Step One-Step Two

Abigail and Ezra are preparing to attend Master's Baptist College this fall. Step One was to travel to Ohio with Abigail to leave her there for a short visit with family and church back there. Our home church wanted to have the opportunity to give her both a graduation and goodbye fellowship before she headed to Fargo. She was also invited to go on vacation with my older brother and his wife with some of her cousins this next week in North Carolina.

So that was Step One to get her to Fargo and it was also Step Two of my emergency dental work of a few months back. My dentist was concerned about the damage done to my jaw. The follow up visit shows that the jaw is healing and the infection is gone. It was too soon to prepare the teeth for the needed crowns so that will be Step Three someday in the future.


In between those two steps were hundreds of others! In our travels back to Ohio I was able to "show up" for a men's prayer breakfast at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, St. Clair, Missouri and then continue on to Ohio that same day. I was able to visit my parents and help out just a little with some projects for them. I was also able to help Ezra with some work on his car. All the family got together on my only free evening on a Tuesday. Wednesday I was able to preach at Anchor Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Ohio. Thursday to meet with a new missionary that our church will be sending to Colorado to start another church. It was a very full few days away from Mexico.



Pain, Patience and Persistence

For the past four years I have had some problems with a tooth. I have seen my dentist several times and he has remedied my problems but they have kept coming back. Several months ago I became chronically tired and began to feel old (I know - I mean ancient old). Finally one Saturday I did not even have the strength to do our normal Saturday soul winning and we chalked it up as food poisoning from having to eat out the day before. By the next Saturday it became obvious that I was literally dying and was in severe pain but at least I now knew the problem. Evidently I had a severe tooth and jaw infection and immediate action was needed. I have since made an emergency trip to Ohio to see my dentist and had a double root canal performed.

On this side of things, in the ministry it is all about patience and persistence. For two weeks we have had one family out of town on vacation, one family has become very inconsistent, and we have two families with extended family needs that have required their attention. We have dropped back as much as having only my family and one other in one Wednesday service. Patience and persistence is the key right now.

We also made our annual trip to Bullhead City to be with Mohave Baptist Church for their annual Fourth of July Picnic in the Hualapai Mountains. We enjoyed a rainy day in the sixties rather than our normal (yesterday was 108 with the humidity of thunderheads in the sky). Pastor Randall allowed me to preach while we were there and we enjoyed the fellowship with our former church folk. Pastor Randall also wanted to pass along the pulpit that I had made while at Mohave Baptist Church in that it was "made for me" at 6'3". I am now preaching from behind the same pulpit that I used for years - just in a different location. Thank you Pastor Randall and Mohave Baptist Church.

Thank you for your faithfulness to bring us before the Throne of God.

Izabell and "Little Auntie"

Family from Navojoa

 Anna

"Enjoying the Fourth of July in the Hualapai Mountain coolness"

Saturday Visitation

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy anniversary, Pastor and Peggy. Thank you for your service in the Lord.  May God bless you with many more years together.

Abigail

Our children have always been a real and a big part of our ministry.  To the point that I cannot imagine ministry without my children but the years are working that way.  Abigail will be attending Master's Baptist College in Fargo, North Dakota this fall and she will leave a huge hole here in the work of the ministry and she will be greatly missed!  She has been a big draw for the work and a benefit for the ladies.  Although Abigail is only eighteen the ladies identify more with her age than with Peggy and I and her fluency in Spanish makes it easier for the ladies to talk to her.  God has sent the work another young lady to help transition through the departure of Abigail but she will be greatly missed.

So we have been working on some final details before that day arrives.  One of those on my part has been to teach each of my children a little about cars so that they will at least have an idea when the inevitable break down comes.  Each of my children have "inherited" a classic to work on and Abigail's is a 1967 Ford Ranchero.  However when it was decided that she would be going to Fargo, North Dakota we thought that she should also at least have four wheel drive and fuel injection due to the weather to be expected.  Abigail picked out this 1988 Ford Ranger from a friend's car lot and we have been busy preparing it.  Together we have pulled the motor to clean it up and replace all gaskets and seals.  Once it is running again we will tackle some cosmetic work as well.

Abigail - thank you for joyfully and whole heatedly entering in to the work of the ministry that God has called your dad to.  You have been a blessing and tremendous help.  All the best as you begin to prepare on the next part of life's journey.  Your family and the mission field will miss you.  We love you!

The 1967 Ford Ranchero

Getting started on the Ranger

Pulling the motor out of the Ranger

Rebuilding the Ranger's motor

Driver's License Day

One Of Those Days

 Ever have one of those days?

Of course the question in my life would more appropriately be, ever have one of those days, weeks, months, years - LIVES?

Evidently I have had a very severe infection for sometime.  I wondered why I felt like I was dying a slow death!  This past Saturday you could have come to my house and watched a grown man cry in agony on his knees.  But that's a different story that I'll fill you in on later.

Today started normal enough.  After breakfast my first thought and business was to get to the bank so that I could send some money to a Mexican pastor who will be traveling here to Magdalena next week to be with us and to send our mission's support to a missionary that we support.  Well, I go out to the van and it refused to start.  My neighbor across the street happens to be out working on his car and comes over to see what's up.

Jesus, my neighbor, is a good man and a good neighbor but his family is VERY Jehovah Witness.  I have prayed for the three years that we have been in this house for his and his family's salvation.  I also am aware that God often uses everyday life to bring others to Christ.  So Jesus comes over not necessarily because my van will not start but because he has been waiting on me to come outside because he needs help with his car.  So he says, "I am working on my car today too."  "Do you happen to have this tool?"  So I go across the street to see what he needs and end up helping him take apart his front seat so that we can bring it over to my house and weld it up.  We weld it up and then go back and help him put it all together and into his van.  He takes off.  It is now 1 PM.  I have not gotten to the bank and my van still doesn't run.

I get a bite to eat and start working on the old GMC.  I replaced the fuel pump, then I replaced the fuel filter (taking a diesel bath in the meantime) but it refused to start.  I knew it was a fuel issue to start with but who knows.  Of course by this time the batteries were down and I had it plugged into life support and finally had to change out the main battery - still would not start.  Remember I am trying to get to the bank, now before it closes.  It turns out a Schroeder valve was leaking and pulling air.  Finally the good old GMC is running again!  Thank you Lord.

Well I cleaned up and took off to the bank - it was closed.  So, tomorrow I'll start again. 

It's all good as long as God gets the honor and glory from my life.  It's all good as long as God uses this life to bring others to Him.  Ever had one of those days?  I'll take them as long as God is honored!
 


Spending An Afternoon With Good Friends

Sofia

More Church Building Supplies



All Kids Love A Pinata

God Is At Work!





The Happy Couple

So we had a good trip to Navojoa and back for Martin and Imelda's wedding. Once they arrived here in Magdalena, the church had a Welcome Party for them on a Sunday. We had a big day and Peggy fixed a great American meal that was enjoyed by all. We tired to get them to add some Mexican to it but they were all excited about a real American "Thanksgiving" meal.

The church showered the happy couple with some more wedding gifts and made them feel welcomed. It was a good day for all.

The Hopeless Cause:

In contrast to the happy couple you had me for the past two weeks. I caught some type of summer cold and was worse than useless for a week. I even lost my voice and still whispered my way though the mid-week service. I finally got over that and promptly got food poisoning for a Saturday and Sunday. Of course it had to be a "big" Sunday when we were celebrating "Day of the Children" with a cook-out and fiesta for the whole church. It was great to see our people recognize that I was in a very bad way and pick up the slack and make it a great day.

I sure am glad that God can even use hopeless causes such as I!

OUT OF RETIREMENT

This past week we had to call our 99 GMC van out of retirement for a trip to Navojoa for a wedding. Although the GMC is our main use vehicle here in Magdalena we retired her from long trips as she has become less than dependable on long efforts. True to form we had gone less than an hour when she began to complain. Thankfully she endured to the end and took us there and brought us back although at one point we were traveling at the break neck speed of 35 MPH!

We traveled the eight hours down and eight back with two of the families of our work. What a tremendous blessing it was to be able to travel with them and enjoy the few days of fellowship. This is the first for both families to see and experience other churches of like precious faith. We gave them a self guided tour of our former labor in Navojoa, they saw their first christian wedding and enjoyed being part of the christian reception that followed. Now they too want to have their own christian wedding!

We had fourteen in our twelve passenger van on the way down but if we thought we were full going we were sardines returning! We added a washing machine, two sacks of 120 pounds of potatoes and all of the brides presents and suitcases. Space was at a premium!
We also took them out on Friday to an excursion to the colonial town of Alamos. They have added stairs to their lookout point since our last visit some four or five years ago. 474 to be exact. We drove everyone to the top but the youth wanted to go down the stairs and back up. Not to be left out (actually to keep an eye on the younguns) I exercise my legs and lungs. Maybe I need to be retired like the GMC from such strenuous efforts!