Wednesday

In an effort to conserve vacation time, we have gone back and forth a few times this week. Wednesday we left off plenty early and headed to Hastings. We made it about halfway when it became apparent that the alternator wasnt working and before we reached the next exit, the truck lost power and stalled. While we were discouraged to miss the last meeting of this great conference and have opportunity to spend more time with the people, there were many blessings that came of this. We were on the side of the road counting our blessings for this taking place. Here is some of what we came up with then and a few that were realized since
1) we had a cell phone - allowing us to call the pastor...and a tow truck
2) it was daylight - no power, no light, little girls - dark, side of the highway - would have been scary for them - grateful it was still light
3) when the power died on the truck we safely got to the side of the road
4) it was not our night to present/preach - that was Sunday, so at least it did not put the Pastor in a tough spot.
5) I had roadside towing service so that was covered
6) the garage we towed it to was literally next door to a Days Inn hotel
7) We had a cooler with some cold drinks and some snacks to keep the kids occupied.
8) The garage got to work on the truck early in the morning and it was done by checkout time so we didnt have to sit around at the garage waiting with the girls
9) Pastor Zopff was very understanding - we got back to the church, got our display materials and was even treated to lunch - what a blessing.
10) arrived home safely thursday afternoon
11) work has been very accomodating and understanding as well
12) When we picked up the materials from the church we found that one of the members bought us a box of diapers and left it for us - always a blessing, amen?
There are many more that we likely didnt consider or I am not thinking of now.

It has been a good week. Praise the Lord!
Pray for the Central Baptist Church - they will be building a new church building on 50 acres of land they obtained likely starting this summer. Their pews are full now and they are excited to see God putting all this together. They love missions and God is growing them so they can grow their impact in all the world - praise God!

Homegrown Missions Conference

We had a great time this week with many of our heroes of the faith. The conference at FBBC through whose ministry I was raised, saved, trained etc was focused this past week on the 27 individuals and families that were trained at FBBC and are serving or preparing to serve on fields all over the world. 13 of these families were present this week.

It was a blessing to be able to stand in front of so many of our dearest friends, brothers and sisters in Christ and share with them how their investment in us is just one more indication that our labor is never in vain in the Lord. We praise the Lord for the amount of encouragement and prayer support that families have offered us. We knew that many we have been close with for years would be by our side but we were humbled by all those that we dont know well in this large church who are taking an active part in the Philippines by beseeching God to do a work there.

Autumn with Grandma

Autumn joined me at Men's prayer meeting on Tuesday night after the service. It has done her well to be around all the older Missionary kids this week, they have such a sweet spirit and have encouraged her in the Lord. She will likely not understand what to expect on the field of for the next many months of deputation but she is excited that God is in control and has been amazed at the many answered prayers we have seen already! Praise the Lord!

First Missions Conference!

It is such a blessing to have begun formally presenting the call of God on our lives at churches. The first conference of course will be a memorable experience simply because it was the first one but we are blessed in that we will always look back at this conference as a true joy. From March 30th-April 2nd we were in Lockport, NY at Antioch Bible Baptist Church. The conference included a music school during the day in which we learned how to sing the great hymns of the faith in four part harmony. This was an educational experience for me and while I have much learning to do yet, I undoubtedly profited from this experience.

Pastor Steve Pawley was a gracious host to us, he allowed each of the missionaries ample time not only to present ministry but to preach and to present a charge to the youth. The church family was wonderful, they showered us with blessings, love and hospitality - we were humbled by the sweet spirit of this group as well as the love and nurture that they have for each other in the congregation. Pastor Ron Ralph from Cornerstone Batist in Carthage TN preached a spirit filld conference and it was great to see how God brought all of the messages together and the response of the people in attendance. It was no coincidence that the conference was blessed as the church as a family all spent significant time of prayer and fasting in anticipation of the conference. We praise the Lord for Antioch and for the wonderful experience.

As you can see, Anna enjoyed her violin lessons

Every wall of this church shouts out the love and burden they have for world missions. All of their missionaries are prominently displayed year round. It is heir parents, pastors and missionaries that the kids of the church look at as present day examples. With this atmosphere I have little doubt that Antioch will see some young people yield to God in the future toward ministry and missions.

A couple other blessings which were not coincidental nor minor were that the Barone family was there with us. To be able to share our first conference with friends who have invested in us and shared their wisdom gained from experience was a great blessing.

We were encouraged to meet one of the missionary families - the Youngs to Australia considering that she is a filipina! There were also many other like blessings and testimonies that we could share of how great God has been through all of this but I dont want to add to my reputation of writing too much.

Lest we forget...tell someone of the the Lord Jesus today!