**“Shine On” Special Needs Outreach at Faith Community Church, Barre, VT**

THERE ARE FIVE INCHES OF SNOW on the ground as we type this. The temperature was 4 below zero this morning. Winter is here.

WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE CONTINUED PRAYERS OF ALL as we continue to surrender to God’s call on our lives. All those prayers, and the encouragement we have received, have been needed during this time. The last five months have moved along so quickly, and there are times when we feel we can barely keep up with the pace of work, ministry, and family. God has been gracious to sustain us.

Here's how the past few months played out:

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

We returned from Alabama and Tennessee after back-to-back memorial services for Robyn’s dad and turned to what we thought was going to be a quick and simple home improvement project. Most of August was spent tearing down two layers of wallpaper in a guest bedroom (company was coming soon), and the bottom layer must have had the strongest adhesive known to man on the back. We eventually got there and had the room ready in time for a visit from Trey’s parents.

Joshua is now living on the campus of Norwich University. The math doesn’t make sense, but it was actually going to cost less for him to live there than to live at home. This was a very last-minute change, but Joshua continues to do well in his classes, and we have had a crash course in living in an empty house.

Trey, along with 11 other men from our church, was able to attend the “Good Soldiers” men’s retreat in New Hampshire that took place at the end of September. The retreat was sponsored by the Baptist Churches of New England and was supported by partners from the Alabama Baptist Association. They were encouraged by the teaching, but also made time for some very good food provided by a mission team from Alabama. There was also a time for “aromatherapy” as the retreat location had a shooting range. We are thankful for a men’s ministry that continues to strengthen.

Also in September, we were able to baptize a young man who had been visiting our church, and we spent a little time serving alongside Glen Hope Baptist Church of Burlington, NC. They had come up to invest in many of the churches in Vermont.

OCTOBER

There’s no way to say this simply: October was nuts. Here are the highlights—

We hosted a Shine On event for those in the special needs community. We had close to 40 special needs guests attend this event.
We held our Fall Festival and received close to 350 people. This year was a little different as we partnered with the Granite Museum (which just happens to be just down the road from our church). We also switched to a daytime format and earlier in the month. Trey was able to share the gospel with many people, and our church stepped up to cover all the games, parking detail, food preparation, and safety. This was our first year to hold this event without a mission team! Thank you to our missions partners that financially supported this event!
Georgetown Baptist Church of Texas sent their encouragement team to Vermont at the beginning of the month, and a pair of their encouragers treated us to a meal.
An individual who had been a long attender of our church was moving to Florida, so we were able to pack up her house and U-Haul. Two of the ladies from our church drove down with her and helped her get the truck unpacked! How’s that for service?
Robyn started teaching the women’s Bible study group. She will wrap up the current teaching next Wednesday night.
We were able to finish a large section of an on-going painting project in our church. We are so thankful for all of those who came out to help with this!
Two more small groups started—a daytime group for women and an evening group for men!
Our church held its packing party for Operation Christmas Child—in total, our church packed 450 shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse!
We held a training for our small group leaders that focused on discipleship.
Our women’s ministry held a fellowship event for women. These events allow an opportunity for them to invite friends and family who may not regularly attend church. We keep these events focused on relationship-building, and we are thankful for the response.
Our church blessed us with a reception and card shower during Pastor Appreciation month. We were overwhelmed by their generosity! We thank God that He has called us here and for the church family we are privileged to minister to!
We were able to help Washington Baptist Church in Vermont with their Fall Festival outreach!
Trey’s parents came for a visit, and we were thankful for the 2 ½ weeks that we got to spend with them. They certainly got a front-row seat to the craziness that is our life!
ON OCTOBER 31, OUR GRANDDAUGHTER WAS BORN!!! We are so thankful for Valorie Lynn Grace!

NOVEMBER

November wasn’t much calmer, but we are getting used to the pace. Trey had an elder’s retreat on the first Saturday of the month, and the following weekend we attended the Baptist Churches of New England annual convention. Both weekends were encouraging for both of us as we were on fumes by that point.

In fact, we had just 20 hours between returning from the convention and getting on the road again to travel to Alabama. We were able to visit with Rachel, David, and Valorie for almost a full week!

When we returned, our church began collection week for Operation Christmas Child. Faith Community Church is a collection point for all participating churches in the central and northern portion of the state. Altogether, we processed over 7,000 shoeboxes, filling two tractor trailers.

DECEMBER

We are only a handful of days into December, but it’s looking a lot like October. In fact, between now and when we depart for Christmas with family on the 21st we have just one free evening. We’ll tell you all about it in the next newsletter, but in the meantime, please pray for our travels to the South (again) and for the many opportunities we have coming up to be an encouragement to other pastors and wives in our area. Two of these couples are new to our area, one coming from Georgia and the other coming from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

PRAYER NEEDS:

Pray for our Night to Shine event, which will take place on February 13. This year, we are expecting 100 Honored Guests, which means we will need close to 200 volunteers. This is a lot to coordinate, so please pray for our minds to stay sharp and that our minds and bodies would not grow weary.
Pray for Barre and surrounding communities. The percentage of those in the state of Vermont who claim “None” as a religious preference (meaning Atheist or Agnostic) is currently at 46%. WE NEED MORE WORKERS HERE!
We are currently seeking the next family or individual who would commit to a 2-year residency with our church to assist with the ministries at Faith Community Church while developing relationships and praying toward planting a church in Vermont.
On that note, pray for our church. We continue to see growth numerically and in deep discipleship, but there is so much work to do. Again, we need more seasoned believers to partner with us in this endeavor as we work to raise up disciplemakers within our own congregation.
Pray for our extended families. It is difficult to be away from them during this season with so many joys and sorrows. Please pray for us as we continue to carry out this mission God has called us to. The sacrifices are many, but we press on.

In Christ,

Trey & Robyn Cates
12 Cassie Street
Barre, VT 05641
mhcates3@gmail.com / trey@fccbarre.org

HOW TO GIVE TO OUR MINISTRY

Tax-deductible donations can be made through our sponsor church. Make checks payable to the following:
Faith Community Church
30 Jones Brothers Way
Barre, VT 05641
Please write “Cates-VT Church Planting” in the memo line.

Online Donations can be made at:
https://pushpay.com/g/fccbarre
Please write “Cates-VT Church Planting” in the memo line.

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