Montana Week

Hello again from the Gallants!

Our travels have again taken us to Montana, where we have spent the past week in Billings and Joliet. Billings is referred to as the “Banana Belt” and even though we did get about seven inches of snow on Saturday Night, the weather never did get very cold. It was nice to be in such great weather, but what really made the week great was the people. To see pictures from the trip, click here or on the link on the margin of the page labeled Montana Week.

On the Monday following our speaking engagement in Buffalo, Wyoming, we traveled up to Billings, Montana to meet with Pastor Dan Robertson of Eastgate Wesleyan Church. The pastor and the missions committee planned a conference that was unlike any that we have participated in so far. During the week, we had meals with families in the church where we were able to get to know each other. Then we would speak to their Wednesday Night “Frog Club” and then to the Thursday evening Bible study. It was an amazing week as we met some great people, especially the Chestermans with whom we stayed for the week. We also felt blessed during our times of sharing with the congregation, especially during our time with the children where we were able to present the Gospel message through the “Bridge Illustration.”

On Sunday morning, we spoke to Tree of Life Wesleyan in Billings where we met Pastor Jim Head and his wife Joni. We shared with the congregation and with a Sunday School group, but we were also privileged to hear the District Superintendent Isaac Smith preach the Sunday Sermon. After the service, we went down to the basement and had a great pot-luck, and we were reminded again that very few people in the world can cook as well as ranch ladies.

On Monday, we traveled to Joliet, MT, where we would stayed with Ruth and Burl Baty, the assistant pastor of the church. We were blessed in our conversation with these two as they have been pasturing in the Wesleyan church for nearly fifty years. We were able to be speaking on Wednesday morning. Because we had a few days before our speaking engagement, we spent the days visiting with the Batys, eating at their table, shooting Burl’s bow in the basement, and working on some of the ministry work that needed to be done. On Wednesday, we shared with a Bible Study group of about 25 individuals. It was a very relaxed environment, and we truly felt the Lord’s presence in that room. After we spoke, many people came forward to join our team through prayer and financial support. It was a blessed morning.

On our drive back to Rapid City, we stopped to see Pastor Bob McHenry, the pastor of Buffalo Wesleyan Church. During our meeting, he informed us that the church board had met and they had decided to support us and the Wesleyan Bible Institute in Cambodia. It was the perfect end to a great trip through Montana. During the 10 days, we had gained over thirty new prayer partners, ten new individual faith promise supporters, and a new supporting church. God blessed us so richly through these days, that we simply must give Him all of the praise. His blessings rained down upon us at every turn. To hear more about the trip and to see the pictures, click here. We hope that you have been encouraged through this testimony of God’s faithfulness. Remember that He simply asks us to step out on faith, and He will most assuredly take care of us as we walk with Him.

In Christ,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant

Buffalo Wesleyan Church

Buffalo… In our past travels around the country, Buffalo, New York was always at the top of our list of great places to visit, both for the great food and for the great people we have encountered. However, a new Buffalo is in contention with the one in New York, and that is Buffalo, Wyoming.


God blessed us immensely as we shared at Buffalo Wesleyan Church this past weekend. The scenery was breathtaking as the city of Buffalo sits at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains, and though the snow did fall in abundance, we could both envision living in the great city of Buffalo because of the beauty and the great family of God called the Buffalo Wesleyan Church.

Though being the first time we have traveled to Buffalo, our history with the church began much earlier. In our last travels through the Dakota District in September, we were originally scheduled to share with Buffalo on a Sunday evening. However, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans a few weeks before we were scheduled to share. The people of the church saw the need for humanitarian relief, and gave generously to the need. The pastor believed that because of the church’s focus on the relief in the South, it would not be a good time for missionaries to share with the church.

We firmly believe that the pastor made the right decision for his church. It was not God’s timing for us to come to Buffalo. However, the pastor’s interest in Cambodia and his desire to see his church’s involvement in the ministry there caused us to seek God’s will about another trip to the Dakota District… and here we are. God opened all of the doors again, and we happily traveled to Buffalo.


The weekend was great. Meeting with Pastor McHenry, his wife Cheryl and his son Dylan was a huge blessing to us as they opened their home and their lives to us. The reception that we received at the church on Sunday was heartwarming as the people responded to our invitation to join in the Cambodian ministry through joining our support team and partnering with the Wesleyan Bible Institute.

We also had an opportunity to share with Pastor Jamie’s youth group on Sunday evening. The focus of our message for the night was being observant to the culture around you. As many of the teens are looking into short term missions, we wanted to teach them about culture learning and being aware of your surroundings. We played two games that focused on observations, one being the “Walk through Cambodia” that we played with Brookhaven and Lakeview at home. The other game focused on learning correct patterns of behavior in a group. The game is very frustrating to some when they cannot determine the pattern, but it is great to see the look on their faces when they finally get it. We also examine our own American culture and put it into a Biblical perspective by comparing it to what God wants our focus to be in this world. We were impressed by the level of spiritual maturity of the teens, and we know that God will use them to impact their schools and the world.


The weekend was a blessing to us. Pastor Bob and Pastor Jamie have encouraged the church to be one that affects the world for the Lord and His Kingdom, and we look forward to a partnership with these Christian brothers and sisters of the Buffalo Wesleyan Church.

Blessings to you,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant

Relaxation

So… What do missionaries do when they want to relax?

The answer to that question is a bit varied in this missionary family, but Tiffany would say with great enthusiasm that she “Stamps” a.k.a. making decorative cards.

On Thursday and Friday of this past week, we were able to visit the home of a pastor and his wife that we met during our first trip to the Dakotas. Pastor Dwight and Bonnie Peterson minister in Sturgis, SD, and we were fortunate to be able to spend two days with them. When we first visited in September, Tiffany and Bonnie made an instant connection, and they spent many hours in Bonnie’s basement, working on cards and enjoying a shared passion.

When we knew we were coming back to the Dakotas, Tiffany sent an email to Bonnie, who immediately scheduled a time of stamping. While the girls stamped for the two days, first by themselves, and then as Bonnie taught a stamping class, Pastor Dwight showed me around to several of sights around the Black Hills. (Pictures of these places will appear on our website in the future as we will be going back in the next few weeks.) The remainder of the time was spent in conversation, watching the news and sports, and working on various duties of our respective ministries.

It was a great, restful two days for two tired missionaries who had a hard schedule ahead of them. We are very thankful for the way that Pastor Dwight and Bonnie welcomed us into their home, and took care of us so well. If you are a member of the First Wesleyan Church in Sturgis, and you happen to read this post, make sure that you remember the great blessing that the Peterson’s are, and thank them for their dedication to serving the Lord in their lives and in the church.

In Christ,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant

Big City Folk?

I have never been labeled as a “Big-City” boy before having grown up in the country surrounding Bluffton, Ohio, but that is how we were labeled this past weekend at Biddle Montana.

We spoke to the Sunday morning service at Biddle Wesleyan Church, and God really blessed our day. The day started with the 50 mile drive up to Biddle from Gillette, WY. It was amazing to see the scenery and the wildlife that inhabits the lands around the Montana/Wyoming border.

After we arrived at the church, which happens to be the second oldest church in the Dakota District, we set up our materials and were privileged to sit in on a Sunday School taught by Dusty Gilger that focused on “Being Strong and Courageous”. That was a great topic for the morning, as God does call all of us to those two character qualities.

The service was a great time of sharing and worship with Pastor Jim Pope and the congregation of Biddle Wesleyan. God has given us the message for each time of sharing, and though there are similar elements to each message, He always makes it new and fresh for the congregations, and this time was no exception. When it comes time to share our vision and goals and to tell stories of the students at the Wesleyan Bible Institute in Cambodia, it is always an emotional time for us and for those in attendance. We know that this is not us, but God transforming a simple message into something powerful.

After the service, we attended a pot-luck that featured some of the best food we have ever tasted. We were told all day that ranch ladies are the best cooks in the world, and we had to agree with their sentiments. We had roast chicken, homemade noodles, and best of all, barbequed buffalo.

Afterwards, Pastor Pope arranged for us “Big City Folk” to travel to a ranch that was about 30 miles from the church. The Riesland ranch is very busy at this time of year as they are lambing and calving. We were able to see a lamb being born and spent the afternoon with the kids on the ranch as they gave us the guided tour. We saw the baby goats and sheep, the horses and the cattle that live on the 6,000 acre ranch. It was a memorable day.

We hope that you enjoyed our report on our weekend at Biddle. Stay tuned as we will be traveling this next weekend to Buffalo, WY for the Sunday service and then on to Billings, Montana for the entire week following.

In Christ,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant

Memorial Drive Wesleyan Church in Muncie

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The week before we traveled to the Dakota District was very busy. With the Family Night of Missions at Brookhaven, writing and mailing our new prayer letter, treating an ailing Tiffany, and packing for the trip, we were very busy. We were also given the opportunity to travel down to Memorial Drive Wesleyan Church in Muncie to share with their Wednesday Night Missionary Service. In the middle of such a hectic week, God showed us a special truth about being in His service. He will always provide the energy for the opportunity that He provides.

We had a great time at Memorial Drive, sharing with a church that makes a point to hear from a missionary or a missions speaker each month. It was a blessing to us to be asked to share with such a special group of believers in our home state of Indiana. The Pastor, Rev. John Blair, and his congregation welcomed us and showed a great interest in listening to us share about our call and God’s ministry in Cambodia.


One of the great pleasures we receive in speaking to churches is sharing missions and foreign cultures with the children of the church. The children at Memorial Drive were very interested in the musical instruments that we had at our table, making a “joyful noise” for the entire church to hear. They also did something that we have not experienced in past times of sharing. They took out our scrapbook of pictures and went through every page with Tiffany, asking questions about the people, the places shown, and many of the special aspects of the Cambodian culture.

God blessed us with a great evening at the church and in our time of fellowship afterwards at McDonalds. We were tired when we returned home, but as I said before, God provided both the opportunity and the energy needed to not simply go through the motions of speaking, but to share with the passion that He has placed on our lives. God is good. You all might be tired of hearing me say that, but the true of that statement is more evident each and every new day.

Blessings,
Tim and Tiffany Gallant