Since last week’s update we have driven over 1,000 miles that stretched from Cleveland, NC to Stilwell, OK and we have been in three different churches including one missions conference. Thankfully we will have a few days to spend time with family and recuperate before heading back to Yuma, AZ.
I mentioned in last week’s update that we had a few days off before our next meeting started; we were able to spend a few days in a prophet’s chamber that was provided by the Morning Star Baptist Church in Cleveland, NC. Since we were still there on Wednesday evening we joined the church for their mid-week service. Pastor Young graciously allowed Justin to share a few words about our ministry with the sweet folks there in the service.
On Friday we drove a couple hours west to Hayesville, NC to be with the Grace Baptist Church for their missions conference. Although the church is a smaller congregation we were excited to hear that they went forward in their faith promise commitments at the close of the conference. Pastor and Mrs. Matheson are such gracious and sincere people. Justin remembers meeting them when he was on deputation with his dad and mom several years ago. Please keep the Matheson’s in your prayers as Bro. Matheson is trying to recover from a broken foot and Mrs. Matheson is dealing with ongoing health issues. We were joined at the conference by another missionary family, the Kirkmans, who are going to Utah to reach the Mormons. The Kirkmans, who are natives of North Carolina, have been blessed with musical talents: they all sing (including their three young girls), Bro. Kirkman plays the guitar, Mrs. Kirkman plays the bass, and their oldest daughter plays the fiddle. We were informed that the difference between a violin and a fiddle is that a violin has “strings” and a fiddle has “strangs.” We were also given the opportunity to sing several songs; I even had the privilege to play the piano for the services since the church does not have a pianist. Every time I am able to play it just makes me that much more anxious to get to the church started so I can do this on a regular basis! I didn’t realize how much I would miss being able to play the piano at every service.
We decided to leave directly after the service that night to begin driving the 13.5 hours back to Oklahoma. We didn’t necessarily plan on driving straight through, but once we got on the road we agreed that we really didn’t want to have to stop, get a room, unpack the car, get the kids inside, try to get them back to sleep, and then only sleep a few hours before getting back up again. Those of you who have been or are on deputation know exactly what it’s like trying to drive hundreds of miles with kids – it’s so much easier when they’re asleep. Now that I’ve justified our decision I will admit that we did end up driving thru the night. Yes, we did stop the couple of times that we got tired and slept for a little bit. Surprisingly though we completed the trip in only 14.5 hours after stopping for about an hour and a half to sleep plus bathroom breaks. Pulling into dad & mom’s drive way was never such a relief though.
I know I’ve probably taken way too much of your time, but you’re still reading so I wanted to thank you for your faithful prayers for our safety and for God’s blessings. It means so much to us knowing that we have an army of individuals who are bringing our names before God. Thank you seems so insufficient, but it is most certainly sincere. God bless you!