Bob Lane Newsletter (Fall 2022)

Dear Family and Friends:

Greetings in the blessed name of Jesus our Lord and Savior. May He bless us with health and safety.

I thank God for the safety and health from Hurricane Ian. We had very little damage.

I want to thank each of you for your prayers and being a part of Betty and my lives all these years. Our lives have been enriched by you and filled with happiness. It has been a little over a year now since  Betty went home to be with Jesus. I am so happy that both Betty and I accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior a year after we were married. Our marriage was enriched by Jesus. His forgiveness brought much love, joy and direction in our lives that we didn’t have and He took us places we never dreamed of going; it was always for the best. 

I have had some medical problems with my heart. One doctor mentioned open heart surgery, but because of my age, it would be too risky, and I don’t want to have it so I said “No”. The doctor is treating me with medicine. I do thank you for your prayers. I will just live it out!

Jack, the last of my family, has gone home to be with Jesus. He and I were the oldest and we enjoyed five years together before the other brothers came! I will be 92 next birthday, just waiting on my turn, when I will see the family, especially Betty.

Last week, I woke up early with her on my mind and the team we led to Peru to build a landing strip in the jungles at 4,000 ft. After our special training at Teen Missions’ Boot Camp, a team of five leaders, three men and two women, 22 boys and 7 girls, we flew to Lima, Peru where we spent the night and boarded a bus that took us over the Andis. At 20,000 feet, some of the team got sick while others passed out for a while. We arrived at a Bible school in the village of Gupo where we stayed for the night. While there, Betty shopped for flour, sugar, cooking lard, toilet paper and other supplies. We repacked all of our other canned food in our duffles so the missionary could drop it from the plane ahead of the team’s arrival on the mountain. The next morning, the missionaries took us to the base of the mountain. We all carried small pack packs with our breakables. After wading a small river and climbing 100 ft back into the jungle we reached the trail that would take us to where the team would build the airstrip. There were a few obstacles that got in our way. We found large trees that had fallen in the trail. A  missionary lady from Swiss Indian Missions and an Indian lady led the way with an Indian man with a machete to cut vines. Betty and I brought up the rear with an Indian girl. One missionary man told us that if a group of teenagers from America could hike the mountain and clear the trees for an airstrip, it would be a miracle. Five hours into the hike, we stopped and had lunch; peanut butter sandwiches and other things. Thirty minutes later, the missionary lady said we had to go. It took us 9 hours to reach the top. I divided up the team, some to clear a place for tents, dig two holes for toilets, gather our duffles and equipment. The large frying pan broke into many parts. Betty’s group gathered the food. Some of the one gallon cans had broken from the fall. We gathered wood for the fire, dug a fire pit, and got a fire going. Fortunately we brought along a 3x3 ft piece of thick metal and Betty was able to place it on some rocks over the fire to set the pots on. During the long hike, I watched my amazing wife complete it and didn’t complain one time. And on top of it, she cooked a very delicious meal to feed a very hungry, tired team. She proved to me she is a notch above many other women. She is my hero who I love very much.

Betty lived her life with a purpose to glorify God and to serve others. She always wanted to cook to please the team and me. That was just one chapter of her life, there were many more.  I sent some of the pictures of the trip and saw a miracle done by the teams. It is still being used today. It took us 3 ½ weeks.

During Boot Camp this year, Steve gave me the job of encourager. I visited each team and talked to them, which I enjoyed very much. The summer ministry of 2022 is behind us and there are so many stories of how the Lord used the teams for His glory. You can go on teenmissions.org and see pictures and reports from each team. We had over 240 young people and leaders go on 10 teams around the world. They assisted with building security walls, eyeglass distribution, basic medical, painting a conference center, and other needed projects. 

The teams for 2023 are being finalized now. Pray for wisdom to choose the right locations and for the team members as they sign up. 

During the months of December and January, there are national Boot Camps that run in Honduras, Australia, South Africa Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Pray as these young people are trained to share the Gospel in their own country.

I am still painting and learning.

Till next time, God willing, stay safe and well.

Pray for:

*salvation for my family

*my health & safety

*my witness to others

*my love for God to increase

Love,

Bob Lane