WOW!

So we began our trip back to Alabama at about 10:30, planning on being back at where we stay by about 7:00.  There were numerous accidents however, and a lot of rain.  The worst accident was south of Louisville, KY and involved a few cars and a semi tractor-trailer.  It was pretty bad--they had the interstate blocked for about 50 miles, and the traffic on our side was stopped so that the rubber-neckers could get their fix.  The result--a much longer drive than we intended, but things were looking up by the time we got to Nashville.  We stopped one last time to fill up with gas then we were back on our way--almost.  As I was pulling away from the pump, I heard the old familiar sound of a tire flopping.  I stopped right there, got out, and yep, definitely had a flat tire.  How I got it I'll never know--everything was fine on the interstate by I got an immediate flat at the gas station.

So, I went through the drill.  Unpack the van, unload the jack, and then lower the tire from the bottom of the van.  I had a problem with the spare last winter, but this time I knew I just had to pry the locking mechanism with a flat head screw driver and the spare would eventually fall (this time, however, I was careful to not lower the winch cable so far as to let the spare tire bounce off of my forehead when finally released).

One guy in a nurse uniform asked me if I needed help, but I really was fine.  Everything was going fine.  As I was finally putting the lug-nuts back on, a well-dressed guy came up and asked if I needed anything.  I told him "no thanks" and he and I started talking.  He asked where I was coming from, where I was going, etc.  I wasn't really paying much attention to him, I was then getting my mind back on driving the last hour and a half home, and to finally eat supper.  All of the sudden, the guy said "I don't know why, but The Lord wants me to give this to you."  NOW, he had my attention!  I declined, of course, but as he insisted I stood up to properly converse with him, then politely asked him to hand it to my wife.  I asked him if he was indeed a Christian, and he went on to tell me he attends a baptist church in Nashville, and that he's definitely saved and on his way to Heaven.  Then he told me he knew God wanted him to give us the money, but he didn't know why, and if we knew.  I told him then that we were missionaries to Mexico, and that we would be able to use the money to get new tires on the van.  $200.00 worth! 

The other day at Walmart, they told me they couldn't do a rotation/balance on my tires because the tires were trash.  The thing was, even though I had the money to get the new tires, I didn't feel like it was the right time.  So, I told my wife we would wait and see how The Lord would work it all out. 

This isn't the first time something like this has happened, either.  As a matter of fact, I could give three other very interesting stories about how God has put people in our way to help meet our needs since we started on deputation last July.  It's been a miraculous year and we praise THE God of Heaven for blessing us so much!

Blessed, as ALWAYS

We had a fantastic meeting in Clyde, OH on Wednesday night.  There was a great crowd and the people were on fire for The Lord.  We were privileged to present our burden for Mexico there--I gave a testimony, showed our DVD, and preached a message on "Bringing Salvation Closer to the Wicked."  One young man received Christ and others made decisions at the old fashioned altar.  God's just always good! We were invited to come back for their annual Missions Conference in October and we are praying the church will also take us on for monthly financial support.

By the way--we've noticed a trend in the churches we visit and present our work.  God is blessing the churches that are majoring on accomplishing the Great Commission.  He is blessing them spiritually, numerically, and financially.  Pastor Kevin Folger testified at his church's Missions Conference that Cleveland has been economically depressed for about 10 years, yet their Faith Promise giving continues to rise, as they continue to do their best to turn the world upside down.  Other churches and other pastors tell us the same thing, but their are some churches that aren't experiencing the same blessings.  The solution is easy to see--major on getting God's Gospel to the lost and dying world, starting in Jerusalem (where that particular local church is) and spreading out to the uttermost.  God help us to refocus and rededicate our lives and ministry to soul-winning and evangelism.

On a lighter note, we're about to be back on the road, starting tomorrow Lord willing.  We're going to be very busy the rest of this month, so I took the family out for a day without planners and cell phones.  We had a wonderful time and ran into a couple different folks we've met over the last year, quite unexpectedly.  Thank God we can fellowship with good folks, even if by surprise!

So, we're on the road again tomorrow, as long as Ashley lets me sleep tonight (if not...driving 10 hours back south to Alabama will be horrendous).  We want to go visiting and soul-winning down in Crossville, AL on Saturday, and attend a Tennessee Independent Baptist Fellowship meeting there afterwards.  Sunday is a free day so far, but prayerfully we'll be able to either put some meetings together by then or just drop in somewhere.

Bookin'!

So, I booked a few meetings today. One is all the way in the Northwest, in NW Washington, and the other in southeast Indiana. We praise God for more opportunities to present our work and burden for Arteaga, Mexico.

I also spoke with a dear man of God from Georgia early this morning. He took about 20 minutes out of his day to get to know me and talk about how good God is. Afterwards, he invited me to his campmeeting coming up in the beginning of August.

I was able to get everything done today that I needed to, with The Lord's help. Walmart told me they couldn't do my tire rotation and balance, that the tires were too dangerous. It could all be cured by spending $350 on 4 new tires, though! I didn't feel that was what God wanted right then, so I thanked them with some tracts and left. We even had a couple hours to ourselves to go get ice cream while Ashley stayed with my parents!

God's so good to us, all the time. It's 10:00pm and I'm about to get my notes and plans ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow night we'll be in Clyde, OH for a meeting at Harvest Baptist Temple. The town of Clyde is infamous in my family--it's the only place in the world where my mother has gotten a speeding ticket. They not only gave her a ticket, but they hauled her off to jail, too! All for a speeding ticket!

Planning

I will never get over how much planning and preparing we do as missionaries on deputation. I spend all day calling, then in the evening I get organized and ready to make calls the next day. Some are cold calls, some are follow up calls from previous conversations, and some are follow up calls to churches/pastors where we've had meetings. I spend the evenings spamming pastors with my packet of information, too.

Tonight in between all of the preparation for tomorrow, I changed the oil in the van and put air in the tires. While I waited for it to drain, I started transferring information from my old calendar/planner to my new one. I had to put about 30 new phone #'s in my phone, too. Getting and staying organized is such a hassle!

So, tomorrow will be another exciting day on the phone and internet, sending packets via spam. In between, I am going to get the tires rotated/balanced on the van at Walmart, stop at AAA, and then take the family to a thrift store to update our wardrobe.

Prayerfully, joyfully, and determined!

Sunday Stories

Well we had a great time on Sunday, all day. We "dropped in" on a great church in Mansfield, OH (Caesarea Baptist Church) and were blessed by meeting a good, like-minded pastor. There was a good patriotic theme for the preaching service and the people were very friendly. The pastor was even kind enough to take us to eat at Bob Evans for lunch!

Sunday night was equally wonderful. We had a great time at First Baptist Church of Eaton. The people were more friendly than most and we just had an all-around good time. I preached "What Must We Do With The Gospel" and had real liberty. The good pastor took us out to eat, and we enjoyed Bob Evans for the 2nd time in a row! They also put us up in the Hampton Inn, a very nice hotel (right across from a buffalo wing place!).

We missed the fireworks completely. I was hoping to be able to take Erika and Ashley to see some (neither ever have) but the timing was not good, being on Sunday night. Maybe next year!