Of Mountains and Prairies

The combination of preaching the Gospel in the mountains of Colorado has got to be one of the best that I can think of.  We were with Evangelist Dwight Smith in Meeker for the Victory Gospel Crusade.  This ministry is always exciting with services under the tent every night.  

From there, it was back to the front range, the Denver area, where we continued with the Smith family in a local church revival.  This was a different ministry because the pastor had recently resigned because of tragic circumstances.  Now, we as evangelists were there to help a hurting church as they move forward.

From Colorado, my plan was to go to Wyoming and fill my freezer with venison.  I have come to love the times in which I hunt with my children there.  We came home with three deer in four days of hunting.  Good times.

Because the spot where I normally park my trailer in Wyoming was not available due to construction, I found myself parking just a bit north in Montana at the Faith Baptist Church of Lodge Grass.  Bro. Dwight Smith was supposed to begin a meeting here on Sunday, but his trailer electrical system developed a problem, and he was unable to make it for Sunday services.  I preached the first Sunday of the meeting in his absence.

From there, we headed out across the great prairie toward our meetings in the midwestern United States.  Last night, after about 650 miles of driving, we were driving after dark heading for Brookings, South Dakota.  Fifteen miles from our destination, both tires on the trailer blew on the driver's side.  It seems that something on the road caused the blowout, although I didn't see exactly what it was.  I was not the only motorist to experience a blown tire due to the conditions.  In 18 years of pulling a trailer, I have had many blowouts, but never two on the same side at the same time.  After 2 1/2 to 3 hours of working in an 80-mile-per-hour speed zone, we finally got the spare installed, got off the freeway, and limped to the church on 3 wheels.  The trailer is now all set up to live in, and we will soon begin the process of assessing the damage before heading off to our next meeting.

I am so excited about the meetings that we have coming up.  The schedule is full, and we look forward to seeing what God will do.  Thank you so much for your prayers.