|
| We found out yesterday evening that
Friendship Baptist Church in Bristol, Virginia voted to begin
supporting us as missionaries through their church! What a
blessing. I believe that we found a new tool in missions.
When we were visiting their church I accidentally dropped our
projector stand (kinda heavy) on the pastor's head. I might try
that again and see if we get the same result! Seriously though,
we are very thankful for God's continued blessings in our ministry.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| It's been almost two weeks since our
last update, so there's a bit to say here. First, we are back in
Virginia. We finished up the conference in Georgia and it went
very well. Since then we have also had a meeting with a church
in Richmond, Virginia and been able to visit our home church a couple
of times. My parents bought a house while we were away, so when
we arrived back I spent a few days helping them get it ready to move
into and then actually move the stuff itself. It was a lot of
work, but they are in and we are now parked at their new home, which
is actually a little more convenient for us in some ways. We
will be leaving this Saturday to head down south for 5 meetings in
North Carolina, all of which are next week. So, another busy
time for us. We will be back in Virginia the following week to
celebrate Easter at our sending church. I've got a lot of
pictures shown below, all of which are from a "field trip"
that we took to Washington, D.C. yesterday. We are still trying
to take advantage of opportunities to let our kids soak up some
culture and heritage, and this was a good chance for us to visit a
more-or-less local attraction. It was a long day, but everyone
seemed to enjoy it!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
kids at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial |
One
of many blooming Cherry Trees - the festival is next week. |
Me
and the kids with the Washington Monument and Potomac River in the
background. |
The
Smithsonian Castle. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
Washington Monument as viewed from in front of the Smithsonian Castle. |
The
U.S. Capitol Building as viewed from in front of the Smithsonian Castle. |
The
National Museum of Natural History |
Not
too good of a picture, but it is the skeletal remains of a T-Rex and other
dinosaurs. We just ignored all the "millions and millions of
years" stuff..... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
kids with a Triceratops skeleton head. |
The
kids with some other skeleton -- don't remember what. |
I
don't remember what kind of gem that was, but it sure was pretty! |
Another
picture. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| We
are at the National Archives now. The document is very hard to read,
even in person, because of wear, but it is the Bill of Rights. |
This
is the Declaration of Independence -- the kids were thinking during this
trip -- one asked how we got the original, since it was sent to the
King! Hmmmm...... |
One
of the pages of the U.S. Constitution. |
First
page of the U.S. Constitution, beginning with the big "We the
People" |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Last
page of the U.S. Constitution with all of the signatures. |
We
are at the National Air and Space Museum now. This is a rocket
exhibit featuring both U.S. and Russian rockets. |
One
of the lunar landers. |
The
"Spirit of Texas" helicopter flown by Ross Perot around the
world. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| We
are at the National Indian Museum now. This is one of several canoes
on display. |
There
was a large display of women's clothing, all of which was very beautiful. |
These
are baby items that various tribes used. |
Back
at the National Museum of Natural History -- we missed the Mammals
exhibit, which is our favorite section! Watch out for this tiger. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| August
shows the size of this walrus. |
Braden,
August and Addie. Oops, that's a monkey, not Addie. |
A
moose watches a woman talk on her phone. |
Here
kitty, kitty. How'd he get that thing up there?! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| This
is one cute little fox. |
The
kids don't even know they're about to be attacked by that giant bear. |
One
of several shots of the Washington Monument in the evening. |
One
of several shots of the Washington Monument in the evening. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| One
of several shots of the Washington Monument in the evening. |
One
of several shots of the Washington Monument in the evening. |
One
of several shots of the Washington Monument in the evening. |
The
U.S. Capitol as seen from the base of the Washington Monument. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Another
shot of the Capitol from the Monument, this time without zooming in. |
Missy
looks pretty good in that hat, if I do say so myself! |
The
Washington Monument as seen from the Lincoln Memorial. |
Another
shot from the Lincoln Memorial, this one shows both the Monument and the
Capitol. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Another
shot, again without zooming in. |
The
Lincoln Memorial. |
A
better picture of Lincoln's statue in the memorial. |
Inside
the memorial. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
inscription reads: "In this temple as in the hearts of the people for
whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined
forever." |
From
the top of the Lincoln Memorial steps, looking towards the Washington
Monument. |
The
entrance to the Vietnam Memorial. |
The
Vietnam Memorial. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| One
of many flags and other items left along the Vietnam Memorial. |
The
Korean War Memorial. |
Another
shot of the Korean War Memorial. |
After
a llloooooonnnggg day Addie couldn't make the trip home. |
|
|
|
|
|
| We have been in Dalton, Georgia for the
past few days, participating in the 2007 Mission Conference at New
Life Baptist Church. It's been an experience! We are
staying in the RV on the church grounds. They installed a new
30-amp outlet for us prior to our arrival. Later that day we
noticed a "funny smell" in the building we were parked next
to. Pastor and I looked, but couldn't figure out where it was
coming from. The next day our power suddenly went out. The
pastor and I, along with another missionary, spent an hour or so
troubleshooting (along with phone-support from Ed Reynolds at our
sending church) only to discover that one of the outlets inside the
building had melted and the wires had burnt up from the junction box
to inside the conduit. Not a good thing. I was able rewire
that part of the circuit to get the power back on and things are doing
much better! The services themselves are going well, and we are
thankful for the opportunity to be here. We've met a couple of
new missionaries as well as had an opportunity to see two missionary
families that we've seen at other conferences. I will be
presenting our ministry tonight. Shown below are a number of
photos that we have been taking over the past 3 days. We hope
you enjoy them.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Signs
as seen from the street. |
Front
of church - new building on left, old building on right |
New
building, showing basement which includes two mission suites, a printing
room and numerous class rooms |
View
from the main entrance |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Behind
the building, where we are parked. |
Main
hallway with 3 of the missionary displays |
The
Talbots - Missionaries to Norway |
Our
display. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
Taylors - Spanish-speaking church planters in North Carolina |
The
Taylors (2nd Taylor family) - Rock of Ages Prison Ministry |
The
Giminezs - Missionaries to the West Indies |
Custom
made place mats for this conference, showing all of the missionaries they
are evaluating this year - we are on the bottom left corner |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| View
from back-left corner of sanctuary - very well decorated for this
conference |
Closer
view of pulpit, choir loft and baptismal area |
Side
shot showing flags along one wall |
View
from the top row of the choir loft - sound booth is elevated at rear of
room and nursery window is on left-rear wall |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Small
figurines representing various people groups |
LOTS
of small flags all around the front of the sanctuary. |
Ivan
and Charlotte Taylor - church planters to Spanish-speaking people in North
Carolina. |
Dwight
& Ruth Talbot with their son Eirk - church planters to Norway |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Addie
with Emily and Lauren Taylor (children of Dustin & Stephanie Taylor -
missionaries with Rock of Ages) |
Pastor
Rick Spence, pastor of this church, speaks with the Taylors |
August
and Addie sitting while we talk with church members |
Kami
Giminez, missionary to the West Indies, and her son talking after service |
 |
 |
|
|
| Addie
and August pose with Emily Taylor. |
Dustin
and Stephanie Taylor speaking with church members after service. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Today is one of the few "days
off" that we have this month. We are still in Una, South
Carolina. Yesterday we enjoyed two services at two different
churches. Both went well, and we continue to be thankful for
every opportunity that we are give to share our ministry with
other churches. Not a lot to report today. The
weather is nice, everyone is healthy and we are having no problems of
any type. The only prayer request I have is for the mailing that
we sent out almost two weeks ago. It is now time to follow-up on
those with phone calls to the pastors. I currently have 303
phone calls scheduled, beginning tomorrow. Please pray that this
will yield fruit that will enable us to get to the field as quickly as
possible. I was checking today and if things progress as we are
planning then we will be with our sending church 7 more times before
the end of the year, and that may be all that we see them before
leaving for language school next summer. Though we know we will
miss them, we are ready to go and our desire is to get to the field as
soon as the Lord allows. Our affairs are in order and if the
Lord brought us to 100% support tomorrow, we are prepared to go.
Please continue to pray that He will allow us to be in language school
next summer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Today was a short driving day, with us
moving from Shelby, North Carolina to Una, South Carolina.
Tomorrow should be a busy day, with us having a meeting here in the
morning and in a church in Greenville, South Carolina in the
evening. I was able to get a few quick photos this afternoon of
the church, but we are basically making this a rest day. The
weather is beautiful, with temperatures in the 60's. By the
middle of the week they are calling for temperatures near 80. On
a bright note, everyone is doing better. Melissa had it the
worst, and she is still feeling a little under the weather, but is
better than yesterday. We are thankful for all of those who took
the time to pray for us about this! We are especially looking
forward to the meeting tomorrow morning after discovering that this
church is in the middle of a sizeable Hispanic community.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Signs
as seen from the street. |
Front
of the church. |
Side
shot from the adjacent property, where our RV is parked. |
The
"missions apartment" behind the church. |
 |
|
|
|
| Our
RV beside a small garage on the lot across the road from the church. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We've been enjoying some wonderful
services here in Shelby, as well as some very pleasant times of
fellowship through the days. Pastor Hayes and his church have
been very kind and hospitable all during our stay, and it has been a
very enjoyable experience. We've also had the opportunity to
hear some excellent preaching and reports from other
missionaries. God is blessing, and we are thankful for all that
He is doing. Shown below are a variety of pictures from the past
couple of days. Enjoy!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Braden,
August and Addie, playing pool.....or as close as they can come to playing
pool. |
One
of the wonderful lunches provided each day. We are taking away a
couple of pounds from this conference. |
Pastor
Hayes and his wife during lunch. |
The
display board for Harvest Baptist Missions. We've been with them for
8 months and hadn't seen it yet! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
sanctuary of Living Light Baptist Church before the evening service. |
Bro.
Steve Williams, the director of Harvest Baptist Missions, poses with his
wife. |
Pastor
Hayes has a light side as well. I'm not sure where he found this
hat, but it needs to go back there! |
Another
shot of Pastor Hayes and his hat. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| It
looks much better on Addie. |
Hmmm....perhaps
this hat thing is getting out of control....now the pastor's daughter has
it on. |
Okay,
back to Addie.....we're safe. |
Uh,
oh! Now Bro. Steve has the hat. This can't be good. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| I
emailed this picture to Bro. Steve's church. I can't wait to see
what they do with it! |
Braden's
playing a game like the old Centipede game.....amazing what used to
entertain us. |
Pastor's
daughter and one of the young men from the church play around with the
piano. |
August
and I are enjoying a little pool. |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Lining
my shot up carefully.....not that it will matter....I'll still miss. |
No,
August is not getting ready to shoot -- that IS his shot. |
Now
the other pastor's daughter is on the piano. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We moved over to Shelby, North Carolina
today to be with Pastor Hayes at Living Light Baptist Church.
The guest speaker for the week is Rev. Steve Williams, who also
happens to be our mission director. We're anticipating a great
time of fellowship with these believers! We have just a couple
of shots to show you of what it looks like here. The weather is
great, with temperatures around 70, so we are definitely enjoying
that!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
church bus....a rolling billboard. |
Advertisement
for the mission revival services. |
Our
house parked along side the church. Pastor Hayes installed a new 50
amp receptacle just for our RV, which was a special blessing. |
The
front of the church. |
|
|
|
|
|
| We are now at Little River Baptist
Church in in Spring Lake, North Carolina, and having a great
time. Our schedule allowed for us to arrive the day before our
presentation, so we've had an extra opportunity to get to know the
pastor and his members a little more. The photos below show you
some of the church, as well as the soccer game that we played this
afternoon.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Street
sign on the main road. |
A
verse, printed above the water fountain, speaking of the "living
water". |
Our
house parked behind the church. |
The
sanctuary, prior to a service. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Entrance
into the "fellowship hall" / kitchen |
Another
shot from within the fellowship hall. We enjoyed some very good
meals in here! |
Getting
ready for the big game! To my right is Pastor Hoyle (the taller of
the two) |
August
is goalie. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Braden's
ready for the game to start! |
Addie's
the official bench warmer and first sub. |
An
action shot....one of the few with everyone standing. |
This
is more like how most of the game was spent. Is this Futbol or
Football? |
 |
 |
|
|
| Going
through some instructions. To the left is Pastor Yearwood, the guest
speaker for the week and organizer of this game. |
A
shot from the road showing the church and the game. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Our mission conference in Jetersville is
finished and we are preparing to travel to Spring Lake, North Carolina
for another conference tonight. We will be there today and
tomorrow and then travel to Shelby, North Carolina to participate in
another conference from Wednesday through Friday. This is
definitely our busiest month ever, with us being in church every day
for 15 out of 19 days. We are thankful though that the Lord is
blessing and giving us these opportunities to present our
ministry! We are also thankful for Him allowing us to make some
new friends recently, and get reacquainted with old friends. Two
people in particular this week we have come in contact with have
promised to help us get additional support and make new
contacts. They are contacting individuals on our behalf to
promote our ministry. One is an active pastor, the other a
retired pastor (who is just as active). Our letter campaign from
last week is also starting to get some responses, with emails and
phone calls requesting information and DVDs about our ministry.
Please continue to pray that God will use this to help raise the
support that we need to get to the field quickly.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| A
close-up shot of the placemats on the table. Missions was emphasized
in every aspect of this week. |
These
types of signs were posted throughout the building, highlighting various
fields in the world. |
August,
standing beside our display in the fellowship hall. |
We
enjoyed an international supper on Saturday evening. We grabbed a
quick picture before others began arriving. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Some
of the delicious food that was available, as it is still being brought
out. |
Addie
and August sitting with their newest friend, Abbi. |
A
shot from the back of the auditorium. They are constantly adding
onto the facilities, and they are very well maintained. |
Dr.
& Mrs. Jim Sumpter, the guest speaker for the week, speaking with one
of the church members. |
 |
|
|
|
| Braden
and Addie listen while I speak with Pastor Paul Wade before the service. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We began the first of our four mission
conferences for this month yesterday. We will be at Jetersville
Baptist Church in Jetersville, Virginia through this coming
Sunday. This church is located in the middle of nowhere but has
a thriving ministry. It's a blessing to see what God can do when
people are faithful to serve Him. We will try and report more as
we go through this week, but until then you can see a little from the
photos below.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
church is constantly growing! Even now they are adding a section and
working on plans for the next phase. Their facilities are very nice. |
This
is their church bus. They also have a 15-passenger van available. |
The
street sign. I like the message: "Some minds are like concrete: mixed
up and permanently set." |
Sunset
through the trees behind the church. We're just glad the days are
getting longer! |
|
|
|
|
