Christmas

 The Crow family is home for the holidays, or at least will be once our two college students come home in a couple of days.  We will work in our home church with the Christmas program this coming Sunday and then fill the pulpit in the pastor's absence the following Wednesday.

The past month has been one of constant breakdowns, not for the truck, but for other equipment.  Our trailer will be in need of more and more repairs as time goes on since it is probably near the end of its usable life as an evangelist's home.  It has given us seven years of service and we are grateful for the opportunity that it provided for us to have the family together.

As we were on our way back from our fall round of meetings, we had a new bearing fail on the trailer.  Before I could get the trailer off the road, the failed bearing damaged the axle, leaving us stranded in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Eastland Baptist Church was very gracious to provide for our needs while we were in Tulsa, even including a generous offering to help take care of the repair bill.  The axle we needed was unavailable, so I left the trailer in OK and traveled on to MS to get the family home.  While at home, I was able to get an axle from a local trailer shop with whom I have done business before.  I then drove back to OK with the part, got my trailer and brought it back home.

Meanwhile, Sarah's car broke down.  We have been told that it will cost $6,900 to repair it, which is greater than twice what we paid for the car.  So now, we are down to one vehicle again.  Thank God, the truck is running well.

As I reflect on 2022 in ministry, I am amazed by all that God did.  First of all, we celebrated 20 years in full-time evangelism.  "Celebrated" is a misleading term because our day of celebration was no different from days when we weren't celebrating.  Nevertheless, not many men can say that they have continued in evangelism for 20 years.  God has allowed us to be in the number that have been able to be in it for the long haul.

God gave us a truck this year as well.  You can find details about it in previous posts.  We are so grateful to the many people all over America that generously gave to help meet this need.  God was in it from the very beginning.

Mostly, as I look back over this year, I am overwhelmed by the numbers of people that have been saved.  The fields all around the world are white unto harvest, and God has allowed us to be a small part of the reaping work.

Please pray for wisdom for us as we schedule the coming year and beyond.  Travel costs are higher than they have ever been, and we need God's help as we make decisions going forward.  Thank you all for your prayers.

Fruit

 In most parts of the United States, harvest season is upon us.  Whether it is grain in the Great Plains, truck farms in the Southeast, or harvests elsewhere, this is the season of reaping.

Similarly, this past month has been a season of spiritual reaping for our ministry.  It has been many years since we have seen the numbers of people trusting Christ in our meetings like we have been seeing this year.  The year has had its share of distractions (see previous posts), but God has brought us through them, and we rejoice in the people that have professed Christ in different parts of the country.

Please permit me to share the specifics of one story.  Pax is a young man living in the panhandle of Idaho.  His brother first heard the gospel in our meeting a couple of years ago and eventually trusted Christ as Savior.  Beginning on Sunday morning and going through the week, Pax heard the Gospel.  The Holy Spirit was working in his heart, but he was not ready to fully yield.  He even came forward in a couple of the services, but declined to allow anyone to speak with him one-on-one.  Thursday, I preached from the story of Saul on the Damascus Road.  I entitled my message "When God Confronts Man."  After hearing the message, Pax came again to the altar and this time, he allowed the pastor to deal with him privately.  He finally surrendered everything to God and trusted Christ that night.  It was Thursday.  Pax's whole family has some headwinds to overcome.  It has been overwhelming, however, to see what God has done so far in their hearts.  We look forward to what He will continue to do in the future.

Our ministry has been in the Intermountain west this past month with the exception of one week in North Carolina.  Thank God for the invention of the airplane.  In a few days, Sarah and I will head to the airport once again and get on board a plane to a meeting in West Tennessee.  After that, it is Colorado and South Dakota before we head home for Thanksgiving.

One of the highlights for me in this month has been seeing my two younger children take the leap into greater ministry.  For years, Abigail did children's meetings every night of our meetings.  This is a tremendous addition to the service, especially considering the fact that many unsaved people are not in the habit of teaching their children how to behave in church.  When Abigail went to college in August of this year, we felt her absence in dealing with the children.  Esther has now stepped into her shoes, and I am grateful.

Daniel was asked to lead singing in our last meeting.  For a 13-year-old, he doesn't do a bad job.

The bottom line is that I love seeing my children step up and take on more ministry responsibility.  

We lack a little bit of fully paying off the truck.  I will let everyone know when that need is met.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.  

Supply, Continued

 The round of meetings is in full swing with us traveling through the Midwest and into the Intermountain West.  In meetings in Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia (thank God for the invention of the airplane), and Wyoming, we have seen some wonderful results from the Lord's working in hearts.  Best of all are the souls that have trusted Christ at different places along the way.  We praise God for each of these baby Christians and covet your prayers for their growth in the Lord.

Another blessing along the way is how God continues to call men into His ministry.  This trend seems to be growing in this country and others in which we have ministered.  Thank God for calling laborers into His harvest!  Thank God also for those who heed his call.

The truck fund is growing steadily.  You may remember from our last update that we decided to get another truck.  We found something to meet our needs in Hickory, NC, and have made the purchase.  The new truck is a 2021 Ram 3500 having just over 20,000 miles on it when we purchased it.  An individual put up the entire purchase amount and said that when the money comes in, we can simply reimburse him.  Out of a total of $68,000 needed for the purchase of the truck, $61,250 has come in so far.  The funds are all run through the Clearview Baptist Church of Southaven, MS.  Churches and individuals have given generously to this need so far, and we are confident that God will continue to supply.

We had no sooner gotten a working truck than the trailer gave us major trouble.  On the way from Duluth, MN, to Omaha, NE, a leaf spring broke on the trailer.  After looking at the other springs, the man at the trailer parts store informed us that the others would break soon, hopefully not all at once.  I decided at that time to do something that I should have done much earlier and upgrade the springs to heavier ones.  This trailer is a 16,000-lb. unit designed with 14,000 lbs. of suspension.  It is a wonder that we have not had greater problems than we have had with the suspension.  The new suspension is now rated for a 16,000-lb trailer.

In the process of all the work, a trailer slide-out motor failed on us and we had to push and pull the room in and out by hand.  The good news is that this motor has failed enough that Daniel and I are pretty good at changing it out.

Now, it would seem that all our equipment is in good working order.  Best of all, the Lord is blessing in our meetings.  Sometimes I fear that the mechanical issues can distract from the main thing of preaching the Gospel and ministering to churches.  (This fear becomes particularly acute whenever I am trying to work on the trailer.)  In the end, every soul that professes Christ reminds us of why we do what we do.

Thank you all for praying.

Supply

The fall round of meetings began with dropping off two of our children in college at Ambassador Baptist College.  The drive to North Carolina was uneventful until the last 14 miles.  In the dark as we were driving up a winding two-lane road in Western North Carolina, we heard a rather disturbing noise from the rear of the truck.  There being no place to stop along the road, we determined to stop in the middle of it, wrongly assuming that there would not be that much traffic at that hour of night.  After looking the entire rig over, my son Daniel spotted two rear wheels on one side of the truck that were at an awful angle.  Further inspection revealed that the lug bolts had completely broken off on that side.  The truck was held up by an axle that went through the center of the rim, but there was no going on until the problem was fixed.

There were no parts to be found at that hour of night--even a 24-hour parts store in Charlotte didn't carry what we needed--so the only recourse we had to take lug bolts off the other side and try to move them to the broken side.  That way we could at least get the rig out of the middle of the road.

Of course, that meant that both sides of the truck had to be lifted off the ground at the same time and the two wheels taken off the other side as well.  We lifted the trailer off the truck and jacked up the rear of the truck to begin the complicated process of moving some lug bolts.  While both sides were jacked up and Paul was working underneath, the jacks started to move sideways.  This should have come as no surprise since we were on a hill.  Paul did not notice the jacks, but Daniel did and said something.  Everyone immediately got out from under the truck just before it crashed all the way to the ground.  No one was hurt, but our truck problems had grown worse.

A tow truck happened along carrying a wrecked car to another location.  After dropping off his car, he returned for my truck, carrying it to Ambassador Baptist College while a friend towed my trailer there as well.  After a day in God's house and a couple of days of repairs, the truck was back on the road again.

After saying goodbye to our children, we were off toward Staten Island and our first meeting of the fall.  While traveling up I-81 in Virginia, our front driver side wheel came off.  No warning or anything.  There was a loud pop, the tire started rolling off, and the steel rotor hit the pavement.  Another tow truck, another tow, another two days of repair.

Finally, we were ready to head the rest of our way to the meeting.  Except that once the truck was all back together again, we could scarcely drive it because of a terrible vibration in the front end.  We were able to get the truck and trailer to a church that allowed us to park the rig.  A member of the church loaned us their car so that we could go on to our meeting in New York.

Many have heard about the problems with our truck and have pledged to give substantially toward this need.  One man has pledged $10,000 while a friend of his has matched that sum.  Others are considering giving to this need as well.  This has all been without solicitation on our part.  We praise God for His supply for our need.

It would seem that God would have us replace this truck with something else.  You may know that the price of vehicles has risen above the cost of other items in this country.  Buying a truck is a very expensive endeavor.  If you would like to give toward this need, you can do so by contacting our home church: Clearview Baptist Church, 3345 Goodman Rd E, Southaven MS 38672.  The phone number is 662.349.2233.

Whether or not you can give to this need, would you take some time right now to thank God for His provision for us?  He is worthy of our praise.

Italia

 Beginning July 5 and ending August 2, our family was ministering in the nation of Italy.  It was our first time to go to Europe to preach the Gospel.  What an incredible trip it was for us!  Whenever we as Americans think of missions, the tendency is to imagine developing nations with windowless grass huts, abundant insects, and an occasional snake visiting the village.  We imagine congregants whose pre-salvation wardrobe included feathers in their hair and maybe a bone through their nose.  Italy fits none of these descriptions.  As a nation of Europe, tile roofs replaced thatched ones centuries ago, and modern automobiles traverse paved highways at what Americans would consider reasonable speed.  The problem is that all of Europe's innovation and education have not brought them any closer to God.  In fact, Europe today is the dark continent spiritually.  

When it comes to religious freedom, Italy is the newcomer of western Europe.  Many alive today remember all too well the persecutions of the Catholic church well into the Twentieth Century.  Today, those persecutions are passed and Italy is ripe for the Gospel.  Speaking of his ministry in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul noted, "A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."  This same could be said of Italy.

For four weeks, our family traveled in Italy preaching the Gospel in four different churches.  We were in churches in Grosseto, Pisa, Sardinia, and Sicily in that order.  In every church, there were people in the services who were lost and needed to be saved.  Some of the adults were hearing the Gospel for the very first time during our services.  Although our Italian ministry did not meet with many professions of faith--there were only four--we were able to see some great things happen.

Giuliano is a converted atheist in Grosseto who is now being used of God as an Italian Bible teacher.  His work is print-worthy and his grasp of the Italian language is superb.  Please pray that the obstacles will be overcome to get his works into print for the Italian people.

Marco was saved years ago, but spent a lot of time in New Evangelical churches in Italy.  Having had his fill of interpretive dance, contemporary music, and shallow preaching, he found his way to the Bible Baptist Church of Pisa.  He believes that God has called him to be an evangelist and has just begun a course of study toward that end.  Please pray that Marco would continue to let God work in his heart.

Antonio had never stepped foot inside a Baptist church, but came to hear me preach in Sardinia.  The obstacles that Satan erected to his attendance were mind-boggling, but in the end, the Spirit of God won the victory.  Antonio heard the Gospel for the very first time in his 74 years.  At the end of that Sunday, he told the pastor, "The Crows are family now.  It is time to look for an apartment for them."  Please pray for him that he would be saved.

God is at work in Italy, but there is a great need for laborers.

The next weeks will be whirlwind ones for us as we recover from jetlag and take our second child off to college.  After that, we hit the road again in meetings in the United States.

As always, thank you for your prayers.

Healing 2

 Our last update highlighted Josiah's skin problems and asked for prayer for his healing.  Thank the Lord for answered prayer.  He is well now and traveling with a group representing Ambassador Baptist College.  Each of the family has dealt with a measure of what Josiah had.  None of the symptoms that the rest of us dealt with were as bad as what he had to endure, but we all had something of skin problems to deal with.  Other than Josiah, Sarah has had the worst time of it.  The doctor says that it is a virus, and she is on anti-viral medication to help prevent the spread of the disease.  There are also measures that she is taking to alleviate the awful itching that comes along with it.  This itching has kept her awake many nights.  Please continue to pray for her and the rest of the family as we deal with this illness.

Camp in New Mexico is a highlight for our family.  This year, we had the privilege of serving alongside some great people, most of whom we knew, but one of whom was a bit new to us.  Jack Martinez from Cornerstone Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona, proved to be a great asset to camp this year.  Though our numbers were small, we did see professions of faith as well as other decisions for Christ.

For the present, the Crow family is making preparations to go to Italy in the month of July.  We leave Tuesday, July 5, and return in early August.  During our time in Italy, we are scheduled to preach in four churches, vacation Bible school, and a camp meeting.  Please pray that the Lord would use us to be a blessing and help to the churches in Italy.

Before we fly to Italy, we must have a negative COVID test.  Due to our leaving the day after July 4, it might prove difficult to get these tests in a timely manner.  Please pray about this detail.

Around our nation right now, there is anxiety over rising prices.  From the filling station to the grocery store, every American has seen their paycheck not go as far as it once did.  I would urge you to look at the situation, not from a fretting standpoint of wondering how we will survive, but from a standpoint of anticipation at seeing how God will work.  God is using less traditional means to supply our needs.  Is He doing the same with you?  Through whatever means He chooses, we are confident that God will supply, inflation or not.  Thank you for your prayers.

Healing

 This update comes very quickly on the heals of another just released a couple of weeks ago.  Nevertheless, there is a need for which we need urgent prayer at this time.  More on that at the end of this update.

God has blessed our time during Abigail's graduation.  It was a wonderful night for her surrounded by family and friends.  Although Sarah's parents were unable to attend due to her mother's recent stroke, Paul's parents made the trip down from Indiana and spent some wonderful time with the entire family.  The days were filled with labor as we prepared for the ceremony and the reception at our house to follow.  In the end, everything came together well, and Abigail had a wonderful night.

The day after Abigail's graduation, I (Paul) flew to Northern Virginia to preach in the Grace Baptist Church of Woodstock.  We had a wonderful meeting there with Pastor Ken Sparks and his dear people.  One of the highlights was seeing the camp that God has given to that church and seeing the progress being made.  Pastor Sparks showed me the chapel and I was sold.  While not ornate or fancy in any way--it is camp, after all--the chapel was obviously constructed on purpose to bring about a preaching atmosphere.  It was a preacher's dream and spoke volumes about the camp philosophy.

While I was in Virginia, Sarah drove to Michigan to see her dear college friend Erin Thompson who is in the latter stages of cancer.  The time was bittersweet for her, but she was glad for the time, knowing that it may be their last together on this earth.  On the way, Sarah was also able to spend more time with her mother.  All told, she drove 1,800 miles by herself.

While we were both gone, Josiah, who was with the rest of the children in Mississippi, developed a skin rash so bad that it was debilitating.  The rash resembled first degree burns all over his arms and neck.  He has had problems of this nature before, but nothing as bad as what he is dealing with right now.  The problem is that when we take him to a doctor, they typically prescribe some cream to rub on the skin without delving into the cause of what brings about the rash.  This has never fixed the problem in 20 years, making us reticent to try the same tactic yet again.  Please pray that God will give us wisdom to know how to help Josiah.  We are to leave for New Mexico in two days, and he is to travel with a music group from Ambassador Baptist College beginning two and a half weeks from now.  From a human standpoint, we need answers soon.

Thank you, as always, for praying for the Crow family.

Graduation

 Much has happened in the last month in the ministry of the Crow family.  Our spring meetings have been blessed by God to see people saved and lives strengthened.  We are so blessed to be a part of the Lord's work.

Our schedule calls for a lot of flying this year to different meetings.  The day before Easter, I was scheduled to fly out of Memphis to the Black Hills of South Dakota for a meeting in the town of Custer.  My flight from Memphis to Minneapolis was delayed 11 hours.  Needless to say, I missed my connection to Rapid City.  Delta Airlines took me through Atlanta where I was able to get a flight to Minneapolis, arriving just after midnight on Easter Sunday morning.  The airline payed for a hotel room for me to get a little sleep before catching a flight later on that Sunday morning.  At 9:00 am CDT, I left Minneapolis on my way at last to Rapid City.  Sunday school was in full swing in Custer when my plane landed, around 10:20 am MDT.  The church was about an hour away from the airport, so I arrived during the song service.  The congregation was shaking hands and greeting one another on Easter Sunday as the guest preacher arrived in his blue jeans and collared shirt.  The airline kept my checked bag in Minneapolis in which I had packed all my suits.  Although the bag made it on the plane with me to Rapid City, I opted to spend more time with the people rather than change before coming to the service.  Therefore, for the very first time in my life, I preached on Easter Sunday morning in blue jeans.  The pastor has promised to hold it over me for the rest of my ministry.  The meeting was a good one, despite my violation of the church dress code for platform participants.

A scheduled work week to camp in New Mexico had to be canceled, leaving us a little time at home to get some things done.  During this time, Sarah received a call from her family in Ohio informing her that her mother, Terri Easterday, had suffered a stroke.  We decided that, despite the distance, Sarah was the best situated of all her siblings to go to Dayton and be with her mother as she recovered from the stroke.  Because everyone recognized the symptoms so quickly and got Terri to the hospital so quickly, the stroke was not as severe as it might have been.  After spending a few days with her mother during the initial stages, Sarah came back home.  Terri is currently in rehab and hopes to return home before too much longer.

Back here in Mississippi, we are feverishly preparing for our second child to graduate.  Abigail completed the class work several months ago, but the ceremony is coming up on Friday, May 13, 2022.  Sarah and I are thankful to be have two homeschooling projects completely done; two more remain.

Right on the heels of graduation will be camp in New Mexico.  Please pray that God uses our ministry there in the Gila.

Thank you always for your prayers.

Spiritual Birthdays

 One concept dominates this month of ministry for the Crow family: born again.  God has visited us with many professions of faith this past month as we traveled in meetings in different places around the country.  Thank you so much for your prayers.  

We have been in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and currently Ohio.  After a week and half more in Ohio, we head for Brooklyn, New York, to preach there.  Please continue to pray for souls to be saved in our meetings.

One of the greatest parts of serving the Lord in evangelism is seeing people saved who have been the object of prayer for some time.  This was the case in Semmes, Alabama, on a Sunday morning when a couple responded at the invitation.  The man knew he was saved, but his wife was unsaved.  The church had been praying with this man for his wife for some time.  It was glorious to see her trust Christ after hearing the Gospel preached.

Our equipment seems to be running well right now and all are healthy.  There is hope that we can travel for a while without having things break down.  Time will tell.

In the end of April, the entire family will be going to Gila Christian Ranch in Silver City, New Mexico, for a special work week ahead of camp.  We are looking to be able to take some friends from our home church to help with this project.  The goal is to redo some plumbing lines in the bathhouse, tile the showers,  and replace some damaged drywall.  Please pray that the right people will be able to join us, and that we will get everything done in the time we have.

Another item of prayer is a planned missions trip to Italy in the month of July.  We had to renew the children's passports through the US State Department and chose not to pay the extra money to have them expedited.  (They were expensive enough as it was.)  Please pray that they arrive in time.  Also of concern is the COVID-19 testing that still has to be done.  God knows all of that, and He is well able to work out all those details.  While in Italy, the plan is to preach in several churches in the country, as well as minister in a Christian camp to young people.

Thank you all for your prayers for our family.  Know that people are being saved, and many lives are being transformed by the truth of the Word of God.

Meetings again

There are times when we are home for the Christmas holiday that I walk into the trailer and think to myself, "I surely do miss living in here."  I know, it seems like such a crazy thing to say, given the fact that God has given us such a wonderful house to live in.  Still, the trailer means that we are out in ministry rubbing shoulders with people and preaching the Gospel from place to place.

We are in the trailer now, and in the round of meetings that God has provided for us.  Last week, as I preached a men's meeting in Shelby, North Carolina, a man came in having been asked to take care of some younger boys who were in attendance.  (They were his younger brother, I think.)  He never gave his name, but the more I preached, the less he looked at his phone and listened to what was being said.  He declined to give his name to anyone there, but needs to be saved.  God knows exactly who he is.

I just finished preaching another men's meeting in Georgia.  We finish here tomorrow.  Next week, we begin a meeting in Beaufort, South Carolina, just down the road from Parris Island Marine Corps base.  Please pray that many would be saved in this meeting.  The need is great, but God is able.

Family Update

The trailer had a lot of things that had to be fixed as we entered the holidays, and we were thrilled when the repairman came and finally got the back slide-out working again in the first part of February.  We packed up our belongings and dutifully made the requisite 367 trips from the house to the trailer and back, with a sense of excitement. Some of us even had a sense of urgency, having waited until the last minute to begin packing, perhaps due in part to a lack of confidence that the trailer would actually be fixed in time to make the trip, but I digress. 

The important fact is that by the time we were ready to leave, everything necessary was in the trailer, and even a few things not so necessary.  We will not talk about the chronic optimism of the resident crafter and her compulsion to make sure that she has enough yarn, fabric, and accompanying tools and totes to last through an apocalyptic event, let alone eight weeks on the road.  There seems to be a slight disconnect between the amount of supplies taken and the actual amount of time needed to complete the projects that would require that amount of supplies.  The good news is that if there is a blizzard that suddenly overtakes us and we are snowed in for six months, we will have plenty of time and material to make all the hats, sweaters, gloves, and scarves we would need.

 We stopped in Georgia overnight on our way to North Carolina, and set up the trailer. Everyone has specific tasks to complete when setting things up, and we work like a machine - not always a well-oiled one, but it gets done.  I (Sarah) came down the steps into the kitchen to see water spraying all over the place from the faucet.  I hurried over to see what was going on, and realized that there was also water pouring out from under the island cabinet and ponding on the floor. This is generally not a good sign.  I screeched for someone to turn off the water, while running to the cupboard to grab some spare towels.  As I mopped up what seemed like ten gallons of water, Paul came in to see what was happening.

He stared forlornly at the still dribbling faucet, and we both realized that we wouldn't be able to turn on the water until the faucet was replaced.  It was already late, and after a long day's drive, I decided that fixing dinner was probably the better part of valor.  Sometimes the best thing you can do in a time like this is to eat, rest, and deal with it in the morning, and that's exactly what we did. 

The next morning, sans showers, we headed to the nearest Home Depot with our defective faucet in hand.  Thankfully, they had a comparable unit that only cost an arm, so we were able to walk back to the truck with  no problem, our legs intact. Skip forward a few hours and another trip to Home Depot for special fittings (RV life), the faucet was fixed to everyone's satisfaction, and we hurriedly packed up and hit the road again.  

Perhaps we packed up a bit too quickly.  The first thing I noticed when I opened the trailer door in the church parking lot in North Carolina was a weird smell. While not entirely uncommon, it was different than the usual strange smells that are associated with RV life.  As I gazed into the dim recesses of the trailer kitchen, it became immediately apparent that I had forgotten to close and store my fledgling sourdough starter in a safe place.  Most of my hard work was spilled in a great, gluey puddle on the the floor and carpet.  As I assessed the situation, I realized that not all of it had spilled out, and the glass jar had, miraculously, remained intact when it took the flying leap off of the counter.  I figured as long as I had a little bit left, I could keep it going.  You know -- a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump!  So I scrubbed up the mess and proceeded to open the slides.  

It was at this point, we realized that all was not well.  The newly repaired back slide-out has two motors which propel it back and forth.  We had just replaced the defective one two days before we started the trip.  The other motor decided to call it quits on this dark night.  Unfortunately, the way that the trailer is designed makes it impossible to access the back room if that particular slide is not operating.  We were able to get it open about eight inches, but since all of our family members are slightly wider than that, we could only peer into the room.  We called the pastor and asked if we could borrow one of his children.  He kindly loaned us the smallest one, and she was able to squeeze in through the tiny space and open the emergency window.  Once the window was open, we got a ladder and squeezed two of our children through the opening, where they worked to push the slide-out out a little more.

I won't bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say, we had a weekend that would rival any episode of Tim the Tool Man, and my husband came out looking like a champ.  As of this minute, all slides are operational, there are no leaking faucets, and everyone is very happy about it.

We had the opportunity to see Josiah while we were in the vicinity of Ambassador Baptist College, and even were able to be there for his debut as the main accompanist for Thursday's chapel service.  This is a position not lightly bestowed, and takes a great deal of work and practice on the part of the student to be considered for the task.  This mama was so incredibly proud!  His hard work is paying off in so many ways, and it is wonderful to see how the Lord is using and preparing him for ministry.

The rest of the family is well, and day-to-day life hasn't changed a whole lot.  Esther and Daniel are plugging away at school.  Abigail has finished all her classes at home for the rest of the year and is taking some classes online through Ambassador's Step Up dual high school/college credit program.  We are trying to plan for her graduation and all the accompanying details of finishing high school and getting ready for college. (How can this even be possible?) 

This has been a rather long and detailed update, but it will give you a good idea of what has been going on behind the scenes, and hopefully, help you to more knowledgably pray for our family.  We appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement more than you will ever know.  

Until the next time!

Holidays

What a wonderful Christmas season we had last year!  The Victory Gospel Crusade in Shelby, North Carolina was a great time with souls being saved and many believers encouraged.  No one froze to death, despite some cool temperatures under the tent.  The heaters didn't catch the tent on fire--another detail for which we are very grateful.  After the Shelby meeting, most of the family went to Ethel, Mississippi where I preached for a friend in his absence.  After that, it was my home church in Southaven, Mississippi.  There was only one Sunday last month when I was not preaching somewhere.  It was a great blessing to see God work in the lives of people.

Something else unusual happened in December.  I got sick.  It would be easy for those who knew me to assume that I just had a mere head cold that would soon pass.  This was definitely my opinion of my wife the situation.  What she and so many other women fail to realize that childbirth is a hiccup, but a man cold is serious.  I still don't believe that she realizes that I was at death's door during those long nights of December.  It was unusual for me to be sick because my immune system kicked into ninja mode after I contracted COVID-19 in 2020.  For a period of 17 months, I did not have so much as the sniffles, so active was my immune system.  In North Carolina, however, I did contract something that made ministry more difficult.  Nevertheless, all are healthy now, and we are grateful.

Abigail begins college classes this semester even though she has not yet graduated from high school.  The goal is to lighten her load once she actually gets to college.  The day we drop her off as a freshman in college is fast approaching.  Due to this reality, the family will stay home for some of the meetings in our spring round in order to allow her to work and earn some money.  Not yet sure how this will go, but it will probably work out just fine.  The day is coming in the not-so-distant future when the Crow team will be reduced to Sarah and me, the way it was at the beginning.

Until February, our meetings are fairly local, after which we head out again for the east coast.  Thank you always for praying, and we trust that God will give you fruitful year in 2022.

Finishing up

 After a fruitful time of ministry at Ambassador Baptist College in Lattimore, North Carolina, we took our trailer in tow and began the long trip to Colorado.  After a drive of about 9 hours, we stopped for the night at a church in Clarksville, TN.  When we endeavored to get up the next morning and continue our journey, the slide-out of our trailer would not move.  I attempted a repair myself--or at least a diagnosis of the problem--but could not get the mechanism to work properly.  Eventually, we were able to get the room in enough to travel, but we realized that taking the trailer to Colorado would not be possible.  A four-hour detour later, we were back home packing all our necessary items into our church's cargo trailer.  We then took this trailer to the meeting in Colorado.  The travel trailer has an appointment with the repair shop on December 28, 2021.  This was the earliest available date to get it in.  In the meantime, we continue to travel with the cargo trailer and stay wherever churches can put us.

Currently, we are home for the Thanksgiving holiday, enjoying our time in Mississippi.  I had the opportunity to preach in our home church this past Sunday night.  It was such a blessing to be able to minister to the church family.  They have become so dear to us over the years that we have been members.

Two more meetings remain before the end of the year.  The first is with Tom Brennan in Dubuque, IA, and the other is a tent meeting in Shelby, NC.  Please pray that the God continues to a do a work in our ministry.

Our nation is ripe for another spiritual awakening.  On every hand, people seem to sense that there are great needs, but only those who know the Gospel really have the answer.  Please pray for us what the Apostle Paul requested that the Ephesians pray for him: "That utterance may be given unto me; that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel."

 This month has been a month of seemingly constant repairs--and a heartache as well.  As we headed out of Montana to our meeting in South Dakota, we were nearing our destination when two of our trailer tires blew at the same time on the same side.  I suspect that there was something in the road that caused the tires to blow because the motorist behind us also had a tire blow at the same time.  Changing tires on the Interstate is part of the description of the evangelist, but I had never had two blow at the same time on the same side.  That night we limped into the Bible Baptist Church of Brookings, South Dakota on three tires.  The good news was that we were able to park the trailer and have a place for the family to live while I worked on rounding up the necessary parts to fix the trailer.  The only tires that I was able to find were a temporary fix, but at least they got us on to where we needed to be.

Tire blowouts always do other trailer damage, and this time was no different.  On my trailer, there is a six-point hydraulic leveling system that came in handy when I had to work on the tires.  The blown tire perforated one of the hydraulic lines so that as we were leaving Michigan, fluid was pouring out everywhere.  I was able to make it all the way from Michigan back to Mississippi where I replaced the faulty line.  Also, I was able to get good quality tires for the trailer.  The tires normally run about $500 apiece installed, but the man gave me all four of them for $800 total.  Praise God for His provision.

There were also some minor issues with the truck: a water pump failed after 300,000 miles, and a coolant gasket did the same thing a couple of weeks later.  I have decided not to complain about auto parts that last that long.

We had some wonderful meetings this month, including a first for me.  Pastor John Allen of Valparaiso, Indiana, began a Christian Workers Seminar years ago to try to help the lay workers in his church to be better at what they do.  This year, he invited me to speak twice at the meeting (it goes all day long on a a Saturday) and then to preach in his church the following day.  What a great meeting that was!  It was a great blessing to be able to be a part of it.  Local church meetings SD, MI, and MS were also blessed of the Lord.

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, a dear friend of ours went home to be with the Lord.  Pastor Jason Walker's heart stopped in his sleep, due possibly to A-fib, ushering him into the presence of our Lord.  A week later, my family and I were present at his funeral in Brooklyn, NY.  Over 500 people were there to pay their respects to a man whose ministry was characterized by a love of people.  Please pray for his widow and seven children.  

God has been so good to us and we look forward to continuing ministry as the year winds down.  Thank you all for your prayers.

Of Mountains and Prairies

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monsoon

 Never before have I been in the American Southwest during the monsoon season.  It is a time when the rains come in from the Pacific Ocean and Baja California.  Some monsoon seasons in the past have brought very little rainfall, motivating some in Arizona and New Mexico to rename the season "nonsoon."  This year, however, the rains have come abundantly, causing the desert to burst into green.  As I sit and write, the Catalina Mountains of Southern Arizona are covered in green due to the abundant rain.  Of course, the season will end all too soon and the endless days of sunshine will resume, but it is wonderful to enjoy the ubiquitous evidence of God's gracious provision in the meantime.

After a brief time at home during which I worked a good deal with my hands, we loaded up again and headed for the Southwest.  We had a great time of ministry with the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Phoenix, Arizona.  After preaching to the church on Wednesday, I repaired to the mountains with the men of the church to preach a man camp.  What a time I had hearing how God was working in the lives of the men!  It was a blessing to hear of men who had only recently trusted Christ as Savior growing in the Lord and surrendering to His leading.  Cornerstone Baptist Church has been a church that loves preaching as long as I have known them, and the men of the church seem to set the tone for that love.

Cornerstone has been one of the few churches that support our ministry on a monthly basis.  On Sunday evening after I had finished preaching, the Pastor called his people into a meeting to discuss our monthly support.  His recommendation was that the church double it, but his people voted to increase our support beyond his recommendation.  I am still humbled as I reflect on their generosity.

After a great meeting there in Phoenix, we headed to Tucson where I preached for Pastor Jon Shuerger, a man who was at college with me.  The Lord gave us a great meeting there as well with open doors for the future.

When we assayed to leave Tucson, I discovered a transmission problem in my truck.  After a preliminary attempt to repair it proved unsuccessful, we took it to a mechanic in the area.  He looked at the transmission and discovered that a screw-on filter inside the housing had come off and was blocking the flow of fluid at times.  Just before I sat down to write, he informed me that the truck is fixed and that the bill is paid, by whom I don't know.  All I know is that someone in Tucson has once again decided to serve God by serving others.  Praise the Lord!  Their reward will be given by God Himself.

We head north to Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Indiana in the next month.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

Death Wobble

 June was a very busy month dominated mostly by camp in New Mexico.  With Sarah left behind in Mississippi to tend to things at home, we (Paul, Abigail, Esther, and Daniel) all packed in the truck and headed out to New Mexico for three different camps there.  The first was normal camp, whatever that is, and the other two were horsemanship camps.  God richly blessed in all three camps.  The horsemanship camps are by nature smaller attended than normal camp, but God really worked in all of them, with several salvation decisions in the normal camp.  This camp was unusual in that God began His work right away.  It is not uncommon for there to be a period of camp where people are not very receptive to the preaching and they have to warm up to the very idea of camp.  This time, we saw the Lord work from Monday night onwards.

We formed themselves into a work crew and took on the project of reroofing the bathhouse this year.  The leaking roof had caused several problems in the past, and it was time for a new one.  We tore it off, replaced all the dry-rotted wood, built six new skylights, and put a new metal roof back.  It was a hard job in which all were reminded of how difficult roofing work is, especially in the triple-digit temperatures of New Mexico in June.  The project was not completed until the very last day of the very last camp.  On that day, we installed six skylights, had the final service, loaded all our things, and drove 640 miles to our next meeting in Texas.  It made for a long day.  We are excited to see the things that God will be doing in camp in days to come.

After a couple of days at home, during which time we dove into a home remodeling project, I was off to a meeting in Wilson, North Carolina.  On the drive, I experienced for the first time something that continues to haunt me even as I remember it.  The phenomenon is commonly referred to as death wobble.  As the steering system components wear, the truck can become unmanageable at times.  For me, it was every time I hit a bump on the highway.  Death wobble causes the front end of the moving vehicle to shake uncontrollably, and in my case, continue to do so until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.

My experience with the first problems of steering came on the day that I was to drive over 800 miles to my meeting in NC.  After a routine stop, it seemed as if something was not quite right with the steering.  I pulled the vehicle over and crawled underneath, but could not find anything that looked out of place.  I got back on the road.  After another stop, the same thing occurred, and it seemed that I could not turn the vehicle to the left as far as it was accustomed to  go.  Again, I examined it but found nothing.  Finally, inside the I-285 beltway of Atlanta, GA, it seemed that something fell out from under the truck.  I could not tell what it was, nor was I certain that something had indeed fallen.  Then the death wobble began in earnest.  Before, I had suspected something; now, I was certain.  Just east of the I-75/85 junction with I-20 in Atlanta, I pulled off the highway in a rainstorm and was stuck there.  One of the steering system bolts had come loose and fallen completely out of the vehicle.  Pastor Steven Chambers came to my aid, and we were able to get the truck back on the road.  I arrived at the church where I was to preach shortly after 1:00 on Sunday morning.

After a wonderful day with the Trinity Baptist Church, I set out to head back to Mississippi when the death wobble occurred again.  Deeming it of great importance to get the problem fixed, I found a recommended repair facility in Selma, North Carolina.  There the truck sits now.  I am back at the prophet's chamber of the Trinity Baptist Church with my family 825 miles away.  As I have researched death wobble, I have discovered that it is a problem that has seemingly become more common as more parts are manufactured in China.  It happens even on new vehicles with far fewer miles than I have on my truck.  As I reflect on all that has taken place, I am very grateful that God protected me through all of this.  In all my years of driving, I have never encountered anything behind the wheel that was as frightening as this.

Thank you for your prayers.  It is easy to take something like road safety for granted.  I am grateful that God is still in the business of caring for His people.

Reunions

 As life has brought its changes, one of the realities that we deal with is distance from loved ones.  The greatest void that we feel is our son Josiah's absence from our home and ministry.  Not long ago, he finished his sophomore year at college.  It is a treat whenever we can be with him.  Such a reunion happened over Mother's Day weekend of this year.  Having completed the Spring semester, he drove to Ohio where he joined the family for Mother's Day.  It was so good to have him home.  He is off on summer ministry now, serving with Neighborhood Bible Time.  He will return from Bible Time to Mississippi to an empty house--we will be in meetings out west--before heading off to college once again.

Josiah was not the only family member that we got to spend time with this month.  While in a normal revival meeting in Knox, Indiana, we got to spend some time with the Crow side of the family.  On Mother's Day and the week following, we were with Sarah's mother and step-father, and her Brother Micah's family.  It was a great time of not only seeing our family, but also of ministering alongside them.

Our meetings in Indiana and Ohio have been blessed by God throughout these past weeks.  It is humbling to see how the Lord uses us in every place.  Our time in the Midwest closes next Sunday, after which we head home and then on to New Mexico for camp.

As we head to camp, please pray that God would work in hearts of parents to allow their children to come to camp.  The fear constantly being fomented in the minds of Americans today has had negative impact on traditional means of evangelization.  In other words, parents who would normally have allowed their children to go to camp where they could hear the Gospel are less willing to do so this year.  Please pray that God would overcome the obstacles and allow the young people to come to camp.  Camp has been a place where many have trusted Christ in days gone by.  Please pray that the reactions of people to a disease would not prevent the Gospel from going forward.

Our music CD is still available.  If you would like one, please go to paulcrow.org, click on contact, and send me an e-mail.  We would be glad to get one into your hands.  The Lord has used the music ministry already and our prayer is that He would continue to do so.

Many trouble-free miles are behind us in traveling this year, but there are more miles to travel.  Please pray for safety as we go.

Changes

 The last month saw us change ends of the country from the deserts of Arizona all the way to east coast.  On the way, we picked up a couple of weeks in our home area of West Tennessee/North Mississippi.  The Lord kept us safe the entire way.

One of the dangers facing us early on was dangerous winds as we crossed Texas.  As we drove across the Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa area), we saw trucks and trailers that had overturned in the cross winds.  One man and his travel trailer were completely upside down on the leeward side of the Interstate.  Another tow truck had capsized and was on its side, along with the broken down Chevy he was endeavoring to haul.  We were very grateful to make it back without incident, although we decided to drive much slower than we might otherwise have done.  Praise the Lord for safety over thousands of miles.

One of the highlights every year for our family is going to minister in New York City.  With all of the problems that the city presents, there are still a lot of good people there.  It was a blessing to see them again and to be able to minister there.  Praise the Lord that in the midst of all of the COVID-19 madness, there are still churches preaching the Gospel.  The city itself seemed like a ghost town compared to normal, evidently due to the fact that so many are telecommuting to work these days.  It was somewhat eerie to see the buildings with almost no one coming or going in the vicinity.

We also got the opportunity to ministry just across the river from the nation's capital in Alexandria, Virginia.  Pastor Philip Bishop has been faithfully serving there for many years and has been a dear friend for a long time.

After two more stops in Virginia, we head for the Midwest for a couple of months.  Please pray that God will continue to open doors.

Some of you reading this receive this update automatically in your inbox as I publish it on my blog.  The host has informed me that this service will be discontinued in the coming months.  What I need is for everyone who would like to continue to receive this message as an email to send me a personal email message confirming that you would like to continue to receive it.  You can email us by going to our website paulcrow.org and finding the contact page there.  I will take the addresses of those who contact me and form another list so that you will not miss any news from our ministry.

Thanks so much for praying.  Please pray that God will open hearts to the Gospel.

Blessings in a Desert Place

 The Lord has given us a wonderful month of serving Him, this time in the Southwestern portion of our nation.  There is something refreshing about reading of the rest of the nation in snow and ice while we suffer for Jesus in the sunshine of Southern California or Arizona.  But the Lord did a great work in the places where He called us to go.

I had not been in full-time evangelism for one whole year before Fundamental Baptist Church of Escondido, California, had me for a week-long meeting.  They have been having me ever since.  Over the years, it has been rewarding to see how the Lord has worked in the lives of people.  This year, we saw three walk the aisle and trust Christ as Savior.  Two were a couple, the man being a drill instructor for the Marines.

Another highlight of our stay in California was preaching in a new church plant in the high desert town of Phelan.  The Shepherd's Call Baptist Church lost their place to meet due to COVID-19, but they are continuing to meet in places that the Lord has supplied for them.  Please pray that God will give them a more permanent place to meet.

From California, it was off to Arizona.  Coming down from the high desert to Indio, California is a descent of nearly 4,000 feet.  On that drive, we were having a problem with our brakes on the truck.  This has been an ongoing problem dating back to last year.  We parked at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, and asked them for recommendations of mechanics that we could use to get some work done.  I expected a simple brake job.  Instead, the mechanic told me that many components of the front end were worn out and had to be replaced.  The bill totaled over $5,000.  The Lord laid it on the heart of Pastor John Roy to help us with half of the repair.  We are so grateful to him and the people of Cornerstone.

The truck repair was done just in time for us to get to our next meeting in Amado, AZ.  Pastor Richard Bloxton and his people are a congregation that absolutely loves preaching, and it was a joy to be with them again.  Part of my reason for being in that part of Arizona was to talk to churches about upcoming summer camp.  In all of the madness surrounding the virus, children, who are the lowest risk category, have suffered the most from people's reaction.  One of the messages I had to communicate was that we still plan to provide an opportunity for children to come apart and be ministered to in a camp setting.

From Amado, we were in the New Testament Baptist Church of Safford, Arizona.  What a great group of people!  They seemed to just love hearing the Word of God.  In conversation, I mentioned a camp need in passing, and the Lord laid it on the heart of the church to meet the need.  Praise the Lord!

One final church in Arivaca, AZ, finished out the month.  Pastor Rick Lewis and his dear wife Leah had invited us to come years ago, but we were only able to come this year.  What a blessing it was to see all that God has done through the years in the Faith Baptist Church of Arivaca. 

As I write this, we have stopped for the night in Monahans, Texas, in our return trip to Mississippi.  The plan is to be home late Thursday night.  Thank you for all of your prayers for us.  Know that God is working in hearts.

Coast to Coast

 The meetings are running in full tilt right now.  We have been in Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and now California as we preach the Gospel in different churches.  God has been good to us to keep us safe and to have everything going well.

When we took our trailer to Louisiana, we discovered a serious water leak that included the need to replace our water heater.  This was a difficult process that included tearing out a lot of rotten wood from the trailer and replacing it with new 3/4 in. plywood.  This task we completed while in a meeting in our home church in Mississippi.  When we left with trailer in tow, we thought that the water could be fixed at the next church.  After a couple of days of showering in a different building, we got the leak fixed--or so we thought.  It seemed that each time one fitting was repaired another leak showed up in its place.  Then, the leaks would seemingly stop for a while only to return the next day.  It was not until Monday of this week that I got the final fitting, I hope, fixed.  At least, there was not water the next morning when I looked at it.  I will probably take the bay apart and look again soon just to make certain that the hose that didn't leak when I put everything back together is still water tight.  What a circus this has been!

Sam was standing in line at a local auto parts store here in California when he heard the pastor offer a tract to the clerk behind the counter.  He requested that he might have a tract as well, and the pastor was only too happy to oblige.  In the process of the conversation, the pastor was able to lead Sam to Christ at the auto parts store.  Sam was in church this evening.  Please pray for him as he grows in the Lord.

Please also pray for a woman named Saida (spelling?) who works with a church member here in California.  She is going through a difficult divorce and needs to be saved.  Please pray that God will overcome every obstacle so that she will come, hear the Gospel, and trust Christ.

One of the great burdens I have is to see people under the sound of the Gospel.  In all that has taken place in the name of COVID-19, it is difficult to miss the fact that the scare over the virus has been disruptive for churches.  Especially disrupted has been evangelistic outreach of different kinds.  As hard as it was to get unsaved people to church before, it seems even harder with the fear of disease thrown into the mix.  It almost seems as if Satan concocted this plan to further alienate sinners from the truth that will set them free.  Would you pray that God will give you and me, both of us, utterance to give the Gospel during this time?  As always, thank you for your prayers.