Dear Pastor and Church,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I pray this letter finds you well, and abounding in the grace of our God!

Psalm 126:3 – “The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Our Lord has called and chosen me for a wonderful work with orphan children in the country of Moldova (part of the former Soviet Union). God has provided a 29-acre piece of land through the Anchor of Hope Orphan Foundation, called God’s Orchard, to fulfill His heavenly vision of being a helper of the fatherless (Psalm 10:14).

God has asked me to be His ambassador and is sending my family and me to carry out His five-fold vision for the fatherless of Moldova.
- First and foremost, we are going for the SALVATION of orphan souls through the perfect blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Secondly, God is leading us to build 20 homes on this land to provide SHELTER for their bodies. We anticipate 8 to 10 children living in each home with a Moldavian or American Christian family.
- Thirdly, we will be planting fruit trees, nut trees, and gardens of vegetables to SUPPLY food to nourish their bodies. Lord willing, we plan on building a greenhouse on God’s Orchard, and irrigating the vegetables to insure a plentiful harvest.

_ Fourthly, SCHOOLING will be a big part of our lives. Providing training based on God’s Word, the King James Bible, we look to bring all of the children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Through constant instruction at home, in Sunday school, in church services, in discipleship training, and in The Bible Believers Baptist Institute of Moldova (established by Missionary Paul Hamilton) each of our hearts will be challenged to be more like our Wonderful Saviour. In addition, a 2- story vocational school will be constructed on a foundation that is already laid. This will allow us to train the orphan children in a trade that will help them learn to work with their hands, and one day be able to provide for themselves.
- Lastly, the SENDING FORTH of the fatherless, to tell their people of the amazing love of our Heavenly Father, will be the final result of our labor for Christ.

We are very excited to tell others of God’s bountiful plan. We would count it a great blessing to have the opportunity to tell you and your church of God’s desire to provide for the needs of the fatherless of Moldova. Please contact me for more information, or to schedule a meeting to be a part of our Father’s work. I can be reached at our home phone number (330) 686-0850, cell phone(330) 221-6120, or via e-mail at John@Weldons2Moldova.com. There is much to be done for our Lord, please contact me as quickly as possible, for I must be about my Father’s business!

For His Glory and Honour,

John Weldon and Family

Our Salvation Testimonies

    Mark 10:15 –“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter therein.”

     My wife and I praise God that we were lead to the Lord Jesus Christ at a young age. Mark 10:15 is a blessing to each of our hearts.  We would like to take this opportunity to praise our heavenly Father, and tell you how we received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour.

    I was blessed by God to be presented the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at a young age.  One summer day in our kitchen, at the age of 10, my mother opened the Bible to John 3:16.  She began to describe to me why God sent His only begotten Son, and how He died for my sin.  The Word of God, in its simplicity, immediately cut into my heart.  My mom led me to the Lord that day.  Upon repenting of my sin, asking for forgiveness, and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour, I became a Son of God!  To this day, I can remember running out the kitchen door, jumping off the steps into the driveway knowing that something had eternally changed inside of me.  I praise God for His eternal gift of everlasting life He bestowed upon me that day.  Through these many years, I have seen His power to keep me despite my own actions.  Praise God, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!

     My wife, Sarah, was also very blessed to be born into a saved family.  Her parents were going to Bible School when she was young, and at the age of 5, she got saved in Sunday school class.  Her Sunday school teacher asked, “ Who would like to spend eternity in heaven?”  Sarah responded by raising her hand.  She knew that she was a sinner, and that the Lord Jesus Christ could forgive her sins.  Her teacher took her out of the classroom, and led her in a prayer of repentance to our heavenly Father.  Praise God He saved her soul that day!  Through the grace of God, she desires to be faithful and please Him with her life.

    Bless God; our two oldest sons have come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God gave me the particular blessing to lead both of them to our Heavenly Father.

    On February 12, 2006, at the age of 6, Joel, came up to me as we were getting ready to eat dinner after Sunday morning church and said, “Dad, I want to get saved,” with tears coming down his face.  We went up to his room, and I opened up the scripture to explain to him God’s plan of salvation.  We kneeled by a little chair, and Joel received the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.

    One summer evening, after family prayer, God impressed upon my heart to talk to Aaron, our oldest son, about his need for eternal life.  We began to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ and why He had to come to die for our sins.  God led me to Luke 16, the account of the rich man and Lazarus.  We were at the passage where the rich man was asking God to send someone to testify to his family, so they would not go to Hell.  I began to tell Aaron, how God sent my mom to tell me of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ and how God sent me to tell him about the same eternal hope. I asked Aaron if he would like to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.  With tears in his eyes, he said, “Yes!”  On August 21, 2007, at the age of 10, Aaron knelt at his bed, and with a repentant heart, asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive him of his sin and come into his heart to be his personal Saviour.    Amen! and Amen! 

My Call to Our Heavenly Father's Service

     I Timothy 1:12 –“ And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;”

     As I look back over the years, I remember shortly after my salvation, going back to school to the 5th grade, and having a great concern for lost souls around me. The Word of God was of keen interest to my heart, and the desire to witness to my friends at school was present with a bold testimony of what the Lord Jesus Christ could do for them.

     I thank God for His faithfulness to me, and His never-ending love. The years between 6th grade and my senior year of high school were an ebb and flow battle with the flesh and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to serve a loving, merciful God. I firmly believe, that my parents loving me enough to keep me under the sound preaching of the Word of God in our local church was a big reason my life was not wrecked and ruined by the deceitfulness of this sinful world.

     In 1987, we attended a church in Wooster, Ohio. At the time, I was not terribly interested in the preaching of the Word of God. There was a mission board in the front of the sanctuary, and I would spend services counting the lights that showed where they supported missionaries. At one point, I noticed there were no missionary lights in the Soviet Union, and I said to myself, with arrogance, “Why are there no missionaries in the Soviet Union? Are they too afraid to go?” Little did I know, God was listening to me, and responded to me, “WHAT ABOUT YOU?” In amazement, I tried to back away from God’s response and ignore Him. However, God in His infinite wisdom would not allow me to forget such an important question. To this day, I can remember the moment as if it were yesterday.

     The year I graduated from high school, 1990, was a very important year in my life. The Holy Spirit’s convicting power was ever present in my life. My lack of love and service for the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me, burdened my heart tremendously. In the summer of 1990, I got right with my Heavenly Father, and He drew me close to His side. God began to speak to me very clearly about His desire to use me as His servant. He used verses of scripture to etch in my heart His calling on my life. The day I read Genesis 12:1, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:”, I wept before my God as he again wooed me to Him. In the years to come, He would use John 20:21, Mark 10:49, Acts7:3, I Thessalonians 5:24, and Judges 4:8,9 to continue to speak to my heart and call me to His service.

     In 1995, Sarah and I got married. I told her before we got engaged that God was calling me to His work, so that she was aware of His calling, before she committed her hand to me in marriage. We began to build our life together, and my career as a landscape contractor began to flourish. God began to bless us with children. As my responsibilities at home grew, so did my responsibilities at work. I never had clear peace as to what God wanted me to do, or where he wanted me to go. I can attribute this silence to the fact that He was not ready to tell me, and I was not ready to listen. At times, my heart would yearn to understand God’s desire for my life, and at other times I was satisfied to live in our home, and continue my occupation as a landscape contractor.

      The years up to, 2007, as I said, were full of times of searching and asking, as well as, times of stubbornness and disobedience. God continued to speak to my heart through the preaching and reading of His Word. A lot of God’s dealing with me, I kept inside, and tried to reason it away, at the same time searching for clear answers. The struggles in my heart all these years were tremendous.

In the winter of 2006, God used a radio program, which talked about a Christian group that went to Latvia to take shoes to orphan children, to get my attention. Up to this point, God had given me a soft heart for the Soviet Union, orphan children, and a desire to go and minister to them. I said to myself, “ That would have been great to be able to go!” But soon, I let the memory fade away. God, once again, never let it completely go away.

      The following spring of 2007, there was an announcement on the radio of the same group going to Latvia to minister to orphan children. My heart and mind began to race as I prayerfully considered the opportunity to go. By this time, I began to pour my heart out to my wife of all the times God continued to deal with me regarding my service for Him. I looked into going on the trip, however God clearly let me know that He did not want me to go with this group. I told Sarah one Sunday afternoon, if I had a choice to go with this group to Latvia; or to go visit Paul Hamilton in Moldova (another part of the former Soviet Union), hands down, I would go see Brother Paul. I always knew Paul Hamilton was over in Moldova from conversations with Don Stertz. Paul also came to our church a couple of times, but I never approached him to tell him of my interest, or to line up a time to come over on a mission trip. Our Pastor announced, in late spring, that Paul Hamilton was coming to visit our church, in August, while he was back on furlough. God, in His perfect way, had already been dealing with me very hard about leaving my job and this country to work for Him, even before I heard Paul Hamilton was coming to our church.

     On August 5, 2007, Paul Hamilton, missionary to Moldova, was given the evening service to update us on his work for God and preach. With much anticipation I awaited this day knowing that God had something in store for me – I just did not know what. The moment he began to show his presentation, he started singing, “There’s a voice calling me from that old rugged tree, and it whispers draw closer to me. Leave this world far behind, there are new heights to climb, and a new place in me you will find.” God split my heart wide open, with a song He has used for years to deal with me, to use my life for His service. My heart was now in God’s hands, as Paul continued through his presentation. Paul began to tell a story of a piece of property that he had received just before he had returned back on furlough, called God’s Orchard, and how God showed him the vision for this land----20 houses in 20 years with a working orchard to provide for the needs of the orphans that would live on the land. The moment he showed the picture of the orchard, it was as though God took the blinders off my eyes, and allowed me to see the plan He had for my life. God asked, “Would you do this for me?” I responded in my heart, “ I would love to!” Paul proceeded to preach out of Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” Paul asked the question, “What is in the way of you serving the Lord?” I went forward to the altar that evening, and beseeched God for the victory to be able to let go of my job, and the things of the world that had prevented me from leaving all behind to serve my Loving God! God gave me complete victory! Praise His Name!

     Since that evening, God has continued to give me clear instructions to obey. In His strength I have been able to obey and follow after Him. We have a great God, who I am excited to serve with all of my heart, body, soul, and mind. ONWARD WE GO!!!

Statement of Doctrinal Beliefs

1. We believe in the absolute authority of the Holy Scriptures. We believe the original manuscripts were given by inspiration of God and were without error. We believe the God who gave His word to man has taken upon Himself the responsibility for its preservation (Psalms 12:6-7). We believe the incorruptible word of God which cannot pass away is available to the world in the Authorized (King James) Version. This Bible is our final authority in all matters.

2. We believe in one God eternally existent as the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.

3. We believe God to be the creator and sustainer of all things, visible and invisible. We believe the universe and all that is therein to be held together by the word of His power.

4. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be God manifest in the flesh, virgin born, without sin, crucified, risen, and coming again to receive His church, then returning to earth to establish His kingdom.

5. We believe salvation is available to all men by grace through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from human works or merits of any kind.

6. We believe the saved child of God is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is sealed, taught, and comforted by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption.

7. We believe salvation makes one a member of the body of Christ, and the members of this body should gather together in a local church where they may minister one to another.

8. We believe it is the responsibility of every believer to proclaim the saving gospel to all men by personal testimony and by giving of their means to finance the missionary efforts of the church.

9. We believe all men rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the conscious torment of a literal lake of fire, while all those receiving the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the glorious presence of God.

10. We believe all saved men should be separate from the outward and inward ways of this world, being holy in mind and body. We believe, however, that righteousness does not come by the keeping of laws and commandments, but by an inner change of heart. We therefore place the emphasis on the inner condition, trusting the outward appearance to follow accordingly.

11. We believe that water baptism is a public testimony made by the saved Christian and plays no part in salvation or making one a member of the church.

12. We believe that any attempt by the state to interfere with the working of the church or by the church to interfere with the working of the state is a violation of God's purpose for both.

13. We believe in the priesthood of all believers and decry any form or fashion of exalting one member of the body of Christ, or one gift of the Spirit above another.

14. We believe that the church is a body of which Jesus Christ is the head. Thus it is not a democracy to be run by the will of its members, but is to conduct its temporal as well as its spiritual business in strict accordance to the word of God.