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