Redeemer Bible Church

Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, Minnesota

Pastor R.W. Glenn, his wife Gayle, two of their children and us

Kris preaching at Redeemer Bible Church

Jason and Diane Dailey (our dear friends) and us

Four Stire children and 4 Dailey children - what a crew!

2 adults, 4 small children, 9 bags and carry-ons, 1 car seat, and 4 airplane rides. A recipe for disaster? No way! These are the ingredients for a wonderful trip to visit a like-minded church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the end of April, our whole family had the blessing of visiting some friends of ours and Redeemer Bible Church. Jason and Diane Dailey, who we ministered with 7 years ago in Katy, Texas, offered to have our family come for 4 days to their house. We were invited us to come and share about Albania with Redeemer Bible Church.

When we arrived on Friday, Jason picked us up from the airport and took us back to his house. His wife, Diane, who is pregnant with child #5, was busy getting ready for a get together with the church pastor, elders, mission board members and us. You can't imagine the amazing food she had. Rachel Ray, watch out! We were so encouraged as we got to know these dear saints. Their love for the Lord was evident and they were so interested in what He is doing in the country of Albania and the opportunity we have to minister there. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and Kris and I commented later that we felt so warmly welcomed.

On Saturday, we all experienced the Mall of America, the biggest mall in the U.S. They have an amusement park in the mall! We spent a few hours there and didn't even see the other side. The kids enjoyed some of the rides with the dads and Diane and I had a great time catching up and looking around. Coming from Texas, we were really excited to enjoy some cooler weather than the mid-70's we were having at home. Minneapolis had had 4 feet of snow a few weeks before we arrived, and so we brought our coats and warm clothes. Well, on Saturday, it was 75 degrees! Everyone noted that it was unusually warm for this time of year. Go figure. I guess we brought the warm weather with us. We did look rather silly though, in our turtlenecks, while everyone else was wearing sleeveless shirts and sandals. So much for the weather channel.

Sunday was a wonderful day of worship and fellowship. Kris and I had the privilege of sharing our testimonies in Sunday School and then Kris shared about Albania and what we will be doing there. Kris also had the honor of preaching for the church service. The pastor at Redeemer, R.W. Glenn, graciously took up a love offering for us to ensure that we reached 100% of our one time fund. God takes such good care of us. We have now officially reached 100%!!! After church there was a luncheon to give us the opportunity to get the know the church members. We were welcomed in so quickly and made to feel right at home. Their passion to reach the world for God's glory was very evident. The committment that Redeemer has to the Word of God was obvious through the music, reading of Scripture and the prayers of the people. We also got the visit a small group on Sunday afternoon. What a neat time to have a more intimate time of fellowship. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It is truly a wonder how God can knit hearts who have never met before in such a short period of time when the tie that binds is love for Christ and His kingdom.



We are thankful to God for the new friendships we built. For us, it was a great encouragement and a sweet time of fellowship. We praise God for brothers and sisters in Christ around the country whose driving passion is to glorify God.