Vestigial (Trailer) Organs

Ministry Update

After basing for a couple of weeks out of Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, we headed across the panhandle into GA today. We left behind some new friends and some good memories: in a small church in Citronelle, AL last Sunday, a girl was saved. Tomorrow it is Leesburg, GA and next week we move to Jessup, GA before blowing back through NC on our way to OH.

My book has brought me more delays than I had ever anticipated, but I hope to have it available for purchase by March 25 of this year. Please keep that date in your prayers.

Family Update

UN-believable! That is my estimation of this day as I reflect back over it. It began when the church work day started at approximately 6:00 a.m., rousing me from slumber with slamming car doors, happy voices (I am not a morning person), and revving leaf blowers. After a futile attempt at going back to sleep, I finally crawled out of bed and prepared for the day. Before we left, I had to run to the store and get a few things. I hurried to the nearby store, and gathered my purchases, glad to find things that matched with my coupons. When I got to the checkout counter, though, the problems began. A manager was called, and things took about five times as long as I had anticipated. After one more stop, I drove toward home, deep in thought. I guess I was a little too deep in thought, since I passed the church and didn’t realize it until I reached the interstate. I turned around, mentally kicking myself, because I knew Paul was in a big hurry to get on the road. When I opened the trailer door, there they all were, sitting – waiting for me.

About an hour into our trip, we had to make an emergency “pit stop.” When I got out of the truck on the side of the road, little ones in tow, I looked up and saw the trailer awning sagging and partially deployed. I quickly ran back to the truck and told Paul we would be a little longer than we had expected. He got out and the fun began. We had to roll the awning out all the way to roll it back up. He ended up climbing on top of the trailer and unrolling one end by hand, while I stood below and pulled on the tarp. It took about ten minutes to fix, and then we were back on the road, grateful that we hadn’t lost this one on the side of the road like its predecessor.

A few miles down the road, another truck, pulling a fifth wheel, pulled alongside us and began honking and pointing. After recovering from the mistaken assumption that they were just “happy campers,” we realized that they were trying to tell us that the stupid awning was flapping again. We pulled over again, and saw that not only was the “sail” out, but the clips that hold the aluminum supports had snapped off, and the pull-down strap had disappeared. Now there was no way other than duct tape to hold the awning onto the top of the trailer, and we were running low on duct tape. Paul climbed back up onto the roof of the trailer to remove the awning. Then it began to pour down rain. I don’t wonder that no one stopped to help us. If I saw an RV on the side of the road with the awning out, a man on the roof in a thunderstorm, and a woman standing in the rain laughing and waving a long lightning-rod looking stick (the steel rod that grabs the loop on the awning to pull it down), I would have kept driving as fast as possible, too.

We finally got the awning off the track, and decided to put it in the trailer. It sounds simple enough, but have you ever tried to shove a wet 20-foot awning through a 26-inch door in a 38-foot trailer with the slides in? We decided the only way that it would work was if we were to extend the slide in the oncoming interstate traffic (speed limit 70 mph) because of the angle. Seeing that this was impossible, we hauled it back out into the rain and pursued the only remaining option which was to simply leave it: yes, it still sits neatly rolled up on the side of Interstate 10 Eastbound in the Florida panhandle. We have decided that we were providentially hindered from having an awning on our trailer, since now we have left two on the roadside within the space of three years. To be quite truthful, we were glad to be rid of the thing. Paul crowed with delight when we removed it, and broke into song, “Thank God, I am FREE, FREE, FREE!”

The rest of the drive was comparatively uneventful. That is, if you disregard the fact that the GPS decided that we had taken the road less traveled, and kept telling us to make a u-turn on the two-lane road. As if we needed anyone else talking in the truck! When we finally reached the church, I got out of the truck looking like a drowned rat that had been resuscitated by a tornado. My hair was dreadful, and my partially wet clothing was smeared with mud from the wrestling match with the erstwhile awning. Paul looked okay, since his hair is so short. I don’t even want to know what the pastor thought when he saw me get out of the truck! It was probably something like, “Aaaaakk! What is that?” or perhaps, “Man, I hope that barn gets some paint before tomorrow!” No comments were made, but the pastor kept asking if we were SURE there was nothing we needed… hair spray, curling iron, spare paper bag…whatever.

We parked the trailer, and lugged our remaining groceries into the church kitchen by way of a cooler. Did I mention that our refrigerator died this week? Talk about exciting! After deciding on supper plans, we sat down to the table and gratefully began to eat. “How nice to have a candlelight dinner,” Paul observed. “What’s the occasion?” I only pointed at the fixture above the table. It contains four bulbs, and to our complete amazement, three of them were blown! Some days, we just have to laugh – and then write an update!

Matrimonial Musings

Ministry Update

One of the unsavory parts of evangelism is the reality of a cancellation. There is always a sinking in my heart whenever a man has to cancel a meeting. This week's meeting was canceled on short notice, just six days before. Like all cancellations, it was disappointing, but the Lord knew what He was doing. The Lord did open the door for me to teach/preach an adult Sunday school class today. That was a blessing. The pastor made it known to me that he was checking me out with the possibility of having me back, should the Lord lead.

We have been able to get to know the people of the church, having participated in a Valentine's banquet on Friday night. I even got to meet a vagrant who talked to the pastor about sleeping on the church property. ("Hey pastor. I am on my way to Oregon. Would you mind if I spread my sleeping bag on the church property?") He and his dog were offered a place in the bus instead of the ground. I wonder what this guy will do when he gets to Idaho later on this month. Will he still sleep on the ground? Anyway, when in Florida...

Family Update

Ahhh... back on the road again! We left Kings Mountain last week and headed for warmer climates - namely, Alabama and Florida. Our first meeting was in Tuscaloosa, AL, where we had some refreshing fellowship with the pastor and his family. Josiah seemed quite impressed with the pastor's six-year-old daughter. When we came back to the trailer after all the kids had been playing all afternoon, Josiah told me that he wanted to marry C-----. I told him that he would need to talk to her dad about that first. He thought about that for a minute, then asked if he had to talk to his own dad, too. I said it would probably be a good idea. Then he asked me what I thought. I told him she was kind of young, and that he should probably wait a decade or so. "Besides," I reminded him, "I thought you said you wanted to marry M----- (another pastor's daughter)." He sighed gustily and said, "There are just so many girls that I think I like! I wish I were in the Old Testament so I could marry them all!"

Abigail has made some new friends this trip as well. She told me this morning that now she has sixteen friends! She doesn't know their names, but they are her friends nonetheless.

Esther is enjoying her baby brother immensely. Sometimes I think her love for him stems from the fact that he is the only person in our trailer who can't tell her what to do. She loves to get in his face and laugh and talk very loudly and excitedly. Usually, it is something like, "AWWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE!" Daniel, in the meantime, has nowhere to go, and must endure the blaring voice ten millimeters from his startled eyeballs. If he actually smiles, it is cause for more loud and excited talking, "MAMA! DANIEL SMILED AT ME! AWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE! HAHAHAHA!" I usually rescue him when his lower lip starts to protrude - right before the big "Waaah!"

Daniel is growing like a weed. Tomorrow he will be three months old. He can hold his head up quite well, and is starting to try to roll over. He definitely makes his preferences known. He likes to be held sitting upright facing out or looking over your shoulder. None of this sissy lying down stuff for him! He also has a definite preference for his mother. He can be smiling and cooing, and the minute I shut the door behind me to run to the store all semblance of happiness disappears, or at least, that is what I have been led to believe. Frequently, I have received phone calls from the baby's father, who, when I answer the phone, holds the receiver next to the mouth of the howling infant. This is my cue to grab the rest of my purchases and head home post-haste. What would we do without the conveniences of modern technology?

I have been having fun the last several months with a new hobby of sorts - coupons! The Lord has enabled me to learn from some of the best, and I actually enjoy the activity! It really has made a big difference in our grocery bill, and I get a big thrill when I bring home several bags of "stuff" and a receipt for just a few cents. I still have much to learn, but I am confident that one day I will become one of those "gurus" that actually do so well that the store pays them to take home groceries! I have managed to save 40-60% of our grocery bill each month by this method, and with the sagging economy, it has been a big blessing, since we didn't get bailed out - yet!

We are currently in Pensacola, FL, and have had the opportunity to spend time with old friends as well as meet some new ones. Please pray that the Lord will continue to bring us into the path of good men and that we will know how to effectively minister to them as the Lord opens the doors.

Book Update

Ministry Update
The Lord has been good to keep us safe through all of our travels. Safe and sane, too. Have you ever traveled in a vehicle in which every seat was filled? It is close fellowship, to say the least. We pulled 13 ½ hours that way on Saturday on our way to our meeting in eastern NC.

Many have asked about the status of my book. The electronic edits are now over and I have only to review a physical copy of the book and approve it before it will be available for sale. It would be nice to have the book before we head to AL. I will let everyone know when it is available for sale.

Thank you for your prayers.

Paul

The Angel of the LORD

Ministry Update

"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."
Psalm 34:7

After settling my family in with Sarah’s Mom and Stepdad in Troy, OH, I drove to Louisville, KY, where I am to assist Evangelist Byron Foxx with his National Leadership Conference. The weather was the worst driving weather I have ever seen. Not only is I-71 almost entirely downhill between Cincinnati and Louisville, but the counties/state also did not plow the roads. Not only was freezing rain my constant companion throughout the trip (which takes three hours under normal conditions), but I also had the great experience of skiing in four-wheeled vehicle over 2-4 inches of packed snow.

My average speed for the trip was about 35 mph except on one exceptionally long hill. I wasn't giving the vehicle any throttle, yet I found the car (I borrowed my Mother-in-law’s car for the trip) accelerating at an alarming rate. It was when I gently applied the brakes that I realized that my tires were no longer in contact with the road. For the first time in my life, I was actually skiing. I confess it was not nearly as fun as I have heard people make it out to be, but then again, it might have been different had I been on skis instead of wheels. I found the experience particularly perturbing when the back end of the car tried to pass the front end of the car going down the hill. Attempts to correct this attitude with the steering wheel gave initial promises of success at first, but soon proved worthless. I found myself copying the tactics of Russian Cold War submariners in a maneuver the US Navy sometimes calls a “Crazy Ivan.” In order that I might fully inspect the baffled motorists behind me, I spun the car in a complete 360-degree turn, finally stalling the engine and coming to rest on the left shoulder. In reality, I had voted against the Crazy Ivan but found myself in the minority, being outvoted by gravity and lack of friction.

The event ended rather anticlimactically, however. I simply put the vehicle in park, restarted the motor and continued at my normal speed of about 35 miles an hour. Nearly six hours after I left Troy, OH, I finally arrived in Louisville safe and sound.

Then, I tried to step out of the car onto the icy sidewalk and the real danger started…but that is another story.

Spectacle

Ministry Update

The Lord provided a preaching opportunity for me in the end of last year. I left for Alexandria, VA on Saturday, December 27, 2008 in a vehicle that had recently been made available to me to use. It had a lot of miles, but it was Toyota-they go forever, right? After being warned to change the oil before making my trip, I promptly disregarded the advice and decided to head out anyway. In my understanding, dirty oil was not good, but it could wait until after I got back and had some time to change it.

The trip was a smooth one on the way up. Inexpensive, as well: I was able to drive from my home in NC to northern VA on less than $40 of fuel. I have never in all of my ministry been able to do that.

The Lord blessed at the Lighthouse Baptist Church where I preached on Sunday, December 28. I had a wonderful time staying in the home of a family in the church, and it was not long before I was all packed for the trip back home in the car. The trip back home was as uneventful as the trip up-that is, until I got to Petersburg, VA. At Petersburg, I stopped at a gas station to take a brief break before heading onto I-85 and continuing my trip. On my way to the restroom in the gas station, I passed their quarts of oil and wondered if I should buy any. I went out and checked the oil, but it seemed to have oil on the dipstick, and above the add mark. It may have been dirty, so I thought, but it should be sufficient to get me home.

I had not been back on the interstate ten minutes, when the car began to lose power going down a hill. Not a good sign. I instantly pulled to the side of the road and shut off the engine. It has never started again. It had gone 261,000 miles, the last part of that with oil trouble and had decided that enough was enough. When I checked the oil this time, the dipstick was dry.

Now I found myself 60 miles deep in VA on I-85 with no way to get home. I called a friend in Richmond, but he happened to be out of town visiting family, ironically less than 60 miles from my home. I tried calling others, but all to no avail. Finally, I thought of another friend in Gaston, NC, and called him. In the providence of God, he was planning a trip to my home area and had not left home yet. He swung up into VA to get me and took me all the way back home.

I got home, secured the help of a friend and a tow dolly, and headed back to get the broken down car off the side of the road. It took us all night to get to where the vehicle was, get it onto the dolly and get it back home. It now sits in the church parking lot, not far from our trailer. If anyone happens to have a motor for a 1998 Toyota Camry lying around that needs a worn out body to go with it, let me know.

January has kept us at home where I have preached in my home church and taught adult Sunday school every Sunday in January on the subject of Baptist history in America since the Constitution. That series ends a week from tomorrow, after which we will hit the road again.

We are closer than ever to my book's completion, although nothing has gone as fast as I would have liked. I will let everyone know when it is finally done.

Our website has a new look and we would invite you to check it out. The new look is another product of Sarah's creative talents.

Thank you for your prayers.

Family Update

The last two months have been a flurry of activity around our house. Of course, with the new baby, there are more chores and new routines that must be established for the entire family. At two months of age, Daniel now needs a moderate amount of quiet in order to get the rest that he needs. He can still sleep amidst the dull roar of the other three children, but it is getting more difficult. He is also on the brink of outgrowing the bassinet, which means that he will be sleeping in the same room as the kids very soon. Hopefully, his night cries will not disturb the sleep of his siblings too much. He is a very happy and contented baby most of the time, for which I am grateful.

Josiah has resumed school after the Christmas break, and is working hard to be done as soon as possible. He is already counting the "days left" of school this year.

Abigail and Esther keep each other company while Josiah is doing school, and get along quite well until they start fighting. I have dubbed their many squabbles, "the Polly Wars," since most of their disagreements are over the tiny dolls and their rubber clothing. At any time during the day, you could walk into our trailer and see what looks like a maid service commercial. Toys are strewn from one end of the trailer to the other, although lately, I have made our bedroom off limits to toys. This came about from too often jumping out of bed in the middle of the night and stepping on a toy soldier with plastic bayonet, or perhaps, a toy spaghetti spoon with eight sharp tines pointed at the sky. I told them they can play anywhere but in my room. There are also the mounds of laundry - both clean and dirty that either needs to be put away or washed. (Does it ever really get done?) Paul has done so much in helping around the house until I can get back into the swing of things and juggle the normal chores along with the demands of school and a new baby. I am so thankful for his work - he has truly gone above and beyond!

Currently, all the children are sick with head and chest congestion. Daniel and Josiah are both struggling to overcome the infection. Daniel succumbed to the sickness after having the other three breathe, cough, and sneeze in his face for two weeks. Josiah still continues to have breathing problems, and we aren't sure what is troubling him. He is on a very restricted diet in order to help control asthmatic flare-ups, but still struggles daily and must have nebulizer treatments to keep his airways clear. We covet your prayers for all of our children's health, but especially his right now. Soon we will be on the road again, and we never know what we will encounter from week to week. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Recently, my ancient glasses (circa 2000) bit the dust when a rivet in the frame broke and sent my right lens spinning onto the ground. They could not be fixed, and therefore, whenever I took out my contacts, having no backup coke bottles, I was in danger of running into walls and falling down steps. I suppose I could have tried the monacle thing, but that gets tiring on the cheeks when you have to squinch your face around the lens! There was no option but to get new spectacles. I made an appointment with the eye doctor, and dutifully went in to have my eyes examined. They gave me a new prescription, and I started looking at frames. I was horrified to find that the only available styles were straight out of my parent's high school year books! Aaagh! I found a really nice (gag) pair of blue cat-eye glasses, but decided that they wouldn't match enough of my outfits. There was one pair that looked like the kind an eighty-year-old organist would wear, you know - big, round lenses set in pink plastic frames with the bead chain around the neck. They were eerily reminiscent of the glasses I had in junior high, and I passed them by so I wouldn't get stuck in a fashion rut. Mine were brown, however, not pink. Paul went with me, and we had a hilarious time trying out the different frames and laughing and taking pictures of one another. Had our children been teenagers, they would doubtless have died of embarrassment at our shameless display of immaturity. As it was, though, they just thought the pictures were funny. So I finally decided on a suitable pair and am getting used to seeing myself in them.

It was shortly thereafter that Josiah decided he needed to wear glasses, too. We had an old pair of "Groucho" glasses (some of you may remember that family picture) that seemed to fit the bill. Thankfully, the nose had fallen off some time ago, so it was just the big black frames and woofy eyebrows. He commenced to wearing them around the clock. He wore them while doing his schoolwork, while playing cowboys and Indians, while reading, and at mealtimes. We drew the line however, at wearing them to church. He was somewhat disappointed at this, but recovered quickly. It was all I could do not to laugh when he came strolling out of his room in the morning clad in his pajamas and "grouchos." Sometime, try having a serious conversation with a seven-year-old wearing the most ridiculous pair of plastic glasses that keep falling down his nose. What a riot! I took several pictures of him wearing the glasses, so we can scare off any hopeful girls when he gets old enough to date. These pictures, along with the fact that he has stated he wants to have nineteen children, will probably scare off any normal girls anyway, so he may be living at home for quite some time! I hope the groucho phase won't last until then, or we may never get rid of him! Ha!

There is so much more that I could write, but since I have already been accused of being quite verbose in this update, I shall draw the proverbial line and end right here. I plan that the next update will not be so long in coming. Keep us in your prayers, for they are much needed.

Life Goes On

Ministry Update

We are officially hunkered right now for the lull in meetings that comes from churches up to their ears in Christmas programs. That means lots of time in the trailer and lots of time in office working on next year’s schedule. While the Lord has given us many meetings next year, there are still openings in the schedule. Please pray that the Lord would fill these openings with the meetings of His choosing.

My book is progressing, though slower than I would like. Many have asked about it. It is still in the design phase during which I inspect every aspect of the design and veto or OK it. Since the whole design thing is beyond my area of expertise, the Lord has given me two friends in our church to help with that aspect of the book. Without the help of Glenn Stevenson, III and Matt Northcutt, I would produce a book that would be less than appealing to the eye. My goal from the beginning has been excellence, and these two have made that goal more attainable than it would have ever been without them. I wanted to have my book completed before Christmas, but that may not happen. I will keep everyone posted. One thing is certain: my book will be done some time next year.

Family Update

It has been almost a month since we experienced the addition of our newest family member, and it has been a busy time. Since Daniel was born via C-section, limiting my activity, Paul has had to pick up a lot of extra work around the house. My mom came for ten days after Daniel’s birth, enabling Paul to go to another meeting, and also keeping the trailer from falling down around our ears! I am so thankful for all her work and also for Paul’s efforts at cooking and cleaning (pray for us)! I have been feeling better each day, and although I still have to be careful, I am assuming more of my former duties each week. Sigh.

Everyone asks how the other children like their new brother. The answer is easy – they love him. If he can survive the “fan club” as we have dubbed them, he will be ready for anything life brings his way. Abigail is the little mama and squeaks sweet nothings in his face every time he wakes up. She asks to hold him all the time, and is the first one to run for the pacifier when he is crying. Josiah also enjoys holding him, but his seven-year-old arms get tired very quickly, and he wants to move on to something more exciting. Esther is my little helper – bringing diapers, wipes, and other sundry baby items. She likes to hold Daniel, too, but I have to watch her closely, or she will just wiggle out from under him none too gently and leave him lying on the couch. I am suffering from the usual lack of sleep that goes along with a new baby, so please pardon any spelling or grammatical errors that my fogged brain missed while typing this update!

1,000 Words

"A picture is worth 1,000 words." Since I can't think of 1,000 words right now, I decided to share some pictures of our newest son, Daniel.






We wondered how the other children would respond to a new baby in the house. So far, everything seems to be positive.

New Arrival

This morning at 9:48, our son Daniel Marshall Crow was born. He weighed 9 lbs. 13 1/2 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. The doctors took the baby C-section and Sarah is in the long process of recovery. Thank you for your prayers for us at this time.

The birth of this little boy is a cause of praise to God--the last time I held a newborn boy in my arms, he did not have long to live. We are so thankful that the Lord is the giver of life and that He has chosen to give us another son.

A picture will be forthcoming.

Paul

Traveling Circus

Ministry Update
Thank you so much for praying for our ministry. The Lord gave us another great meeting at Maranatha Baptist Church in Yorktown, Virginia. The purpose of the meeting was an evangelistic outreach to teens in the area. On Monday and Tuesday, the teens of the church met and went out trying to get others to come. The actual activities and preaching services began on Wednesday. By the end of the meeting Friday night, ten people had trusted Christ as Savior. On Sunday, a girl who had been in all three nights of the rally without trusting Christ was in church and troubled about her soul. She came to a teen of the church and expressed her concern. She was saved on the church bus as she was being returned to her house after the service.

After a brief stay home in NC, we were off to Missouri for a Sunday. The Lord gave us a great day there that seems to promise more meetings in the area in the future. Wednesday night, I got to meet Dr. James Beller, the Baptist historian and join him in his church in the St. Louis, MO area. Sunday begins another revival in Urbana, IL. Thank you for your prayers for us.

My book is currently in the design phase. We are discussing fonts and layout and that sort of thing. I will keep you posted.

Family Update
We have had a rather eventful week. On Sunday, one of the church members told me that they had a petting zoo at their home and that we were welcome to bring the kids over. So, after dinner, we did just that. Esther was so excited that she nearly danced a jig when we let her out of the truck. She kept saying, “Animal! Animal!” while stomping her feet and twirling in circles. They had donkeys, goats, ponies, rabbits, pigs, chickens, a buffalo, and llamas. One of the llamas was a baby of three days old – he was so cute! The kids all loved feeding and petting the animals. That night at church, the owner told us that we were welcome to bring the kids over to ride the ponies the next day. What squealing and jumping there was when that announcement was made later that night. The first thing Esther said the next morning was, “Ride the pony, please?” I really didn’t think she would ride the pony, since she was scared to pet it, but I was willing to give it a try. After school, we went over to the farm, and rode the pony. It was a great success! I could hardly pry Esther off the back of the horse – she kept saying, “Again!” Josiah and Abigail also enjoyed it – Josiah pretending to be a cowboy shooting Indians while riding along the trail. I took tons of pictures and then we went home.

We went fishing in a small farm pond that evening. I got skunked, but only because my fish jumped into the air and got off the hook while I was reeling him in. Oh, well. While Paul and I were fishing, the kids played in the pasture that surrounded the pond. Esther looked like a little street urchin when we left. She had removed her pigtails, so her hair looked somewhat like Einstein, and she was covered in mud and, possibly, cow manure. But did they ever have a good time!

We headed out yesterday for St.Louis, and although it was not a long drive, we made several stops. One time, I told the kids to get out and stretch their legs. Abigail promptly got out of her seat, walked around to the other side of the truck and sat down on the curb. She then proceeded to stick each leg up in the air and pull on it. After a brief moment, I realized that she was stretching her legs – literally!

Some of you may be wondering about the soon arrival of our next little one. We are planning to be back in NC for the birth, and, barring something unusual, he will be born in the hospital in Shelby. Of course, there is always the possibility of Paul delivering him on the side of the road somewhere between Indiana and North Carolina, but we are really hoping that won’t be necessary. Right now, we have a countdown of less than five weeks until “Fred” arrives (that was the “name” we gave the baby before we knew if it was a boy or a girl). The kids frequently come up and shout at my stomach, “HEY, FRED!” Even Esther knows that “Fred is in Mama’s tummy.” We really aren’t going to name him Fred… If he is born early on Halloween, maybe we will name him Scare. Get it, Scare Crow? Just kidding.

I am doing as well as can be expected for someone in “my condition.” Imagine a small elephant stuffed in a truck cab with four other people for hours on end. Behind the elephant are two hyenas, and one monkey who feels it is her job to give the elephant a back massage by kicking the back of the seat incessantly. Blaring over the speakers and the children is reruns of Patch the Pirate, which get old rather quickly when you are over the age of twelve. Add to this the din of incoming phone calls, honking horns, screeching brakes, and rumble strips, and you have a good idea of what our road trips are like. Then when the elephant finally crawls out of the fetal position it was forced into, and hobbles its way back to the trailer, it finds that the zig-zagging roads have caused the contents of every cupboard and closet to vacate their normal positions and fall out as soon as you open the door. I have heard that elephants do not enjoy being surprised, but I can vouch for the fact that they really do not enjoy being avalanched. Only a few more weeks – I can handle it. The question is, “Can the rest of the family manage until then?”

Evangelism = Glamour

[Warning: this e-mail contains nothing serious about the ministry, only dealing with the lighter side of traveling. If you are pressed for time, you might just want to delete this and move on.]

Ah! The glamour of evangelism. Pulling a trailer. Driving a big truck. The smell of diesel. The romance of disappearing into the sunset after a week of preaching. Dumping sewage at 11:00 at night. Wait a minute! That isn’t part of the glamour that people think about.

Actually, it was while I was out of the country that I got an e-mail from my wife telling me that the trailer, in addition to having an ultra-full black water tank, also had a serious leak near the bedroom slide-out. The carpet was as wet as the Okefenokee Swamp and beginning to develop kindred odors. There was even some question at one point if the carpet might have come loose from its moorings and was beginning to float. The exhaust fan had been out of order for some time, causing the relative humidity of the trailer to steadily increase, much to the delight of the resident mildew population, which had long been in an ongoing struggle to stay hidden from our sight and still reproduce like rabbits. Finally, to close out the water problems, the black water was both audible and visible in the bottom of the commode, the great bubble that defied gravity barely settling below the black pipe when it burst with a gurgling sound. It was all part of the unseen glamour of evangelism that today is going to be published for the masses to consider.

My wife, seven and a half months with child and playing the role of single parent of three while I had skipped the country, had issued a family ultimatum that unless absolutely necessary, all of nature’s calls were to answered in the church facilities. The threat of a Great Dismal Swamp from the bathroom adjoining the existing Okefenokee in the bedroom seemed imminently ominous indeed.

Before the deluge could burst forth upon the family, however, help arrived for the hapless woman and her children. Around 9:00 Saturday evening, the door to the trailer opened without anyone knocking and the head of the household walked. He was greeted with children who immediately began dancing jigs (what does their mother teach them?) and jumping and shouting for joy.

Supper came and went, as did the ritual of unpacking the bags, their clothes and personal items crossing the Okefenokee to the closet and the empty bags being stowed in the dry storage bay. By this time, the hour was nearing 11:00. The task of preventing the Great Dismal Swamp, it was decided, must not wait until morning. It would be completed in the darkness of night.

It seemed such a simple task, however. Across the church parking lot, there was a sewer cleanout that offered a final resting place for the dismal contents in the full tank. There was nothing to it. Hook up the truck, pull the trailer across the well-lit parking lot, extend the hose from the trailer to the cleanout and pull the valve to release the undesirable contents. Because of the lateness of the hour, all three children went to bed and just took a ride while the trailer was moving back and forth across the parking lot.

Neatly and smartly, the truck pulled the trailer from its parking place to other side of the parking lot. With the skill that comes from repetition, the hose was put into place, its ends securely fastened both to ground pipe and trailer. In order to prevent the ground connection from blowing out of the pipe by reason of the pressure, a 4X4 post about 30 inches long was placed upon the hose terminus. The whole setup was foolproof. It would be only a matter of minutes and the trailer could be parked in its old position and the family in its entirety could retire for the night. Open the compartment. Pull the lever. Listen to the rush of the liquid as it exits the trailer never to be dealt with again.

Disaster required only seconds to strike. The black water was at full force now, accelerating at the rate of 32 feet per second into the ground. Suddenly, there was a horrible sound, similar to the sound of the water in a glass that is completely full and about to overflow. Before anyone could fully appreciate this similarity, water, black water, began coming out of the pipe at high pressure. The 4X4 post acted as a pressure valve, turning the black water hose and its contents into a sort of macabre high-pressure irrigation apparatus, liberally fertilizing the church grass with its nutritious contents. Before too much more damage could be done, the valve would have to be closed, but then what to do about the black water tank still remained a problem.

Some in the church had believed that this particular pipe was, indeed, a sewer cleanout. The member of the pastoral staff called upon to advise in this time of crisis, however, denied that it was. Rather it was some kind of landscaping drain, designed to take the gentle rainfall that ran off the paved parking lot and drain it out of sight into an underground drainage field. Forty gallons of speeding black water running through a 4-inch pipe were simply too much to handle at one time.

The flow was stopped now, but what to do about the remains of the spill presented a problem. In a short matter of hours, people would pull into this very parking lot literally dressed in their Sunday finest and least prepared for the olfactory greeting they might receive. The black water had to be diluted somehow so that it could harmlessly seep into the ground undetected. A few scoops of impotent odor neutralizer (no wonder they were giving it away) might help the drainpipe and what was outside the pipe would have to seriously watered down. By 11:30, this job was history and the trailer parked neatly back in its former place by 11:40. Finally, the whole family was in bed. Even evangelist families can only take so much glamour in one day.

Canada

Ministry Update

It was great to be in meetings in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The area is interesting and the church is a reflection of the unusual demographic of Pacific Coast Canada. The majority of the church is Asian, most of them Filipino. In fact, the Filipinos are the most faithful members of the church. There were unsaved people in the services, many of them people who have attended the church for months, if not years. The pastor in his evangelism here has to begin with the very basics of Christianity, answering questions like "What is the Bible?" and "What does God say about man?" By Friday, three people had prayed to trust Christ as Savior.

The differences between American and Canadian culture make for some interesting moments in preaching. One of the notable differences is metric system versus the English system of measurement. I was giving an illustration last Sunday night about a situation I was in where the weather was hot. Canada uses the Celsius scale of measuring temperature, which is based upon the freezing and boiling points of water, 0 being freezing and 100 being boiling. I was relaying a story in which I told the congregation that the temperature was about 96. In their mind, that is slightly less than the boiling point of water (approximately 205 by our way of measurement). In order to keep from exaggerating, I admitted that my temperature scale was different from theirs and tried to figure the conversion on the spot. Failing that, I finally just exclaimed to the mostly Filipino audience, "Well, it was Philippines hot." They were much amused by my reference to their country of origin.

This week, I am with my family once again in Yorktown, Virginia. I preached all day today, and the people seemed to really be blessed by my ministry here. Beginning tomorrow, we begin what is called Combat, an evangelistic teen outreach. Tomorrow and Tuesday, we canvas the area recruiting teens to come and Wednesday through Friday we have the service. Please pray for souls to be saved.

Gator Morals

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a rather interesting weekend. We started out for the Maranatha Baptist Church of Yorktown, Virginia a day early on Friday of last week. After driving as far as Emporia, Virginia, we received a call from a member of the church staff telling us that they were not expecting us until September 28, two weeks later. We were scheduled to be in another church that week. After a few phone calls, I was able to get a replacement for my September 28 meeting so that we could honor the preparation that Maranatha had made as well as the preparation that the other church had made. In the end, both churches got to have their meetings when they had planned, but that left us with no place to preach on Sunday. After calling some friends in the area, the Lord opened a door for us to preach in the Great Hope Baptist Church of Chesapeake, Virginia, a little less than an hour from where our trailer was parked.

Financially, times were tight for us. The reason we continued on to the Tidewater area even though the church had not been expecting us was that we did not have the fuel or the money to go back home. In fact, when we arrived at Great Hope Sunday morning, we had an empty fuel tank, and empty bank account, and a nearly empty pantry back in the trailer. Pastor Godfrey of Great Hope Baptist Church was gracious enough, not only to give us an honorarium, but also to nearly fill our truck with fuel. The scheduling faults of men were overturned and God provided for our needs. We are grateful for the work that God did in providing for us in His usual, unexpected way.

Family Update

All is normal around the house, with the everyday squabbles over favorite toys and books, as well as the usual tattling over insignificant incidents. The other night, Abigail came in to tell me that Esther bit Josiah. As I launched my lecture on the evils of biting and its dire consequences, Esther happily shrieked, “I alligator!” Is it morally wrong for an alligator to bite someone – especially an evil pirate who is chopping at her with a sword?

We had a toy purge on Saturday in which all the old, broken, and unused toys were cleaned out and donated to the Goodwill. This is always done with much excitement on my part just to be getting rid of it, and on the children’s part because they think that, now that the old toys are gone, they will soon be getting new. This is a sad reality, because Christmas is not that far away, and we will once again be inundated with more worthless Chinese junk. However, for now, it is nice to have a little breathing room in the trailer.

Josiah is feverishly working on his loosest tooth, trying to wiggle it loose enough for me to pull out. He is such a snaggletooth already. I am not sure how he is going to eat with another missing tooth. Perhaps this is the answer to the astronomical grocery bill – just pull out all his teeth and he can live on Jello! Abigail keeps telling me she has a loose tooth, but it is just peer pressure.

For those of you who are waiting for my next piano arrangement book, I have good news. When our trailer was in the shop, I was able to write out several of my arrangements that have long been swirling around in my head. While they still need some editorial tweaking, the bulk of the work is done. Now I just need to come up with enough to fill a book – at least eight more arrangements. I would appreciate your prayers in this matter.

Finally Home

Ministry Update

The summer is over and the busy season of our evangelistic schedule is about to begin. The Lord gave me (the family stayed at home) a wonderful service in Calvary Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC last Sunday. Calvary is without a pastor and the people were very appreciative of my ministry. I was able to take along a friend to provide special music, and the people enjoyed his ministry as well.

Later this week, we will hit the road, not returning to NC until November. We will start in Yorktown, Virginia and head west from there.

My book has completed the second and final round of professional editing. After I review the editorial suggestions, we move into the layout phase. So many have expressed their interest in the book, and I am more eager than ever to see it in print. I will notify all of you by e-mail when the book is ready, as well as give you complete instructions on how to purchase the book, should you so desire.

Recently, I taught a five-week Sunday school series on Baptist history in my home church. This series is available on both CD and DVD, should any of you be interested. I have also prepared a set of notes to accompany the series because it covers a lot of material. Should any of you be interested in obtaining a copy of the series for yourself, you may feel free to contact me.

Family Update

For the past week and a half, we have been homeless. Well, sort of. Our trailer had a front jack that was broken and was in the shop getting fixed. That meant that we trespassed upon the privacy of the Steve Hefner family. Steve is a deacon in our home church and a dear friend of ours (he accompanied me to Hendersonville last Sunday), at least he used to be before our kids got hold of his house.

Because of the many doctor’s appointments that Sarah had, I found myself babysitting my children much of the time. One time, my daughter Esther decided that it would be neat to take all of the toilet paper off the roll in the bathroom and put it in the toilet. A regular house toilet is an anomaly, you see, because it, unlike the one in the trailer, has standing water in it. So my darling daughter emptied the roll into the standing water and then decided that it might not be the best idea to stay there. She then reached for the plunger and tried to plunge it down. Failing this, she decided to mix it with the plunger, splashing water all over the bathroom floor and mixing into the water the residue from past plunger jobs. By the time we discovered her, she had managed to irrigate not only the bathroom floor, but also the carpet for a few feet outside the bathroom. My babysitting career seems to be on shaky grounds. There is this nagging fear that we have not yet discovered all the things that my children did to the Hefner’s house while we were there.

When I took my trailer in to the RV dealer for repairs, I instructed them to keep the unit plugged in because there was food in the refrigerator that needed to be kept cold. The dealership observed my wishes all the time they were open. On Saturday, however, a customer came by and decided to unplug the unit, causing the frozen food to melt and leak all over the house. Although the customer paid for the food that was lost, he could not replace some of our deer meat. Nor did his payment clean up the mess that was all over the kitchen floor. Oh well. At least we are home again. Cozy trailer where we trip over each other, sticky floor from leaky freezer, lingering aroma of spoiled food, empty fridge—we really are happy to back home.

I (Sarah) am glad to be home as well. There is just no place like home, whether or not you live in Kansas! Josiah is well into the school year, having started, at his request, in July. So, we have just passed the six-week mark. What a blessing that is! This will enable us to take a little time off when the new baby arrives in just about nine weeks, without stretching the school year into next summer. He lost several teeth this summer, the last of which was his top right front tooth. The left one is also very loose, and I wonder what strange sounds will proceed from his mouth when it, too, is gone. As of right now, he already whistles like Gopher on Winnie the Pooh whenever he says certain consonants.

About four weeks ago, after much prayer, we started Josiah on a new kind of treatment using whole food supplements specially targeted to help specific areas of the body. It was only after two weeks had passed that we saw some dramatic improvements. We had a temporary setback when he was accidentally given a snack not intended for him during church two weeks ago, but I think he is almost totally recovered from that now. He has had a lot of breathing treatments over the last two weeks, and now that we are home, I think that the number needed will decrease significantly. Please pray that the Lord will continue to give us wisdom and continue to heal Josiah’s body.

This past week was filled with trials for me personally, most of which came in the form of doctor’s visits. I had to take the one-hour glucose test on Thursday, and ended up being there nearly three hours. They told me after my visit that I had low iron and would have to see the nutritionist. Then they told me that I had failed the one-hour test by two points and would have to take the fasting three-hour test the next day. I went home in a huff and went back the next day to be stabbed and drained of my remaining blood (no wonder I am anemic) for the test. I had one “abnormal” reading out of the four, so they labeled me “borderline” for gestational diabetes and told me that I would need to see yet another nutritionist for that special diet. “We made an appointment for you next Tuesday at 9:30. Is that okay?” the nurse asked. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. After two days of sitting in the office, having nothing to eat, drinking syrup for breakfast, and having the blood drained from my body one vial at a time, I could take no more. I told the nurse that if I couldn’t see the nutritionist right away, then I wouldn’t be coming back. Her eyes grew quite round, and I wondered if she thought I was going to get violent. I am sure my red face, bulging eyes, and grinding teeth were quite helpful in getting them to acquiesce to my demand, and, so, just a few minutes later I had completed all the necessary lectures and went home. I can almost laugh about it now, but it still irritates me. Perhaps when the bruises on my arm have disappeared I will be able to laugh at the look on her face. I only wish I could have seen my own.

Summer Fruit

Ministry Update

This summer has been quite a summer for us. After all the meetings with Baptist Youth Mission fell through, the Lord opened up other doors of ministry for us on a spur of the moment basis.

Josiah and I were able to be a part of a father and son camping trip in the mountains of PA with Pastor Dave Smith and the men of Community Baptist Church of Quakertown, PA. The Lord gave us a wonderful time with the men of that church.

From there, the entire family went to the Capitol Baptist Church of Dover, DE, where we joined Pastor Terri Moore and his people for their summer jubilee.

On our way back from that meeting, we had truck trouble in Smithfield, VA. The powertrain control module, a computer that controls the transmission of my truck, went bad and had to be replaced. Our home church picked up the bill for that repair and the people of the Calvary Baptist Church of Smithfield bent over backwards to help us while we were detained in the Tidewater area.

From VA, we came on to our home church's family camp and enjoyed a wonderful time with the folks of our home church.

Last week, my family and I, along with Bethany Hefner, ministered in the Calvary Baptist Church of Leonard, MI in both children's and teen's vacation Bible School. The children's rallies were in the morning and the teen rallies were at night. It was one of the busiest weeks of my entire ministry. As soon as I was done with one program, I had to go right to the next one with very little down time in between. It would not have been so taxing had it not been my very first vacation Bible school of this kind, both age groups in the same week. The Lord blessed, however, and though our numbers were not large, we did see two teens trust Christ as Savior.

Sam was one of the teens who got saved on Thursday night of the teen meeting. He comes from a Catholic home that religious enough that his grandfather had taught him the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. In the providence of God, I preached a message on the Great White Throne Judgment from Revelation 20. One of the points that I hit is the finality of this judgment. While Sam did not move at the public invitation, he did raise his for prayer, indicating that he was unsure of his salvation. After the service, the teens were to go outside and play a game to which they had been looking forward all week. They all left the auditorium except Sam. He just sat in his seat contemplating what he had just heard and weighing it against what he had always been taught. The pastor noticed him and, while I was out running the remainder of the program for the rest of the teenagers, the pastor led Sam to the Lord. When Sam's mother came to pick him up, the pastor was able to talk to her for a long time. During the conversation, she expressed her gratitude to the church for going to all the trouble to something worthwhile for teenagers. She has promised to attend the church on Sunday.

In addition to Sam, a girl named Tara also made a profession of faith on Thursday night of Bible school. While I was unable to get as many details about her conversion, I am no less grateful that she, too, has trusted Christ.

Today, we are to be in the Columbiaville Baptist Church in Columbiaville, MI. This meeting is another one of the churches that invited me "whenever you are in the area." Please pray that we will be able to be a help to this church.

My book has survived one round of professional editing and awaits my response to the editor's comments. There are some things that the editor has advised me to do that will only make the book better. I still hope to have the entire book ready for purchase in September. I will keep everyone posted about its progress.

As always, thank you all for your prayers.

Family Update

This has been a very busy and exciting week for the whole family, and especially the children. They have really enjoyed the temporary addition of Bethany Hefner, or “Baffy” as Esther calls her. Bethany was such a tremendous help to us during the VBS and Teen Rally this past week, as well as just being with the family. She has been a blessing and a big part of our ministry, and we are so glad her parents allowed us to take her along on such short notice. Thanks, Steve and Diane!

School is looming around the corner for us again, and Josiah is not looking forward to it. It is always sad when a child decides that they don’t really like school anymore! He has really enjoyed the summer break, and I think he will get back into the swing of things very quickly. He was sitting on the living room floor this week, and found a roll of duct tape that Paul had been using during VBS. With a gleam in his eye, he asked me, “Can I use some of this duct tape? Do we have anything that needs to be fixed?” I guess the urge must start when they are young.

Abigail won the silly hat contest this week in VBS. She had a paper hat that looked like a birthday cake (several layers) and had paper flowers sprouting out of the top of it. I really was a cute sight! She was so excited about it. As the youngest VBS member, she struggled to keep up with the others at times, but she did have a wonderful time.

We are all rejoicing in the fact that Esther finally has some hair – at least enough to keep people from thinking she is a boy! She will not keep her hairbows in yet, so we have some work to do in that area. She managed to pull a side table over on herself yesterday while we were in the pastor’s home. With a terrible crash, the table landed on top of her, its contents spilling all over the floor. Papers, pens, flyers, offering plates, candle holders, a chess set, and who knows what else all came down around her. There was a terrible silence, and then as we all jumped up to get the table off of her, she let out the most piercing scream I have ever heard from her lips. Thankfully, she was not hurt, only scared. I am not really sure how she pulled the table over, but I don’t think she will be trying any stunts like that in the near future. My heart couldn’t take it, I don’t think!

I haven’t had the opportunity to tell about our adventures in Smithfield, VA. Paul mentioned them briefly, but he forgot to mention the funniest part. I guess that is because he was the star of this particular event. We arrived at the church parking lot, and began the hookup process – backing in just right, running hoses and cords, etc. I was rather tired, and since Paul didn’t need my help, and a storm was threatening, I thought I would go sit in the truck until he finished. No sooner had I settled in my seat, than I saw a flash go by my window. It was Paul, running full speed ahead. My first bewildered thought was that when he plugged in, that electricity had zapped the trailer and he was getting away before the whole thing went up in flames. Very smart, but hardly heroic. Halfway into the parking lot, he stopped and waved his hands like a charismatic just as a huge bolt of lightning split the sky. He turned around and I could see his face, but just as quickly, he darted left, then right, still waving like Benny Hinn. I was baffled, and then as he came full circle, I saw that there were wasps chasing him! I opened the truck door, and he ran over, jumped in, and slammed the door. It was then that I began laughing – not maliciously, of course, but just at how funny the whole thing looked before I realized what was going on. Paul was not amused, considering how narrow his escape had been, but since no harm was done, I thought nothing of laughing about it every time I thought about it. If only you had seen it! Apparently, the wasps had built a nest behind the powerbox plate, and when he opened it up to plug in, they took offense. A call to the pastor, who brought some wasp spray solved the problem in no time. Paul still doesn’t see the humor in the situation, though, so I have to curb my laughter when retelling the story. I must say, he runs even faster than he preaches!

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!

Softball, Humility, and Diesel Performance Chips

Ministry Update

Last week we closed a great meeting on Wednesday in Semmes, AL, just outside Mobile. Though the meeting only lasted four days, it was action packed. This church is a very responsive church, especially to our ministry. Whenever we are in the area, there is a sizable group of people that follows us and can be expected to attend multiple nights of a revival meeting, even in another church. We started the meeting with Big League Sunday, which featured dinner on the grounds, a softball game in the afternoon, an apple pie and dessert making contest for the ladies, and a free baseball to every child who attended. The church was packed and there was tremendous response to the message I preached on "Excellent Christianity." Throughout the week, the altar was full almost every night, and two trusted Christ during the meeting. It was a great blessing. After preaching in chapel on Thursday morning in their Christian school, I packed up the trailer and drove straight through to NC, arriving at 12:30 Friday morning. Now we are home for a few weeks to prepare for the summer ministry that awaits us. More on that later.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It was a blessing to see the evidence of the Holy Spirit's conviction in the hearts of people responding, especially for salvation this week.

Though this is hardly ministry, the Lord did provide something for me that I have been wanting for a long time. I have been wanting to get a performance diesel chip in my truck to increase my fuel economy as I tow my trailer. The Lord provided through the gifts (green handshakes) of different people and now I have been able to purchase a chip for my truck. I hope that it will result in slightly improved fuel economy. The company claims increases of up to 4 mpg. We'll see.

Family Update

I am glad to be back in NC, although the weather has taken a turn for the colder. I do so hate breaking out the long sleeves after I have already packed them away for the summer. Thank the Lord we still had our electric heaters.

I was in my first ever pie-baking contest while we were in Alabama. I tied for third place with my "Paper Bag Apple Pie" (yes, I actually put it in a paper bag in the oven) against some stiff competition! Some of those ladies can really cook! Anyway- it was a pie baking contest, not a pie eating contest, as Paul has been wont to tell some people. If the truth be told, though, I think he would have won the eating contest had there been one! Josiah would have won the hot dog eating contest with a grand total of six consumed in about ten minutes. Better him than me.

Paul and I played softball that afternoon and I became an official redneck - at least on one side of my neck. The sun was so bright and hot - it really felt good after the extended cool weather we have had had this spring. The kids are loving the nice weather. Since we have been back, they have spent quite a bit of time learning to ride their bikes. Josiah finally learned that he has to use the brakes and not just run smack into things in order to stop. Abigail learned the hard way not to take her feet off the pedals while coasting down a hill. Both, however, are making great progress in the skill.

School will be finished next week. Somebody say "AMEN!" Josiah has really made a lot of progress and had a great year. His greatest desire right now is to learn cursive. He can already read it pretty well, and has even attempted to copy words on his own, with impressive results! I think he will pick it up quickly.

He has also been singing with me in our meetings. We sang a duet, "A Tender Heart" and he did such a wonderful job, even though he left his shoes in the pew when he came up to sing! (You can listen to the duet here.) Later, someone told me that they told Josiah what a good job he had done, to which he replied, "I was just waiting for someone to tell me that!" Nothing like a good dose of humility to keep things in perspective!

Abigail will turn four this weekend, and is so excited. Josiah was trying to help me plan some games for the event. I said pin the tail on the donkey, and he suggested "Pin the Rock on Goliath." Now that sounds like fun! Abigail has learned a lot from her big brother, and they like to play together. One of their games is the spelling game. Each spells a word, and the other has to guess what it is. The handicap is that only one of them knows how to spell. Josiah will spell a real word, and Abigail, having no idea what it is will make wild guesses. Then, after several hints, she will figure it out, and it will be her turn to spell. Sample words might be "A-T-M-R-Q" or something similar. Then Josiah will try to sound it out. It is quite amusing to listen to them. He usually forgets the sequence about halfway through the word, and of course, she can't remember it either, so she tells him what the word was. Both are happy, and I have great hopes that one day it will be a good exercise for them.

Esther's vocabulary has really taken off, and she jabbers almost constantly. She also continues to get into everything. Monday, she found a bottle of hand lotion that her sister left out and promptly helped herself. I smelled a rather fragrant aroma coming from the bedroom and walked in to find her slathered in lotion - the entire bottle was on her arms, her legs, her dress, and the carpet. She was patting her hands in the lotion, and it was splattering everywhere. It wasn't the worst mess I have cleaned up, but neither was it the easiest - kind of greasy. She is a happy little thing most of the time, so it is hard not to smile when she gets into a situation like that. She enjoys the girly things of life - lotion, perfume, nail polish, lip gloss - you name it. She just needs to learn a bit of moderation!