Home Who We Are Basic Info About Our Family Doctrinal Statement References Support Team Holly Hills Baptist Church, Powhatan, VA Harvest Baptist Missions, North Olmsted, OH Iglesia Bautista Betania, Mission, TX Other Supporting Churches What We Are Doing Iglesia Bautist Esperanza General Overview Evangelism Bus Ministry Discipleship Camp Loma de Vida Latin American Outreach Short Term Missions Future Ministries Neighborhood/After-School Clubs Christian Academy Nursing Home Ministry Jail Ministry Radio Ministry Benevolence Ministry Where We Are About Our Area (Field Facts) Maps/Directions Current Events Photos/Updates Prayer Letters Current Needs Contact Us Support Level: 75%                     Updates for 2008 - March 2008 03-27 Just a quick update.  Melissa just got a phone call that her Grandmother passed away about 45 minutes ago (around 7:55pm EST).  We are still leaving in the morning and expect that the funeral will be held on Saturday.  The family has asked that I handle the funeral service and I will be getting the details on that tomorrow as well.  Please keep us in your prayers during this time. 2008 03-27 Last night we enjoyed a wonderful meeting with Calvary Baptist Church in Baltimore.  The people were very receptive of our ministry and proved to have a genuine desire to be effective in the area of missions.  We are thankful for our time with them.  Today, after a relatively short 7 hour drive from Baltimore, we have safely arrived in Bassett, Virginia.  We are staying at Goose Point State Park here in the Bassett area.  It seems to be a newer state park (or at least recently remodeled).  Their website warned of "tight and winding roads that may not be suitable for large RV's".  They were right.  The 5-mile main road into the park is not so bad, just a lot of STEEP hills up and down (I was once again reminded of what burning brakes smell like).  Once you get into the park though it was barely possible to get our unit through the twisting roads and to our sight.  In fact, I spent about 15-20 minutes trying to get into our assigned site before giving up and asking for a different site (which we were able to get into without any problems).  While trying to setup the unit in the site we broke a bolt in half that controls the front landing gear (which allows us to raise/lower the RV from the truck).  Fortunately, the camp host here had an array of spare bolts and I was able to fix that myself in about 5 minutes!  However, the next problem came when we extended our slides.  We were worried about a tree branch on one side of the unit and tried to watch it really closely.  We missed it completely! However, it might have helped if we had watched the 400 pound picnic table on the OTHER side of the trailer, as it made a nice dent in that slide!  I was able to beat most of that dent out and although it's not the prettiest thing in the world, it is still 100% fully functional.  So, just a couple of small problems, but nothing to lose sleep over!  Tomorrow we will be leaving the trailer here in Bassett and driving into Lewisburg, WV to visit with Melissa's family as they gather for the imminent death of her grandmother.  About 48 hours ago she was given 24 hours to live (once again proving that doctor's don't know everything).  However, this is the last chance we have to visit before heading into Alabama next week, so we did want to take the opportunity.  We will be returning to Bassett Saturday evening for a morning meeting here on Sunday and an evening meeting just across the border in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday evening. Our spot at Goose Point State Park.  Does it look like the land disappears behind us?  It does. A closer shot of the back of the trailer.  It's hard to tell what you are seeing, but the grey between the trees is actually Lake Philpott.....a few hundred feet below.  I climbed just a little ways down the hill to gain a better perspective.  There was a LOT more hill below me.  The kids will literally be sleeping over nothing! 2008 03-26 Hello from Baltimore, Maryland.  Since our last writing we have had the opportunity to participate in Easter Sunday services at our home church in Powhatan, Virginia, as well as spend some time with our families in that area.  On Tuesday we left Amelia Court House, Virginia and travelled up to Baltimore, Maryland.  We have a meeting here tonight with Calvary Baptist Church and are looking forward to our time with them.  I have had the opportunity to meet a few of their staff members, and they have all been very friendly and helpful.  We will also be having dinner with the principal of their Christian school this evening as well.  In other news, we have solved two minor problems that had arisen.  We have a 24' enclosed car trailer parked in Virginia that needed to make it to Rio Grande City for our arrival in July.  Unfortunately, I was having trouble figuring out exactly how it would make the trip!  The second problem was more of a question.  We needed to figure out what vehicle to purchase as a second vehicle upon our arrival in Texas.  Although we would prefer to have a small car or mini-van, we need a 15-passenger van or mini-bus for ministry purposes.  So, we determined that it would be best to purchase the larger vehicle and use it as our second vehicle, rather than purchase all three.  Question answered.  As I continued the quest for a method of transporting our trailer I came back to the fact that I was looking to purchase a heavy duty van/bus already, and wondered whether it could be used.  Upon checking I found that it indeed did have the power necessary to pull the size trailer we have.  I began looking for possible vans/buses for sale and many were out of our price range at $10,000 or more.  However, yesterday I found one for sale in Ephrata, Pennsylvania for $3,600.  It "just so happens" that Baltimore is under 2 hours from Ephrata, so I drove up today to take a test drive.  Long story short, we now own a 14-passenger mini-bus (which I got for $3,400!)  It is a 2001 Ford E450 with a Phoenix 14-passenger mini-bus body.  I have included some photos below.  We will be getting this vehicle back to Virginia in about 3 weeks at which time it will go through some minor service that it needs.  We have 1 week in June which has no Wednesday meeting scheduled, and I will be driving the bus (with the trailer in tow) from Virginia to Donna, TX (and then flying back) and storing it there until our arrival in July.  The Lord continues to provide everything that we need, in abundance, and in His time, and it is a great joy to be able to watch His plan unfold!  Missy with baby Leah (daughter of some friends of ours) on Easter Sunday. Some of the younger children doing a special The next youth group (in age) doing their special. Same group, but a wider shot. Teens doing their Easter Sunday morning special. Braden sang a special. Braden, August and Addie are ready for Easter service! From L-R (Braden, August, Richard, Addie, Katie, Lindsay) - ready for an easter egg hunt August carefully stalks his prey. Braden swoops in for the grab. Dropping off eggs by the house. I try to convince Lindsay that there is an egg on the car handle....she's not buying it. I'm now leading Lindsay to the egg, with Richard close behind! Addie stares into the sun for a quick photo. Don (my step-father) and I watching the kids during the hunt. A few of the eggs they have located. My parents check out their truck Richard (our nephew) Braden showing off his eggs Candy (my parent's dog) comes by for a visit Lindsay stands still long enough for a photo! A better shot of candy Tip, my parent's other dog.  This is her standard pose. Ceasar in his standard pose! Calvary Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD - street sign. Their two mini-buses, parked out front. Front of their buildings, as seen from the road. Rear of the buildings - the main auditorium is to the right, the educational building is to the left. Their 5 buses.  They are now in need of a 6th bus! Our home, parked along the bus parking area. Our new mini-bus, which will eventually be traveling to Texas. Another shot of the bus.  Their is a wheelchair lift door on the back left corner, but it's hard to make out.  The lift is fully functional. 2008 03-21 This past Wednesday we had the opportunity to drive to South Boston, Virginia and visit with Centerville Baptist Church.  This was a very friendly group of believers.  The most encouraging thing about this church was their pastor.  He is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer and yet remains 100% faithful to church attendance and preaching.  I was amazed that he has the energy to do everything that he still does.  But, he states that he is simply relying on the Lord, and I believe him!  It was an encouragement to me to see someone who would not let anything get in the way of his service.  In other news, I received a call from Texas yesterday letting me know that they were ready to schedule closing on our new house.  So, Monday at 1:00pm they will be sending out a mobile notary to meet us and finalize all of the paperwork!  Praise the Lord!!!  Also, Wednesday I received a phone call from one of our supporting churches that is interested in sending a group of 8-12 people down to Texas in August when we arrive to help get our house setup and do a lot of the repair work that needs to be done.  This will be a MAJOR blessing for us if everything works out for them to do so!  I also believe that we have at least 1 new supporting church, but am waiting to be able to confirm that before I give their name.  The Lord is certainly continuing to bless our ministry and we are excited about what will happen over the next 129 days (when we leave for Rio Grande City).  2008 03-17 We have completed the mission conference and are sorry to see it past.  We had a great time with this wonderful group of believers!  We were with them every day from Wednesday to Sunday and enjoyed every minute.  From Wed-Fri we enjoyed a delicious meal with several of the church members and then a good service afterwards.  On Saturday we had a men's prayer breakfast and then a ladies missions luncheon.  After the men's breakfast Bro. Dennis took the boys and I to a Gun & Knife Show at the Nashville Fair Grounds.  We enjoyed looking at everything they had to offer, and were thankful for his kindness and providing this opportunity for us.  Later that afternoon Pastor Patterson and his family took our family to the Opryland Hotel for a bit of sightseeing.  It is a truly massive facility complete with a large indoor garden, indoor river, indoor ponds, indoor waterfalls, indoor boat ride and thousands of plants.  It is a beautiful facility.  Afterwards we had a good time of fellowship over a buffet dinner!  On Sunday morning Melissa and I had the opportunity to do the Children's Church program and then that evening I presented our ministry.  This was one of those churches were we simply felt right at home, and were truly sorry to have to leave!  This morning we left the Nasvhille area around 7:15a local time (Central) and arrived in Amelia Court House, Virginia around 6:00p local time (Eastern).  We will be staying here in my parent's front yard for the next week.  We will be driving to South Boston, Virginia for a meeting on Wednesday and will be able to be with our sending church on Easter Sunday.  Addie Grace is trying to recover from a cold that she picked up from this conference, and Melissa is trying to avoid catching it.  Other than that, everyone is doing well and we haven't had any more problems from the truck! Outside of the main church building at Nolensville Road Baptist Church in Nashville, TN Street sign. Sanctuary "Let Your Light Shine" was the theme for this year's mission conference. Braden reading missionary letters posted inside the sanctuary. NRBC is actively involved in local evangelism as well. Street map showing locations they seek to reach in the Nashville area. Sign above the door inside the sanctuary. Addie and August get to know some of the younger church members. August tries to explain how to use the Mexican top from our display. A sign decorating the fellowship hall. Another sign in the fellowship hall. These ladies planned and prepared all our dinners for the week. Even the centerpieces on the tables were decorated in a missions theme. Each night our menu was announced by this little chef. Preparing to eat dinner the first night. Addie Grace had dinner with Jacob and Megan. The table was covered with paper so the kids could draw after eating. Aaron spends some time fellowshipping with Bro. Baughman (the main speaker for the week) and Bro. Dennis (one of the deacons).  Bro. Baughman speaking with someone before service. The choir is preparing for service. In the church van headed to the Opryland Hotel. In the church van headed to the Opryland Hotel. Menu for the ladies' luncheon Saturday afternoon. Several ladies of the church attended a luncheon Saturday afternoon Cheesecake was on the menu for dessert at the luncheon A better shot of the cheesecake (can you tell Melissa LIKES cheesecake!) Daughters were invited to attend the luncheon with their moms. Addie Grace with Shekinah at the luncheon. The kids wait for Children's Church to begin. Aaron blends in well with the kids. Aaron led music. Game time!  Swords are drawn. Charge! The kids search eagerly. Here is the winner reading the Scripture he found. These are the top 4 winners competing against one another. Our new location in Amelia Court House, Virginia. 2008 03-12 Since the last post we had made the trip from Lake Park, Georgia up to Nashville, Tennessee.  It was "interesting".  We left Lake Park around 7:30 Tuesday morning, planning a direct run of about 9 hours into Nashville.  We made it as far as McDonough, Georgia before the truck finally gave up the ghost!  It was acting funny that morning and all during the trip, and progressively got worse.  By the time we got to McDonough it was blowing large clouds of blue smoke, was sputtering up hills and had already died once on a downhill slope (not good, since my power steering and power brakes went with it!).  So, we stopped in McDonough and found the nearest Ford dealer.  They were a great blessing as the immediately had me disconnect the trailer and took the truck straight in for service.  After just a few minutes they had diagnosed the problem -- I was 8 quarts low on oil!!  Now, that's rather embarrasing, since I change my own oil.  I was also surprised that low oil caused all those problems, but they explained that oil pressure drives the fuel injection system in my vehicle, and thus all of the seemingly "fuel related" problems that we were having.  Once they added fuel it ran like a champ!  They did check the computer and found a couple of transmission codes, but since I wasn't having much in the way of transmission problems they suggested getting those looked at later.  So, they had me pay for the diagnostics and threw the oil in for free and we hit the road.  We made the trip the rest of the trip without any problems.  We are staying here in Nashville at the State Fairgrounds.  It was interesting last night, as a few people were doing laps on the raceway here, so it was a bit noisy!  Today I took the truck to the local Ford dealer to have the transmission looked at.  They could find nothing wrong, so they simply recalibrated a couple of things and let me go (with a bill of $0!!!)  So, that was another blessing.  We went from an extremely sick truck expecting a large repair bill to a healthy truck and relatively little spent in the process!  In other news, our pastor got a call from our credit card company today about possible fraud on our account.  He called me and I called the credit card company back.  It seems that today someone did begin using our account, so they cancelled those accounts and closed our account.  Fortunately, we do have a backup account that we keep for this very reason!  It's a hassle, but at least it doesn't appear that any real damage was done.  Now, we can look forward to the start of a mission conference with Nolensville Road Baptist Church here in Nashville this evening. Life is busy, but school must go on!  Addie is busy doing school this morning. The entrance to the fairgrounds here in Nashville. Home sweet home!  The big dirt bank in the background is the hill that hides the speedway.  What you can't see is that we are sitting in the middle of a large parking lot that is completely vacant.  Off-season camping at it's best!  2008 03-10 It's been a while since our last update, and this one will certainly be a long one!  At last post we were arriving in Monticello, Kentucky.  That Wednesday we drove close to 2 hours for a walk-in visit with Faith Baptist Tabernacle in Jamestown, Tennessee.  That went very well, except for the drive (lots of curvy mountain roads).  But, we thank the Lord for the opportunity to visit with these folks.  On Thursday we began our mission conference with Immanuel Baptist Church in Monticello, Kentucky.  We were only able to be with them on Thursday and Friday, but we enjoyed the time we had.  On Thursday we also got to see Bro. Agbodo, a missionary we met last year in a conference in North Carolina.  Unfortunately, Pastor Mitchell at IBC was unable to make the conference, as he caught the flu the day before.  But, the Lord worked everything out and we were able to present to the rest of the church and they seemed to be very interested in our ministry.  We were scheduled to leave Kentucky on Saturday morning to head to Jasper, Florida for our meetings this past weekend.  However, weather forecasts were calling for freezing rain and up to 6" of snow overnight, so we made the decision to leave immediately following the evening service on Friday night.  This was primarily due to the fact that we were parked in the mountains, with no good major roads to get us to the interstate.  So, we departed from the campground in Kentucky around 9:15pm Friday evening.  After 12 hours of driving, 3 very large high-caffeine coffees and a 2-hour nap at truck stop we arrived in Jasper, Florida around noon on Saturday.  Unfortunately, we were told that they had no spaces remaining for RV's, so we had to turn-around and drive 45 miles back along the route we had just come to find a space at a KOA in Lake Park, Georgia!  After getting setup we went over to the local Flea Market for a little shopping and then out to a large bookstore with steeply discounted books!  Then, it was back to the RV for a little rest.....finally!  Sunday morning we tried to drive down to Jasper, Florida for our scheduled meeting there.  I say try because we never actually made it!  The truck would not run.  After a lot of cranking it would start, but it wouldn't stay running more than 10-20 seconds at a time.  After about 20 minutes of working with it I finally called Pastor Barrett at Bible Baptist Church in Jasper and told him of the situation.  He agreed to drive the 20 miles up to Lake Park to pick me up and bring me back for that meeting.  Unfortunately, he did not have room for the entire family in his car.  So, I was able to go and present our ministry and preach that morning.  When he brought me back that afternoon I tried again to get the truck to start and run.  No luck.  As a family we then sat down and talked about it for a minute and each of us prayed concerning the situation.  Specifically, we acknowledged that this was completely in the Lord's hands.  If He wanted us to go to Brunswick that evening, the truck would start.  If He didn't, it wouldn't.  After praying I went outside and within just a couple of minutes the truck was running.  The Lord is definitely in control.  I believe that He simply wanted us to acknowledge that fact!  So, we were able to make the 3-hour drive to Brunswick for our evening meeting.  It went very well.  The people were definitely interested in our family and our ministry.  Unfortunately, Pastor Johnson was not able to make that meeting, as he had to take several of their Christian school children to northern Georgia for a school event the next morning.  However, the Assistant Pastor and others in the church welcomed us warmly, and even treated us to a special dinner after the evening service.  We drove the 3 hour trip back to Lake Park last night, arriving here around 12:15 this morning.  Today we are still in Lake Park, Georgia and are trying to recover from the busy pace of the last few days.  We will be leaving early tomorrow morning for the 484 mile trip to Nashville, Tennessee and a 5-day mission conference which begins there on Wednesday.  Please continue to be in prayer for the truck.  It is running, but not well.  It still has a great deal of difficulty starting when it is cold (ie anything 60 degrees or below) and is running very rough.  I am trying to get an appointment for it on Wednesday in Nashville, and will probably have to get a rental car while we are there.  Other than that everything is going well and God continues to meet each and every one of our needs.  Sanctuary at Immanuel Baptist Church in Monticello, Kentucky. Another shot of the sanctuary. Bro. Vincent Agbodo's display.  He presented his ministry on Thursday and we presented on Friday. A wall display highlighting the missionaries supported by IBC. Outside of IBC in Monticello.  This is their school building. Front of IBC. Street sign for IBC. Sign for the Christian Academy at IBC. The pianist and song director preparing for service at IBC. Braden and I spend a little time while waiting for the services to begin. Our house parked down in Lake Park, Georgia.  Spanish moss covers most of the trees around us. A closer view of a tree covered in moss. Street sign for Emmanuel Baptist Church in Brunswick, Georgia. Main sanctuary at EBC. Several people speak with us at our display prior to service. One of the Assistant Pastor's children with us at dinner. Waiting for our food to arrive.  It sure smells nice in here! Shane's Rib Shack - a special dinner treat following the evening service at EBC. 2008 03-03 The wind sure is blowing today!  We had a 7-hour drive from Hanceville, Alabama (half-way between Birmingham and Decatur) up to Monticello, Kentucky.  The wind was rather strong during much of the trip.  Not much will move the truck when I'm driving down the road, but I kept getting pushed out of my lane today.  That is a rather unpleasant and unsettling experience!  As we got closer to Monticello we were on mountainous back roads.  As we were coming down a rather steep and curvey section I came around a corner to find a tree had fallen across the road.  Most of one lane was clear enough to get through, but it happened to be the outside lane (no guardrail either).  We obviously made it through, but that was not much fun either!  We are now here in Monticello, Kentucky though and are doing well.  We have a walk-in planned for Wednesday and a mission conference on Thursday/Friday.  We'll be driving down to Florida on Saturday for a meeting there on Sunday morning (and one just across the border in Georgia that evening).  Yesterday we had two good meetings in Alabama.  The morning meeting was with Solid Rock Baptist Church down near Birmingham.  It is a smaller, newer church (about 5-years old I believe) that is doing remarkably well.  The congregation was very receptive of our ministry and we had the opportunity to enjoy a home-cooked meal with the pastor's family after the morning service.  That evening we were in Decatur, Alabama with Fairview Baptist Church.  This is an established city-style church with a great heart for missions.  The people were extremely friendly and again showed a desire to become part of our ministry as the Lord provides. Street sign for Solid Rock Baptist Church in Springville, Alabama.  This is a 5-year old church that is doing remarkably well! Front of the building as seen from the main road. The missionaries currently being supported by SRBC. Inside of the sanctuary at SRBC, as we get ready for the morning services. Addie and August sitting with Irena (pastor's adopted daughter) before service Sunday morning. The fellowship hall where we enjoyed a wonderful meal (complete with corn fritters!) with the pastor's family after the morning service! Street sign for Fairview Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. Front of their main building.  It is a large city-style church building. 2008 03-01 This will be a short update.  In the last week I was able to make a quick trip down to Rio Grande City, Texas to inquire into the possibility of purchasing a home there in anticipation of our arrival in August.  The Lord blessed that trip and as of yesterday we have a signed contract to purchase a piece of property in that area.  I will not take all of the space here to cover that, but if you are interested in seeing pictures of the home and find out how you can help us with it, please click here.  In other news, I was also notified this past week that we have a new supporting church!  Community Baptist Church in Somerville, Alabama began supporting our ministry, raising our total support to 46.62%!

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