Manifold Blessings

 March has been a month of blessings for our family, both spiritual and financial. As you may remember from last month, Sarah's car broke down and needed a very costly and notoriously unreliable transmission. We opted to get another car instead of repairing the one we already had. The factory would only warranty a new transmission for 1 year or 12,000 miles, so great was their confidence in it. The Lord provided us two very noteworthy things: first, the money to purchase another car; and second, a dealer willing to take our old car in on trade. This willingness to trade was very important because I could well understand someone not wanting the car, given the notoriety of the transmission troubles to which it is prone. In the end, for the cost of the transmission repair plus the trade-in, we were able to get another car. Sarah now traverses the town and country in a Cadillac. It is 13 years old and has some minor issues, but it is a beautiful and dependable vehicle.

The Lord gave safety and a great meeting in Lighthouse Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia. It is always great to be with Pastor Philip Bishop and his dear people.

After a whirlwind visit to Alabama for a short meeting there, I made a touch-and-go appearance back home to Mississippi to take care of some business. Every time I am able to be back in the Clearview Baptist Church, I am grateful to God for leading our family there in the first place. What a blessing to see the growth in the church in the weeks and months that I have had to be away!

It has been many years since I have been able to attend the Ambassador Baptist College Bible Conference. This year, some of my good friends in the ministry were preaching, and it was a blessing to be there. God worked in a special way in every service.

In a couple weeks, Sarah and I will be together for our one meeting per semester that we get together. We will head to Calvary Baptist Church of Urbana and minister with Pastor Tyson Olheiser and his people. His church is located not far from the University of Illinois. He himself was a student when the church reached him many years ago. Would you pray that God would give us souls as we go? The Olheisers are dear friends of ours and we look forward to ministering alongside them.

After April comes graduation and then more meetings. Busy times ahead. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Technical Difficulties

 The Lord gave us some great times of ministry during this past month, even though the month is not yet over. While I am not out preaching, I have opportunity to serve in the Morganton Baptist Church of Morganton, North Carolina. Pastor Qurollo invited me to preach to his people a couple of times while we have been there, and the church gave us a very generous love offering. We are so grateful for the people that God has brought into our lives.

There seems to be a rash of breakdowns that have hit our family. As we left church last night for an hour drive back home through the rolling hills of western North Carolina, the engine of Sarah's car suddenly began to race for no apparent reason. I noticed that we were losing, rather than gaining, speed up the hill despite the revving motor. A few weeks ago, one of the men in the church had seen our car and asked us an interesting question: "Have you ever had transmission trouble with that car?" At the time, the answer was no. As of last night, my answer has changed. 

A man in the church loaned us his trailer to use to haul the car. Currently, the vehicle is sitting on the trailer not far from our RV while we wait for the transmission shop to get back to me with a price to repair or replace the transmission. 

The decisions related to this repair are difficult because the car is at the place where the cost of repair is about the cost of the vehicle. We might be able to repair it and use the car for a few years. We might also be able to find something more dependable and forget about the current car. Please pray for wisdom as we negotiate the ins and outs of this decision.

At the end of this week, I am scheduled to board a plane in Charlotte and fly into Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington, D.C. You may remember the airliner recently that crashed into a helicopter there. I am to fly the same airline into the same airport. Please pray for safety.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

New Year

 The month of January has been a full month full of blessings and sadness. Through it all, we rejoice in God's faithfulness.

Twenty-three years ago, I was a young evangelist just starting out. Pastor Randy Hartwell, in Michigan at the time, had me for a meeting on the recommendation of a pastor-friend of his. Through the years, he had me on a regular basis, even though he was no longer in Michigan. In the latter years, he would have me in once a year to preach to his people. Before the first of the year, he got in touch with me and wanted me to come preach for him yet again. I did, although he was so sick that he was unable to be at the services. Not long after I preached for him, he slipped into glory. There is something to be said for any pastor that will take a chance on a young preacher. I will always appreciate what he did for me.

A meeting of young evangelists was next on the schedule. Somewhere along the line, I have moved from learning as a young man to teaching other young men. That is a humbling reality. 

It appears that a trip to the Dominican Republic is becoming a regular part of my annual schedule. Again this January, I found myself in the warmth of the Caribbean sunshine and the Haitian immigrants in the DR. It was 15 years ago that Biz Lerisse moved to this area to work with displaced Haitians. At the time, the people lived in fear of Satan and his potential to harm them. As the years went by and the Gospel was preached, the instances of demonism began to wane. This last Sunday, over 330 people crowded into the upper story of the church where the auditorium can catch the island breezes and thereby give a break from the heat. Ten people followed the Lord in believer's baptism that day as the church praised the Lord for His power and goodness. I preached a simple Gospel message. Six more people were born again that weekend. The entire service seemed to serve to give the Devil a black eye. As I watched person after person publicly identify with Christ through baptism, I was reminded of the verse in II Corinthians 2: "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." God is doing a great work there, and I am humbled to be able to have a part.

The work with the podcast continues. The number of listeners is growing slowly as word gets out. If you would like to listen, the quickest way is to go to my website paulcrow.org. You can also find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts by searching for "Evangel Paul Crow." Evangel is the name of the podcast, but there are some churches who went by that name some years ago and have since quit podcasting.

The family is still in North Carolina where three of the children are college students at Ambassador Baptist College and Sarah is teaching there. Occasionally Daniel will travel with me, but he has a job now, further complicating travel options.

We look forward to seeing what God will do for us this year. Thank you for your support and prayers for us.