Monthly Archives: January 2007

Conference Update

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The conference went extremely well last night. We all have our “jobs” for set up, and the setting up was pretty smooth, especially for the first night of the trip.

For the first time slot, we had four different sessions: Mom spoke to the ladies, Dad to the men, Christopher to the young men, and I to the young ladies. Hearts seemed to be quite receptive! We enjoyed seeing several families whom we had met previously at the Orlando convention a year and a half ago. One family drove 300 miles to attend the conference. We were so blessed that they took the time and effort to come. For the second session, Dad and Mom jointly gave Keeping Our Children’s Hearts while Christopher gave Evangelism to the young people. Hearts were very open to the session. As the closing to the Hearts session, our family sang a few songs–gospel bluegrass style.

We were very overwhelmed by the way that Jesus provided for our traveling expenses. The coordinator had done a great job of organizing the conference–thank you! They even gave us a box of delicious fruit, pound cake, and other items. We now know how good a fresh orange is :-).

Today was a quieter day. We took a walk at Wachiva State Park, which we accidentally found last night after a wrong turn. The weather is wonderful: it feels like spring to us. It almost seems surreal to be experiencing such nice weather when back at home in Kansas, they’re having snow! We also are amazed at the green grass, flowers, etc. We enjoyed our family time today as we admired God’s creation.

We’re on to Albany, Georgia tomorrow. Thank you for your continued prayers. We hope to continue meeting ya’ll!

Sarah for the rest
Dad and Mom

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School continues even on the road! During sessions, when the children are back with the book table, they’re able to work on school! (They also do school other times during the trip :-).)

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Update: We’re making great progress!

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We wanted to post a quick update on our progress. Jesus gave Dad the idea last night to rotate our trailer tires. So, this morning, Dad and John rotated the tires before we left. We stopped mid-morning for gas, and Dad checked the tire. It was definitely showing wear but still holding out. We stopped mid-afternoon, and Dad was amazed at the condition of the tire. It’s really not showing much more wear than this morning, and we attribute that to prayer.

Thank you for your prayers! Lord willing, we’ll be in Orlando tonight, and then we’ll be able to buy new trailer tires there tomorrow or Wednesday.

Only for Jesus,
Sarah

The Trip Begins with a Little Unexpected Twist

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We are in Kentucky tonight! The morning felt like a normal trip morning as we scurried around, finishing last-minute preparations. After the guys finished packing the trailer, Grandad and Grandma came over. Even though the temperatures were chilly, we gathered together outside while Grandad prayed for us. We said good-byes and headed off for church. Our dear fellowship was glad to see our family, and we had a blessed worship service. Around 11 a.m., we were officially on the road.

The 500-mile drive passed quite uneventfully, and we only made one stop for gas. Mom is a pro at making sandwiches in the van! We listened to two sermons and enjoyed talking together and watching the scenery.

After we unloaded at the hotel, Dad and John went to fill up with diesel across the street. When they came back, Dad made some comment by which I could tell we had a problem. Dad felt Jesus prompting him to look over the trailer, and he discovered an axle on our trailer is going bad, thus the tire is becoming bald. We planned on driving 800 miles tomorrow, but it looks as if our plans may change. We will need to find a place to find trailer tires. Dad will be watching the tire carefully as we drive tomorrow, and he’ll be placing a call into the trailer place in Kansas City to get their advice. A big praise the Lord is we don’t need to be in Orlando until Tuesday night, so we have an extra day. Please pray for safety as we continue: number one we want to wear the tire down as much as possible without it blowing, and number two the half-used spare might make it the rest of the way to Orlando.

Thank you for your prayers!

Sarah for the rest

The Preparations Begin!

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Our family is beginning to prepare for a 2 week trip which includes 6 conferences. It is always amazing how pressures seem to come the week of a trip. Please pray for us as we work through the details that must be completed before Sunday. We will be doing our normal Sunday morning worship service at the nursing home, and then we’ll be “taking off” (aka—in our van!) for the trip.

For those who might be interested, here’s a brief look at the schedule:

Detailed info is available by clicking the cities above or on our speaking schedule.

We’ll be posting “on the road” updates, too. We are greatly appreciative of your prayers as we prepare our hearts and then as we embark on our journey, for safety and for those attending the conferences.

We hope to meet many of you!! Blessings from all of us.

Only for Jesus,
Sarah

Saturday at the Mission

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On Saturday, the boys, Grandad, and I went to the homeless shelter to minister. Another brother from the area joined us because he wanted to be in on our noon chapel service. Since the temperatures were in the mid-teens, we expected a full house, and we weren’t disappointed. There was likely 150 men or so packed into that room.

Nathan led singing; Christopher played the piano and preached. We brought our instruments and sang a hymn (Whosoever Will), bluegrass style for the men. They really love the happy sound of the bluegrass music as we play a well-known hymn for them each time we go.

After the chapel service, the older ones will spread out and speak with the men. Most people have an idea of the type of men who would be at a rescue mission. Last month I spoke with two past drug dealers. They had finally gotten caught and quit “dealin,” but they spoke rather proudly of their past accomplishments. As one would expect they were not established in Jesus. However, I believe you would be very surprised in the other type of people who are living at homeless shelters as represented by those I spoke to this week.

The first was a professional musician, and I’m not talking about someone who played jazz in bars. He played the upright bass for a symphony in two towns. Music was his life, and he was brilliant. I’m confident, not only was his IQ way above mine, but so was his education. Yet, all of that meant nothing because he had an appetite for an illegal substance. He claimed to have placed his faith in Jesus, but it was not in the Jesus of the Bible. Before I was saved I had an intellectual knowledge of Jesus being the Son of God, but I had not seen myself as a sinner, repented of my sin and placed my faith in Jesus and what He did for me on the cross. This man’s “faith” resembled mine before I as saved. Therefore he continued to be a slave to his sin because he didn’t have the desire to forsake his drugs nor the power of God in his life. He called drugs his crutch.

The other man surprised me greatly. He was very gentle and humble and seemed to reflect a heart depending on Jesus, which was also his confession. He was a degreed engineer and about my age. Yet, he had struggled also with drugs and alcohol, but was clean for the last 6 months. This man had the power to be free, the issue was whether he would continue to use it. He acknowledged that he had used drugs because he was lonely, and it was a choice.

I praise God for organizations that give men food and a place to stay off the street. There are a lot of hurting people out there. There are also a lot of hurting people in the church. Some are there just acting the part, with no relationship with Jesus and a slave to private sin. Others are there who are saved and have the power of God, but won’t choose to use it. They squander their lives on the pleasures of this world. Those pleasures may be legal, but they are not edifying and result in wasted lives, when they could have had an impact on our world. Then there are others, few in number, who are willing to be living sacrifices, forgoing the pleasures of our world so as to invest in others. Oh God, please bless them, strengthen them, and enable them to be about the great commission as the Lord Jesus has commanded us. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).
Steve