Together Again

Ministry Update

For the last three weeks, I have been away from my family. It happened that I was to travel under the auspices of a group called Baptist Youth Mission doing children’s Vacation Bible Schools and teen rallies in church in the Midwest and mountain states. After a preliminary training period in March, I was to go for a two-week training period to Sinclair, Wyoming. When it came down to talking schedules, I had no meetings to do. There was one meeting after the two-week training in which I would be an assistant, but other than that one meeting, there were no others.

So I found myself flying alone to the training period and meeting, whereas I had originally planned to drive and take my family. The training was difficult without them—there were times that I could not keep from weeping as Sarah described things that the children were doing in my absence—but I made it through everything and then on to the meeting.

The only VBS we had (children only, no teens) was a big one. We started with 259 and ended up with 394 the last night. There were 39 children that made professions of faith.

It was good, however, to be back with my family. I arrived shortly after 1:00 Sunday morning. After a Monday filled with whirlwind activity, we have left again, this time the entire family in truck and trailer headed for Quakertown, Pennsylvania. I am to preach Wednesday night and then take my son with me to preach a father/son retreat in the mountains of PA. After that, we all head to DE.

Provided I have the time, my book should be done by late summer/early fall. Many of you have expressed interest. I would ask that you pray that God would use its message to make a difference in the hearts of readers.

Family Update

Hooray! Paul is home again! We all missed him greatly. There were times that I thought of leaving the kids and joining him out in Wyoming, but just couldn’t see Josiah watching the girls that whole time. The girls really missed their daddy, and were so glad to see him last Sunday. I could hardly detach Esther from him all day long.

Esther is now two, out of the nursery, and into a Sunday school class. She sat in the service with us for the first time last Sunday night. What an adventure that was! She was so excited to be out there, and kept squealing her delight. It was a rather noisy beginning, but when it was time to go out with her class, she was as ready as we were!

We had her birthday party after Paul got home. It was a much anticipated event, with the other two children making grandiose plans and inviting everyone at church (I found this out after the fact). We just had a simple family dinner and balloons, and, of course, the obligatory round of gifts. It was all very fun, since she kind of knew what to expect. Now that she has entered the “terrible twos,” I am wondering what it was that we have been through in the last six months. She has mastered the art of climbing out of her pack-n-play, as well as taking off her diaper. Not a good combination in any case. We also have gotten rid of the “ma-ma”(pacifier). We are still in transition on that adjustment, but she seems to be doing well.

Josiah is trying to win the “Snaggletooth of the Year” award. He has already lost his bottom front teeth, and now his top front teeth are both loose. Maybe I can teach him to sing, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth…” It will make for some rough eating with all of those teeth gone! He will look like a true redneck. I have also started teaching him piano this summer. He is doing quite well, and nags me about going over to practice his lessons. I have no doubt that he will progress rapidly if he continues in the same manner.

Both Josiah and Abigail participated in our VBS two weeks ago. It was neat to see them working on their verses and songs. Josiah won first place for memory verses in his class over the week. I was really proud of him. Abigail did a great job, too. Esther didn’t learn any verses since there aren’t many that say, “NO – MINE!”

All the children are looking forward to the arrival of their new brother or sister in November. Josiah is really hoping for a brother, and Abigail decided that a brother would be nice so that he wouldn’t get into her stuff. Josiah made the keen observation to me that it didn’t matter if it was a boy or a girl, it would still get into her things. I was very amused by his insight, and laughed about it all evening. I think Esther is going to have a hard time accepting a baby. She is quite possessive of both of her parents. Oh, well – she will learn. We are considering a slight remodeling project in the trailer so that we can fit another child in it. It will take some planning, if that is what we decide. Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom in the matter.

We had a rather unpleasant discovery this past week. Paul called me from Kansas, and asked if I had made some charges at a local gas station. I replied that I hadn’t used the credit card in the three weeks he had been gone. After calling the company, he found that someone had gotten our credit card number and been charging things all over the Kings Mountain/Bessemer City area. We cancelled the account immediately, and they are investigating the matter. Thankfully, we weren’t liable for any of the spurious charges, and thankfully, the crook who stole it didn’t go on a cruise to the Virgin Islands. They wouldn’t have gotten very far – probably halfway to Cuba and then gotten thrown to the sharks. That would have served them right. Anyway, Paul had a flurry of activity on Monday to correct some financial things as a result.

Trailer leaks, medical bills, and repairmen in ties

At 8:10 last night, I made an awful discovery. While putting something away under my daughter Abigail’s bed, I discovered that we had a serious water leak in our trailer: the carpet under her bed was soaked and the smell of mildew rudely accosted me as soon as I had lifted up her mattress. That immediately explained why Josiah had been having such trouble breathing whenever we would put him to bed. He, like his father, has a hard time dealing with mildew and mold.

I surmised that nothing would be open at 8:00 on a Saturday night and so decided to talk to some of the people in my home church about it the next day. Not to worry, I was told. Wal-mart sold some of the parts that I needed so I could actually get the parts and get my ox out of the ditch, despite today being the Lord’s day. (The preceding reference is not to be construed as an offhand comment regarding my wife. Please do not begin e-mailing us with immediate marriage counseling.)

To Wal-mart, then I went, violating the third ordinance of our church: that of the Sunday afternoon nap. As the Lord would have it, they had one package left, which, though it had been opened, was still sufficient to meet my needs. Now to simply install it.

There was everything I needed at the church: step ladder, my tools, readily available electricity, silicone sealant—everything. So I ascended the ladder past the rung that tells you it is unsafe to stand on all the way to the very top. From that vantage point I could reach the top of the trailer and repair the problem.

It was while precariously perched on the very top of the stepladder that I found that the parts I had rushed to get on a Sunday afternoon were not the right parts. There was another part sold at the RV store that was to go on before the parts I bought would fit. The RV store, of course, would not open until two hours after I had left for Denver.

As if it would somehow help the situation, I decided to take a couple of screws above the light that I knew was leaking just to make sure that no water was getting in there. It took some work to do with the Chinese hand screwdriver I was using. There I stood on the top of a stepladder in 90-degree heat, dress slacks, dress shirt, tie, and all. Although no one was there to watch me, I think that I must have made a humorous, if well-dressed, spectacle.

Choir practice interrupted me from doing anything towards fixing the leak. All I got from my work in my shirt and tie was a good plan of attack. Implementing the plan would have to wait until after church.

In the end, two men from the church helped me, one man doing the work that I was intending to do after church. The light fixture on the outside wall that was leaking is now sealed and altered so that there should be no more leak. The other man has promised to look at the situation tomorrow to further improve the design so as to prevent leaks. So much for the dressed up home repair man.

Final analysis: I’d better stick to preaching.

In other news, Josiah had some real problems back in October of 2006. He spent the night in the emergency room of one hospital and ended up having to be taken by ambulance to another hospital in the next larger town. He spent a week in pediatric intensive care at the second hospital, but finally was able to come home. Today, you would never know that anything that serious happened.

The medical bills for this time were mostly covered by insurance, or else we would be strapped with an extremely large bill. There were two bills that the insurance did not cover, however. Although we gave them the insurance information, for some reason they did not get their money. The insurance has a policy that if the medical provider does not file the claim within one year that the patient will have to pay. They did not get the claim filed, so they said, and it got turned, so others said. In any case, we were left with a little over $1100 in medical bills from a year and half ago.

The Lord was not surprised, however. He laid it on someone’s heart to give us $1100 to take care of the need. Praise the Lord for His provision.

Paul

Post AK

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a great meeting in Alaska. There were all kinds of neat opportunities to meet some great people and to have a real ministry to Pastor Wes Hudson and his wife Debbie. In addition to seeing the tallest mountain in North America (see below), a man in the church also took me out bear hunting. I was not technically hunting myself, but I did carry a 12 gauge shotgun for self defense. It was the time of year when the sows (female bear, not pig in this case) were having cubs, so walking in the woods could have been dangerous. I learned the real meaning of being loaded for bear.

The Lord has provided some meetings for us in the first part of the summer, though the last part of the summer is open right now. Today, He provided a need for us that was something I had been wanting for a long time. I look forward to watching how He will provide for our needs in the future.

Today, I sent the manuscript of my book Cliffs and Fences to the editor of the publishing company. After about three weeks of editing process, they are to get the manuscript back to me so that I can accept or reject their editorial suggestions. After that, there is another round of editing to ensure that they have missed nothing. Then, the book goes to the printer. I am getting more and more excited as the days go by.

Thank you to those of you who have shown such an interest in the book so far. I will, of course, let you all know when it is finally ready. As you pray for us, please pray that God will use the message of this book to work in the lives of His people. If you pray that I sell a lot of books, I wouldn't be offended either.

Family Update

Summer is finally upon us here in North Carolina - I think! Being out of school has given us all a sense of freedom that makes the "summer feeling" that much stronger. The weather has been unseasonably cool this spring, and we keep needing to get out the sweaters and jackets. I think it will be a little warmer from here on out - or at least, I hope so!

Paul and I recently got back from a trip to Alaska. We had a meeting there, so it wasn't just a pleasure trip. I was so excited to get to go to Alaska. I have heard so many people say that it is a beautiful place, and I wanted to see it for myself. We were in the village of Talkeetna, which is only about 60 miles from Mt. McKinley. One of the highlights of our trip was taking a flight that went around the mountain and then landed on the glacier. That was so neat! It was not the best flight we have ever had, even though the sights were breathtaking. The pilot had to restock on airsick bags after Paul and I deplaned. I won't tell you who used the most, but one of us used three times as many as the other! The mountains there dwarf everything that we have here in the lower 48, even the Rockies, which, if you have seen, you know they are impressive! The local information is that only 25% of visitors in the summer actually see McKinley, because of the clouds and such. It has something to do with the snow on the mountain hitting the hot air and creating a cloud cover. We were privileged to see the mountain the first three days of our stay.

We had a wonderful time with the pastor and his family, as well as the church members that we met that week. I was surprised at how rustic it was there. Many people do not have indoor plumbing of any kind. After thinking about it, it would be difficult to keep the pipes from freezing eight months out of the year. "Going into town" takes the better part of the day since "town" is about an hour and half drive. That is where the large grocery stores and other things are. It makes me even more thankful for the convenience we have!

Another big adjustment for us was the amount of daylight there. In a whole week, we only saw the sunset one time, and that was while we were waiting for our flight to depart to come back home. It was about 1:00 am. Of course, it is broad daylight again by 4:00am, so it was very hard to judge time by the sun. I felt like I was in Neverland or something. The down side of that would be in the winter when the sun only shines a few hours a day. Thank the Lord for bright, sunny days!

We did not take the children with us, and by the end of the week, I was really missing them. They were having a wonderful time at their grandparents' house, going to the zoo, gong to the park, swimming, and in general, being spoiled rotten! Abigail and Esther were jumping up and down on the porch, screeching our names when we pulled into the driveway. Josiah was hiding under the bed to surprise us. He said he wanted to stay longer.

Paul leaves for Denver, CO next week, and will be gone for three weeks. We don't really like to be separated for such long periods of time, but there was really no other way we could do it. We will all be very glad when he returns. I plan to stay busy helping with VBS, piano lessons, and general summer stuff, in addition to our regular family life. Life never slows down, so we can't either!