ARCHIVE GALLERY
February 2010
February 16, 2010
I am going to attempt to get this entry posted before everyone wakes up and the quiet stillness of the early morning evaporates!
We had a fabulous few weeks in Glendale, Arizona but now our time there is done. We spent last night in El Paso, Texas, before beginning the drive to Arlington, Texas, to prep for our upcoming weekend. But, let me back up and tell you about the last couple of weeks.
We worshipped with Pastor Ed West and his wife Janelle at their church, Desert Bible Fellowship, in Mesa, Arizona. This was probably our 6th time with that congregation and we just love them. They are so warm, loving and responsive. They just moved into a storefront with great accessibility and the facility is perfect for them. Before the service started, I met a woman with an infant with Cystic Fibrosis. I asked her if we could anoint him with oil and pray over him and she said, “Yes. Many people have prayed over this child.” I could tell the story behind it was great, so I asked her for the details. She told me the baby, named, Matthias Miracle, was said to have Down’s Syndrome while still in the womb. The mom said, “No…he doesn’t.” She enlisted prayer support from everywhere! Then, she was told one of his hips was broken and the other leg did not have any bones in it. Again, they prayed and sometime later, she felt a kick. The doctor told her it was impossible, but since this was her fourth child, she insisted on another sonogram, in which she paid for. Sure enough, the doctor found a tiny stump of a growing bone in his leg. I believe the other hip was healed…she continued to pay for sonograms every three weeks just to chart the growth. Sure enough, Matthias Miracle was born with two perfect legs and did not have Down’s Syndrome. Matthias’ parents have experienced the Lord in ways I have yet to. Amazing people of faith. It was a wonderful time of worship and easy to lead this flock.
My sister, Keli, and three nieces met us in Mesa, Arizona (they live in San Diego) for the weekend and it was so good to see them. We missed Jeff, our brother-in-law, but unfortunately, he had scheduling conflicts. So, we enjoyed the time with family and had a Sunday afternoon filled with charades and hamburgers. I cannot remember when I have laughed so hard. Five cousins who haven’t seen each other for over a year and a half, who call and Facebook continuously, makes for a rip roarin’ time! Keli, Kierstin and Celeste left on Monday evening to make the long journey back to California, while we said our tearful goodbyes. Amber, 19 and a freshman in college, is taking online courses this semester so that she can travel with us for a few months and get a little taste of what a traveling ministry is like. I can really see this kid in missions…exciting days! So, the RV has gotten even smaller, with an extra body. I told Amber, “Honey, when you feel like you are in the way, it is because you are. We are all in the way…just get used to it and you will love it.” It took about three days for her to get the feel of stepping around us…now she just looks at us and says, “You’re gonna have to wait…”
We sang at the Veteran’s Hospital in Phoenix that next Wednesday. We actually sang for the Community Living Center, which is for long term residents. Randy serves on the Evangelical Church Alliance board with Elmon Crupnik, the chaplain at the VA Hospital. It was fantastic. We met Garth Brown, a 90 year old survivor from Pearl Harbor who served on five different ships (three of them went down) and countless men who served in all different branches of the military. As we sang “God Bless America,” a wheelchair bound man struggled with all of his might to rise to his feet. He stood through the entire song…with tears in his eyes…it was all we could do to finish the chorus. An employee came to his aid, but only stood behind him just in case he tired. No pictures are allowed, so unfortunately, I cannot show you these people who fought for our freedom, but I know that our family will never forget that day. To look in the eyes of these people and say, “Thank you for endangering your life for me…” Wow! It was sobering for all of us. We shared the gospel with them and prayed that Jesus would be their Savior. We were invited back for next year.
We left Glendale on Friday and headed to Phoenix to Desert Christian Chapel. Friday night was a Valentine’s Day Banquet…I was so exhausted that I laid down on the back bed in the RV as we were driving there to catch a quick nap before setting up. Randy woke me up one hour before the banquet started…just enough time to get ready. I really appreciated him letting me out of the set up. I felt so much better. The banquet was lovely and we enjoyed singing our wedding songs we wrote for each other as well as our new “Famous Duets Medley.” It all ended with thanking the Lord for His perfect love…
We taught a short seminar on "Crisis" on Saturday morning. (Like we know anything about that!) Randy did most of it…and did a great job. He focused on crisis in marriage and how the economical situation in our country and world affects all of us individually. It was really good.
Sunday morning had two services which both went really well. The first one is more traditional and the older people worshipped right along with us. The second service is a bit more energetic…we loved both of them and feel very blessed to be invited back to this church year after year. Pastor Tom and worship leader Steve are both humble servants of God reaching the practical needs of their community with the hope of Christ. They have a wonderful ministry and are always so generous to us. We heard so many testimonies from the congregation of encouragement…I love that place. Personally, God blessed me abundantly on Sunday. As I was challenging the people in the second service, I spoke briefly about the importance of being able to receive a gift. If I can’t graciously receive a gift from an earthly friend, how can I receive the gift of salvation? It struck me in the heart and I knew someone needed that. It was me! Later than night, I got an email from dear friends from Michigan saying they were sending me an IPOD Touch! I could not believe it…immediately I thought, “That is too much…I cannot accept that.” The Lord quickly reminded me about my challenge to the people. It was an awesome feeling…God loves me so much! His blessings go far beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you dear friends!
So, now we are somewhere in Western Texas, getting ready for a long day of travel. Please continue to pray for our safety and more opportunities to tell people about Jesus. Everybody is beginning to wake up and the day is off and running. Have a great week worshipping the Lord all along the way.
February 22, 2010
My family loves to watch Christian comedian, Tim Hawkins. If you are unfamiliar with him, go to youtube.com and search him. Last Monday, KC went on Tim’s website to see if we would be crossing paths with him anytime on our tour. We went to one of his concerts last fall in Michigan and loved it. Kennedie made a T-shirt with his picture printed on it…he loved it. So, we are constantly checking to see if he happens to have a concert in the area where we are parked. KC found that two days later he was performing in Arlington, Texas, the exact city where we were headed. I emailed the organization and reserved 5 tickets for Wednesday afternoon. We high tailed it to Texas, driving about 14 hours on Tuesday. Even though it was a long day, everybody was excited to see Tim the next day, so there was very little complaining! We ended up sitting at the front center table (it was a luncheon for Senior Citizens!) not ten feet from Tim. We stood in line to talk with Tim and thank him for the DVDs he has marketed. We refreshed his memory about meeting us in the Fall and that we travel fulltime in a ministry…he shouted across the room to his brother, “Hey Todd! The FREAK missionaries are here!!!” We were so honored to be called “freak missionaries” by Tim Hawkins! That is our new title. We told him we are stalkers…but the safe, praying kind…so it’s all good.
Friday through Sunday was a women’s retreat for Arlington First Church of The Nazarene. This is our second year in a row that I was the speaker and we led worship as well. There were about 50 ladies there and Kennedie and Amber attended every session also. That was a first for them and they both complimented me…I don’t think they realized how much work a retreat actually is! KC sat through the first session and came to me at the end and said, “This is fantastic! You did a great job, mom! Just fabulous!” Ha! We usually make other arrangements for them during retreats, so they had no clue how much we actually work. They all loved it.
The theme was “Becoming a Reflection of God” which was an easy topic to spread over 4 sessions. I used a full length mirror and put four layers of clear laminate over it to depict four common lies of Satan. At each session, I spoke about the four lies (“I am not valuable”, “I will never amount to anything”, “God cannot forgive me”, “My value lies in physical appearance”) and combated those lies with the truth of God’s Word. At the end of the session, I peeled away one layer of laminate making the image a bit clearer. The object worked well and I was again challenged to learn the Word, so I can teach it. We read a lot of scripture – and I mean A LOT. The ladies hung with me and we ended the weekend by praying over each woman individually. There were 3 or 4 that gave their lives to the Lord! It was awesome to see these women surrender their insecurities to Christ and I was blessed to spend the weekend with them. The Lord did wonderful things that we may never know about and that is fine with me. It was an honor to be a part of building the Kingdom this weekend.
I pray you have a great week. Thanks for thinking of us.