christians" dance, do so called Tongue Speaking, make a lot of noise and raucous over their PA systems so searching for a room no one wants to rent to you because they think Churches/Bible Studies are a noisy mess that they do not want. A man with an available room that I spoke to in September before we left turned us down. I went to him just the other day and asked him why and this is what he said, "When the white man leaves the Ghanaian man will go

back to the noisy mess." We need to find something by the end of November. Principles and 

Truths to be heeded: Do not spoil the trust one has in you, it is hard to get it back! What are you displaying as a Christian? Those associated with you or the Christian name reap some of the results of your actions.

Thanks Givings: 

It always brings excitement to our house when I walk in and announce we have a box. A

box?!! As we all scramble to the table to open and see the contents. We don't get many packages but we received two last week. We would like to thank Gospel Light for the Salvation bracelets and the many notes sent to us by the kids. We also would like to thank Hilltop Baptist, for the box of candy and snacks. Thank you!

Bits Of Bread: 

It was a special event as a father to Perform the Wedding of my son Matthew and my now

daughter-in-law Sarah for one of the many reasons. The wedding brought to remembrance that one day Christ will Return in the Rapture for His Bride, the truly Saved of the Church age and (paraphrased of Clarence Larkin book) doubtless God the Father will perform His Son's wedding. 

Two questions: 1. To be Christ's Bride you must be Saved, are you Truly Saved or will you miss the Rapture?;   2. If you are Saved, are you making yourself ready or are you going to suffer loss, not of Salvation, but of Rewards? "Every man's work shall be made manifest" – I Cor 3:13a; "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." – Rev 19:7 c/w I Cor 3:10-15

THANKS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS for YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO US and THE LORD!!! HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING, A MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Matthew J Siekbert

2020 September Newsletter

Well Within Sight:

The church building is going smoothly, the church laborers have been busy, and the Building is now Taking Shape and Defining its self. We thank the Lord for the Covid -19 Virus. It has been a blessing to us in ways. Many of those working on the church building are folks who are to be in school, teaching school, or in college for additional schooling.  All of the Rod irons have been covered over with cement. That means all of the Columns, the Beams, the Door and Window Lintels, the Ring Beams, the Stairs, and the 2^ndfloor have been poured. Hallelujah!!! That phase is done! What is next to be worked on are: The Roofing, Trusses and Slate Sheets; the putting up of the Walls; the Circuit Box and Breakers, the Conduit and Electrical Wires to be put up and to be ran; the pouring of the Auditorium Floor; the putting on and up of the Doors and the Windows; and the Final Smoothing of all the Cement Work of the Whole Building inside and outside, Floors and the Stairs; the putting up of inside Ceilings, and the installing of the Fans, the Lighting, and the Plug Outlets. The Building fund Goal for CBBC's building is at $19,363.87. That is 95.419% of our Goal of $20,000.OUR GOAL IS WELL WITHIN SIGHT!!! In July and August we had 6 more give towards our Goal for CBBC's Building Project. THANK YOU Calvary Bible, Crusade Baptist, the Anonymous, Cornerstone Sunday School class and couple, the man of outside donation, and First Freedom. TO REACH OUR GOAL OF $20,000 WE ONLY NEED $916.00!!! In our March Newsletter I asked for help to start a building fund for CBBC, our first church plant and we have come this close already let's smash this Projected Goal!!! We post on Facebook and our blog page at: siekbertnewsletter.blogspot.com  

Anaji Bible Study Witness:

About a year ago my wife, my boys Joseph and Nehemiah, and myself were visiting and I went to an Architect's office and was speaking to the Architect about Christ and invited him to our Bible Study in Anaji, the town where we have lived for the last 16 years. With encouraging and promising words, but empty words, he did not come which is usual hospitality. That day when I was talking to the Architect his co-worker was sitting on the other side of the office listening. A year passed since that day of my visit and a young man by the name of Emmanuel came to our Bible Studies one Sunday morning and said, "I want to become a member." So I started having some special classes on Membership/Baptism that start with teaching on Salvation. After 2 weeks of these classes he realized that trusting in his works would not justify him and get him to heaven but a promised eternity in Hell. Emmanuel on August 4^th in my special class for him, Bro Koasi and I led Emmanuel to the Lord Jesus Christ. Emmanuel has been coming to every service since on Sundays and on Wednesday evening. Also I am continuing with our membership/Baptism classes with him on Thursdays and he has started with our New Testament Survey I Classes we have started on every Tuesday night at 5 pm. Emmanuel was that man in the Architect's office on the other side of the room. Be faithful in giving out the Gospel message, witnessing for Christ you do not know just where all the Gospel Seed is falling! Pray for us as I was just told by the owners last week, who we rent our ABS room from, that they will not be renewing our lease which is due October 1st. We pray that we will find the right place to rent. With many things going on for the Glory of God the Devil is upset and stirring the pot! We are having kids come Sunday morning and 2 to 3 adults come plus my family. ABS's church services and times of 2 hours instead of 1 hour have resumed since mid-July.    

Bits Of Bread:

NOT ASKED & NOT PUBLISHED, BUT GOD!Finishing up this Newsletter I would like to give a personal/inside testimony. Our son Matthew J Siekbert Jr and Sarah L Crozier are getting married September 26, 2020. Matthew and Sarah received Christ as youngsters and met at PCC. They have been engaged since December 25, 2019. We  have always planned to be at their wedding not only because it is a special day for them, but as parents it is special day to us. We have not publically asked or published this need of Traveling from and back to Ghana, BUT GOD who knows our yearning hearts desire and private beseeching in prayer marvelously had some sensitive souls help pay for our family's whirlwind traveling expenses, removed the traveling ban in because of COVID 19, opened up the airports in Ghana W Africa on September 1^st. God blessed us with Matthew 21 years ago. Matthew Received Christ as his Savior just after we arrived on the mission field of Ghana W Africa. Matthew has always yielded to his authority, the Lord, his parents, and his church; he has served willingly on the mission field with us as a son and as a man taking responsibilities many his age as a teenager would not even imagined like going with us to a public school regularly, me, his Dad and the pastors I've brought up taking a class of 80 to 100 or more students and teaching them of Christ and the Gospel, leading some to the Lord; he has honored God, he has honored us his parents, he has honored the process and the counsel. Now he is going into an honorablemarriage that we  his parents are proud and honored to be at. Please be in prayer for this couple!!!                                                                    

 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." – I Peter 5:7    

 Matthew J Siekbert 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020 July Newsletter II

The Building, Much To Do!: Since May's Newsletter was sent out much has been done, but there is still much to do! In May I mentioned that building sight was marked and our foundation was dug out. I asked for your prayers that our rainy season would not fill dirt back into that which was dug, well thanks to your prayers it did not. The dug out foundation is now full of cement mats, iron rods, more cement, 6" bricks that makeup the foundational walls that are at least 3' deep with 1 to 2 layers of brick breaching the ground with the foundational ring beam on top of that which has been poured. Some of the flooring has been poured for the side veranda, front porch, the first floor of the two-story section (which STMA required us to have before they would issue us a permit to build), and about a 2' outline around the auditorium area. Now that we've made it to the top of the foundation there are 37 structural pillars around the building that are in process of being poured now as I type this letter, and now you can actually see the building taking form. I do not know howto explain it, unless you do construction work and understand, but from when we started in May until now it has  been a lot of back breaking manual labor. No earth-movers, No backhoes, and 2 shovel mixing men for cement mixtures. No automated anything except there have only been 2 different times where we rented a cement mixer for a day each time to mix the cement at the bottom of the foundation in the ground and the foundational ring- beam just above the ground. We will do that for the next 2 ring-beams above the windows and for the roof to sit on.Through your help God has Supplied us with $6,110.00 for the church building for Cornerstone Biblical Baptist Church in Sekondi Ghana W. Africa, that is a little over 30% raised. Praise the Lord! We now need  $13,890to reach our Goal of $20,000. At the end of May we had 2 churches give and at the end of June we had another 2 churches give. Thank you First Baptist, Calvary Bible, Crusade Baptist, and Lighthouse for getting us closer to our goal of $20,000. We have had 6 churches give so far THANK YOU From My Heart. If 20 churches giving $1,000 each the goal of $20,000 can be met. We only need 14 more churches at $1,000 each who will Give to this Project! Of the churches that have given so far some were over $1,000, others gave less than $1,000, and some gave exactly $1,000, some doubled $1,000. God will bless what you can do! You can check out the Building Progress and how the Steel Benders do their work on the iron rods, the placing and pour of the Masons, the Carpenters in making forms for the pillars, and Our Men Of The Church laboring in moving dirt (more than 8, 16 cubit truck loads), carrying bricks, mixing cement through the pictures we post on  facebook and our blog page at: siekbertnewsletter.blogspot.com 

                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                     

ABS:Our Sunday and Wednesday Anaji Bible Study meetings started back up by the end of May, but we can only meet 1 hour at a time. So for Sunday morning we have our second hour at home and then we go back to the Bible Study for Sunday evening. We had our Bible study room painted this month. I am  teaching on the subjects of: "Grief"; "Understanding Yourself"; and the "Seven Churches of Revelation".                                                                                                                                                     

On the Home Front: For the 4^th of July, we were able to get together with two other missionary families. There were four boys who played instruments for us. They played of some patriotic songs in a little concert of sorts. Joseph played the "Stars Spangled Banner" on his violin, Nehemiah played "My Country Tis Of Thee" on  his trumpet. The other missionary boys played their guitars and sang the "Star Spangled Banner". Joseph who is in 12^th grade and Nehemiah is in 9^th grade are getting ready to take their 9 week exams.                                                                  

Bits Of Bread:…"I know Thy Works"… - Rev. 2:2,9,13,19; 3:1,8,15;  …"Thou hast Thy First Love." - Rev 2:4 Ephesus means "Desirable", It was the Apostolic Church. It had many things to be commended like: Its labor for the name of Christ without fainting; Its patience; Its intolerance of evil; Its trying of the spirits/those who may be liars, but Ephesus also means "to let go"; "to relax" which they did, they had "Left Their First Love". As a Christian we must Stay with our 1^st initial Love and enthusiasm of the Lord maturing that Love as we grow in the Lord, and guard against a Love for God that slips away! The Proper Love for the Lord is a must! It is what helps One to Properly Know Him, Properly Serve Him, Properly Give to Him, and Properly Live for Him!               

 ~~~~~ Matthew J Siekbert ~~~~~

 

Steel Bending for the columns

Steel Bender

Pouring the Ring Beam