The Lord gave us a great meeting here in South Florida. I met Pastor Jared Gritton when he was an assistant under his father in Urbana, IL. We developed a friendship over the years that included not only the two of us, but also his wife Rebecca and Sarah. In addition, all of children are very close in age to his children.
Last year, I had to come here without my family, but I left with the promise that, despite the distance, I would bring the family back the next time. When the trailer problems descended upon us earlier this fall, I thought that I might have to postpone the fulfillment of my promise until another year.
After returning from MN and finding that our trailer issues had been resolved, we embarked on the long drive to south FL. (To put things in perspective, the University of South Florida is 90 miles north of us.)
God gave us a wonderful meeting here. On Wednesday night, a teenaged boy was saved. Leann, though she did not return and hear any more preaching, was nevertheless under deep conviction. God worked in the lives of His people as well, and every night different ones made key decisions. I am always encouraged to see the power of the truth to change the hearts of people.
We not only had a good meeting, but we also had a wonderful time with our two families being together. Our children were very motivated to finish their school every day so that they could go and play with the pastor’s children.
After preaching four times in another independent Baptist church across town tomorrow, we will begin to head north, closing the 2012 schedule with a Sunday in Mobile, AL.
