VFBC Home | Baxters Home | Baxter's Letter Archive | Missions Home
Christmas Greetings from the Baxter’s
A year ago we spent Christmas with Mom in Spokane, WA. and stayed with her until Feb 1st so we could celebrate her 97th birthday. On Dec 15th we plan to fly to spend Christmas with Mom and help her celebrate her 98th birthday. We will return to Mansfield Feb. 1, 2005.
The highlight of the year 2004 was the awesome privilege of returning to Quito and spending five full weeks with our missionary and Ecuadorian colleagues. We accompanied a church work team from Melody & Michael’s church, Sierra Bible Church, Sonora, CA and Joe’s home church, New Monmouth Baptist Church, New Monmouth, NJ. We saw each worker dedicated to get the goals accomplished and God was truly honored in their witness through caring for orphans, children’s VBS classes, construction of two churches and for the prison half-way house a dining room, kitchen, dorms for the ex-prisoners and prisoners children.
Joe decided he would use the Hospital Vozandes facilities and get the last removable part removed – his appendix – in Quito. This gave Ruth a real challenge to keep the schedule of 27 ambitious workers. We realized how much we missed the ministry, Ecuador and all the wonderful people that touched our lives for 39 plus years.
We have joined Berean Baptist Church here in Mansfield, Ohio and there are so many wonderful activities to keep our hearts young and busy for Him. We hold a Sunday afternoon service for the Mifflin Nursing Home each month on the fourth and fifth Sunday’s. We are blessed to minister to these dear people. We are presently enrolled in the Evangelism Explosion Course at our church and feel it will help us greatly in our various ministries.
Ruth was hit with early pneumonia and pleurisy on Nov. 9th while we attended a mission conference at Bethel Baptist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Thanks to the wisdom of a doctor at a near-by clinic, antibiotics and God’s touch she was cleared on the 17th of Nov. to have her total left knee replacement surgery Nov. 18th. She has found it to be quite painful but thanks to her good friend “Demerol”, she’s improving. She was diagnosed with Diabetes while in the hospital and is learning much about her new diet. Joe has been her “right arm”, through this rehab time. She doesn’t want him out of her sight.
Thanks for each of your phone calls, cards, e-mails and letters. All of you have been such an encouragement and blessing to our lives.
Unless we see the cross overshadowing the cradle we have lost the real meaning of Christ’s birth.
Rejoicing in the Birth of Our Savior,
Joe & Ruth
Home Address:
654 Weller Ave.
Mansfield, Ohio 44904
Tel # 419-756-2316
Cell # 419-571-1867
Temporary Address while with Mother:
7007 N Wiscomb St.
Apt 210,
Spokane, WA 99208-5479
Tel # 509-483-4573