Weary Weekend Warriors

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Weekend Warriors can refer to a lot of different scenarios depending upon the context under consideration. We had our share of weary, Winona, weekend warriors Saturday, January 25, 2014. Several families from the Collierville, TN Church of Christ made their annual descent on the World Evangelism Building. They helped us attend to some of the things we can’t seem to find time to do on our own as we apply ourselves to various other aspects of our domestic and overseas evangelism.

We had one member of the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ in Jackson, MS (besides Bonnie and me) who came up, too; he met up with his sister, brother-in-law and niece who came from Collierville. Of course, Betty Choate was there as well—bringing the total present for the workday to 20. Our youngest helper was 4-years-old; she really did help some and did a lot of playing, also. Other than three teenagers, the balance ranged from young adults to 82-years-old.

All of us fellowshipped in a number of ways. We worked together, and we ate together. It was a gloriously, good time while doing some of the chores behind the scenes in stateside and worldwide evangelism.

The tasks accomplished included a partial inventory of books, The Voice of Truth International invoice mailing preparation, preparation and packaging of shipments of sample The Voice of Truth International magazines to book stores and schools of preaching, preparation and packaging of The Voice of Truth International and other literature to churches of Christ throughout the Philippines, shredding unneeded financial reports, restocking books on the racks from which we draw to fulfill requests for literature, inventorying over 100 tract titles, cleaning, trimming the shrubs outside, shrink wrapping and cataloging books printed stateside and overseas, relocation of old or non-functioning computer equipment, ordering a refurbished internal part for a color LaserJet printer, transferring computer files from a retired computer to a new computer as well as setting up the new computer’s email program, preparation of a mailing for sister Choate to prospective donors, restocking of tract bins from which we fulfill requests for literature, stitching together three short videos for Betty Choate to be used at the opening of a meetinghouse for the Lord’s church in Pakistan, and counting and rubber banding packets of 25 tracts to facilitate easier fulfillment of requests. The jobs were varied, and there was something for everyone.

We have groups from various congregations visit us for workdays throughout each year, and we greatly appreciate each one, but no bunch of Christians are more enthusiastic than those from the Collierville Church of Christ. They no more than finish one task and they are begging for the next job that they might seek to accomplish. Any group of Christians who come to help do weeks worth of needful activities in a smidgeon of the time it would take the five of us (Betty Choate, Jerry and Paula Bates, Louis and Bonnie Rushmore) who live daily in Winona and work in the World Evangelism Building.

Everyone worked hard, except maybe for me; I was here and there, and I stole away to remake a page of the next issue of The Voice of Truth International that didn’t turn out right; then, I resubmitted it as an attachment to email to the printing company in South Carolina. Some of the youngsters played hard, including hide-and-seek; we either have some LARGE mice with pretty brown eyes and cute noses, or our 4-year-old visitor was peeking out of her hiding place.

Winding Down the Days

Louis teaching at Mississippi
School of Biblical Studies

Bonnie and I are winding down the days before our next trip out of the country; we depart the USA on February 1 for Guyana, South America—where we will be for the entire month of February. We have a rigorous schedule that will place our seminars within reach of every Christian in the country.

Saturday, January 18, we made our way to a new venue for us—the Oil Trough, AR Church of Christ. A few weeks ago, Bonnie and I passed through the small community of Oil Trough on the way back from a Sunday appointment, but we had never visited brethren there. It was our good pleasure to be welcomed into the home of brother Garland and sister Shirley Ann Hankins. Shortly thereafter, we were joined by brother Terry and sister Shirley Ann Brady, in whose home Bonnie and I would lodge Saturday night. It is always so good to make personal friends of Christian brethren hitherto before we had not met, and such was the case especially regarding these two couples.

Sunday for Bible class, I made my PowerPoint presentation about 2013 Mission Trips. During worship, I preached “Why Do the Churches of Christ Not Use Instrumental Music in Worship?” Saturday night and Sunday, Bonnie and I were fed better than we deserve! Further, we thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship, encouragement and financial participation with which the congregation lifted us up.

Monday being a holiday, Bonnie and I worked from the house in the comfort of our dual reclining, overstuffed loveseat. That’s the kind of office furniture I really like! Dual laptop computers a blazing away resting upon identical lapboards, we prodded ahead on a number of things. Monday and Tuesday, Bonnie and I collaborated, with the help of Jerry Bates’ assembling a file to upload, to publicize over a hundred tracts added to the online book store.

Wednesday was a busy day! We drove from Winona to Jackson, MS in the morning for two doctors’ appointments for Bonnie; she passed in flying colors checkups at both the Women’s Hospital and Jackson Oncology Associates. She has the green light to leave in just over a week for the tropical excursion to the jungles and remote areas of Guyana—though the oncologist cringed when we explained our itinerary. That evening, I continued teaching the Book of Job to the adult auditorium class of the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ in Jackson. We stayed over again in the home, enjoying the kind hospitality of one of the elders and his wife, the Leggetts.

Thursday morning, Bonnie and I made our way to the meetinghouse for the church and commandeered an office for the day. Bonnie worked on lessons for the classes she will teach in Guyana, and I worked on the online book store, my lesson for the Mississippi School of Biblical Studies that night and on a lesson for one of my classes in Guyana. From 6:25 p.m. to 7:25 p.m., I taught, “The Mechanics of Preaching: Organization & Word Choices.” We managed to arrive back in Winona, MS by 9:15 p.m. (Bonnie did get excited on I-55 in the construction zone at Madison, MS when a tractor trailer ran us off the road; I have a hard time finding the horn on my car, but apparently once I did find it the driver heard it and returned to the passing lane where he was so that we could resume our travel likewise in the slow lane.)

Saturday, our daughter and a group of Christians from the Collierville, TN Church of Christ will conduct a workday at the World Evangelism Building; they come annually and help us with cleaning, trimming the shrubbery, maintenance, packaging books for overseas shipment, preparation of mailings, etc. That congregation sends families, so the youngest attendees will be about 4-years-old and the oldest will be—we don’t talk about that! Besides everything that gets done that we cannot accomplish easily by ourselves (Betty Choate, the Bates and us) while attending to other matters, helping brethren are a great encouragement to us. They also get to see some of the behind the scenes aspects of what goes into mission work. It’s a win-win situation for them and us, too.

Yes, we’re winding down the days! One day and one week to go before we depart the USA for Guyana, South America for an entire month. We solicit your prayers.

Night Is Coming When No Man Can Work

Saturday morning January 12, Bonnie and I headed for a five-hour drive to Center Ridge, Arkansas. Stops along the way and “road work” added another hour to the trip. We arrived at the home of Garry and Melissa Polk; he is one of the elders for the Center Ridge Church of Christ. Meatloaf and all the trimmings awaited us, and sister Polk didn’t even know that meatloaf is just about my favorite plate, though she had not found me shy at the supper table on any previous occasion either when other entrees graced us.

We spent an evening talking about our travels to various countries in Asia and South America. Finally, we all retired for the evening, past their bedtime. However, they were up early and out the door to their daughter and son-in-law’s home to collect four grandchildren so their daughter and son-in-law could proceed to the hospital to usher into the world child number five. Our hosts and the handsome brood arrived part way through Bible class, and it was a pleasure to experience lunch together at the local eatery. That little restaurant, called “The Bucket List,” itself was a little tin garage on the outside and the source of tasty food on the inside—superior to many a chain restaurant we and others may visit on a road trip.

For Bible class, I made my PowerPoint presentation about 2013 foreign mission trips. During worship, I presented another PowerPoint by special request on Beverage Alcohol; I provided free copies of my book by the same name. Having no evening appointment, we drove toward home, arriving back in Winona, MS about 6:30 p.m.

Monday through Wednesday, a group of visitors descended on the World Evangelism Building to work on a new Bible class curriculum that is in the works. The Bates, Betty Choate, and Bonnie and I lodged them in our homes. The meals we enjoyed together, courtesy of Betty Choate, Paula Bates and Bonnie Rushmore, were grand, tasty and fattening!

Through this, the Bates and the Rushmores attended other matters besides the Bible school curriculum. The four of us processed the Bates’ newsletter for mailing and finalized the next issue of The Voice of Truth International to send to the printing company. I worked on my lesson (“How God Communicates with Mankind, Today”) for Thursday evening at the Mississippi School of Biblical Studies (at the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ in Jackson, MS). In addition, I have been preparing for my Wednesday evening class on the Book of Job, also at the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ. Bonnie and I will stay over in the home of one of the elders and his wife of the Siwell Rd. congregation. Bonnie has been working on her lessons for our upcoming trip (February 1—March 1) to Guyana, South America, and I need to steal some time to do likewise. Our days are full from 7 a.m. when the alarm sounds until about midnight daily.

We go home from the office, but essentially we just exchange the desk chair for a reclining loveseat with lapboards sporting our computers. Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4 NKJV). We, too, have work to do before the nighttime of death engulfs us.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Busy! Busy! Busy!

Bam, bam, bam, busy, busy, busy! Wednesday, January 8, Bonnie and I left our World Evangelism Building office for the house, via a stop at the Post Office first to send off just under 100 letters we had prepared that morning and early afternoon. We changed our clothes, and then Bonnie and I pointed the Gospel chariot toward the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ meetinghouse on the south side of Jackson, MS. It was my pleasure to resume (after two weeks of interruption by the holidays) teaching the Book of Job to about 50 brethren, plus those viewing the live stream to the Internet or watching the archived recording later.

We had a sandwich apiece before class, and we did our grocery shopping, too. By the time class ended, we were hungry again and augmented with some chicken strips and a shared waffle fry. Bonnie and I arrived back at our Winona home around 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, aside from other routines in the office, Bonnie and I, with the help of Paula and Jerry Bates, processed our January Rushmore Newsletter for mailing on Friday. The Winona team of World Evangelism was joined late in the day by brother Allon Brumley, and we all dined together at one of our favorite local eateries—a Mexican restaurant. Back at the house later, I put the final touches on the January issue of Gospel Gazette Online and uploaded it to the Internet.

Friday, Betty Choate, her daughter Sheila Gibson, Jerry and Paula Bates, Allon Brumley as well as Bonnie and I assembled for breakfast at the office. Bonnie made the pancakes, and Paula cook bacon. Afterward, Allon resorted to digital transfer of 26 GB of files prior to his departure for the Philippines; everybody else but me began working on Betty Choate’s newsletter. I turned my attention to sending out 1,500 emails to apprise subscribers to Gospel Gazette Online that it is ready for their use. In addition, I finalized the last speakers on the schedule for the upcoming 2014 India Missions Conference; I just need to tweak it a little and begin distributing it, beginning with sending it to Heritage Christian University where the event will be hosted April 22-25, 2014. Of course, we have many hundreds of newsletters to take to the Post Office today. I’m sure the day is not yet done—it’s not midnight, yet!

Saturday, Bonnie and I drive to the middle of Arkansas in the edge of the Ozarks. Sunday morning, I speak during Bible class and worship for the Center Ridge Church of Christ.

Monday through Wednesday, we will have several visitors to Winona and the World Evangelism Building. They will converge here to work on the new Bible class curriculum that has long been the dream of sister Betty Choate. The Bates and the Rushmores will attempt to keep pace with normal responsibilities and make sure that visitors are fed and lodged. Thursday, Bonnie and I will begin packing for our month-long mission trip to Guyana, South America. Somewhere along the way, both Bonnie and I need to finalize our lessons for that program of seminars throughout Guyana. When The Voice of Truth International makes its way back to Bonnie and me, she will assemble it digitally and I will prepare it for the printing companies (yes, plural for stateside and overseas production). I need to squeeze in some time for preparation of the February issue of Gospel Gazette Online, since I will be immersed in travel and teaching in Guyana for the entire month of February. Doubtless, a few other things will crop up, including an additional trip to Arkansas the next weekend and a group coming to Winona for a workday from the Collierville, TN Church of Christ.

See what I mean? Bam, bam, bam, busy, busy, busy! Just the way we like it!

Birthday Supper, A Day in a Closet & St. Joseph

Friday, January 3^rd the impossible happened. I turned 60-years-old! Just yesterday I was a confused teenager; now I’m just confused—decades the other side of adolescence. It seems only the other decade or so—everything apparently happened decades ago now—Bonnie and I were just getting started with life together. Where has the time gone? Well, we don’t need much of an excuse to treat ourselves whenever possible to some “Road Kill” at the Texas Roadhouse in Horn Lake, MS when passing through between Winona, MS and Collierville, TN. My birthday proved to be one of those excuses. Bonnie and I shared the glorified chopped steak and baked potato, accompanied by our daughter Rebecca who met us there after teaching school in Horn Lake. Afterward, we proceeded to her home, our own little bed & breakfast—home away from home.

Saturday was a work day for us at Rebecca’s. About a year earlier, part of the ceiling in her hall closet fell down due to water damage from a leak in the roof. I cut out and replaced the affected area of the ceiling, but only had occasions to work on it during brief stops over the next several months, and sometimes we came and went without me giving any attention to it. Finally, we determined to complete the little project.

Of course, we had to paint the ceiling. There were also unpainted areas on the two side walls where wood bracing had been for a shelf and a hanging rod; it made sense to paint those spots, too. The new shelving with which the closet had been fitted gouged the walls, and that needed fixed and painted also. That meant painting the walls and the ceiling; it needs to match. To facilitate painting and repair of the walls, we needed to remove all of the shelving—on all three walls. I removed the metal brackets as well to accommodate the paint roller more easily. That’s when we found out that the plastic wall anchors in the plasterboard had failed and that the shelving was lodged in the less than square closet, held up by friction as much as by the brackets.

I spent all day in the closet! Two coats of paint consumed the better part of a gallon—which, fortunately, was left from a previous undertaking. We cut the metal shelves to fit, reaffixed the brackets to the walls and remounted all nine shelves. Naturally, we had to reorganize all of the contents for the shelves as we put things back. I may have to go home to rest!

Sunday morning, Bonnie and I headed for Dyersburg, TN to worship with the St. Joseph Ave. Church of Christ. This is a predominantly black congregation with a white preacher (John Stacy) and seven new converts in 2013, all of whom are white. While many predominantly white congregations in our country have an increasing representation of blacks, Hispanics and Asians among others, St. Joseph Ave. is the only congregation of which I am personally familiar in the United States where a mostly black church is becoming integrated by converting their white neighbors.

The brethren at St. Joseph are some of the sweetest and friendliest brethren with whom I am acquainted anywhere. I am proud to have the opportunity to be associated with them, to worship with them and to be the beneficiary of their financial participation in our mission work; they help Bonnie and me as we labor for the Lord in any of four Asian countries (India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Singapore) and in Guyana, South America. In addition, they help brother Loy and sister Debra Mitchell in their missionary labors in Zimbabwe, Africa.

For Bible class, I presented my PowerPoint regarding my 2013 efforts in Myanmar (Burma). For worship, I preached, “The Purpose of Preaching.” I always feel at home at St. Joseph.

Fearful of the weather, we nevertheless maintained a true course through heavy wind, rain and rapidly falling temperatures. We stopped over at Rebecca’s long enough to change clothes, pack the car with clothes and tools, and for me to install a new, programmable thermostat for our daughter. We finally pulled into our Winona driveway about 7:30 p.m., in time to rest up for the beginning of the work week—back at the office/warehouse.

Advance Notice: 2014 Guyana Mobile Nationwide Seminars

Theme: “Back to Bible Basics”
Director: Nigel Milo

Annually, Bonnie and Louis Rushmore spend up to 30 days in Guyana working alongside brother Nigel Milo of Amelia’s Ward Church of Christ in Linden, Guyana. Together with a different co-speaker each year from Guyana, we travel throughout the country to encourage and strengthen congregations and members of the churches of Christ. We ensure that our mobile seminars and Gospel meetings are within reach of every Christian in the nation. In 2012, 72 congregations participated and nearly 1,200 attended. The seminars are designed to reach brethren in the whole country to provide moral support, improve Bible knowledge and to equip Guyanese Christians to more readily shoulder some of the responsibility in evangelizing their own country. We major in edification and minor in evangelism, a complement to the numerous outreach efforts each year by American Christians there. Both evangelism and edification are component parts, according to the apostle Paul, that lead to a good spiritual harvest (1 Corinthians 3:6). We conduct these seminars “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NKJV).

Topics:

Louis Rushmore
“Road Map to Heaven or Detour to Hell?”
“DNA of the Church of the Bible”
“The First Church”
“And the Books Were Opened (Revelation 20:12)”
“Authorized Worshipful Music Today”
“How God Communicates with Man”
Bonnie Rushmore
“Making a Difference in the Kingdom as Women”
“Raising Faithful Children”
“Developing Strong Families”
“The Biblical Role of Women in the Home & in the Church”
“This Christian Light of Mine” #1, #2, #3
“Using Our Talents for God, Church & Family”
Joe Latchmenarine
“Saturday or Sunday, Which?”
“Raising Faithful Children”
“Biblical Blueprints”
Additional lessons TBA (to be announced)

Schedule:

February 2         Linden                   Bible Class & Worship
February 4-5     Lethem                    9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. Seminar
………………………………………………………7:00 p.m.—8:30 p.m. Gospel
………………………………………………………Meeting
February 7          Bartica                  10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Seminar
February 8          Linden                   10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Ladies’
…………………………………………………..Inspiration Day (Amelia’s Ward)
February 9           Paramakatoi       Worship
February 10-11   Paramakatoi         9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. Seminar
………………………………………………………7:00 p.m.—8:30 p.m. Gospel
……………………………………………………..Meeting
February 13        Ituni                            3:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. Seminar
February 14        Linden                      TBA
February 15        Essequibo               9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Seminar
February 16        Linden                      Bible Class & Worship
February 17        Estate                         4:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Seminar
February 18        Turu Mission       9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. Seminar
February 19        Mabaruma             9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. Seminar
February 20       Bath Settlement 3:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Seminar
February 21        Linden                      TBA
February 22        Nismes                     9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Seminar
February 23        Linden                     Bible Class & Worship
February 24        Plaisance                1:00 p.m.—4:00 p.m. Seminar
……………………….L/Gardens             4:30 p.m.—6:30 p.m. Seminar
February 25-26  Kildonan                5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. Seminar
February 27        Caneville               3:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Seminar
February 28        Linden                    9:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Seminar
……………………………………………………..(Amelia’s Ward)
……………………………………………………..5:30 p.m.—8:00 p.m. Seminar
…………………………………………………….(Amelia’s Ward)

Literary, Literary, Literary

Tuesday, the last day of 2013, Bonnie and I finished composing and formatting our first newsletter for 2014. I was able to get it uploaded to our Internet site, www.gospelgazette.com, and I sent out about 500 emails to brethren to whom we provide via the Internet. Today, via the Internet, I was able to pay the printer to print the paper copies. Once they arrive in a couple of weeks or so, then, Bonnie and I will process them for mailing to around 800 brethren. Let me know if you want a copy of the Rushmore Newsletter through the Internet or US mail (rushmore@gospelgazette.com).

Especially yesterday and today (New Year’s Day), I have been working feverishly trying to put some finishing touches on volume 79 of The Voice of Truth International. This quarterly of 114 pages takes about a quarter of the year just to put together. All hands on deck! Many hands have touched it: Byron and Gay Nichols, Betty Choate, Bonnie and Louis Rushmore, Rebecca Rushmore, and Jerry and Paula Bates. One might think we’re trying to share the blame! It takes a team and teamwork to bring each issue to fruition.

Tomorrow, I really must spend some serious time trying to put the January 2014 issue of Gospel Gazette Online together. It will take me a few days to accomplish this. In addition, I need to find some time to work on the lessons a
bout the Book of Job that I am teaching at the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ in Jackson, MS.

Literary, literary, literary describes with the appropriate emphasis a large part of what we do when not on the road, overseas teaching and preaching. Numerous other activities cry for our time, too (i.e., daily correspondence, phone calls, and shipping; adding over a hundred items to the online book store; and a few things we won’t know about until they happen). Jerry Bates and I are preparing to add about 124 tracts to the online book store. Happy New Year everyone!