Dear Friends of CLA:

As this New Year of 2009 has begun, we have many reasons to praise our heavenly Father. While there are those that hope to erode your religious liberties in the coming year, you still enjoy the religious freedom to share your faith, to operate local churches that preach the Gospel, and to train and discipline your children. Many Godly men and women have fought throughout the years and right up until today to defend and preserve these precious rights for you.

Do you appreciate and enjoy these liberties? I know that sharing your faith, operating churches, and training your children are keys to obeying God and what He has commanded in His Book, the Bible. I fear that most in America do not realize the critical importance of God and His Word in the daily life of our nation.

In 2009, I would ask that you please pray for America. Specifically, pray for CLA and our nation's leadership. Pray for your pastor and local church. Pray for your family.

This year, I would ask that you also get involved in sharing your faith, supporting your local church, and training your children and grandchildren in the faith. While we still have these liberties, we need to daily cherish and use them.

Here at CLA we are excited about what God will do in 2009. There will be many challenges and difficulties to overcome, but by God's power and His people's prayer there is nothing we cannot overcome!

We are very grateful that God would allow us the privilege to defend His people in their hour of need. Thank you so very much for your generosity to make this ministry possible. We look forward to another year of serving you!

Your legal missionary,

David C. Gibbs Jr.

Dear Praying Friends,

Now that the Christmas Season is behind us and 2008 is just a memory, I can reflect with thankfulness for God's provisions. Although giving was down this past year, none of the children starved, all of them were sufficiently clothed, and we were all blessed to have a roof over our heads. That might seem like a "given" for most of us, but for some of our children to just have food, clothes, and shelter is more of a blessing than you can imagine.

In Psalms 92:1, the Bible says, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord..." Sometimes, if we are not careful, we can ask the Lord for the many needs that we have but forget to thank Him for His blessings. For several years our staff has met each morning at 7:45am for a time of devotions. We take this time to share our prayer request, to pray for the children, to pray for you, and each other. This past December, we paused each morning and had a special prayer of Thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness. I truly believe that it helped each of us to be more mindful of God's blessings.

I am also very thankful for your giving. I never take for granted what you have done for us. I hope I never forget to thank you, but even with the Lord, it is not that we are unthankful but rather sometimes we are forgetful. Whether you gave financially, physically, or helped with some of our general needs, the Lord used you to provide for these children. Thank you so much for helping us to care far the children.

As we launch into the New Year, I pray that you will be greatly blessed!

For The Children,

Dr. Mike Higgins

Executive Director

Hope International Ministries, Inc.

Dear Friends at CrossRoads Baptist Church:

We are, indeed, thankful for your prayers and financial support. Our work in the prisons is strengthened because you are there to "hold the ropes" (Lk. 5:19). God has opened doors of opportunity for us, and it is exciting to see His hand upon this ministry. May He bless your concern for souls!

This year saw us add Liberty Correctional Institution, Bristol, Florida, to our itinerary. We were started out with two dates, one in March another in September. At the close of our last service there many inmates asked "When will you be back?" The answer, "It's in God's hands!" I am pleased to report Chaplain Taylor at Liberty has just scheduled us to be at his facility four times in 2009! For this answer to prayer we give God the glory, and thank you for praying as well.

The September meetings at Liberty were a great blessing! We started with a Saturday night service at the Work Camp (a separate facility from the Main Unit used to house "short time" and road crew inmates), and concluded with Sunday Morning Worship at the Main Unit. Both services were very well attended with capacity crowds, great spirits, and wonderful participation from the inmate choir. (A reflection on the Godly chaplaincy.) Praise the Lord, a total of four precious souls made professions of faith in Christ, and many others made vows of rededication!

Please pray for these upcoming meetings:

Roloff Homes, Corpus Christi, Texas

Putnam Correctional Institution, East Palatka, Florida

Allendale Correctional Institution, Fairfax, South Carolina

Pray for souls! Pray for revival in our nation's prisons!

Till He comes...

Jim and Yvonne

The Rumseys

Dear People of CrossRoads Baptist Church:

Christmas is a great time for reflection. It is an opportunity to ponder the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and an occasion to rejoice that "God so loved the world." Truly, Christmas is more than a season or a holiday. Christmas is a message of love, hope, forgiveness, and peace found in the person of Christmasﾗthe Lord Jesus Christ!

At Trinity Baptist College we are training men and women to share the dynamic Christmas message with a lost and blinded world. Your faithful support enables us to reach the world through the dedication and labor of our students.

God has given us a great fall semester, and anticipation is high as we approach the beginning of our spring semester. Please pray with us for a good enrollment and a spiritual semester.

In Him,

Charles T. Shoemaker

President

Dear Friends,

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15). The word "unspeakable" contains the idea of "indescribable, ineffable and wonderful beyond description." All of this unutterable description refers to God's gift of salvation in Christ. No human gift of charity can produce an unspeakable gift of salvation, satisfaction and peace with God like that unspeakable gift of Christ on Calvary. Thank God for the resurrected Savior. What a message we have to tell! What a gift we have to share!

The CLAIM mission trip to Hawaii was a blessing to both the church and the team that went. Our work team for the Ohana Baptist Church accomplished a lot. Many hard workers at Ohana were available to assist. The church family dedicated themselves to the task. We are so grateful for the ministry of this good church.

From Hawaii we traveled to California. There I had the privilege to preach a week long Missions Conference at the Fundamental Baptist Church in Escondido, California, for Pastor Ernie Merritt. This fine servant of the Lord and the church family are being used of the Lord to see many people come to know Christ as Savior. During the Missions Conference 17 people trusted Christ as their Savior. Praise the Lord! Pray for these to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Also the church family committed to a substantial "Faith Promise" increase in missionary support for next year. With the down turn in the economy this exercise of faith will display that "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8). Thank you, Pastor Merritt, and the church family at Fundamental Baptist Church for your gracious hospitality.

Many of you may wish to know about future CLAIM projects.   Please refer to: www.bimi.org. Then go across the menu list to "Ministries." Go down to "CLAIM Ministry." Highlight "Current Projects" and "Newsletter" to find out what we are working on at this time through next summer. Please pray about helping. Then contact me for further information.

Thank you for your continued financial and prayer support. We are honored to be a part of your world wide mission team. Our love and prayers are with you. May the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gift for the whole world be our focal point this Christmas and all year. Have a blessed Holiday Season. From our home to yours - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Forever in His Service

Carl and Glenda Vonnoh