Post Partum

Family Update

I know many of you are wondering how the family is adjusting to a new little one, so I thought I would take a few minutes and send out an update. Esther Faith is making her presence known in the household at all hours of the day and night – as was expected. We are parked at the home of some dear friends who have really helped take care of the two older children during my hospital stay and subsequent recovery from surgery. This has been an incredible blessing to me and has allowed me a little more peace and quiet than I would have had otherwise.

Josiah and Abigail have taken to her quite well. I knew Josiah would have no problem, but I thought jealousy might be an issue with Abigail. Thankfully, this is not the case at all. She wants to hold and admire “Bee-bee Essah” just as much as Josiah does. She seems to be quite pleased with this living baby doll that has come to live with us. I will say, though, that she gets very upset when Esther cries. Josiah was likewise horrified when he saw her umbilical stump (those things do look pretty nasty). I have assured him that it will look just like his belly button in a few days. I think he was relieved.

I am recovering slowly from the c-section, but so far, everything is going well. I was really disappointed to have to have the surgery, but I believe the Lord had a reason for it, even though I don’t know or see what it could possibly be. This means that Paul will have to go to a few meetings without the family just because I will not be able to travel and exert a lot of activity for several weeks, but the Lord knew all that ahead of time also. Please pray that my recovery will be quick and free from complications. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf over the last several months.

The trailer is rather in an uproar with baby stuff everywhere. It will take a while to get things sorted out and put in their respective places, and probably some trial and error runs on final resting places of certain items. It is a little crowded and disorganized at the moment, but I hope to remedy that over the next few weeks. In the meantime, pray that I don’t trip over diaper bags and baskets of baby clothes while I am wandering around the trailer in the middle of the night, sleepy and disoriented!

Baby Girl

Our daughter Esther Faith was born at 1:34 pm yesterday. She weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing well.

Manner Matters

Family Update

Although we have been working for several years on our son’s table manners, there seems to have been a gap in the flow of instruction somewhere between our mouths and his ears. As a result, our dinner discussions frequently include admonitions about what is considered proper etiquette – mostly directed at our four-year-old son. If you were a fly on the wall in our trailer, you would hear some of the following comments. That is, if Abigail didn’t see you first and begin screaming frantically that there was a bug in the house.

“Chew with your lips together, please.”

“Don’t comb your hair with your fork.”

“Take smaller bites, good grief!”

“Slow down! No one is going to take your food away, unless, of course, you keep eating like that!”

“Chew with your lips together, please.”

“You know, you wouldn’t choke on your drink if you would slow down.”

“Please don’t blow your food OFF of your plate!”

“Do NOT wipe your hands on the chair – use the napkin sitting right in front of you!”

“Don’t wave your fork around in the air. You are going to poke out your sister’s eye!”

“Quit talking and eat!”

“Chew with your lips together, please.”

“Move your cup away from the edge of the table.”

“You know, you wouldn’t drop so much food on the table if your plate was in the same zip code as your mouth.”

“Don’t touch the curtains!”

“Do not stick your fork and spoon in your mouth at the same time!”

“Please only blow on your own food!”

“Chew with your lips together, please”

“Stop roaring at the birds outside – they can’t hear you. You are only disturbing the other diners.” (This at a restaurant)

“Do not talk with food in your mouth!”

As exasperating as it is at times, I will say that he does manage to do some things correctly. Paul was laughing at the table the other day because of the multitude of instruction I was spouting. I turned to him, and, in an effort to relieve myself of the feeling that all I had done was criticize table manners, commented that although I had given Josiah so many reminders, there was one thing I did not have to tell him. “Oh? What’s that?” Paul asked.

“At least he doesn’t have his elbows on the table!”

At this juncture of the conversation, Paul hastily removed his elbows from the table and with a guilty look finished his meal. So much for positive reinforcement. Perhaps one day it will sink in, but for the present, I will have to be content to sound like a broken record.

Hanging Out

Ministry Update

After a couple of weeks without preaching, it was good to be able to preach at the church in which I grew up. The Lord gave us two good services, with my two brothers attending the morning service. Both my brothers claim to be saved, but they are not in church right now. It was a blessing to have them attend. The Lord also gave us a generous love offering from that church to help with the expenses of not being in meetings right now. What a blessing it is to serve Christ!

Family Update

Many of you may have thought that we had fallen off the edge of the world since you hadn’t heard from us in so long, but despite your hopes, we are still here! We haven’t had a lot to write about, so I haven’t taken the time to sit down and narrate our adventures as a family this past month.

Abigail celebrated her second birthday on May 4. We had an awful cake (made so that everyone could partake with no ill results) that nearly made Paul and me sick. The kids were thrilled with it until they tasted it, and then they quickly lost interest. Josiah ate all the icing off of his piece, but no one else bothered to make an effort. There are just some things that cannot be substituted!

Now when we ask Abigail how old she is, she proudly holds up five fingers and says, “Four!” We are still coaching her on the correct answer. She is now out of the nursery and in the 2’s & 3’s class, which she seems to enjoy. She is learning new songs and Bible stories each week, and when she chooses to talk, she can go on and on. Josiah is a great teacher, and is always singing with her. Their best duet numbers as of right now are “Jesus Loves Me” and “I’m in the Lord’s Army!” Usually, Abigail lags behind on the tempo, and ends up being an echo, but it is fun to listen to them sing together.

Josiah will be starting kindergarten in the fall, and he is looking forward to it. He knows all of hi letters, so that job will be easier for me when the time comes. Now all I have to do is teach him the sounds and how they go together. No Problem, HA!

No, we have not had the baby yet. I will go no further on this subject. I have had all kinds of suggestions from drinking castor oil to horseback riding to shoveling mulch. The thought that comes to mind is, “Why make myself more miserable than I already am?” The baby will not come until she is ready anyway! As one well-wisher told me recently, “Keep hanging in there and hanging out there!”

Right now we are just sitting around waiting for the baby to make her appearance. If you are on praying ground, please pray that she comes soon. Boredom has set in, and I can only do so much about it. If I do not go by June 23, they will take her by C-section. This would effectively ground us for the rest of the summer, and we would have to cancel some meetings, which is wholly undesirable for all of us. The last thing I want is another major operation. Do keep this in mind as you pray for our family. Josiah asks every day if the baby will come today. I have to tell him that I don’t know – we will have to wait and see. This is not a satisfactory answer for either of us, but that is the answer I have to give. Abigail is still clueless, I think, even though she knows there is a baby in Mama’s tummy. I don’t think she realizes that the center of attention is going to take a drastic shift in the next week or two. Life is so interesting!

My youngest brother graduates from high school this coming weekend. He was selected to be the valedictorian of his class – we are all very proud of his accomplishments. After graduation, he plans to attend Ambassador Baptist College in pursuit of the one-year Bible certificate. Our family traveled up to Ohio two weekends ago to be a part of his baccalaureate exercises at the church. We put on a mini concert and Paul preached the Sunday evening service. It was really neat to be a part of Micah’s “festivities.”

Broken Spring

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a good meeting in Amarillo. Sunday morning there was a girl there who was weeping over her soul, having admitted in the invitation that she was lost. She never did come and talk to us, even though we had a fellowship following the service. I tried to approach her to talk with her about it, but she always avoided me. She did not come to any of the rest of the services.

The drive back home was a most interesting experience. We left Monday night after the service and drove 125 miles before stopping in the parking lot of Flying J for the night. Tuesday we did 791 miles, again stopping for the night in a Flying J just west of Nashville, Tennessee. We got a decent start that next morning, especially considering how late we got in the night before. We planned to fuel once at the Flying J west of Knoxville and then head over the mountains in plenty of time to make the Wednesday night service at our home church. As we moved around the parking lot at Flying J, Sarah was in the trailer fixing lunch for the family and heard a horrid grinding sound. While the children ate their food, I crawled under the trailer to check it out. I found a broken leaf spring on the passenger side middle axle. After several phone calls, we were able to accurately assess the situation: although there was a dealer in Knoxville that had the spring in stock, there was no one that could do the work right away. A call to a mobile RV repairman has still not been answered; the dealer that sold me the part was so covered up that they could not get to it for at least a week; an RV dealer that could do the work was twenty miles east over Tennessee interstate under construction. TN seems to have the roughest construction zones of any of the states that I have been in. Traveling this stretch of construction would have wreaked havoc on any trailer with a broken leaf spring. Things did not look good. I had just finished preaching a message about joy and how God wants us to have joy in our lives in both good times and bad. Now we were stranded in a Flying J with no one to work on our trailer, bone weary from long hours of travel, the heat of the parking lot adding to the potential for irritation: I was being tested. I was reminded of what Moses said to God: “[The people] be ready to stone me.” Had any suitable stones been available at that time, I think my family might have tempted.

After a couple more phone calls, I decided to buy the part and install it myself. It took little time to get the part and after a good time of witnessing to the employees who sold me the part, I was on my way back toward the trailer to change my first ever leaf spring. I found that the parking space that I had chosen was covered in part by a fresh blanket of motor oil, not far from where I had to work. Consequently, whenever I got under the trailer, I had to go around to the other side and crawl on my stomach or back to where I had to work on the broken spring. Every time I needed to get a tool, it was back out again, rocking my body back and forth on my shoulders to achieve some kind of motion. After three or four trips like this, I asked my wife to come out and join me just so that she could hand me tools.

In the midst of this project, the Lord sent along a man by the name of David. He was literally a truck driver who came off the street, initially to buy fuel. He saw that we were working and he and his wife came over to help us. As we worked together, we were both feeling each other out, looking for an opportunity to witness to the other. It turns out, he and his wife had both trusted Christ as Savior many years ago. Hours later, with the greatest help coming from our Lord Himself, we were able to finish the project. I went to pay David and he insisted that I take some money from him. In the end, he gave me a few tools, a can of WD-40, and $240. We were able to get on the road again and finally made it home well after everyone had left the church. It was a trip in which God reassured us of so many truths of His Word, not the least of which is that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The total cost of the repair, if you discount the gifts that David gave me, came to less than $40.

We will be in NC for most of the month of May, going to Ohio for a short time around the 20^th. We will home the entire month of June and most of July before our schedule gets busy again. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Potential Shocker

As a student at Ambassador Baptist College, I enrolled in the evangelist program, believing that God would one day put me into that ministry. It wasn’t long before I was sitting in Bro. Ron Comfort’s Evangelist class listening to a most timely lecture. As I recall, the lecture was entitled “So You Want to Be an Evangelist.” I do not claim to have near the experience that he has, but I have learned by experience the veracity of all that he said in that class lecture(s). (I think he actually spent a couple of classes finishing that lecture.)

After months of communicating with this pastor about the needs of our trailer, we arrived to find a potentially disastrous electrical setup. The pastor had asked an RV dealer how to set things up and had been misinformed from the start. From there, someone in the church volunteered to do the electrical work and his knowledge of electricity was less than desirable, at least for the project at hand. For the neophytes of electrical science, there are some basic principles that are necessary when wiring a receptacle. First, electricity only works in a circle. There is no such thing as running a wire one way and having electricity. Even though you may see only one wire, there are actually at least two wires, one called hot and the other called neutral. Without two wires, there could be no electricity because there must be a circuit. In today’s wiring, there is usually a third wire called a ground that is present. That is why most receptacles have three “prongs”: one hot wire, one neutral, and one ground. When we arrived at this church, there was a 30-amp plug wired horrendously wrong. Instead of there being a hot, a neutral, and a ground, there were two hot’s and one neutral. The problem was that where the neutral was supposed to be, there was a hot wire, and where the ground was supposed to be, there was the normal neutral wire. In short, it could have spelled disaster for us had we just plugged in. Not long ago, I invested in a voltage meter and was able to ascertain the problem before disaster had a chance to strike our trailer. (There was a day in which I foolishly trusted any plug that was present.) We pulled in, unhooked the trailer, and headed out to Home Depot to get the parts to give us power.

It was at this juncture that things began to go wrong. Leaving a sick, feverish, teething toddler with her mother, Josiah and I found the electrical section of Home Depot. In mere seconds we had located the proper plug and gone to the wiring section to pick up another piece of wire. I wasn’t sure at this point that I would need it, but I thought that I would pick it up just in case. After calling and calling and calling over the telephone for someone to help us in the electrical section, no one ever showed up. We waited for half an hour all to no avail. By now, though the trailer was parked, we were without the most basic need of trailer life: electricity. To compound our problems a primal disease was beginning to afflict us, threatening to rob us of reason and turn us all into ravening beasts: it was the disease of hunger. Otherwise happy children would cry at the slightest hint of provocation. Otherwise patient parents felt their fuses shortening by the minute. Reason was taking flight and being replaced by omnivorous hallucinations. Suddenly my son resembled nothing so much as an Oscar Meyer hot dog. My truck magically morphed into a turkey on the table, complete with all the trimmings. I am not the most efficient electrician in the world, even when I am in a healthy frame of mind, but in my current state, the chances of getting much done quickly were about as good as my pregnant wife winning the Boston Marathon. When we returned from Home Depot, I backed the truck neatly into a parking space, only to have the guy wire of a telephone pole hook on my back bumper. I decided to pull up a bit just to better center myself in the space and the wire ripped and bent my back bumper. In spite of the current opposition, I plunged ahead with the electrical project, feeling like a horrible provider while my family sat in the dark, boiling trailer. I discovered that I did indeed need the wire that I had waited for at the store. I would now have to return all the way across town to the slow Home Depot. My wife was able to cook supper without power (no TV dinners tonight) on the gas stove and she insisted that I eat something. As I left the church parking lot, my truck resembling an insurance claim, I made my way toward the interstate that would take me across town only to find the way blocked by a train over 100 cars long, oozing along the tracks almost imperceptibly. I drove and drove, trying to get around it, but to no avail. When I finally got around the train and onto the interstate, I ended up missing my exit. After turning around, I found that Home Depot had shut off all the lights in their parking lot. I almost left without the wire when I noticed people going into the store. I went right back to the electrical department, finding no one. Finally, a woman appeared, though she did nothing for my confidence. I asked if she could get me the wire I needed, and she lamented to me, “I don’t know how to cut wire.” At that point I bit my tongue trying to resist all the chauvinist comments that came to mind, not to mention a commentary on the wisdom of allowing a woman who cannot even cut a wire to work in Home Depot. After another half an hour and two more female employees later, I finally got the wire I needed and paid for it. Of course, it was totally dark by this time and I would have to probe around in the electrical box with the minimal light of the streetlight thirty yards away. The children were both in bed by the time I returned and enlisted my wife’s help. By 11:30 pm, after arriving at 6:30 that evening, we finally had power to our trailer.

If my wife had anything to say about the curriculum of the Evangelist course at Ambassador Baptist College, she would insist that it include a course in electricity with the following inclusions: wiring a hot box, while holding a flashlight between shoulder and chin, squatting in the bushes with twigs raking your legs, the twigs providing a ready bridge for the local insect population – all in the dark. Extra credit might be doing it all in the rain. As for me, I don’t really see much hope for her as an academic dean of the program, but that does not mean that she might not have an occasional great idea.

Paul

Fort Worth

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a great meeting in Fort Worth. On Tuesday night there was a fourteen-year-old girl named Lacy and last night an 11-year-old boy named Elijah was saved. It was a great meeting with the Lord giving us a tremendous rapport with the pastor and the members of the church.

Our next meeting is in Amarillo TX where I will preach a very unusual schedule for a revival meeting: Saturday through Monday. From Amarillo, we will head back to North Carolina to be there, for the most part, until the baby is born.

Family Update

The family is doing well. Josiah has improved since we have been in TX. I am not sure if it is because of the change in climate, or the cold front that has moved in the last few days. Whatever the reason, I am pleased. Abigail woke up last night with a fever, but has only a runny nose and cough this morning. Pray that it doesn’t turn into an ear infection.

I took the kids outside yesterday to play for a while. I gave them squirt guns filled with water, and I blew bubbles for them to shoot. You should have seen them, running around the yard, shrieking and laughing and squirting their guns. I was thankful that I was shot only once by a stray stream of water. I nearly hyperventilated blowing a half a jar of bubbles, though!

The day before yesterday, I was taking a walk, and just as I came in sight of the trailer, a dog started growling and barking and running in circles around me. He kept snapping at me, and I thought I was going to get bitten! Then, all of a sudden, he ran across the street and threw up and began doing unspeakable things. I hurried on to the trailer, thankful to be in one piece. The last several times I have gone out, I have carried a length of dowel rod with me, lest I be attacked again. It did come in handy when another dog started to chase me. I shook it at him, and in my sternest voice said, “Stay right there!” He did, and I lost my opportunity to get a world class punt record. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

We were in the truck the other day, and Josiah was asking his interminable questions, and Paul responded to one with one of his own, “How would you like to be jack-slapped?” There was a pause, and then Josiah said, “Am I allergic to that?” We died laughing. Pray that his sense of humor won’t be totally warped!

Shoes

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us an excellent close to the meeting in Virginia and then some exciting times of rest and relaxation for a couple of days in North Carolina. One of the highlights for me was getting an education in the woods turkey hunting – but that is another story. Today we traveled over 400 miles and are staying in the church parking lot of Bible Baptist Church just outside Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where Mark Falls is pastor. Our plan is to continue on to Fort Worth in the next two days. We will be in a four day meeting there and then go on to Amarillo.

Family Update

This has been quite a week for us. Early Monday morning, I had to go in for the three hour glucose test since I didn’t pass the one hour test that I had two weeks ago. This entailed not eating or drinking anything from midnight the day before until after noon on Monday. I was allowed to have water, but nothing else. I had to drink 12 ounces of the awfullest tasting orange sugar drink, which is bad enough by itself, but when taken on an empty stomach while pregnant, was almost more than I could handle. I thank the Lord that I only had one elevated reading, which means that I do not have gestational diabetes, but they recommended that I go on the diet anyway, since all the readings were not normal. After “donating” seven vials of blood for the testing, I was feeling rather anemic when I finally left the clinic, and my right arm was throbbing. I am glad that ordeal is over.

The children enjoyed their first Easter egg hunt on Sunday (yes, we are complete heathens). Of course, I could not use real eggs for health reasons, so plastic candy-filled eggs were our alternative. It was so much fun to watch them run around the yard finding eggs. Josiah was much faster, and if he found two eggs together, he would call out to Abigail, “Abigail, here’s your egg!” She would then run from wherever she was, calling, “Thank you! Thank you!” It was so cute!

Josiah has been having more trouble this week than he has all this year. There is something about this time of year. He has had several breathing treatments each day, but nothing serious up to this point. We would appreciate your continued prayers throughout this season, especially since our travels have coincided with spring in each area of the country we have visited for the last six weeks or so.

Josiah was talking today (as usual), and began a discourse on hot air balloons. I am not sure where he learned about them, but he is extremely interested in taking a ride in one. He said that if we got a hot air balloon, he and Daddy and Abigail could ride in it while I drive the truck. He also said that he would blow it up for the ride. He couldn’t understand why we laughed when he informed us of this plan. I will say, though, he could probably put enough hot air in it to get it off the ground! We are trying to teach him proper grammar as it comes up in conversation, but it doesn’t seem to be working. I know it is confusing for him at times. The other day, he was telling a story about a bird and said that it “flied” through the woods. “Flew,” I corrected. “Yes,” he continued. “The bird was flew-ming through the woods.” Whatever.

Abigail has learned the first line of “Happy Birthday” and will sing it several dozen times in a row before getting distracted. She has also taken to repeating the last two or three words of each sentence she hears. We were in the store the other day, and I had to get her a new pair of shoes. As I stood, looking at the meager selection, she looked up and saw a pair of shiny, purple shoes. “Ohhhh!” she breathed. “Shoes! I like shoes!” It was so funny I had to laugh. Paul groaned when I told him. I know he envisions our trailer looking like a shoe outlet as she gets older. He will get used to the idea eventually. He can at least be thankful that she doesn’t know that for every pair of shoes there is a purse and earrings to match!

Rosedale

Ministry Update

It is always a blessing to be here at Rosedale Baptist Church. The meeting has gone well, though we have not seen anyone saved. I have been preaching three times a day since Sunday – what a blessing! The school meetings are going well, too. There was a girl today that came to one of the staff members in tears, wanting to get right with God. The school has a history of wickedness and this girl wanted to take a stand against it. Praise the Lord for what He is doing in the school. God has done a great work in the hearts of the church people from the pastor on down. Please pray for the close of the meeting tonight.

Family Update

The family is doing fine, although Abigail had a bout with the stomach flu or something twice in the past few days. She seems to be recovered now, and I am almost caught up on all the resulting laundry! Josiah is doing great, and has even been able to play outside with no ill results. He really has enjoyed the nice weather. There is a playground just outside our trailer at the RV park where we are staying this week, and the kids have had a great time just running in the fresh air. It has been especially nice for me, too because I can look out the door or the window and see what they are doing while being able to accomplish my housework at the same time.

We have had several unexpected blessings this week. One of the ladies in the church approached me and told me that she was a Mary Kay dealer (for those of you who are clueless, she sells makeup) and that if I needed anything, she would give it to me. It just so happened that I was out of several things, and the Lord provided them through this lady! Another blessing was that Paul needed some new boots. The ones he had were nearly three years old and beginning to hurt his feet, just because they were wearing so badly. I went online (another blessing is that this RV park had wireless internet access) and found a boot store less than two miles away. We drove over, and, lo and behold, they were having an Easter sale. After we found the boots he needed, we went to the counter to pay. At the counter was a wheel (sort of like the Wheel of Fortune game) with percentages marked in each slot – 10,20, & 30% off of each purchase. I spun the wheel and got a “free spin.” I spun again, and received another “free spin.” By this time, the suspense was killing me. The next spin landed on the 30% off space! We cheered and ran around the store, screaming, “We won! We won!” Just kidding! Anyway, we were excited, and it was such a blessing to get nearly a third off the price of his boots! The store manager wasn’t nearly as pleased as we were, but Paul invited him to the meeting that night. It is so neat to see the things that the Lord does for us on a daily basis. Great is His faithfulness!

Please be in prayer for my family. There is a very crucial decision that must be made in the next 24 hours, and we are praying that the right decision will be made by the individual involved. I am not at liberty to say what it is, but it is a very serious issue with long-lasting consequences, and much wisdom is needed.

Scottsville

Ministry Update

We had a good meeting at Calvary Baptist Church in Scottsville, Virginia, with Pastor David Morris. It was a tremendous blessing to see the growth in the lives of the people during the week. Today we head to Winchester, Virginia for a four-day meeting with Pastor David Martin. It is a blessing to have less than three hours drive between meetings.

Please pray for me: I am having problems with a disc in my back. I am not sure if the technical term is herniated, slipped, or whatever. Please pray for the inflammation to go down so that I can get back to doing my normal activities.

Family Update

We have had a pretty good week. Josiah has been relatively free of breathing problems, which is an answer to prayer. Please keep praying for him during this season. He has had a great time playing with Zachary and Collin Williams this week. He even spent the night with Zachary one night, which was a first for him. As you can imagine, I am very careful about where he goes alone, mainly for health reasons. He had such a wonderful time! Josiah has discovered the gift of compliments. He says to me at almost every meal, “Mama, you are a good cooker!” Many times when we are getting ready for church, he will say, “Mama, you look pretty,” or “Mama, you smell pretty.” The other day, he was singing in the truck, and had just finished singing “Jesus Loves the Little Ones Like You, You, You”. Then he said, “Mama, I sang that for you because you are so short!” This comes from someone who only reaches my waist – or where it used to be. The other morning, he said, “Mama, your tummy is really big. Did you eat too many grits?” Paul even had the audacity to laugh. No respect.

Abigail has been increasing her vocabulary at an amazing rate. She can really communicate surprisingly well. She had a bout with the stomach flu or something this week, and woke up in the middle of the night crying. We had to bathe her and throw her bedding in the wash at 2:30 am. She seems to have recovered, and we hope that no one else comes down with it. The rest of us have already had it this year!

Pray for Paul and a quick recovery for his back. It is hard for him to wash the dishes and do the vacuuming now. Ha! (No harder than it was before, I guess!)

Sarah

Wegos, Yugos, and Theygos

Ministry Update

We had a good close to the meeting last night, and, although there were no salvation decisions, the pastor and his wife were really encouraged. I don't know if I have ever preached a revival meeting for a pastor who seemed so discouraged. The meeting was, according to their testimony, a shot in the arm for their family and for the church. We praise the Lord for what He did.

Family Update

We are back in NC - for about 24 hours, maybe less. We head out for Scottsville, VA tomorrow as soon as I get back from my prenatal checkup. I have to do the 28-week glucose test - yeah. Maybe I should have put that in capitals.

The trip back was uneventful except for wiping out a stop sign in Greenville. It only scraped the trailer, so we rolled happily along. The angry motorists whose lane we were blocking blew the horn violently while we tried to turn a corner designed for a Yugo. Thankfully, one older man let us in, and we escaped with minimal damage to both the trailer and our egos. Always an adventure.

By the way, the ants are GONE! Hooray! We killed them with ant spray, hair spray, chili powder, and the vacuum cleaner. We are now ant free once again - except for the lone rangers that have strayed to other areas of the trailer. They won't last long. I wonder of those ants have a southern drawl. Maybe they have relatives in the area that they have never met. They are certainly well-traveled now. "Ant Matilda, I traveled 600 miles just to see you! I think I'll be staying for a while, though!" Ha!

Sarah

Ants Go Marching

Ministry Update

The Lord is giving us a good meeting here in Mobile. It is the kind of meeting in which we are primarily here to encourage the pastor and the church. This morning, I was able to preach in a pastor’s fellowship where the Lord gave real liberty. There is a possibility that we may be back in this area to have a meeting later this year. I am looking forward to that. We praise the Lord for what He has done so far this meeting and we look forward to what He will do in the future.

Family Update

Well, we have been enjoying the beautiful weather here in AL, but I am ready to leave. Why? Let me explain it this way. From time to time, in our travels, we happen upon certain phenomena of nature that make us wish that we were elsewhere. For instance, it could be the cold, snowy weather of the Northern states, the chronic mosquitoes of Minnesota and Michigan, or as in this case, the hordes of tiny “sugar ants” that have invaded our trailer this week. We came home after eating dinner at a church member’s home on Monday, and Paul announced that we had visitors – ants. I was busy ironing clothes for the service, and so was not able to investigate what he called “hundreds of ants” that were now in the trailer. If the truth must be known, I thought he was “pastorally speaking,” and that there were some ants, but not “hundreds.”

After the service, when I was able to inspect the invading swarms, I came to realize that he had indeed been telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Much to my dismay, there was a steady stream of tiny insects pouring into MY HOUSE! Paul went out to spray around the trailer, but since we weren’t really sure where they were coming in, it was a less than easy task. As for the masses that were already in the trailer, they died a less than noble death in the vacuum sweeper. It really makes no difference how long I sweep, or how many I destroy – they just keep coming. The nasty little bugs have found the way to the pantry, and managed to get inside this morning while we were at the preacher’s fellowship. I suctioned up as many as I could, and sent Paul to buy ant traps. We have been reminded of the story “Leiningen Versus the Ants”, although, if Paul burns down the trailer to kill the ants, I will have somewhat to say to him.

Josiah put our faith to shame this morning as he prayed over his breakfast. After thanking God for his food, he prayed, “And please help the ants to all go back to the dirt so they won’t be in the trailer any more and bite us and crawl all over the carpet and eat our food.” His actual prayer was longer than this, but the rest of it only God could understand.

Last night was another unusual experience. After the service, I went back to the nursery to return one of the toys the children had carted out to the auditorium. As I passed the bathroom off the nursery, I heard the toilet running. Being the conscientious person that I am, I stepped into the dark bathroom to jiggle the handle. When my sandaled foot landed in a puddle of water, I let out a surprised yelp. I suppose stepping into a puddle unexpectedly is always a bit alarming, but my level of consternation rises when I step into a bathroom puddle, if you know what I mean. At my cry, Paul came running to see what was the matter, and quickly commandeered the situation by jumping into the bathtub and turning off the water valve underneath the toilet. Then he and the pastor took turns plunging - rather violently, I thought – while the pastor’s wife and I stood back and watched. Paul was still standing in the tub, and the pastor was standing in the puddle, which made for a very amusing sight. I wish I had thought to bring my camera! We mopped up about three inches of water, and called it a night. The pastor and his wife were so thankful that the problem had been found before the fellowship this morning, or else the whole nursery and classroom area would have been flooded. It was really pouring out of there, I’m here to tell you. Anyway, we are hoping for a less eventful night this evening, as far as the normal aspects of life.

The services have gotten better each day, and we are praying for a great time tonight. Please continue to pray for God’s blessing upon this meeting, and that we will see souls saved and lives changed for eternity. And pray that we can get rid of the ants!

Sweet Alabama

Ministry Update

The meeting with Brother Nate Clark in Richmond, VA closed on Wednesday and we actually got to be home on Thursday afternoon. That was short-lived, however – we were in Greenville, SC by Thursday evening. After spending Friday morning with my parents, we left and spent the night in Conyers, GA at Gethsemane Baptist Church. From there it was all the way to Mobile, AL today. We are to be here through Wednesday night in a revival meeting.

Family Update

We are thankful to be in warm weather again. The trees and flowers are all in bloom here, which makes it so beautiful! Josiah and Abigail have had runny noses since we have been in the blooming areas, a fact that causes me to think that she might have allergies to the pollens as well. Please pray especially for Josiah during the next few weeks. The past two years he has been in the hospital for several days around the second week of April because of all the pollen. We are hoping and praying that his daily medication will make a difference this year, and that we will not have to endure another hospital ordeal.

The inevitable has happened – Dolly was left behind in a restaurant the other day. For those of you who do not know, Dolly is Abigail’s constant companion. She sleeps with her, drags her around the yard, takes her to church, etc. So, it was not until we had driven several miles before I realized that Dolly was gone. Thankfully, we were only a few miles from where we left her, so it took about 30 minutes total time to retrieve the doll. We now have a new rule – Dolly is not allowed to go to restaurants anymore. If we had been much farther down the road, it would have been a sad separation.

Short Pump

Ministry Update

The Lord is giving us a good meeting here in Short Pump, VA with Pastor Nate Clark. We broke an attendance record Sunday night with 41 in the service and then again last night with 47. We have yet to see anyone trust Christ as Savior, although two raised the hand last night and requested prayer. One, in particular seemed to be under conviction. It seems that things are beginning to click for the core members of the church. They are beginning to realize that evangelism is their responsibility. It has “dawned on them” that they have all the equipment and opportunity they need to bring their friends and co-workers to Christ. Bro. Nate is very encouraged as he sees the growth in the lives of his people. I am still praying for some to be saved and we have two more nights in which to see that happen. Thank you for your prayers.

Family Update

After driving 320 miles to this meeting, Paul announced that he felt as if we had just gotten started, even though we were already at our destination. Obviously, he was the only one with these feelings. I recommended some intense counseling. It was a blessing to be able to arrive in only six hours. Lately, it has taken several days to get to the next scheduled meeting, and many more hours in the truck each day. It has been good to visit with the Clark family, as well as with Beau and Nicole Williams, who came to the services last night, and plan to be there again this evening. Zachary and Collin spent the night with their grandparents, enabling them to play all day long with Josiah. It has been a real zoo. Most of the morning was spent running around in circles chasing one another, with Abigail tagging along behind, crying, “Wait for me!” It has been a lot of fun for Josiah to spend time with his friends.

The Day We Treed the Trailer

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a wonderful time in Houston. The week of March 5-10 I was able to preach four times, despite not having a regular revival meeting. Wednesday night with Pastor Mark Thrift was a tremendous service, but Friday night was even better. Friday was a youth rally with about 130 teenagers present from as much as an hour's drive away. After a time of Bible quizzing, I preached and 5 trusted Christ as Savior. It was a wonderful end to our time in Houston.

From Houston, we went to Heber Springs, AR to be with Pastor Mark Bishop. (For the Emmanuel people, Mark's wife is the Tesseneer's younger daughter.) God gave us not only wonderful services there, but also a friendship with Bro. Mark and his family. After getting a late start on Monday morning, we drove straight through, arriving in NC at 3:00 Tuesday morning.

Family Update

I am glad to be home - and in one piece at that! Life in a travel trailer is such an adventure! Paul has already mentioned that we were in AR on Sunday. It was there that we "treed the trailer." We were to stay at a Christian campground not far from the church, and we were escorted there by the pastor's wife after dinner Saturday evening. The RV hookups they had there were more than enough for what we needed, as far as power and water, but space was another problem. The hookup was in a patch of woods next to a large gymnasium, and situated in such a way that we needed to do a u-turn to get into it. Paul pulled up to it on one side, but decided he couldn't make the turn that way, and backed out again to give it a try on the other side. While he weaseled in between the trees, I was doing my part and waving my arms this way and that to direct him. He wasn't able to swing wide enough with the trailer because of the multitude of trees, so we soon realized that no matter how we worked it, we could not fit into the spot. No problem - we can just back out. NOT! When he backed up, in order to avoid hitting the building and the trees right next to the truck, the angle was wrong, and we got closer and closer to the trees next to the trailer. We went back and forth trying to get farther away from the trees, but we were still all over them. Finally, when we were safely away from the trunks of the nearest trees (I say safely, but this means about twelve inches), I just waved my arms for him to keep backing up. The horrible SCREECH of the tree branches against the side of the trailer combined with the sound of snapping branches was enough to send the pastor's wife over the edge. She sent a text message to her husband, who was out on a visit, that said something like this: "Come now! Nightmare!" I must say that she expressed my sentiments very aptly. It took us about an hour to get out of that spot, and I am sure that I have a few more white hairs because of the experience. The pastor arrived shortly after we extricated ourselves from the trees, and he led us to a makeshift parking place far from the trees, which was just fine with all of us! The ground was very unlevel there, so we stacked up two 2x8's and then our leveling blocks on top of those. We were teetering upon a tower-of-Pisa-like structure that would have struck fear into the heart of any architect or insurance adjuster. Paul chocked it really well to prevent us from rolling down the hill, an event which would have capped a wonderful evening, and we fell gratefully into bed, being careful not to shift our weight too suddenly, lest we topple the trailer.

We did have a great day of services, and enjoyed getting to know the Bishops better. That evening, a fierce storm blew up, and we lay in our beds wondering how fast the trailer could travel without the truck, and if, by leaning from side to side, we could steer it in the event that the predicted tornado did materialize. As the rain and hail beat down upon the trailer, we were glad to be parked on top of the hill - since our pontoon floats had not yet been installed. Thankfully, since our awning had already been blown off (see previous updates), we didn't have to worry about losing it. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Monday morning, we headed out as fast as we could for NC. Unusually, Paul drove through the night, getting us back at 3 AM Tuesday morning. I guess he didn't want to risk anything else happening. We drove through the mountains in torrential darkness and pouring rain. The visibility was terrible, especially for me, since even when I wasn't sleeping, I had my eyes closed. We were in a traffic jam caused by an accident involving two tractor trailers and two cars, and when that finally cleared up, we flew down the road once again. Another time, we came around the corner, and a car had hydroplaned on the road, and come to rest facing oncoming traffic. After that, my eyes were stuck open from fright. We are so thankful that the Lord gave us safety during that long night.

When we arrived back at our home church, we found the bus parked where we usually park the trailer, and all the locks on the building changed. We wondered if it was a subtle hint of some kind. We are so glad to be back in town,even for just a few days. I had my checkup this morning, and for those of you still wondering, our next little girl is due June 17. Everything seems to be fine, and we are grateful for that. When the doctor spoke to me at my appointment, he saw that I had been traveling a lot since I last was there. He asked me if I was a truck driver. I almost fell off the table laughing. He now thinks I have escaped from an insane asylum. Just kidding. Please continue to pray that things will go smoothly during this pregnancy.

Sarah

Whom the Lord Loveth

There were a couple of instances during our last two week meeting that were insightful to me. As I reflected this morning, I realized that I did not share them with you who pray for us so regularly.

The first Sunday of the meeting, one of the men in the church brought his younger brother who, along with his girlfriend, was visiting from east Texas. The young man had grown up in a Christian home and knew what was right and wrong. He really appreciated my preaching and seemed to enjoy the straightforwardness of it. His girlfriend was quite the opposite, letting me know by her response to the preaching that she did not appreciate what I was saying. While the man in the church offered to put up the unmarried couple for the night, they decided to leave that night. "I have things to do" was the answer the younger brother gave. That night they did not take the direct route home, but headed west out of the way, intending to stop at a motel for the night. While at his older brother's house, the young man was not able to be in the same room with his girlfriend. Now at the motel, their wicked intentions could materialize. Before they reached the motel, however, their car hit a patch of black ice and, when it finally stopped rolling, was totalled. By the grace of God, neither of the young people were hurt, but it would be hard to prove that God was not sending them a message. The younger brother knew that he was saved, but he had also heard enough preaching that day to remind him that what he was about to do was wrong. He has requested the entire meeting on CD and his brother has purchased it for him.

Another similar story occurred in the second week. Another single man came to services on Wednesday of the second week. He said that he was unsure of his salvation and we sat down after the service and talked for a long time. At the end of the conversation, I thought that he was saved, because it seemed that the Lord was chastening him for wickedness after his conversion experience. He told me that he wanted to get right. I responded that a lot of people say that nowadays, but few really follow through. I gave him some things that he should do, reminding him, "If you are serious about doing what God wants you to do, you will be here every night this week." He assured me that he would, and, sure enough, there he was the next night. I asked him if he had read his Bible that morning and he told me that he had not. These were his words: "I spent the night at my girlfriend's house. I was there fornicating. So I didn't have the chance to read my Bible because it was at home." Friday night he was nowhere to be found. I was told later what happened. While the church people were fellowshipping after the service, this man had been drinking with a buddy of his whose girlfriend had just broken up with him. On the way home from the bar, he rolled his mother's Chevy Avalanche, landing in the front lawn of a Baptist church. Shortly after his conversion, he had gone down and bought some marijuana intending to bring it home and smoke it. On the way home, he was involved in an accident that should have taken his life. God spared his life, but his leg was so badly broken that it may not ever heal. The doctors tried to put it back together, but the screws did not hold and it came apart again. It seems that every time this young man tries to go back to his worldly habits, God does something else to get his attention.

It all serves as punctuation of the Scripture: "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

Sunday Blessings

We had a wonderful yesterday with Pastor Scott Townley of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Houston.  He baptized three people in the morning service and there were a lot of visitors there to see the baptism.  Three of the visitors were saved.  The lady who was baptized had been praying that her brother-in-law would be saved.  He walked the aisle Sunday morning and trusted Christ along with one of his friends.  A young adult lady also trusted Christ.  We had a wonderful service last night as well.

We will be in Houston all week long, ended our time here by preaching in Parkwood Baptist Church at a Friday night youth rally.  Then it will be off to Heber Springs AR.  Thank you so much for your prayers: we have seen God do some great things in recent days.

Paul

Don’t be Late

Ministry Update

We had such an exciting close to this meeting last night! The meeting was destined from the beginning to be a meeting of firsts for my ministry. It was my first two week meeting, though it had been originally planned as just one week. Last night, I preached a message about Levi from Mark 2:14, finishing not long after 8:00. At 8, several more visitors began pouring in as I was preaching. When my message was done, I began to pray about what to do. It was quickly obvious to me, the pastor, and the men of the church that I needed to preach another message right then. I had been struggling between two messages, unsure of which one the Lord wanted me to preach that night. In the end, I preached them both. As far as we know, the visitors were late because of work reasons, but the Spirit of God seemed to make it plain that I needed to preach a second time in that service. It seemed that it was during the second message that many broke. At the invitation, the altar was flooded with people broken over their sin and getting right with God. One came and received assurance of her salvation after her raising her hand for prayer. After a lengthy invitation and testimony service, we finally dismissed the meeting to the fellowship hall for yet another dessert fellowship. The service had lasted 2 ½ hours. There were some in the church that wanted to go another week.

While next week is a week off, it will still afford its opportunities. I am to preach for Bro. Scott Townley in Lighthouse Baptist Church all day tomorrow, and on Friday I am to preach a youth rally for Bro. Mark Thrift in Humble, TX. We thank all of you for your prayers and we invite you to rejoice with us in the blessing of God upon this last meeting.

Family Update

We had a great close to our meeting last night. It was so exciting to see the Lord working in hearts and to see specific answers to prayer! The Spirit of God was touching hearts and Christians were broken over their sin. We closed the meeting, but the Lord has just begun a tremendous work of revival in this church. What a blessing! As exciting as it has been, I must say that I am thoroughly worn out, and ready for a few days of rest! Thanks to all of you who have prayed for this meeting – it truly has been great!

Yesterday, Paul and I had the rare opportunity to go on a date together. The pastor’s wife kept the children and we took off for the afternoon. We ate lunch together and went to the mall, not really to shop, but just to spend time together. After that, we stopped at a piano store. You can imagine the time we had there, drooling all over the beautiful instruments. We played for a while on two Yamaha grands that were side by side, and, just out of curiosity, asked the salesman how much they cost. The one I was playing was in the neighborhood of $40,000, and the one Paul was on was around $50,000! After we left, we laughed about the fact that one of the pianos was worth more than our truck, and the other was worth more than our trailer! I don’t know if that kind of money has ever sounded so good before! Ha! It certainly was fun to “exercise” our talents on such fine instruments!

I have done just a bit of scrapbooking this week, and hopefully, I will get more done next week since we don’t have services every night. Today, I am catching up on laundry and housework, and just letting the kids run outside. They are having a great time out in the clear sunshine and warm weather. I am not sure if I am looking forward to going back to the cold areas of the country – I am getting used to this “summer weather.” Seriously, we do look forward to getting back to NC and seeing all of our church family and friends.

We will be here in Houston until Friday, when Paul will be preaching a youth rally, and then we will head to Heber Springs, AR for Sunday services. After that, we will be on our way to King’s Mountain, NC! Please pray that the Lord will give us safety on the roads, and economy of time while traveling.

Sarah

For three weeks solid, we have been in meetings where we ate with the pastor and his family every day for at least two meals each day. Suffice it to say, that after this eating schedule, plus a plethora of dessert fellowships after the services, we have become severe victims of Southern hospitality. Please be careful about complimenting us when we return. For example, if one of you says, “My, the Lord has really blessed you and the family,” you might get a glare in return: your comment might be construed as a fat joke. There have been times during the past three weeks that we have longingly looked toward Ethiopia as a possible mission trip opportunity, but we don’t have quite enough frequent flyer miles to get there economically. We are considering the possibility of rowing across the Atlantic in order to lose some of the weight that we have gained. If any of you have any rafts that you could donate for the cause, please let us know. In spite of our troubles, I have vetoed the option of girdles. I am afraid that we just could not preach or sing in them – can’t breathe. While Sarah is considering the options of a duct tape mouthpiece, I personally have begun to implement an exercise program that shakes the trailer until the family is seasick and makes the Green Berets look like Cub Scouts. Sarah’s plan for the family’s sustenance calls for nothing that cannot be picked up with chopsticks this week. Next week, we will eat nothing larger than what will fit through a coffee stir stick. A report on the results of this program will be forthcoming.

Sarah has done a great work this week. In all, she has done 12 specials (vocal solos) and 14 offertories in two weeks time.

Paul

Friday service

God worked in a wonderful way in tonight's service. A girl who had been under conviction for months finally broke tonight and trusted Christ as Savior. Sarah wrote about her specifically in our last update. We are excited about the prospect of continuing on next week. One of the greatest blessings was to see that the people seemed unanimously in favor of continuing the meeting. They told of many lost people that they had tried to get to come, only to hear excuses or schedule conflicts. Now, we pray, they will be able to get them out. There are still things that have to be done in the hearts of God's people as well. We are so grateful to all of you that have prayed and continue to pray for our meetings.

Paul

Meeting Extended

Ministry Update

Here in Tomball, the Lord has led us to extend the meeting another week. We will take tomorrow off and then go at it again on Sunday going all the way through Friday. We have seen some people under conviction this week but we have not yet been able to see them break. We have seen mercy drops, but we plead for the showers. Please be in special prayer for the rest of the meeting. It will stretch me personally to the limit and beyond -- but that is where God loves to have us. Paul said, "When I am weak, then am I strong." I was unable to sleep last night because of an upset stomach that lingers until now. Please pray that God would give me strength. I feel as if I could lose my meal at any minute -- a feeling that has lasted unabated for the last 18 hours.

Thank you to those of you who prayed that the next Sundays would be filled. God has supplied in a wonderful way. As of right now, I am preaching somewhere every Sunday from now until April 16. I am praying that God would fill that Sunday as well. There is something in the soul of an evangelist that causes him to have to preach. God is opening doors and providing for that need for me. Please continue to pray about the fall as there are a lot of openings in the fall as of right now. God knows and He will provide the open doors.

Family Update

Oh, what to say! The weather has been very nice the last few days, up in the 70’s and sunny. Today was a bit cooler, but we haven’t needed to run the heat, even at night. The kids enjoy being outdoors.

It is really exciting to have the meeting extended, although I am scrambling for special music, since I have already done most of what I have in my “repertoire”. I guess we will have to pull out all the stops and do something unusual. Maybe I will gargle peanut butter one night. Josiah sang this past week, but got the giggles while he was up there on the platform, as well as forgot the words to his song. Paul said he was laughing at me mouthing the words on the front row, but I really don’t think I look that funny. I later found out there was a small boy on the back row making faces. Whatever the case, I hope it doesn’t happen again.

Since the weather has been so nice, I have been leaving the door of the trailer open, with just the screen door shut. However, Abigail has learned how to open the screen door and has escaped several times. Yesterday, we were all taking a brief nap before the service, and I heard the screen door bang. I first thought that it hadn’t been latched and the wind caught it and blew it shut. But when I got up to investigate, I found that Abigail had climbed from her bed, and quietly gone outside in her socks. It took me a while to locate her, because she is so fast. I am going to have to keep an eye on her all the time.

Paul has initiated Josiah into the World War II strategy games he plays. Axis and Allies is a board game with a bazillion little tanks, soldiers, planes, boats, and artillery pieces. The object of the game is to re-create the battles and take over the world. Josiah has no idea how to play, but that doesn’t keep him from setting up the game pieces and playing “good guys and bad guys.” He is so enthralled with the game that he will sit and play by himself for hours upon end. My only complaint is that he constantly talks about the game. When he gets up in the morning, he asks if he can play it. When he goes to bed, he asks if he can play it the next day. It is a really handy babysitter! Yesterday, he played all afternoon, very contentedly. That is, until he got so busy playing that he failed to realize how close he was to the edge of the chair. There was a tremendous crash, and then weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It only took about thirty minutes for him to get over the fall, and we are glad that there was no permanent damage.

Abigail finds Winnie-the-Pooh more her style. Her newest words are “Innie da Booh, Piddet, Tiddah, Ow, and Eeh-yo.” She hasn’t even attempted Christopher Robin. Probably too many syllables. She now knows how to tell me that she got hurt. “I bong head,” is a sentence we hear quite often these days. “Mouf” is another one, usually indicating that she bit her tongue while eating. “Pease” is now a regular part of her vocabulary, and usually accompanies words like “eat, drink, and more.” When I guess correctly what I think she said on uncertain “words,” she nods her head violently, her hair flopping about in a most comical manner. She certainly lives up to her name (gail is Hebrew for joy).

Please continue to pray that the Lord would work in hearts tonight and in the coming week. There have been many attacks on the meeting, mostly in the form of physical problems. We know He wants to do a great work in this church, but we are facing great opposition as well. Last Sunday, there was a teenage couple visiting family and they attended the services. The girl voiced some decided opinions about what she thought of the messages. They left that evening, and on the way home, strangely, they hit a patch of black ice and totaled the car they were driving. Another man, very faithful in the church, has been witnessing to a Lebanese waiter, but on the night he was to come, this man was admitted to the hospital with a painful mass on his adrenal gland, and was unable to attend the service or bring the unsaved waiter. This same man was admitted to the hospital last time we were here, and ended up having open heart surgery that same week. One teenage young man was recently saved, but his mother will not allow him to attend the services because “church is full of hypocrites.” A member of the church has been bringing him the tapes of the services, to which he has eagerly listened. Another young teenage girl has admitted that she is not saved, but refuses to come and get it settled. As you see, there are many things about which to pray, most of all for the power of God to be present in every service. We hope to have some wonderful answers to prayer to report at the end of this meeting.

Sarah