Highlights Lately

I am 5′ 8.5″ tall; Bonnie is 5′ 2″ tall, but we sometimes feel like giants, here pictured with dear brethren among the Amerindians at Paramakatoi, Guyana, South America.

Sunday, May 18, Bonnie and I spent the day with the Elliott, MS Church of Christ. Maybe 25 minutes from where we live, this afforded us another Saturday night in our own bed – two weeks in a row now! In the absence of the preacher for the Elliott congregation, I spoke at the Bible class and both worship periods. During Bible class I made my PowerPoint presentation, “2014 Guyana Mission Trip.” For worship I preached “Understanding How God Communicates with Mankind, Today” and “Did Dinosaurs Really Exist?” We were so close to home that we were able to take an afternoon nap, too – something we haven’t done much on Sundays since I left local work.

Wednesday evening, I taught the next to the last class at Siwell Road Church of Christ in a 6-month series on the Book of Job. I devoted the class to discussing “Pain & Suffering,” since the patriarch after whom the Bible book was named suffered for most of 42 chapters.

Thursday, I worked from home since Bonnie was ill. She works full-throttle, which these days is a bit less than 100%, but she faces daily medical challenges in the aftermath of her recovery from pancreatic cancer. I mused that we could number the ailments for more concise, regular communication, and I am always polling her how she feels and asking how I might help. There is never anything that I am able to do other than be present with her and try to lighten her load some. #1 tiredness, #2 nausea, #3 abdominal pain, #4 all of the above. Thursday was a more difficult day than most.

Late Friday night, I finally published the May edition of Gospel Gazette Online. I had been working feverishly on it for days – in between other necessities. Most of this issue involves answering some of the backlog of questions received at Gospel Gazette Online. The majority of these inquiries pertained to “Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage,” and more questions over the years have pertained to this topic than any other single subject. Of course, this is a very controversial question since so much of the polluted world has invaded the daily lives of so many people, including church members. Subsequently, five or six people and churches immediately cancelled their subscriptions to GGO (Galatians 1:10-11).

Sunday, May 25, Bonnie and I worshipped with the Old Union Church of Christ back in the wildwood of Carroll County, MS that morning, since I had no appointment – another Saturday night in our own bed! That evening we worshipped with the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS.

Monday and Tuesday, I worked on my class for Wednesday evening. I will be speaking about “The Ministry of Angels” for the last lesson on the Book of Job. Well, one more book to put on the pile of unpublished manuscripts and out-of-print books! Two hours down, two hours back, we will arrive back in Winona after Bible class around 10:30 p.m. During the interim, we will do some out of town shopping in the big city of Jackson, MS, and we’ll have a nice meal out, too. Our daughter Rebecca is with us as she finished teaching school and doesn’t begin teaching summer school for a few days yet. Last night, she helped me replace the wax seal on a toilet – a lot more work than that simple description indicates.

We are beginning to get our heads above the proverbial high water. In the weeks ahead, we will be traveling to appointments in Alabama, Indiana and Georgia. We continue to work from afar with foreign brethren in New Delhi, India and Linden, Guyana. Plans are underway for a fall mission trip of about 60 days to at least Myanmar and India. Sooner than that, Bonnie has an important medical checkup and tests on June 4, which may alter some of those plans. Please remember us in prayer for the sake of the cause of Christ.

Running Around North Mississippi

Sunday, May 11, 2014, Bonnie and I arose from our own bed that morning. We had been living out of suitcases for most of the last two weeks. However, that Sunday our two appointments were in Mississippi, within driving distance of our Winona home.

It was our pleasure Sunday morning to worship with the Courtland, MS Church of Christ, outside of Batesville, MS. No one ever receives us more enthusiastically than these brethren. During Bible class, I showed the PowerPoint about our 2014 Guyana Mission Trip. At the worship time, I preached Understanding How God Communicates with Mankind, Today. Afterward, we dined as guests of Luke and Melinda Hall at the Fish House in the next county south near Enid, MS. Brother Hall preaches for the Courtland congregation. Again this year, I had the country fried steak, which was more than ample for Bonnie and me to share.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. Among the mothers at Sunday morning were three youthful ladies with little their small babies. That’s the picture we selected to represent our day’s travels. Bonnie snapped two pictures, and in this one the babies are stiller – meaning less swish of movement in the photo.

Sunday evening, Bonnie and I worshipped with the Hillcrest Church of Christ in Baldwyn, MS, just north of Tupelo, MS. We were delighted to make the acquaintance of Russ and Jessica Vickers and their son; brother Vickers started preaching for the Hillcrest congregation about six months ago. The members exhibited an enthusiastic response to my presentation of the PowerPoint about our 2014 Guyana Mission Trip.

Only two hours and 15 minutes from the house, Bonnie were able to get home and get in bed by 11 p.m. We were tired, but able to seek respite in our own bed. It was a good day and the Lord’s Day.

Annual May Maywood Missionary Retreat

Tuesday afternoon on April 29, Bonnie and I left Winona, MS, headed for Hamilton, AL. Other World Evangelism team members and we converged on the Maywood Christian Camp outside of Hamilton to clean the facilities Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the Thursday and Friday program. We swept and mopped floors, wiped down tables, counters and refrigerators, cleaned toilets and emptied trash left behind by previous campers. We dodged bad weather and paid attention to tornado watches on our trip to Hamilton and throughout the day and evening following our arrival. Several of the eateries we might have considered for our joint supper meal were closed; that necessitated eight of us hurriedly stomping through standing water amidst a downpour to huddle around a table in a local pizza parlor for our vittles. Wednesday evening, we tidied ourselves up a little and attended the Gospel meeting being hosted by the nearby Hamilton Church of Christ; Jeff Jenkins was the speaker. The World Evangelism team was the guest of the congregation for a fellowship meal preceding the assembly.

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About 97 persons attended Thursday and Friday. The days consisted of eating, field reports, keynote speakers, eating, devotional services and more eating. Missionaries from around the world participated, recharged their proverbial batteries and encouraged each other.

The temperature was chilly with a brisk breeze helping to negate the sunshine. Saturday morning, the residue of campers and World Evangelism team members cleaned up the camp once more before departing around 9 a.m.

Bonnie and I journeyed about two hours to Collierville, TN. For supper, Rebecca and Bonnie and I were guests of the Christian friends from the Collierville Church of Christ. Rebecca and Bonnie made homemade pizzas for the occasion. Other attendees were primarily church members who are interested in making a mission trip this summer to Guyana, South America. I spoke to their concerns and questions respecting that upcoming trip. I made my PowerPoint presentation about our 2014 Guyana Trip on Sunday afternoon to the Collierville congregation.

Bonnie and I have been on the go for at least a couple of months now. We must find some relief soon. However, before that can occur, we must finalize the next issue of The Voice of Truth International before we send it to the printing company. I need to prepare and publish the April edition of Gospel Gazette Online, too. Yet, I must also prepare Monday and Tuesday to teach Bible class on Wednesday for the Siwell Rd. Church of Christ in Jackson, MS. Almost as demanding, I simply must mow the grass, too. It has been about two weeks since I mowed the lawn because of our heavy schedule and being out of town most of that time. In addition, there are book orders to fulfill. It is time, too, to schedule our fall mission trips to Myanmar (Burma) and India—with multiple stops in each country. We expect to leave the country the last few days of September and return to the States around Thanksgiving. In the meantime, we will attempt to visit several congregations to acquaint them with our labors and to enlist their financial participation.

Please pray for our efforts, that we may glorify God and edify fellow brethren.