This summer has been a whirlwind of ministry opportunities
for our family. We spent the month of May
in the Philippines, participating in two different music camps, one in Nueva
Ecija, and the other in Amadeo, Cavite.
The camps were well attended, with over forty-five local churches
sending delegates. The ministry team was
composed of Filipinos, Aussies, Americans, and even a family from Singapore. Our goal is to help educate and instruct the
next generation of church musicians, not only in proper technique, but also in instilling
Biblical principles of music. The Lord
gave us a very fruitful time there, and we are grateful for the opportunity to
serve in this way. Please pray as our
ministry there continues. If you would
like to see more of what we did while there, please click on the following link
to watch a short video of our ministry in the Philippines. https://youtu.be/POkv5bvi4qQ
After returning home in the first week of June, we had a few
days to recover from jetlag before taking off again – this time for camp in New
Mexico. We were nearly 100 miles east of
El Paso when the axle on our trailer broke, and the wheel went wandering off on
its own. We pulled over on the side of
the interstate, and began to assess the
situation. It was not good. The wheel actually came to rest about ten
feet behind the trailer, much better than the last time we lost a wheel (it
bounded away and probably ended up in the Ohio River). Our immediate thought was thankfulness that
no one was hurt or endangered in any way, either our family, or the motorists
all around us. I would like to insert
here that your prayers for an evangelist as he travels are much needed, and
very appreciated.
Paul strapped up the axle and we limped along the interstate
until we could get onto a service road, going about 15 miles per hour the whole
way. The closest thing to civilization
was the town of Sierra Blanca, Texas. It
looks more like a ghost town than a thriving municipality, but beggars can’t be
choosers, as they say. We found an RV park
and set up there, while trying to get in touch with mechanics, insurance companies,
and other people who needed to be notified of our unexpected delay. To make a long story short, we ended up packing
up our belongings and leaving the trailer to the tender mercies of a very
unusual, colorful, tin-hat wearing man who oversaw the RV park. In return, he solicited our votes for the
2020 presidential election… that is, if he hadn’t already left on the Mother
Ship for the next closest inhabitable planet.
Seriously.
The remainder of the trip to Silver City, NM was made
without incident. Camp was, as usual, very busy. There were about forty campers this year, and
of those we saw five saved, as well as other life decisions made. It is so gratifying to battle adversity and
discouragement and watch God win the victory in young hearts and lives. The trailer axle was being repaired while we
were up the mountain at camp, and Paul was able to drive and pick up the trailer
with a friend and bring it to Silver City, where additional repairs were made
in town. I was really glad to have my
little home on wheels in the same general area again.
After camp, we had a few days to breathe, and spent them
with friends in Arizona over the weekend.
We were able to attend the world’s oldest rodeo in Prescott, AZ, and it
was a great show the night we went! We
traveled most of the day on July 4th, heading to West Virginia for
our last scheduled week of camp. We
managed to cover 2300 miles in about four days, with a Sunday thrown in as
well. It was quite the journey.
We arrived at Wildwood Christian Retreat on Monday and
jumped into another busy schedule. Since
it is a junior camp week, only our two younger children are campers, while the
older two look on with a mixture of amusement and envy at the good time their siblings
are having. As I write this, we are
anticipating the final service of camp tonight.
One never knows the impact that the Word of God has on the hearts of
those who hear it. We are praying that
this week will be a turning point for young people. Please continue to keep us in prayer as we
serve the Lord in the ministry of evangelism.
Sarah Crow
