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Updates for 2007 - August

2007 08-29
Where has the time gone?!  We are no longer in Ohio.  We traveled from Lodi, Ohio to Powhatan, Virginia on Monday and then over to Williamsburg, Virginia on Tuesday.  We will be here through this week, but will leave Saturday morning heading towards Maryland.  We are enjoying our last few days of relaxation before heading into the fall and a very busy schedule.  Since our last writing we have enjoyed three additional meetings.  On Wednesday the 21st we visited with Ashland Baptist Temple in Ashland, Ohio.  Although this was an unplanned meeting, it was a blessing.  I had been speaking with the pastor for a while, so I was not unknown when I walked in.  He allowed me the opportunity to preach that evening and then invited us back for their mission conference next year!  On Friday we drove from Lodi, Ohio (where we left the trailer parked) over to Springfield, Ohio to visit with my father for the weekend.  From there we traveled up to Forest, Ohio on Sunday morning for services with Berean Baptist Church and then over to Uniontown, Ohio (about a 3 hour drive) for evening services with Temple Baptist Church.  Both of these services went very well and we are thankful for the continued opportunities to present the work to which we have been called.  As a follow-up to the RV problem, we now have a tentative schedule for getting that fixed by the middle of October.  I won't outline all of the details here, but it does involve two all-day trips to the RV dealer about 3 weeks apart from each other (the first to diagnose and order parts, the second to install them).  Although it is a bit of a hassle, it does keep us from being without water in our kitchen, and more importantly it keeps us from having to leave the house for 2-3 weeks!
A picture from August's birthday "party" on the 24th. Sign for Berea Baptist Church in Forest, Ohio.  The view towards the front-left side of the church, which is a renovated farm house. The view from the back of the house.
Unloading the display.   Setting up the projector in the sanctuary. The fellowship hall at Berea Baptist Church, where we enjoyed a wonderful meal with the pastor, his wife and two church children. The display was a big hit with the kids, as they played with all of the Mexican toys.
Talking with some of the members before the services. View of part of Temple Baptist Church from the parking lot. Street sign for Temple Baptist Church. Missions display highlighting the many missionaries they currently support.
The middle of the main sanctuary. Their faith promise display showing their current status while they work towards their 2007 goal of $68,376.
2007 08-21
It's been a few days since our last update.  We are still in Lodi and finally had an opportunity to meet the members of Victory Baptist Church this past Sunday.  We presented our ministry during  Sunday School and then I brought the message for the morning service.  They are truly a very loving and generous family of believers, and we are thankful for the opportunities we have had to visit with them.  In the evening we drove down to Rittman, Ohio and presented at Calvary Baptist Church.  It was another good meeting and one for which we are thankful.  Today we are going about our normal daily activities, including language training.  Tomorrow we are considering going with Pastor Williams up to Cleveland to visit a science museum that he highly recommends.  Tomorrow evening we are going to drop in and visit with Ashland Baptist Temple in Ashland, Ohio.  We will leave the camper here in Lodi for the weekend, but we are going to travel over to Springfield, Ohio to visit with my father for a couple of days before we leave the state on Monday.  We have two more meetings this coming weekend.  The Sunday morning meeting is in Forest, Ohio and the evening meeting is in Uniontown, Ohio.  These two churches are about 3 hours apart, so it will be a long day.  One other note.  The RV is broken again.  The gray water holding tank that ruptured a few weeks back has another major leak.  We had a mobile service unit look at it, but they said it would take 2-3 weeks to get it serviced, which we simply don't have.  We are looking at our options, but it may be December before we are able to stay in one place long enough for that work to be done.  We will see, but we do know the Lord will work it out! 
The display is up and we are fellowshipping as we wait for the start of the service at Calvary Baptist Church in Rittman. The sanctuary at CBC in Rittman. The front of the main building.  There is another building off to the left.
2007 08-16
Last night we had an opportunity to visit with People's Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio.  We met many wonderful people and enjoyed hearing about the great work which God is accomplishing through this church.  We also had the opportunity to go out to dinner with the pastor and his family, and enjoyed our time together then as well.  I also met a young Hispanic man there at the church and was able to provide him with several Spanish New Testaments as well as a stack of bilingual (Spanish-English) tracts that he is going to distribute.  We are very pleased to be able to assist him in his own evangelistic efforts through these materials.
View of the church buildings from the road. Closer view of the church sign.  They are putting up the tent for the revival mentioned on the sign today.....they have 30 volunteers to help get it started.  Another view of the church buildings. One of many signs posted around the church to help encourage the people.
Another of the signs. They are able to offer the Reformers Unanimous program. A view of the main sanctuary, which was very beautiful. The building fund is nearing the top!
2007 08-15
The trailer repairs went very well today.  We did found more damage than originally thought, but it doesn't seem to be a major problem.  The repairman also noted that all of the u-bolts on all of the axles (these hold the springs to the axles) were loose, and that this would have led to a future problem as well.  He also pointed out that there was rust on the exposed end of the bottom-most broken spring, indicating that it has been broken for a while (the others were all fresh breaks and still very, very clean).  The first picture below shows part of the body of the trailer which was damaged when the tire actually hit the body as the springs broke.  Although the photos are small, you can make out the dent and see the discoloration going up the body from the heat as it melted the paper/plastic coating. The second picture is of the tire, and it's hard to make out, but there is a section on the side of the tire that has been rubbed bald from where it was rubbing against the body of the trailer.  The third picture just shows the repair in progress and the last picture shows the new springs installed.  I'm still not entirely sure what the total bill is, but I do know that we won't be paying most of it.  Our Good Sam Emergency Roadside Assistance is paying for the "service call" (to have on-site work done) and our trailer warranty should be paying for all but $50 (our deductible) of the repairs themselves.  So, all of this should cost us only $50, which is very, very good!  Low cost, fixed in one day and we never had to leave the house.  The Lord continues to watch over us and prove Himself faithful.
Damage to body of trailer caused by the tire hitting it. Bald spot on tire caused when it hit the trailer. A work in progress. Everything's done and we're ready to roll.
2007 08-14
As planned, we left Poland, Ohio today en-route to Mansfield, Ohio.  It was supposed to be a 2 hour trip.  Yes, you know where this is going.  We are currently in Lodi, Ohio and will be staying here due to a problem with the RV.  As we were driving down the interstate at 70mph I noticed that the trailer was leaning to one side, and that the tire I could see on the side it was leaning towards was bulging quite a bit.  I got off the interstate and stopped on an exit ramp, expecting to find a flat tire.  No such luck.  Instead, we broke all 5 axle springs on the rear left tire.  After a call to Good Sam Emergency Roadside Assistance we were told it was ok to drive slowly to a safe location to park.  So, we were only a few miles from Victory Baptist Church in Lodi (where we were supposed to be coming after Mansfield), and they are allowing us to come a few days early.  We have a service call scheduled tomorrow morning for a mobile unit to come assess the damage and begin repairs.  I know all of the axle springs will have to be repaired, but there may be more damage as well.  The photos below are small, but because of the lack of springs the rear axel went up into the underbelly of the trailer.  Most of that is hollow space, so hopefully it won't be a problem.  The tire is also rubbing the top of the frame, so we'll need to get it checked too.  They will also need to check the axle to see if it bent.  Despite all that, we are thankful that we are here safe and that it happened at a time when we are scheduled to be parked for 2 full weeks, allowing ample time for it to be fixed.  The Lord is definitely good!  We are only about 30 minutes from Mansfield, so we will still drive there and back tomorrow evening for our scheduled meeting.
This is what the springs are supposed to look like.  This is one of the sets on the right side of the trailer. This is one view of the broken springs.  You can see the break, and may also be able to make out the bracket poking into the underbelly.  Another view from the opposite side, showing all 5 springs nicely broken in half.  I feel sorry for whomever found the rest of the springs on the highway!
2007 08-12
On Saturday we moved north from Salem, Ohio to Poland, Ohio.  We are staying on the grounds at Gospel Baptist Church.  They are being very gracious hosts, and we are very much enjoying our time with them.  Saturday evening we had dinner with one of the member families, Bob & Val Mayville, and it was a wonderful time.  Yesterday we participated in both the morning and evening services.  I was able to teach the Teen Sunday School Class and Melissa taught the Adult Ladies Sunday School Class.  During the morning service I spoke for just a moment and was able to play our ministry DVD presentation.  After presenting the DVD we left the main service to teach the Junior Church, which is children from 1st - 6th grades, most of whom are brought in on the buses. There were supposed to be 60-80 children, but only 47 showed up this week (summer slump).  Several children indicated that they were not saved and I'm aware of at least 2 that trusted Christ as their personal Savior that very day!  Afterwards, we partook in a delicious afternoon meal with Pastor Royalty and his family, as well as another family from the church.  In the evening service I had about 15 minutes to share our testimony and calling into the ministry, and after the service we enjoyed another great meal with Pastor House and his wife, as well as two additional families from the church.  We've truly enjoyed every minute of our time with this church.  Today we are using their facilities to do some laundry and complete other tasks, before heading out tomorrow to People's Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio where I should be able to participate in the church visitation on Tuesday and then present the ministry on Wednesday.  Following are some pictures from this past weekend.    
Front view of the church, with our house parked to the right. Church sign. Left view of the church, from the end of their parking lot. Another view of the front of the church.  You can just make out the edge of the main sanctuary to the left of this picture. 
The middle of the sanctuary.  There are two "wings" off each side of the picture which you cannot see. Main hall in the church with multiple rooms exiting from it.  Every hall in the church is lined with missionary family information. Their church van. Their 6 church buses, which they use to bring in almost 100 children each week.
Dinner with the Mayville family, as well as with Bro. Jack (seated in the foreground). Braden plays with Naomi, the Mayville's dog. Cooking marshmallows on the fire. August *really* likes those marshmallows!
Sitting around the fire talking.  A nice peaceful evening! Addie found another friend (Mrs. Mayville).  Some of the children as they prepare for Junior Church. Going through the opening activities.
More opening activities for Junior Church. Bro. Nielsen, one of the bus captains and the one in charge of Junior Church. Bro. Nielsen gives out candy as reward for a special game they were playing. More candy being distributed.
The children are all very eager to participate.  Braden and August speak with some of the other children. Church is over and they are headed back to the buses. Aaron socializing with some of the kids.
2007 08-09
We are currently located just north of Salem, Ohio at Chapparal Family Campground.  We arrived here on Tuesday and will be leaving Saturday morning.  Last night we took the opportunity to drop-in and visit at Columbiana Baptist Church in Columbiana, Ohio.  It was a good visit, despite the fact that the Pastor and Assistant Pastor were both out of town!  However, we did get to meet with the church members and they were very hospitable to our visit.  This coming Sunday we will be with Gospel Baptist Church in Poland, Ohio.  We have a full day scheduled with them, and are really looking forward to it.  I will be teaching a teen Sunday School class and Melissa will be teaching a ladies Sunday School class.  We will show our ministry presentation during the morning service and then Melissa and I will take the Junior Church out and have a special service with them (we were told to expect 60-80 children for that!)  During the evening service we will be sharing our testimonies.  It should be a very exciting day!  No pictures to share with you this time, but perhaps in a few days there will be more.
2007 08-04
Today was a short travel day from Lodi, Ohio over to Niles, Ohio (about an hour-and-a-half total).  We are staying beside First Baptist Church of Niles.  It's a larger city church located in what appears to be an older section of the city.  We are located almost across the road from the William McKinley National Memorial, so we took a brief field trip there after we arrived today.  We will be with FBC of Niles for both services tomorrow and will be in this area until Tuesday, when we head south toward Poland, Ohio.  
One of their two street signs (they are on the corner of the block). Their second street sign. A view of much of the church from the main intersection. View from the parking lot behind the church.
Painted sign on the back of one of their buildings. Our house, parked between their activity center and main church building. Front of their activity center. Kids inside the activity center.
Fellowship hall in the basement of the main building. Front of the William McKinley National Memorial. A full statue of President McKinley. Kids in the childrens area of the library inside the memorial.  They will be back there on Monday -- they have TONS of books!
Addie really is a chicken, and this book proves it -- now we can call her pollita (Spanish for 'little chicken')!
   
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