|
| We received another commitment for personal support today,
bringing our level up even higher. We are now at 28.73%.
I'm praying that we'll top 30% before the end of this month and that
by the end of the year we will be at 50-60%. I know our God is
able, and I pray that He will allow this to come to pass through the
faithfulness of His people. We are encouraged by this recent
increase in support. In other news, we he also received good/bad
news today. We had a conference scheduled for mid October which
was a blessing, but it was also going to be very difficult to make as
it required us to drive 9 hours overnight after a Sunday evening
meeting, in order to be at the conference the next day (Monday).
However, in calling today it seems that there was a small snafu in the
scheduling and we were not put on the list. We were able to
reschedule the meeting for April of next year, so we will still have
the opportunity to present, which is good news, and we lightened our
schedule for October some, which is also good news! So, though
we regret not being able to make their conference we are thankful for
the Lord providing the opportunity to still visit the church and
protect us from any danger we may have faced while driving during that
night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Well, it's been a day or two since we last reported in
here. We are currently in Amelia, Virginia, back in my mother's
yard. We are staying here for a few days while we have meetings
and such in this area. This past weekend we present the ministry
at Liberty Baptist Church in Mocksville, North Carolina. The
people were a blessing to us, and we hope that we were able to be an
encouragement to them as well. Yesterday evening we had the opportunity
to present the ministry at Albemarle Baptist Church in
Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a wonderful meeting and I even
got to meet a fellow student (Bro. Shane) from Bible college that I
had not had a chance to see since graduation. The church seemed
to be very interested in our ministry and pastor indicated that they
would definitely begin supporting our ministry in the coming
months. This coming weekend we will be presenting at Grace
Baptist Temple in Blackstone, Virginia. I had the opportunity to
meet the pastor today and am looking forward to having the opportunity
to meet the rest of the church on Sunday. Both of these churches
are very mission-minded and are doing great works in their local
communities! We are also taking the opportunity to catch-up on
doctor's appointments during this visit, and were able to take the RV
in for some much-needed repair work on Tuesday. They were able
to completely diagnose the problem and order parts, which should
arrive in time for our next swing through this area on the 18th of
October. In other news, we picked up another individual
supporter today. The summer has been busy, but we have not seen
an increase in support for over a month, so this is encouraging.
We have received many wonderful reports though and I believe we will
see our support increase dramatically before the end of the
year. We continue to be thankful for everything the Lord
provides and are excited about what He is doing!
|
 |
 |
|
|
| We
stayed at Holly Ridge Campground in Boonville, NC last week and the
children got to enjoy some relaxation on the playgrounds and while riding
bikes. |
This
past weekend we presented the ministry at Liberty Baptist Church in
Mocksville, North Carolina. We didn't get any photos until after
service, and they didn't show up to well. The windows of the
building were beautiful in the dark, but this picture does not do them
justice. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Greetings! We are now in Sylva, North
Carolina. We are participating in a mission conference at
Victory Baptist Church here. It began yesterday and will
conclude on Wednesday. So far everything is going very
well. We are staying at Fort Tathum Campground, which is only a
couple of miles from the church. We are up in the Great Smokey
Mountains, and the scenery is quite spectacular! The meetings
have been great so far, and we expect no less for the remainder of the
week. The people are extremely friendly, generous, and most
importantly, mission minded! The pastor shared a little of the
church history with us today. In 1981 the founding pastor and
his wife were murdered on the church grounds by one of the
members. Over the next couple of years the church went steadily
downhill, reaching a low point of about 12 attending members in
1983. At that point every visiting pastor, missionary and
evangelist was saying that without a doubt the church would fold
within the next year or so. In the 24 years since that time the
situation has changed dramatically. The church is very vibrant,
easily running over 250 in attendance (by my estimates), has a Christian school with over 90 students, is preparing to build a new
auditorium and is giving over $130,000 a year to missions. God
has certainly worked a miracle here in the mountains, and it is
encouraging to us to be here with them and witness it firsthand.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Our
house is now parked at Fort Tathum Campground. It's nestled among
the trees, beside a creek in the Great Smokey Mountains. |
This
nice creek is located directly behind our house. |
This
is what I mean by directly. You can see our RV to the left, and
Addie is standing on the creek bank. It is approximately 2-3 feet
from the back of the RV to the water. |
One
of several decorative items located throughout the campground. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| A
small cannon also located in the campground. |
The
"fort" is a children's play area. |
The
kids are enjoying some time on the merry-go-round. |
They
also have a small pond with a bridge that you can't cross. There
were a lot of people fishing in the pond when we arrived, so I guess there
are fish in there! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
current church buildings, as seen from close to the entrance. |
The
original church building, which is now used for various other functions of
the church. |
The
newer of the church buildings. There is also a large gymnasium
attached to the back of this building, which you cannot see. A new
auditorium is in the works, to be located just up the hill from this site. |
The
current auditorium is the gymnasium, as it is the only space large enough
to handle all of the people. It works very well though and is
certainly not a detriment to the services. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
choir loft is a set of risers such as a high school choir would use.
It too is very effective for their situation! |
The
status of their building program. They have raised over $300,000 of
the $400,000 goal for phase II of the new building (getting the shell
built). Phase I was getting a very large retaining wall built and
grading the land. Phase III will be completing the inside. |
Some
of the missionary displays. There are about 8 families here this
week. |
More
of the displays. |
 |
 |
|
|
| Pastor
Bagwell speaks with the kids before the service. |
Braden
and August speak with some of the other missionary kids before service. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| We made it safely to Creedmoor, North Carolina
yesterday. We are staying on the grounds here at Bible Baptist
Church, which has rather extensive and beautiful facilities . They are being very gracious hosts, going well out of
their way to make sure that everything we need is available to
us. We are looking forward to presenting the ministry during the
services this evening, and our children will have the opportunity to
participate in their Awana program as well. We will be staying
here at the church through the end of the week, when we head off for
Sylva. Everything is going well, and everyone is healthy!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Their
street sign, as seen from the distance. It stands above the trees so
that it can also be seen from the interstate directly behind it. |
This
is the main entrance into the sanctuary. The gymnasium is off the
left-side of the picture (not visible in this shot). |
This
shows the front of the building, as it faces the road. The main
entrance in the previous picture is off to the right, and the gymnasium is
in the background. |
This
shot is from the back of the building. The main sanctuary entrance
is to the left (the white part) and our trailer is the small white speck
on the right side of the building. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The
church has installed RV hookups directly behind the building, which are a
blessing in our situation. We are the first to use these new
hookups, and they work great. |
This
is the view from inside the main sanctuary entrance, looking out and
up. It is very beautiful. |
The
view as you enter the sanctuary, looking straight ahead towards the pulpit
and baptistry (the green part in the background). |
This
is from the entrance looking towards the side, showing the extra set of
row off-set in each "wing" of the sanctuary. |
 |
 |
|
|
| A
speakers-eye view of the auditorium, looking from behind the pulpit
outwards. You can also make out the sound booth near the ceiling. |
Their
large gymnasium which offers a wide array of entertainment options, as
well as a large gathering place for church social events. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Today I am reporting from Statesville, North
Carolina. We arrived here Saturday, after driving down from
Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We are staying on the grounds at Temple
Baptist Church. We enjoyed wonderful services with the church
this past Sunday, and are thankful for the opportunity that we have
had to be here. Yesterday I had the opportunity to preach all
three services (Adult Sunday School, Morning Worship and Evening
Worship). The people were very receptive of our ministry, and a
couple are already considering traveling down to work with us on a
short-term mission trip once we are settled on the field. We
will be leaving here tomorrow, heading over to Creedmoor, North
Carolina for services on Wednesday before heading to Sylva, North
Carolina on Saturday for a mission conference that will run from
Sunday to Wednesday. Everyone is well, and everything is working
properly, and for that we are extremely thankful. School has
begun and it continues to be a little rocky due to our living arrangements. Lord
willing that will work itself out and we will have an easier time throughout the remainder of the year!
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Front
of the main building, as seen from the road. Their facilities were
built in 3 parts (all attached to one another), with this being the most
recent. |
View
from the rear of the property, showing the original church building. |
Three
buses which they use to bring in a number of children each week. |
Their
mission board, displaying a few of the many missionaries they are able to
work with. |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Their
original sanctuary, which is now used for the Children's Church. |
The
front of the main sanctuary, including their choir loft and pulpit.
The choir is getting ready. |
The
back of the main sanctuary, as soon from the front of the room. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Since our last writing back in August we've traveled a few
miles. We are currently in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, having
arrived earlier this afternoon. This past Saturday we traveled
from Williamsburg, Virginia up to Frostburg, Maryland. We
enjoyed services with Faith Independent Baptist Church in Frostburg on
Sunday morning and then drove up to Acme, Pennsylvania (about 1.5
hours) for evening services with Mt. Zion Community Independent
Baptist Church. Both services went very well and the people
seemed to be genuinely interested in the ministry to which the Lord
has called us. We will be staying here in Carlisle for the
remainder of this week. We are currently parked at Great Hope
Baptist Church, where we will also be having Wednesday evening
services this week. We are scheduled to leave on Saturday to
travel to Statesville, North Carolina for a meeting with Temple
Baptist Church there on Sunday (both morning and evening).
Everyone is well and we are enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather
up here this week. Tomorrow the kids and Missy start school, so
life will be just a little busier from now on.
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Street
sign for Faith Independent Baptist Church in Frostburg, Maryland. |
Our
house parked beside the church building. |
I
walked up a little hill behind the church to show you the view we had from
our trailer. It is quite beautiful, although the drive up the
mountain with the trailer was a little interesting. Here we are
about 2,500 feet up. |
Another
photo of the view, this time standing at the front door of the
church. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sanctuary
at FIBC in Frostburg. |
Missionary
display board highlighting their church-supported missionaries. |
Picture
of John Weatherford, a famous pastor who was imprisoned in Virginia for
preaching the Gospel. |
A
smaller story outlining the history of Weatherford. The church seeks
to remind the members of the sacrifice of their forefathers, and their
obligation to make equal sacrifices today. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Addie
and August in class. |
Street
sign for Mt. Zion Community Independent Baptist Church. |
The
church building is to the right, and the parsonage is to the left. The school building is behind both buildings. |
Speaking
of views, here's another one! This church is also sitting at the top
of a hill overlooking the mountains. The neighbor has Jersey beef
cattle, and they were fun to look at also. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sanctuary
at Mt. Zion in Acme. |
Missionary
photos of supported missionaries. |
Garage
at Mt. Zion, which is also the temporary location of their carpet ball
table, which our children loved! |
Another
shot of their carpet ball table, with August, Braden and one of Pastor Haasz's
daughters. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Pastor
Haasz and his daughter watch Addie take her turn. |
The
ball is on the move....Addies praying it misses her ball. |
One
of the main work rooms for their Christian school. |
Braden
talks with two of Pastor Haasz's daughters. |
 |
|
|
|
| Pastor
Haasz and I talk while the kids are playing. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
