All our adventures as missionaries, past and present.

Fairbanks

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Drove up to Fairbanks (350 miles, approx. 6 hours) today. Beautiful country around these parts. Made it here alive. The house that Bro. Duffett is keeping us in has DSL!! WooHoo! And cable news (double WooHoo!!) just in time for the election on Tuesday! So, for the next few days, I'll be able to get things done around here, and not feel like I'm operating in a news black hole, days before one of the most historic elections since 1864 (no talk radio to speak of up here). Interesting note: Bro. Boutwell is fixing it so I can fly down to Kenai from Anchorage, and back in time to catch my flight on Friday. So, I'll be able to turn the rental car in early and save some cashola. Pretty slick, eh? Bless his heart. So, I'll be able to be in his conference on Friday, instead of having to bug out early to drive four hours back to Anchorage. Praise the LORD! All for now. Should be a good conference here at Bible Baptist in Fairbanks. Bro. Halsey is preaching (coolness).

Later…

Yukon Update

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Kirksville went well. Plus, Pastor Rodgerson called us a few days ago, and Southside Baptist Church is taking us on for monthly support! They get the privilege of being plank holders (the first). It feels great to be a part of somebody's ministry like that, and to feel folks starting to line up behind you and support your ministry. At the moment, I'm in Alaska. Haven't had internet access 'til now to update anything, so the journal is a bit behind. Made the long flight up to Alaska the Tuesday after the meeting in Kirksville. The weather up here isn't that bad. It will be in a few months, but at the moment, it's not much colder than winter in St. Louis. They lose five minutes of daylight a day up here. At the moment, sunrise is around 0930, and sunset is around 1630. Beautiful countryside. Mountains all around. Quite lovely. I stayed with Pastor Roach and his wife to begin with. The Roach's are great folks, and made me feel right at home. Their church (Independant Baptist Church of Anchorage), was very receptive and friendly. I was there for the entire missions conference, from Wednesday through Sunday. It was a great conference, and I count myself privileged that I got to be a part of it. I stayed at their house in Palmer (about an hour outside of Anchorage) through Tuesday, and drove in to Anchorage on Wednesday, 10/27, for a conference in Pastor Carson's church, Victory Baptist Church. I showed my slides and gave a brief testimony last night, which seemed to go well. You should see the church. It used to be a night club and whore house 'til they got a hold of the building. They have completetly renovated the structure, and have converted the building so you can't tell what it once was. Pastor Carson is one of those "Mr. Fix-It" types that has a variety of construction skills at his disposal. They are working on a Bible Camp and a church way off in the hills in McGrath which is accessible only by plane. Alaska is a huge state, and is a mission field unto itself. I'm here through Friday, and on Saturday, I'll be driving six hours north to Fairbanks for Doug Duffet's missions conference. God is doing great things. Pray that the eight churches I will have been in during my sojourn here will all take us on for support. It would be a huge shot in the arm at this stage of the game. Looking forward to getting home… Love to my family…

Pending

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Last weekend at Calvary Bible Fellowship in Neosho, MO went very well. We had a great time of fellowship with Dan and Trish Frederick, the pastor and his wife. It was very refreshing to be able to have another young couple our age to talk to for a change, since there seems to be a shortage around these parts.

Tomorrow, it's off to Kirksville, MO for a meeting in Southside Baptist Church with Pastor Aaron Rodgerson. We're spending the day out there on Sunday, and are really looking forward to it. We'll be leaving tomorrow after I get off work to drive the three hours out to Kirksville. Pray for my wakefulness. This working a job, and then dashing off to churches without a break on weekends is very tiring. Case in point: on the way back from Neosho (5 hour drive), I fell asleep at the wheel and sideswiped a guard rail. No one and nothing was seriously damaged (Thank God), but it was quite a wake-up-call, no pun intended.

We have Monday off to catch our breath, and then I'm out of here on Tuesday for Operation: YUKON, my 8 church whirlwind schedule of meetings in Alaska for the next 25 days. While there, I will be missing a) my wife's birthday b) the World Series (with the Cards in attendance this time), and c) the General Election. I trust it will be worth it, and I'm very excited about going, but still, MY WIFE'S BIRTHDAY!! I'm renting a car, and will have to drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back, alone, with no one to keep me awake, so again, be in prayer.

I think God is really going to provide up there, which will be a great help to us so we'll be in good shape at the end of the year to go on full time deputation. Pray for us, and for me as I preach and present our work in Alaska, that I'll be able to minister and serve those folks up there well, and be used of God to encourage and edify them.

We’re Go

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God has provided for the plane ticket and almost the entire cost of car rental now. Praise the LORD! He is demonstrating clearly that Alaska was definitely what He had in mind, and that my vision of going there on deputation this early in the process was the right thing to do. Exciting stuff!

First Conference

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Had a meeting at William Gillespie's church, Maranatha Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO last Sunday. He is a missionary sent out of our church, and is planting solid, Biblical, black, Baptist churches in the St. Louis area. Maranatha is the first. They're great folks, and we've been involved in their ministry going back for years. What a privilege! To be a candidate missionary in a mission church started out of our home church. If that's not how missions should be done, I don't know what is.

We've just finished up our home church's missions conference. J.B. Godfrey, the Far East Director with BIMI was the main speaker, and it was Burdette Burgen (Germany, Baptist Mid Missions), Charles Chandler (King's Kids), and myself as the regular missionaries. We've always been involved in our missons conferences in the past, but now we were in it as an actual missionary couple. On Saturday night, we had our traditional international dinner (fun), and then our question and answer time for the missionaries. Anna and I both felt like complete newbs sitting there alongside these veteran missionaries, when we've hardly been anywhere or done anything. It was a great conference, and God really used it to deal with the issue of calling and vision, which is one of the primary things I wish to deal with in my deputation ministry. Our church gave us an exceptional love offering, which greatly helped ease our financial struggles of late, and will make it so we can get the new printer we've been needing (Anna's old Epson just isn't cutting it).

My tickets for Alaska are bought. It's going to be a great time, and I know God is planning to provide greatly through it.