Answered Prayer

As regular readers will remember, we have been mentioning our trailer and the issues that we have been facing regarding it for a long time.  There was a bent frame that caused a large number of issues throughout the last five months of 2018 with the final result that we traveled from December of 2018 to this present time completely without our trailer.  You will remember that extended warranty companies refused to honor their commitments, the manufacturer would not stand behind their work, and the insurance company was involved.  Up until recently, there seemed to be no way of getting back into our trailer until we could raise the money to get a costly repair completed.

In addition to the funding of the repair, there was also the issue of who would do the work.  Two different repair shops told us that the repair was so delicate that it must be taken to the manufacturer of the frame and have them do the work.  This means an extra trip to northern Indiana to where their shop is located.

Because of an incident a year ago today on I-10 just east of El Paso, Texas, I decided to approach the insurance company about possibly paying for the repair.  About a week and half ago, after what seemed an agonizingly long time of evaluation, they finally approved the repair.  They have even sent me a check to pay for the estimated amount.  The repair has been scheduled in northern Indiana for July 29.  The money is already in the bank to pay for the estimated amount.

There are a couple of prayer requests regarding the trailer still.  First of all, the estimate that I was given and that was in turn passed on to the insurance company, was based upon nothing more than photos provided to the manufacturer.  They have emphasized to me more than once that the cost of the repair could be more than their original estimate.  Please pray that everything goes smoothly in case they need more for the repair.  The second prayer request regards the timing of the repair.  Meetings get going again in late August and we have to take Josiah to college around the same time.  The trailer being completed in a timely manner is very important.

Right now, we are in camp season.  I am typing this from Gila Christian Ranch, a camp outside of Silver City, New Mexico.  My three younger children are with me, while Josiah and Sarah remain in Mississippi.  Josiah is working to earn money for college, being employed by a construction company whose owner is a member of our church.  Sarah is getting caught up on all kinds of things that she could not do very well with a house full of noise.

Thank you so much for all your prayers regarding our trailer and our ministry.  We are very grateful for all that God has done in our behalf, and we look forward to reporting on more victories in the near future.

Life Changes

May has been a different kind of schedule for the Crow family.  Our last meeting of the spring round of revivals was late in April, after which headed home to prepare for our first home school graduation.  The preparation left us more frayed and frazzled than any of the scheduled revival meetings that we have ever been a part of.  Both sets of grandparents came in from out of town and stayed for at least a week.

Josiah’s graduation ceremony itself was a simple one held in a church two blocks from our home in Olive Branch, Mississippi.  He gave a brief address to those who attended, and Paul gave the charge to the graduate.  Special music filled out the rest of the schedule, along with a brief reminisce about home schooling on the road.  The entire service lasted about 30 minutes.

Josiah plans to attend Ambassador Baptist College in the fall to pursue the Lord’s leading in his life.  He is working for a construction worker in our church this summer to earn money for college.  Please pray for him and for the family as we continue to undergo some great times of transition.

In 2017, a contractor that Paul had hired to put a roof on our house assured us that he could install siding as well.  Because of his testimony of salvation and his good standing in a church in our area, Paul hired him, but was unable to check on his work because of our travel schedule.  He finished the roof—albeit not properly—began the siding, and then walked away without finishing.  After calling around, I discovered another man who claimed he knew how to do vinyl siding.  His crew did some more work incorrectly and then walked off without finishing as well.

Since that time, Paul has wanted to fix things himself but was missing one important tool: a metal brake.  This device enables a person to neatly bend aluminum to trim the windows of the house prior to installing the siding.  Since both contractors failed to do the trim properly, water was soaking the wood trim around the windows.  When Paul’s parents came from Indiana for the graduation, they brought their metal brake with them and left it in Mississippi so that the job could be completed.  In this time without meetings, Paul has been working every day taking siding off the house, trimming the windows properly, and then replacing the siding.  The progress is slow, but things are moving along.

Many have continued to wonder about our trailer.  After being denied by the warranty company and the manufacturer, we have begun to probe the possibility of turning the issue over to the insurance company.  You may remember that we had a bearing fail in West Texas last year.  It is possible that damage was done at that time when we had to drive 20 miles on three wheels.  The manufacturer of the failed I-beam can repair the beam at a cost of nearly $6,000.  My prayer is that the insurance company will take care of the problem.  We need the Lord’s will, obviously.  Would you pray with us about this matter?  If the insurance company takes care of the repair, we could be back in our trailer by the time the meetings begin again in the fall.

Speaking of fall, there are still a good many openings in the fall.  We would request prayer for that as well.

So much has changed so far this year.  Doubtless, more changes are on the horizon.  In this world of change, we are confident that our unchanging God will continue to stand beside as He has always done.  As always, thank you for your prayers.

Faint, Yet Pursuing

This past month has been a busy month of meetings.  Since our last update, we have had a meeting every week.  Our travels have taken us up the East coast and out to Michigan where I sit now.  God has done some great things in churches in South Carolina, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

In Pennsylvania, I was preaching about a man in the Bible who did right even when his parents did not.  The night after I preached to the adults about his remarkable story, a girl was saved in the children's meeting with just such a story.  It was a blessing to hear those who regularly worked with the children tell the story of her background and how she had come to understand the Gospel and trust Christ as Savior.

This week, in Michigan, we are involved in the first meeting of a new church merger between two other independent Baptist churches.  One church just left the American Baptist Convention not long ago to become independent while the other church lost their pastor to illness.  Their first Sunday as Victory Baptist Church was the week before Easter, and on Easter Sunday, they began their first ever revival meeting.  It was great to see God working yesterday, and we look forward to what He will do in the future.

Many continue to ask about our trailer situation.  There is nothing new to report regarding the situation.  Part of the reason is that we have been so busy in meetings that I have not been able to do much regarding it.  The trailer sits in Mississippi while we are all over the country.  Taking pictures, studying documents, measuring parts--all are impossible while we are on the road.  When we return, I plan to do some work to try to get things done on it.

Josiah is graduating from high school in a couple of weeks.  All of his course work is done, and we are just waiting to get home so that we can put together a ceremony for him.  He is planning to attend Ambassador Baptist College in the fall to study for the ministry.  Please pray for him as he seeks the Lord's leading in his life.  Pray also for his mother who will be losing her firstborn to college.

After a couple of weeks at home, we will start the round of camps in different places.  Camps alone will take the family from New Mexico to New Hampshire this year.

Finally, please pray for the family to get some rest in the next few weeks that we are home.  Jesus told His disciples at one point to come apart into a desert place and rest awhile.  That is the greatest need that our family has right now.  Some have nagging illnesses that have plagued them for as many as five weeks while we have been on the road.  All are weary and in need of a break.  Please pray that, as God has used the times of ministry to affect the lives of people, so He will use the time of rest to refresh us and renew us so that we can hit the road once again in the fall.

Change

Since last month's writing, we have changed ends, of the country, that is.  We are now on the east coast, having driven the distance to get here.  The little 5x8 cargo trailer that keeps our luggage out of the elements has been from California to the Carolinas, and God has seen to our safety the entire way.

The truck had to have some routine 200,000-mile maintenance done to it while we were in Georgia, but the mechanic that did the work for me charged me less than half of what another shop was going to charge me.  He replaced the upper and lower ball joints on both sides of the front end.  The truck is running very well now, much to my relief.

Our meetings have been the highlight of the last month.  Night after night, week after week, we are able to see God work in hearts as a result of the preaching.  Below is an excerpt from a note that I received in the past month:

"This week has been life-changing.  All of your messages have been exactly what I needed...Over the 16 years of being saved there have been only a few camp meetings/revivals that have had a similar effect as this week has.  July 2010, called to preach, October 2012 called to ministry/pastorate, and March 2019 sell out to God.  Give Him all."

In the same meeting, another lady who had been struggling with assurance was able to get help from the Word of God after she and her husband met with me privately after one of the services.  What a joy to be able to serve God!

These kinds of things make everything worth while as the fatigue begins to mount from being in a service night after night.  I am thankful for the working of God in hearts and hungry to see more of it in the days to come.

Our trailer situation has not changed.  It still sits at home while we are on the road, and I still wonder to myself what to do about it.  There is a possibility of getting it fixed by a man in our church who has worked on vehicles of all kinds for many years.  At this point, I don't even know what I want regarding the trailer.  It would be wonderful to be in it again, but I have given to whole thing over to the Lord.  He knows what it best, and I am trusting Him to guide my steps in this regard.

Please pray for the family.  The weeks of being in different beds in different places and being in services every night has begun to wear on us physically.  Sarah, in particular, has been ill for a long time.  A lingering cough and fever plagued her this week.  So acute was the cough that she had to leave Sunday school this morning and go to the store and get something for it.  The children are so weary that my teenagers have begun taking Sunday afternoon naps!

We are also in need of wisdom as we move forward regarding a missions trip this year.  A door to return to the Philippines has opened again, but there are issues with Josiah's graduation and the timing of our leaving for Asia.  Other details are important as well, such as Josiah getting a job to pay for his coming college bill.

In short, this is a time of great change in our lives as we have known them over the past years.  How grateful we are, not only that God knows the future, but also that we have many who regularly pray for us as we serve Him.

End of the Trailer

Ever since 2003, my family and I have lived in a fifth wheel travel trailer as we have ministered in evangelism.  Although we have owned a house for over eight years, home was usually wherever we parked our trailer.  Through those years, we have had three different trailers that we owned and another that we borrowed.  Our most recent trailer was purchased in 2015.

As many of you know, we had problems with the unit throughout 2018.  At the end of the year, we were advised to trade the unit in.  The root of the problem was a i-beam that was bent, lost its camber, in technical terms.  Beginning in December, we began the process of trying to get warranty companies and the original manufacturers to stand behind their product.  Yesterday, I received my final answer.  No one will stand behind the defective i-beam.  That means that we now have a trailer that would make a great trailer to live in, but will not stand up to the travel that we do.

We will continue to travel in evangelism, just no longer in a trailer.  Wherever churches put us is where we will stay.  In the mean time, we need to sell our trailer to someone who can use it for its intended purpose: a home that only occasionally needs to be mobile.  We are not completely opposed to another RV, but we will be very picky about getting one that we believe will meet our needs.

While staying in Texas a few weeks ago, I (Paul) passed out and fell in the restroom.  Sarah and our hosts decided to call the paramedics because they could not find a pulse when they came to check me.  (The sound of my head hitting the door created a very disturbing noise, the more so because it happened at night.)  By the time the paramedics arrived, I had stabilized enough to speak to people, but they had a difficult time doing a blood sugar test because no blood would come out of my finger.  After three times of being pricked, they were finally able to get enough blood to test my blood sugar.

Although I declined to go the emergency room at the time, I did go for some tests the following day.  Everything came back normal, and I was told that it is a routine thing for healthy adults to pass out, fall, hit their head, lose blood pressure, and temporarily go into shock.  Who knew? 

Our meetings in California were abundantly blessed of the Lord, and we look forward to seeing what God will do in the days to come.  Our schedule is full throughout the rest of this month, March, and into April.  Please continue to pray that God will use us as we preach in different churches.  The open-ended nature of our trailer situation has the potential to distract us from what is most important thing: the ministry of the Gospel.

Thank you again for your prayers.  We are trusting the Lord for great things as we head east for many meetings.  We look forward to giving a report of more people saved, and strengthened as a result of our ministry.

Paul

No Excuses

As I write this, the Monday evening service at the Big Valley Bible Baptist Church in Lodi, California, is in the books.  It was an interesting service for two reasons.  First of all, there have been a good number of visitors in this meeting from all over this area (not far from Sacramento and Stockton).  Second, there is a very godly woman in the church who is a tremendous example of faithfulness.

Betty is 93 years old and never misses a service, except for the time when she fell and broke four ribs.  Other than that, she is in her place every time the doors are open.  When others less than half her age come to pastor and make excuse after excuse for why they can't be faithful, she is serious about serving God, even at her age.

This evening, the message on faith really spoke to her heart and she felt led of the Lord to respond in the invitation.  Being legally blind and somewhat unsteady on her feet, she called for help from my son Josiah so that she could respond at the altar call.  She told me afterwards that the Lord had really used the message to speak to her heart.

I could not help being amazed by her dedication.  Here she was in her nineties recovering from a fall in which she broke four ribs, yet she wanted everyone to be sure which side she was on.  In personal conversation after the service, she relayed to me that she has a life's goal to be an old woman of joy.  Too many, she said, were crabby and cranky.  She wanted to be known for being full of joy.  It was impossible to hear her speak without thinking of the fruit of the Spirit and how God produces joy in the life of a surrendered Christian.

There can be no doubt that she was a blessing and a challenge to me.  If God gives me that many years to serve Him, I want to be like Betty in two ways: first of all, in faithfulness, and second of all, in joy.

As always, thank you for your prayers.  Keep faithful and keep joyful.

Paul

Homeless

The spring round of meetings has begun for the Crow family!  Traveling, singing, preaching, ministering every night to churches and individuals in and out of the services is now in full swing.  The biggest news from our family is that we are now traveling without our fifth wheel travel trailer, our home on wheels.  It all happened something like this.

It was a dark and stormy night… No, seriously, we had a lot of problems with the trailer last year.  Broken leaf springs, broken slide out mechanisms, a failed axle—all these were issues that we had to deal with in 2018.  In an attempt to fix these issues, I took the trailer in to a place called Custom Spring in Memphis, Tennessee, in December.  After repairing and strengthening the springs, the shop manager strongly recommended to me that I trade the trailer in.  From that shop, the trailer went to the RV repair shop to get the slide out problem repaired.  After looking at the issues there, the RV shop manager strongly recommended to me that we trade the trailer in.

Wondering what God’s will might be for us in this matter, I began looking at different RV options for us.  I found no suitable floor plans that I felt that we could use, at least none under $125,000.  Accordingly, we pursued a plan of repairing the existing trailer and moving on from there.

The problem is that one of our I-beams (not the latest Apple product, but a large piece of steel on which the trailer sits) has lost its camber, twisted, in layman’s terms.  This twist has caused a lot of problems: the slide out issues, the broken leaf springs, the government shutdown, climate change, illegal immigration, hair loss—you get the picture.

Three companies are involved in the repair of this problem.  First of all, there is a company that provided an extended (5 year) warranty for the trailer.  They are claiming, of course, that they do not need to pay because of a technicality in the original contract.  The dealership is looking for the original right now so that we can prove our point to the warranty company.

The second company involved is the trailer manufacturer.  They are claiming that if there is a problem with the I-beam, that it is not their fault but that of the beam manufacturer (the third company).  In order for them to turn in the claim to the manufacturer, someone must take very precise measurements of the beam so that they begin the process.

All of this sounds very tedious and time consuming to me.  We would love to be in our trailer once again to be at home while we travel, but that is not possible at this time.  Instead, our home church has loaned us a 5 x 8 cargo trailer into which we have packed our belongings and are currently staying wherever we can find a place.  The difficulty is in finding available prophet’s chambers along our southern route to California.  It is missions conference time for many of the churches that we know and that means that their prophet’s chambers are booked.  For 15 years, I never thought about booking prophet’s chambers.  Now I know that it is usually best to call 6 months in advance.

I am excited to hear of churches in their preparation efforts for upcoming meetings.  Cottage prayer meetings, church prayer meetings, 40 days of prayer and fasting—these kinds of things excite an evangelist as he goes into a meeting, knowing that the prayer preparation will lead to miracles from God.  In the final analysis, our trailer troubles fit into the category of “light affliction,” according to the Apostle Paul; and like his woes under that same heading, these things work for us.

Our trailer problems will be resolved in God’s way and in His time.  In the meantime, please pray for souls to be saved, for Christians to surrender to God, and for churches to be revived.

Year in Review

Merry Christmas!  We close 2018 in just a few days, and marvel at what God has done this past year in our family and ministry.  We traveled widely throughout the United States, holding meetings in Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, West Virginia, Ohio, South Dakota, Wyoming, Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Colorado.  We praise the Lord for salvation decisions made in those meetings, as well as other important decisions. We also praise the Lord for His protection over the thousands of miles that we traveled.

A highlight of our year was our family mission trip to the Philippines during the month of May.  We spent a month ministering in different churches and teaching music in two camps while there.  Sarah and the girls stayed busy making a lot of handmade items to sell to help support our mission trip expenses.  A lot of yarn went into that trip! We are not sure where our next mission trip will take us, but we are exploring our options for 2019. 

This has been a bittersweet year in that it is the last that we will all travel together as a family.  Josiah is a senior in high school this year, and will graduate next spring.  His plan is to attend Ambassador Baptist College where he will study for the ministry.  We are so excited, and yet, it means a lot of changes for our family.  He is an integral part of our music ministry as well as the first to leave the nest. We know the Lord has great things in store for him, but we are going to have to adjust when he is away at college.

Our trailer has been in what seems a constant state of repair this fall.  We traveled without it for our last two meetings of the year, due to breaking a leaf spring while driving on Thanksgiving Day, which was a real adventure.  We rigged it with a block of wood and a few bungee cords and drove it another 500 miles to Mississippi where we left it.  Since we had to get to our next meetings, we only had a day to gather all our necessary belongings, pack them into suitcases, throw them in the bed of the truck, and get to our next meeting, which happened to be in Texas.  It was a little more excitement than we had anticipated, but the Lord saw us through.  The trailer is currently in the repair shop awaiting parts.  Please pray that the issues we are having would be corrected for good.  It is very difficult to maintain an itinerant ministry schedule when your “ox is in the ditch” more often than not.  We are praying for direction and provision for the trailer issues, since it is a big part of keeping our family together on the road. 

We are so grateful for what God has done in our lives this year, as well as what He has allowed us to be a part of in our ministry.  We could not accomplish this without the prayers and support of God’s people.  Your prayers on our behalf are important, and we thank God  for the churches and individuals He has placed along our way.  Please continue to pray that God would open doors of ministry for us, guide us in our daily decisions, provide for our needs, and protect us as we travel. 

Prayer requests:

Meetings for 2019

               Souls saved

               Lives surrendered to God

Trailer repairs (that the current ones would be fixed, and that there wouldn’t be any more problems for a looooong time!)

College preparation for Josiah

Summer job for Josiah (due to our constantly being on the road, he has not been able to have a job, and he will need to earn money for college)

Continued health for our family

               Esther is scheduled to have a peanut challenge allergy test on January 7, 2019, to                                 conclusively determine whether or not she is allergic to peanuts

Direction and provision for our 2019 family mission trip

May the Lord give you all a fruitful and prosperous new year.

Into the Holidays

After a cancellation in our schedule, we spent a couple of weeks at home in Mississippi, enough time to experience the first winter precipitation of the season!  It was very early for us to be getting snow/sleet (whatever happened to global warming?), but it was beautiful and enjoyable nonetheless.

The time in Mississippi allowed me to finish a set of bunk beds for the trailer while I was home.  RV mattresses can be very expensive ($500 for an RV twin) due to their unusual sizing, but I was able to find a deal in which I could pick them up for $130 apiece.  Once we had the mattresses, it was a small step to build the bunkbeds in the trailer.  Previously, the boys had shared a fold out sofa bed—the most uncomfortable I have ever encountered in 25 years of traveling—Abigail had slept in the one bunk while Esther slept on the floor.  Now, Daniel is on the floor, while each of the other three has a bunk of their own.  In a few short months, Josiah will be gone and all the floor sleeping will be a thing of the past.  From a parental standpoint, each child having a separate bed is a great aid in teaching personal responsibility.  No longer can one child blame the other for the state of his or her bed, not that our children would ever do that.  But in case they might be tempted to blame someone else, having their own separate area of responsibility will discourage that, or so the theory goes.

The schedule between now and Christmas is a busy one.  On the family side of things, November is a busy birthday month for us.  Sarah’s birthday comes two days before Daniel’s, and then Thanksgiving arrives the following week.  This year, we will be in a meeting through Tuesday on the week of Thanksgiving, celebrate the holiday on Wednesday and spend the rest of the week trying to get to our next meeting on the busiest American travel weekend of the year.  Please pray for us.  Ohio to Texas to Colorado to Mississippi—that is the traveling schedule over the next few weeks.

On the ministry front, in addition to our meetings, there is also another great opportunity in the early part of December.  One of my good friends from Mississippi is getting ordained and I have been asked to be on the counsel of men examining him for the ministry.  What a great privilege and responsibility!

December will be our “down” time as we spend some time at home preparing for the Christmas holiday, working in our home church, and getting ready to resume travel once again in January.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

In our ministry, there are always background projects that are ongoing about which we rarely speak.  Sarah’s piano books are still in demand, and she has begun a series of YouTube tutorials regarding hymnplaying.  She has always been an excellent piano teacher and is now attempting to use technology to bring her instruction to a wider audience.  Anyone interested may contact her directly via Facebook or through my phone or e-mail.  In addition to Sarah’s work, I am working on writing projects of my own.  A long-term project is another book, while short term projects include choral arrangements that I put out from time to time.  Combined with our traveling schedule, the work keeps us busy.

Thank you as always for your prayers.  May your year end holiday celebrations be filled with Christ and His wonderful love for us.

Paul Crow

Coats, Conversions, and the Ox in the Ditch

 Greetings to all from the evangelism trail.  We have entered a very busy time in our fall schedule, and life seems rather like a whirlwind at times.  Since we last wrote, Esther is our newest successful hunter (or is that, huntress?), having bagged a nice little deer while we were in Wyoming.  She was absolutely thrilled to go hunting with Paul and to actually bring home a deer!  We were all quite happy for her as well.

We were home briefly(for about ten days) during which Paul preached in our home church and we ministered in music.  I went on a binge-cleanout of our things and attempted a garage sale over the weekend, but it was a huge waste of effort, since hardly anyone came by.  The fact that I was selling winter clothing was not helped by the heat wave that his that weekend, spiking temps into the 90’s.  I mean, really, who wants to even think about sweaters and long sleeves when you are standing in flip-flops and sweating at 10:00 am?  So, I had to pack everything back up into bins and put it all back in the house for the time being, until I can get a little more time to dispose of it properly.  Such is the life of and evangelist’s wife. 

We are back on the road and have held two meetings since leaving home. The first was a missions conference in southern Indiana, where the Lord used His Word to convict us about reaching our Jerusalem.  How many opportunities do we allow to pass us by each week, just because we aren’t keeping eternity’s values in view? 

Last week, we were in the Lansing, MI, area.  The temperatures have dropped significantly as we have traveled north, necessitating long sleeves, tights, boots, hats, gloves, and coats!  This morning as we packed up the trailer to leave, it was 27 degrees! 

Please pray for the needs of our trailer.  The last three weeks, we have had to deal with some serious trailer issues.  Of course, there is always something, but these have been serious, time-consuming repairs.  What most people do not realize is that, yes, you can take it into an RV service center to be repaired, but many times, they are booked solid for weeks, even months.  They are in no hurry to put us in line in front of other customers.  Parts usually have to be ordered, and they take days, or maybe even weeks, to arrive, then several more days for the repair.  In the meantime, our family is in limbo, having our “home on wheels” in the shop for an unspecified and seemingly interminable amount of time.  Our other option is to get the parts and fix it ourselves.  Paul, who has become quite the trailer repairman in the last sixteen years, does an admirable job of not only diagnosing the problem, but fixing it as well.  Josiah helps at times, and so does Daniel.  This is usually our best option, since it is the fastest.  It also means a lot of running back and forth to get parts, tools, and other necessities, and a great deal of time sitting on the ground under the trailer.

 I believe in the last update, I mentioned the broken gears in the main slide out.  Paul fixed them while we were in South Dakota.  By the time we had reached Indiana two weeks ago, they had broken again.  Three days later, it was once again operational.  We drove to Michigan, and found to our dismay, when we arrived, that we had a broken leaf spring and a bad tire. Two days later, those were both replaced.  When we packed up this morning, we found that our KantLeak water system, has, in fact, been falsely advertised.  It has been leaking for some time in the bowels of the trailer, and has rotted out part of the bay.  The trailer place has no solution for this problem, having recognized the inferiority of the product and moved on to another type of system.  That still remains to be fixed.  There is another problem with the slide out, that involved cutting off some carriage bolts and readjusting the arms of the mechanism that runs underneath the slide.  Paul is currently working on that, now that we are in Indiana again. 

I do not say this in a complaining spirit, but rather to let you know the everyday struggles of the evangelist.  These problems are not unique to us--just today we were told of another evangelist who plugged into a hookup and blew all of his appliances and electronics because the box had wrong wiring.  It happens, and it is difficult to maintain an attitude of joy when everything seems to be falling apart around you.  The desire of every evangelist is to study the Word and share the Gospel.  It is really hard to do this when you are working on your trailer/vehicle all day.  Pray for those who have an itinerant ministry, that God would supply their needs, and encourage their hearts.  Pray that the devil would be kept at bay and that the distractions he throws in our paths would not discourage us.  Pray for souls.

We were privileged to see two young boys trust Christ this past Sunday in Michigan.  One had been coming for quite some time and had heard the Gospel numerous times, and the church was thrilled to see him walk the aisle and trust Christ as his Savior, along with his friend.  God still answers prayer. 

We are in northern Indiana this week, and begin our next meeting in a few days.  It will be a busy time, but we are thankful for the ministry the Lord has given to our family.  Pray for us, brethren, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified.  Thank you for your prayers, your support, and your friendship.

Sarah

sarah@paulcrow.org

Into Fall

September is here, and with it, the first breath of autumn.  We have been traveling in the northern midwest and mountain states, and I personally have found the cooler weather quite a relief from the brutal heat of summer we have experienced so far this year.

We had the privilege of being a part of Opening Revival at Ambassador Baptist College in late August, and we are so excited about what God is doing there.  It is always a joy to spend time with the students and to fellowship with the faculty as well as with numerous friends who still live in the area. 

Two weeks ago, we were in Brookings, SD, where we had the privilege of seeing a young man from South Dakota State University in the morning service.  After the gospel was clearly presented in the message, he walked the aisle and trusted Christ!  We are always excited to see souls trust Christ in our meetings. 

This week we are in Sheridan, WY, and Paul has been able to do some hunting.  So far, we have two deer for our freezer, and he is currently out with Esther, who is hoping to get her first deer this year (we are all very hopeful for her sake).  The meat that we get from hunting goes a long way to fill our freezer for the coming months, and we are grateful for God’s provision in this manner.

In addition to holding meetings, we are staying busy with school, and trying to cram in some family activities as well.  Earlier this month, we had some issues with our trailer slide out, but after several days of tedious work and scrambling for parts, Paul and Josiah were able to complete the repairs.  The ability to fix it ourselves is quite a blessing, since every time we have to take it in to a dealership or service center to be repaired, it means a total disruption of our daily life for several days, if not weeks. 

It will not be long before we turn our rig towards home, where we will stop for a few days to pick up some warmer clothing for the coming winter months and also to have Josiah’s senior pictures taken before heading out again for the rest of the year.  The Lord has blessed us with a full schedule, and as we travel, we covet your prayers for safety and fruitfulness in ministry.

Sarah

August Happenings

Camp is done for the summer, and while we love camps, and the unique ministry opportunities they present, we also give a sigh of relief when they are all over for the summer and our life returns to semi-normal.  We were home briefly at the end of July and were able to spend some time at a conference with some of our home church staff.  The opportunity for fellowship was a welcome blessing, and we had a great time together. 

School has resumed for the children, and with it comes a lot more scheduling and responsibility.  Travel days have to be planned carefully and extra school work done in advance of long drives.  This year is a milestone for us.  Josiah, our oldest, is a senior in high school.  I can hardly believe that he will be graduating next summer.  Abigail is a freshman, Esther started junior high, and Daniel is in the fifth grade, so everyone will be quite busy this school year. 

We have had some good meetings in Ohio this month, and have also had the opportunity to do some fun things as a family as well.  Our kids experienced their first amusement park about a week ago, and loved it.  The big roller coasters were a huge hit with the older three.  We are thankful that the Lord enabled us to spend some time with them doing something new and exciting.

The past month has seen a couple of waves of unusually high repair bills for different things.  First, there were trailer expenses that were very expensive, then our house air conditioner had to have some major repairs.  Every time of financial testing gives us opportunity to lean on the Lord and witness His miraculous provision for us.

We have seen the Lord answer specific prayer and continually provide for every need that has arisen in our daily life and ministry.  It is a wonderful thing to have access to the throne of grace!  We are praying specifically about producing a family musical recording this winter, and would ask that you pray with us for God's direction and provision in that endeavor.  There are a lot of details that must fall into place before this recording can happen, and we are still trying to sort out all those details.

We are currently in North Carolina, and have several meetings here in the next few weeks.  We are excited to see what God does, and look forward to the blessings He has in store for us.

Thank you for your prayers. 

Half Way Around the World

This summer has been a whirlwind of ministry opportunities for our family.  We spent the month of May in the Philippines, participating in two different music camps, one in Nueva Ecija, and the other in Amadeo, Cavite.  The camps were well attended, with over forty-five local churches sending delegates.  The ministry team was composed of Filipinos, Aussies, Americans, and even a family from Singapore.  Our goal is to help educate and instruct the next generation of church musicians, not only in proper technique, but also in instilling Biblical principles of music.  The Lord gave us a very fruitful time there, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way.  Please pray as our ministry there continues.  If you would like to see more of what we did while there, please click on the following link to watch a short video of our ministry in the Philippines.  https://youtu.be/POkv5bvi4qQ

After returning home in the first week of June, we had a few days to recover from jetlag before taking off again – this time for camp in New Mexico.  We were nearly 100 miles east of El Paso when the axle on our trailer broke, and the wheel went wandering off on its own.  We pulled over on the side of the  interstate, and began to assess the situation.  It was not good.  The wheel actually came to rest about ten feet behind the trailer, much better than the last time we lost a wheel (it bounded away and probably ended up in the Ohio River).  Our immediate thought was thankfulness that no one was hurt or endangered in any way, either our family, or the motorists all around us.  I would like to insert here that your prayers for an evangelist as he travels are much needed, and very appreciated.

Paul strapped up the axle and we limped along the interstate until we could get onto a service road, going about 15 miles per hour the whole way.  The closest thing to civilization was the town of Sierra Blanca, Texas.  It looks more like a ghost town than a thriving municipality, but beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.  We found an RV park and set up there, while trying to get in touch with mechanics, insurance companies, and other people who needed to be notified of our unexpected delay.  To make a long story short, we ended up packing up our belongings and leaving the trailer to the tender mercies of a very unusual, colorful, tin-hat wearing man who oversaw the RV park.  In return, he solicited our votes for the 2020 presidential election… that is, if he hadn’t already left on the Mother Ship for the next closest inhabitable planet.  Seriously.

The remainder of the trip to Silver City, NM was made without incident. Camp was, as usual, very busy.  There were about forty campers this year, and of those we saw five saved, as well as other life decisions made.  It is so gratifying to battle adversity and discouragement and watch God win the victory in young hearts and lives.  The trailer axle was being repaired while we were up the mountain at camp, and Paul was able to drive and pick up the trailer with a friend and bring it to Silver City, where additional repairs were made in town.  I was really glad to have my little home on wheels in the same general area again. 

After camp, we had a few days to breathe, and spent them with friends in Arizona over the weekend.  We were able to attend the world’s oldest rodeo in Prescott, AZ, and it was a great show the night we went!  We traveled most of the day on July 4^th, heading to West Virginia for our last scheduled week of camp.  We managed to cover 2300 miles in about four days, with a Sunday thrown in as well. It was quite the journey.

We arrived at Wildwood Christian Retreat on Monday and jumped into another busy schedule.  Since it is a junior camp week, only our two younger children are campers, while the older two look on with a mixture of amusement and envy at the good time their siblings are having.  As I write this, we are anticipating the final service of camp tonight.  One never knows the impact that the Word of God has on the hearts of those who hear it.  We are praying that this week will be a turning point for young people.  Please continue to keep us in prayer as we serve the Lord in the ministry of evangelism.

Sarah Crow

Another Year

As the focus goes to Christmas and the birth of our Savior, it does my heart good to reflect on what God has done this year through our family.  This year marked 15 years that we have been traveling and preaching all over the United States and certain foreign countries of the world.

The fall round of meetings was particularly good for us, taking us from Virginia to Montana and back to South Carolina before ending the season in Ripley, TN, 80 miles from home.  The Lord has been so good to us to allow us to travel and to strengthen churches in the places to which He sends us.

We are all home now, enjoying the time at our home church and resting a bit before the schedule resumes again in January.  Josiah is learning to drive, everyone is doing school, and we are all enjoying the time at home.

As we head toward the new year, we are excited to see God's continued working in our lives and ministry.  Thank you so much for all your prayers and support this past year.  May God bless you all.

Mountain Men

After a great time of ministering in camp in the Southwest, we are back in the swing of revival meetings once again.  The schedule is full this fall, with lots of churches and lots of travel.

So far, one of the highlights of this fall has been the Inter-Mountain Baptist Fellowship meeting in Cody, WY.  Many of the men were men whom I had never met before.  In answer to specific prayer, the Lord greatly used the services to encourage and strengthen the preachers before they had to leave this morning.  While the goal was not to get new meetings but to be a blessing, many did express a desire to have us back in the future.

Earlier this year, the Lord opened a ministry opportunity that I never envisioned myself doing.  A church asked us to help them in the interim after their pastor had resigned.  I had never seen myself doing anything like that, but the Lord opened the door and we went through it.  Though we were only able to spend four weeks there, the Lord allowed us to be able to bring a stability to the church and see an interim pastor installed that continues to help and see the work move forward.  God's ways are never our ways.

My 2018 itinerary is very minute at this time, but it is posted online for anyone thinking of scheduling a meeting for next year.  We are excited about the doors that God is opening up for us.

Home

After a month in Central America, my family and I arrived back in the United States on the afternoon of December 29, 2016.  It was good to be home in the United States once again, even though the Miami airport into which we flew still featured English as occasional tongue of a minute minority.  Deciphering the accent of the rental car agent in Miami was almost as difficult as communicating with Guatemalans: at least you expected them to speak Spanish.  The heavily accented "English" was a challenge indeed.

In fact, our arrival back in United States presented us with a long sequence of events, the consequences of which still affect our lives.  The wait for a rental car in Miami was almost as long as the flight from Guatemala City.  And they didn't give give us a drink, snack, or seat like the airline did.  We were finally able to get a rental car and drive across the peninsula to the Gulf side where our trailer awaited us in North Port.

On the way across Florida, we stopped by a Sprint store to try to get Sarah's cell phone working again.  That was when we discovered that someone had stolen our credit card information and used it for fraudulent purchases in Michigan during our absence.  The credit card company, sensing something was not right, then canceled the cell phone payment causing us to be overdue.  The service was cut off due to a lack of payment.

After a long trip across Florida complete with its bad news, we finally arrived in North Port where our trailer was parked.  A Russian speaking church rents this church's facility from them, and although the midweek service was complete, choir practice was ongoing when we arrived.  It usually goes until 10:00 pm, we were told.  We would have to wait until they were gone to set up our trailer so that we could finally get to bed.  No problemo -- we would just get the trailer all ready to move so that as soon as the last note was dying off, we would chase everyone out of the parking lot and park the trailer where all the choir members' cars were currently parked.  While attempting to hook up the truck and trailer, we discovered that the trailer battery was, after a full month of being unplugged from any type of power source, DEAD.  The trailer jacks refused to budge in any direction due to the lack of power.  This necessitated a frenzied search for the extension cords in the darkened bays, barked orders at small minions to "hold the flashlight where I can see," and a good deal of scrabbling around in small spaces.  Finally the appropriate cords were found, outlets located, and the jacks received enough power to attach to the truck.  Still, the Russians sang on, oblivious to the drama outside.  In the end, I jumped the gun and asked the Russians to move 15 minutes early.  We finally got to bed around 11:00 that night.

When we finally did get the trailer set up, everyone began unpacking their bags.  We found that our children had apparently decided that their cheap souvenirs were more important than the clothing they took with them to Guatemala.  This was deduced by the large number of articles left behind.  The news was received rather mildly, probably due to the fact that we were numb with fatigue.  We patted the children on the head, gave them candy, and sent them to bed, congratulating them on the fact that they hadn't exceeded the airline's  luggage weight limits.

Now, as we leave 2016 behind, and look forward to 2017, we have so many things for which to be grateful.  The Lord kept us safe in our travels, and blessed us with good health and several ministry opportunities.  We made new friends, and had many new experiences.  We are grateful for everyday things that we tend to take for granted here in the states - hot, running water, drinkable water, washing machines, traffic patterns and good roads, to name a few!

We are still experiencing a bit of reverse culture shock as we adjust to life in the States again (I keep answering people in Spanish when they ask me a question), and we are really looking forward to hearing church services in our own language again. Thank you all for your prayers for us regarding this trip.  God had His hand of blessing and protection upon us, and we thank Him for this amazing opportunity to minister in a foreign country.

Fall Rush

The busy fall schedule is on us now.  The Lord has opened many doors for us this fall and we are eagerly looking forward to seeing lives changed as a result of the Word of God reaching them.

With respect to our family, we endured a period of time in July and August during which we had to be out of our trailer to have some warranty work done as well as some body work due to two blown tires.  We were in a prophet's chamber graciously provided to us by the Cloverleaf Baptist Church of Mobile, AL.  We are grateful that we are back in the trailer now and everything is working well.

There is an addition to our website that might be easy to miss at first glance.  We now have not only 2016's itinerary but also 2017's available to view.  Of course, the following year is not as full as this year's, but it is available as it stands so that those interested can plan.  For those pastors who are trying to plan their calendars for the next year, we hope to be able to aid in this planning.

School is progressing about a month ahead of normal schedule so that we can be all done by the time we head to Guatemala in late November.  The Lord is bringing in funds on a weekly basis for our trip to Central America.  Our passports are bought, the tickets are purchased, and we are looking forward to our time.  Sarah has turned the inside of the trailer into a large craft area, making and selling all kinds of homemade items.  See her Facebook page or follow her on Instagram @rvmamacrow for pictures of her latest.  For my part, I don't know if I actually want you to visit those pages or not.  The more orders she receives, the longer I have to trip over the sewing machine and iron cords on a regular basis.  Nevertheless the proceeds are helping us tremendously along with the items we sell on our table--CD's, books, and so forth.

We are most grateful for the souls that have been saved recently.  A man named Hollis was the latest to trust Christ.  He came to Christ last Sunday morning.  He was born in Trinidad but brought up in New York City where he joined a gang after he was orphaned.  The evidence of God's conviction over sin was evident Sunday morning.  He told the pastor at the front of the auditorium, "I'm lost!  I need to be saved." If you like, you can find a picture of Hollis as well as others who have been saved in our meetings on my Instagram account @crowing617.

Thank you all for all your prayers for us.  It is wonderful to see the Lord working on a regular basis, and we rejoice to be in His service.

Waiting

As the schedule for 2016 began to fill and we got to know our trailer, there grew a list of warranty items that needed to be addressed.  This is always a difficult thing because it means that we have to move out of the trailer and take it to a repair facility that is swamped with other units in the same situation as our own.  In late June, two tire blowouts within 50 miles of each other on I-10 in the desert did some additional damage to the trailer that was to be repaired as well.

Because all the RV repair facilities are so busy this time of year, we scheduled an appointment over a month in advance in order to insure that the work would get done.  The day after our meeting closed in Semmes, AL, we moved out of the trailer into a local church prophet's chamber and took our home to the shop.  That is when the waiting began.

RV repairs can be counted on to cost more than originally thought and take longer than originally expected.  As I write this, we have been out of the trailer for over a week, and the unit is still not ready to go.  The reasons are somewhat complex.

Essentially, there are two veins of repairs that need to be accomplished.  The first, and faster, vein involves warranty work.  Any repairs need to be reported to the manufacturer who then authorizes them to be made so that we can remain happy costumers.  AFter a week of having the trailer in the shop, most of these repairs are complete; but there are still parts on order which have not yet arrived.

The second vein involves the tire blowout and the insurance company.  Every one of these blowouts does enough damage to usually measure in the thousands of dollars, depending on exactly how the tire blows.  We had a good (if there can be such a thing) and a bad blowout on either side of the unit.  Insurance has to receive the claim from the RV repair facility, review the claim, approve the claim, and communicate back to the shop the green light to do the work.  In automobile cases, the insurance company usually does this very quickly because they assume that you need to have your car.  In the case of RV's, they take much longer because the damage in question occurred to a "recreational" vehicle, after all.  We have had RV claims go on for months.

Another dynamic that we deal with is the obtaining of parts for the unit.  The parts do not sit in a warehouse ready to be picked up and installed.  They have to be fabricated at the manufacturer and then shipped to the repair facility.  In our case, we are told that the parts can be here within a week and a half to two weeks.  The hope is that in that time, the insurance company will approve the repair and the unit can get finally fixed.

And so we wait.  The hope is that everything will be done before we have to get going again with our fall schedule, a schedule that starts August 7.

Apart Into a Desert Place

This past week closed yet another camp at the Gila Christian Ranch in Silver City, New Mexico.  Technically, it is not desert, only semi-arid, but it is a place where people can come away from the influences of the world and focus on the things of God.

This year, both juniors and teens were combined in camp so as to save the driving burden on commuting churches.  All four of my children were campers, two in junior camp and two in teen camp, while Sarah worked 14-16 hours a day in the kitchen.  The Lord blessed and several campers were saved.

Many of the campers had little background in church, and no help whatsoever from home.  It was sad to see the effects on both teens and juniors who had to witness the adults who are supposed to guide them act wickedly, especially in the area of morals.  It comes as no surprise that these kids really struggle.  When we lovingly instructed them at camp, many responded positively and opened their hearts to the Word of God.

As the Gospel went forth, several campers, both juniors and teens, were saved.  Others made life-changing decisions of surrender, while others understood purity for the first time and pledged to keep themselves pure.  Also encouraging was evidence of past camp decisions that are still guiding the lives of some of these young people, some of whom have no help outside of the local church and camp.

There are some that decry the entire idea of camp, asserting that decisions made there are temporary.  While it is certainly possible to make a decision that does not last, it is also true that lives are changed forever as a result of one person hearing the Word of God in a camp setting.  Just as children made decisions to do right in Bible times, so young people today are hearing God's Word and are choosing to do what it says.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our ministry.  The time of extended meetings is over for a couple of weeks, the scheduling calling for isolated Sundays instead.  Our next full meeting is not until July 10-13, 2016.  May God bless you all and give you all a fruit for your labor as you serve Him in your area of His harvest.

The Isles Wait

Isaiah prophesied that isles would wait for the Law of God.  As I reflect on my recent trip to the Philippines, I am reminded of this truth.  My ministry there was definitely to receptive hearts as I preached and taught for nearly two and a half weeks.  If my math is correct, I ministered to 13 different churches while I was there, some by preaching in them directly and others by virtue of their coming to another place to hear me preach.  God blessed His Word in a great way during the time.

Below are some pictures with a little information about each.  Many of the churches were not photographed individually because one week consisted of my preaching and teaching in a music camp.  I spoke up to four times a day during camp, a schedule that left very little time for picture taking.


This is the Hillcrest Baptist Church of Angeles City.  They hosted me for a four day meeting in which several other churches participated.  I made the mistake of taking this picture on American, rather than Filipino, time.  By the time I got up to preach, the auditorium was full.

Two churches planted out of Hillcrest are Ambassador Fundamental Baptist Church here,

and the New and Living Way Baptist Church here.

 Then in Imus, Cavite, there was the Bethany Bible Baptist Church.

I got no pictures of camp to speak of, nor did I get pictures of many of the other churches except for this one, the Calvary Baptist Church, notable because it was the only church I preached in with air conditioning.

All in all, the Lord gave me a wonderful time of ministry among these dear people.  One of the most gratifying aspects of the trip was the tender hearts of people to hear the Word of God.  Their universal plea to me was that I come back and preach and teach more.  We are seeking the Lord’s will about next year and how to proceed.

Now, from the steamy countryside of the Philippines, I have migrated to the Sonoran Desert where I sit in a trailer struggling to keep cool while the temperature outside is 109.  Next week, we flee to higher ground to camp in NM from where we will begin to travel east again.  Thank you so much for your prayers.