Home Again, Home Again

“Home again, home again, jiggety-jig” is the second line of a very old nursery rhyme. Following, you will see how the phrase “home again, home again” pertains to Louis and Martha Rushmore over the past few months.

Martha and her son, Jim departed Ocala, Florida on January 27^th for Daytona International Airport. They flew from there to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whereupon Martha and her son rented a car and stopped at the grave of Martha’s late husband Bob in Calcutta, Ohio. From there, they drove to Wellsville, Ohio to be with Martha’s youngest son Bryan prior to his cancer surgery.

After worship services on Sunday, January 29, Jim, Martha, Bryan and Bryan’s wife Melissa made their way to Ashland, Ohio to visit with Sharon Noland, the widow of Martha’s late son Bob. He passed away November 25, 2021. Martha’s grandson, Justin, his wife and great granddaughter were there to visit also. Later, that evening they all went out to eat before all separating to go back to their respective homes.

Bryan underwent his first surgery on January 30^th, after which Jim returned home. Martha, however, remained with Bryan and Melissa through 11 of his 12 surgeries from January through March.

In the meantime, Louis drove from Ocala to Meridian, Mississippi on March 7^th and lodged with Therman and Sadie Hodge. The next evening, Louis accompanied the Hodges to Bible study with the Union, Mississippi Church of Christ. Louis and Therman formerly traveled together to teach and preach in Myanmar (Burma) and India.

Outside Meridian, Mississippi

Friday, March 10^th, Louis drove to Winona, Mississippi, where he stayed with Jerry and Paula Bates. That evening, Shane and Emily Fisher joined us for supper and Christian fellowship. The Bates, the Fishers, the Rushmore’s are coworkers along with Betty Choate and others in World Evangelism.

On Saturday, Louis visited his late wife, Bonnie’s grave in Carroll County and later resupplied himself with books from the warehouse. Also, on Saturday, Martha flew from Pittsburgh to Memphis, Tennessee, and Louis’s daughter Rebecca picked her up and took Martha to her home in Collierville, Tennessee.

Sunday morning, Louis made a PowerPoint presentation for the Old Union Church of Christ outside of Carrollton, Mississippi about his and Martha’s mission work in Guyana, South America. He also worshipped with the congregation. At the same time Martha and Rebecca worshipped with the Collierville Church of Christ. Sunday evening, Louis drove to Collierville and reunited with Martha after 44 days of being separated. That was the longest time they had been parted since they wed on January 1, 2017. Wednesday evening Louis, Martha and Rebecca attended Bible study with the Collierville Church of Christ.

On Saturday, March 18, Louis and Martha embarked for Dickson, Tennessee where Louis was to speak in a Gospel meeting from Sunday through Wednesday (March 19-23). Roger and Mary Wright were their gracious hosts. Louis considered it an honor and a privilege to speak for the Sylvia Church of Christ; brethren from several different congregations attended the meeting.

Thursday morning Martha and Louis for left Theodore, Alabama where they were the quests of Larry and Diane Burch. On the Lord’s Day, Louis made the mission presentation during Bible class and preached for the morning and afternoon assemblies. Afterward, Louis and Martha drove to DeFuniak Springs, Florida and arrived in time for the evening worship with the College Avenue Church of Christ.

Monday, Louis and Martha made their way home back to Ocala. Martha arrived after having been gone for almost two months. Home Again! Louis arrived home after about a three-week absence. Home Again. “Home again, home again, jiggety-jig”!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Thursday evening, August 3, Martha and I hooked up the cargo trailer and returned to the World Evangelism Building just an eighth of a mile from our residence. We loaded just under 1,500 pounds of literature. We selected two different editions of The Voice of Truth International plus some reclaimed songbooks and a communion set.

Friday morning, after visiting the office briefly, Martha and I left Winona, Mississippi and headed for Nashville, Tennessee and an agent of Caribbean Shipping Service. Instead of taking I-55 northward to Memphis, Tennessee to connect with I-40, we took an alternative route—a little slower and more leisurely with less traffic. After unloading the trailer around 4:30 p.m., we headed to our wayside rest at Rebecca’s home in Collierville, Tennessee. Saturday, we made our way back to Winona.

Sunday, Martha and I drove the short distance from Winona to the outskirts of French Camp, Mississippi and the Huntsville Church of Christ. About half of the congregation, including its preacher, was away at family camp. Hence, I was afforded the opportunity to speak for the Bible class period (“World Evangelism Media & Missions”), morning worship (“Imitating the Urgency of Jesus Christ”) and evening worship (“Imitating the Focus of Jesus Christ”).

Monday morning, Martha and I, along with the help of Paula Bates and Betty Choate, began processing the July edition of the Rushmore Newsletter. Tuesday, we will finish up and mail it. Squeezed in amidst preparing the newsletter were a few other necessary activities, including purchasing $1,500 of airline tickets. Martha and I will fly to Guyana, South America on September 2 for two weeks of teaching church leaders.

Monday evening, Betty Choate, Martha and I attended the Gospel meeting hosted by the Old Union Church of Christ. Brother Paul Franks spoke to a full house of brethren from several area congregations. We hope to return Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for the Gospel meeting.

We still need to finalize our itinerary for our fall mission trip to Myanmar or Burma, India and Singapore. We may possibly also visit Sri Lanka. Of course, we need to make sure that we are ready for teaching various lessons in South America and Asia. There is never enough time!

Over the Past Several Days

It has been a while since my last blog entry; several days have passed between then and now. Over the past several days, Martha and I made our way back to Winona, Mississippi from Ocala, Florida. We discovered that pulling an 8×10 trailer packed to the utmost and loading the van from window to window and from floor to ceiling exacts a terrible toll on the Pacifica’s gas mileage—dropping to as low as 15 mpg from the usual of up to 28 mpg!

Friday, April 21, we drove into the driveway of Sadie and Therman Hodge of Meridian, Mississippi around 9 p.m. Saturday was a pleasant repose during which we visited with these dear Christian friends. Sunday morning, I spoke during Bible class and a.m. worship for the Union, Mississippi Church of Christ. After lunch with several of the members at the local hospital cafeteria, Martha Lynn and I proceeded to Winona, arriving at our residence at about 3 p.m. Not long after disconnecting the trailer from the car, we headed to the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, Mississippi for evening worship, and as it turned out, to their Gospel meeting already in progress.

Monday, Martha and I proceeded to the office, whereupon we canvassed weeks’ worth of mail and prepared to send off the Rushmore Newsletter. The newsletter went out later in the morning.

We devoted ourselves on Tuesday and Wednesday to trying to put our house in order, and we’re not done yet! One bedroom and the living room look like warehouse space with everything stacked therein, and the laundry room is impassible! Two bedrooms, the den and the kitchen have been tamed, with the culling of a daybed, a full size bed and miscellaneous smaller items. Once more we visited the West President congregation to attend its Gospel meeting in lieu of midweek Bible class.

Maybe Thursday we will be able to complete the basic and fundamental straightening and cleaning of our Winona home. Being absent for months as well as construction mess from repairs while we were gone have added to the task at hand.

Looking ahead, Sunday coming, we will be with the Bear Creek, Alabama Church of Christ in the morning. Tuesday and Wednesday, if our Lord wills, Martha and I will attend the annual India Workshop, this year hosted in Hamilton, Alabama. Wednesday night, we will travel to Florence, Alabama for the annual World Evangelism Missionary Retreat to be conducted on Thursday and Friday. This year, these two events overlap each other.

Gospel Gazette Online is running late, still; the April edition is not complete yet. Our calendar is slowly filling up with spotty appointments through October 20. The busyness with which we have shrouded our lives can get a little hectic, sometimes frustrating and often stressful. The yard is crying for attention, which I cannot give it right now—more pressure. Some sprigs are a foot high, and grass has grown through the carpet of pine needles to form a mesh blanket across the lawn. The 20 or so mature pines have contributed branches and pinecones as well.

Volume 92 of The Voice of Truth International was recently prepared and provided to the printing company in India. I get bored easily, and so I like to keep busy, but a little respite is certainly needed—and soon!

Gospel Meeting

Saturday, September 24, I made my way from my daughter’s home in Collierville, TN to the residence of sister Melissa and brother Garry Polk outside of Center Ridge, AR. Friday evening, I had traveled to Rebecca’s house in Collierville from my abode in Winona, MS.

Complications with my rental car delayed my trip so Rebecca and I missed the opportunity to dine together. Seldom have I encountered such intense smoke as thoroughly saturated the rental, and no amount of off the shelf air fresheners was going to change that. Besides, the couple of days I had the car started to make me sick – sinuses, throat and chest, which would hamper me speaking in the upcoming Gospel meeting for the Center Ridge Church of Christ. Finally, late in the day I was able to contact the dealer 30 miles west of Winona and exchange the car for another one.

Brother and sister Polk have been and continue to be a great encouragement to me. Aside from that, they lodged and fed me Saturday through Friday. I joked that they fattened me up with all of that good cooking, and I had to escape back home before these beef cattle farmers carted me off to the sale barn, too.

I was privileged to preach in a Gospel meeting for the Center Ridge congregation Sunday through Thursday. Members from several area churches of Christ attended, and the Jerusalem Church of Christ let out their Wednesday classes to join with Center Ridge in the Gospel meeting. The theme for the week was “Come Meet Jesus as…” Lessons presented via PowerPoint and narration were “…an Historical Person,” …Pre-Incarnate,” “…Lawgiver and Prophet,” “…High Priest,” “…Mediator, Intercessor and Advocate,” “…Head of the Church, Head of His Body and Head of His House or Spiritual Family” and “…Messiah and King.”

I expect to teach these same lessons in October and November for fellow Christians in Myanmar (Burma) and India. In addition, when teaching for two weeks in the Hmawbi Bible School in Myanmar, Lord willing, I will be presenting lessons on “Sermon Preparation and Presentation” and “Bible Geography, Bible Archaeology and Sacred History.”

It is my earnest hope that God was glorified and that all auditors during the Gospel meeting at Center Ridge were edified. Any praise forthcoming for the same belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m thankful to be just a lowly servant in that regard.

After another home cooked breakfast at the hands of sister Melissa, I headed homeward. I paused long enough in Horn Lake, MS to meet my daughter on her way home from work for supper at Texas Roadhouse. We each selected our preferred menu item – “Road Kill” – a specially prepared chopped steak, which we complemented with a house salad adorned with honey-French dressing and a baked potato. Happy that our homebound paths crossed – she going east and me going south, we each proceeded to our respective homes – our temporary abodes as we make our pilgrimage toward our permanent home with God above.

P.S. – Sister Polk “threatened me twice.” On a prior visit in a previous year, I photographed the Polk bootjack outside their home. She warned me of items not to photograph and include in my blog. “You better not put __________ in your blog, and I don’t want to see __________ in your blog either!” 😉

As Long as I Draw Breath

Today (Monday, September 19, 2016), I prepared 125 letters with enclosures and mailed them. They were sent to congregations of the Lord’s church in several states to apprise them of my impending trip to Myanmar and India. In the letter, I requested prayers, encouragement and financial participation. I am looking forward to being with Christian friends in Asia once more.

I also packaged and shipped several parcels of tracts and books. In addition, I copied receipts and filled out medical paperwork relating to my car accident to send back to the insurance company.

Twelve days have passed since my car and I were rear-ended at a traffic light, and my insurance company by its unresponsiveness and lack of any progress has heightened my frustration level all the way up to my eyeballs. (Please, no more opportunities to acquire additional patience.)

I really may have to rethink my decades-old relationship with this company since it appears to be a whole lot more willing to take premiums from me for renter’s and auto insurances and car loan premiums than it is to awaken from its zombie-like, deadened posture to perform due diligence in its contractual responsibilities. It appears that I need to act like the oppressed widow of Luke 18 on a near daily basis just to rouse those rascals from their slumber. The only problem with that is that for nearly two weeks now, each time I call (they never call me), I get a different claim’s person with a completely different and contradictory batch of instructions and information. It’s even more incredulous when in a single phone call with the same person that the specialist on the other end of the phone line contradicts himself or herself. How do they stay in business?

Tonight, I prepared “Thank You” cards to acknowledge and show appreciation to donors who sent funds last week for my efforts to serve our Lord Jesus Christ stateside and abroad. A little this morning and mostly this evening, there’s the ever present household duties – “I’m my own maid, chief cook and bottle washer.” One day this week – maybe – if I feel up to it and my back doesn’t bother me too much, I just might get to the yard work that’s been calling my name for a couple of weeks or so now.

Life goes on until it doesn’t. In the meantime, there are things to do, not the least of which is to seek opportunities to serve our Lord. This includes making preparation for an upcoming Gospel meeting as well as for my trek overseas in about a month. If the world still turns on the morrow – and I do too, I hope to apply myself in an honorable way before my God and each day as long as I draw breath.

Between Then and Now

The Sunday following the workday in Winona courtesy of the Booneville, MS Church of Christ on Friday, the Old Union Church of Christ in rural Carroll County, Mississippi (did I say rural – smothered in the woods and Kudzu traversed only by multiple gravel roads) hosted a Gospel meeting through Wednesday. I purposely did not schedule any appointments that weekend so that I could contribute my moral support to the Old Union congregation. I worship with that group of Christians Sunday mornings when I am not traveling stateside or abroad, and the locale has the meetinghouse sitting in the edge of a cemetery going back over 150 years. My dear Bonnie rests there in one of the most peaceful and picturesque settings on earth.

Friday, July 22, I reluctantly transported my loving daughter Rebecca back to her domicile in Collierville, TN. She needed to get back in place to attend training on Monday for the new school year, as well as put her classroom back in order before she has to return to work on August 1. Rebecca teaches 6^th grade special education in the Desoto County, MS schools.

On the way, of course, we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants for a little Road Kill – a glorified hamburger, complemented with a house salad and a baked potato – at Texas Roadhouse in Horn Lake, MS. We did a little shopping afterward before proceeding to her house. I returned to Winona on Saturday, after Rebecca and I dined at another favorite eatery – Cracker Barrel.

Sunday, I once more taught class and preached in the morning for the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS. In class, I spoke about “Redemption, Forgiveness, Justification and Sanctification.” During worship, I preached, “Come Meet Jesus Christ as Creator.”

Otherwise, I have been working diligently, along with others, on Volume 90 of The Voice of Truth International, which will be shipped in January 2017. I have been working on four additional printing projects and securing quotes for a fifth printing of Gospel literature for use on a South Pacific island. Gospel Gazette Online has garnered some of my time, but not nearly enough as the calendar pages turn relentlessly when it comes to the monthly publication of GGO. More than usual, triage has been the name of the game over the past few weeks and will be into the foreseeable future. One of the items to which I need to turn my attention immediately is the preparation for mailing of the July edition of the Rushmore Newsletter. Within two weeks, I need to apply for a visa to Myanmar (formerly Burma) and scout out airfare for my trips to that country and India.

Anyone tagging along on my blog of personal expression and life’s journey, I solicit your prayers. My journey is not ended yet, but I struggle onward – mostly struggling with myself – as long as life is in me. May we travel together on our respective excursions throughout life toward a city whose builder and maker is God.

Sunday to Tuesday

Sunday, July 10 it was my good pleasure to speak for the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS. During Bible class, I made my PowerPoint presentation about “2015 Asia & 2016 South America Mission Trips.” Neither visas nor passports were required! I’m almost positive that no one suffered jetlag, and anyone who might have fallen asleep did so based on other issues. For morning worship, I preached with the aid of PowerPoint once more, “The Deity of Christ.”

Tuesday evening, I was privileged to speak for the Huntsville Church of Christ outside of French Camp, MS. Various speakers are participating daily in the congregation’s Gospel meeting this year, and I was delighted to be one of them. Brother Nathan Wright, preacher of the church, texted me to make sure everything was set for me speaking and to invite me for supper. I replied, “Tonight?!” I briefly considered texting additionally, “I’m in Alabama!” However, instead, I assured him that I was looking forward to supper and to the meeting. I was accompanied by sister Betty Choate as well as brother Jerry and sister Paula Bates; we are fellow team members of World Evangelism in Winona. Rebecca, my daughter, is still with me and attended the supper and Gospel meeting.

Those were the highlights over the past few days. In addition, I’m up to my elbows if not also up to my eyeballs in behind the scenes efforts for our Lord (e.g., printing projects, The Voice of Truth International, etc.). There is no lack of purpose in my life (and eternity), without which I would be adrift on so many levels.

What? No pictures? There are not necessarily pics for every occasion. Nevertheless, there crop up from time to time as I travel around the country some photo opportunities that bring about a pause and some idle reflection. Take for instance the outdoor, motel Laundromat wedged between a soft drink machine and an ice machine in a breezeway. At a remodeled Dairy Queen along the byways traveled recently, Rebecca and I deliberated about the advisability, esthetics and safety of hanging electric cords from ceiling lights throughout the establishment tied up and shortened with garbage bag twisties. I guess someone’s car suffered a burned out license plate light, which the driver resolved by taping a flashlight to the trailer hitch and aiming it at the car tag. Finally, I parked my car adjacent to a private driveway sign that reads, “Frog Parking Only! All Others Will be TOAD!” Smile.

World Evangelism Annual Team Meeting & Such

Tuesday evening July 5^th, Rebecca and I pulled into my driveway in Winona, MS around 4 p.m. She had spent her birthday in the car with me traveling back from two Sundays of my preaching appointments in Florida. Wednesday was a catch-up day on so many levels and in so many ways. Thursday began the 2-day World Evangelism Annual Team Meeting in Winona. Several brothers and sisters in Christ traveled hundreds of miles to share field reports and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow stateside and foreign missionaries. Among the diverse efforts discussed to disseminate the Gospel at home and abroad were jail and prison ministries, radio, TV, Internet, foreign Bible schools, and overseas campaigns.

Among those present were Betty Choate, Paula and Jerry Bates, Rebecca and Louis Rushmore, Barbara Oliver, Gordon Hogan, Larry Murdock, Janet and Wayne Barrier, James Lee, Barbara and James Jones, Joey Barrier, Baron Vander Maas, Ellen and Collin McKee, Madolyn and Gene Gibson, Robin Dunaway, Sadie and Therman Hodge, Dennis Larson, JoAn and L.T. Gurganus, and Gay and Byron Nichols. We are loosely affiliated, besides all being faithful members of the Lord’s church; amenable to the respective elderships under which we serve Jesus Christ in our various capacities and labors for the Lord, we nevertheless cooperate as opportunities present themselves to further the spread of the Gospel worldwide. Directly and indirectly through foreign brethren alongside of whom we work for the Lord, this crew makes the Gospel of Christ available to approximately two-thirds of the world’s population and participates in thousands of conversions each year.

Virtually every get-together for special occasions (and often without any special occasion) among Christians involves eating with one another. The Annual Meeting was certainly no exception to that norm. On Thursday evening, we carpooled 18 miles away to the Carmack Fish House – a longstanding, yearly tradition for us. Of course, lunches and breakfasts back at the World Evangelism Building were delightful as well.

In addition to general meetings in which field reports were presented and we encouraged each other, there were two special meetings in which core members of the World Evangelism Team participated. One of those was regarding The Voice of Truth International quarterly magazine that we publish in English and several foreign languages. The Editor, Byron Nichols is now 79-years-old, and he has opted to slow down some. Consequently, he has chosen to transfer much of his responsibilities to others. The outcome was that brother Nichols will become Editor Emeritus, Louis Rushmore will become the Editor and Jerry Bates will be the Associate Editor. These adjustments in duties will become effective with the publication of The Voice of Truth International volume 90; issue 89 is at the printers now. Brother Byron Nichols has edited VOTI for 25 years, and he will remain active with it for the foreseeable future.

The second special meeting concerned the Into God’s World curriculum effort that has been in the works for some time. Four quarters of Teen study books – a year’s worth of lessons – have been completed, and they are ready to print. The writer for the series is brother Kevin Cauley; Robin Dunaway is project manager and Louis Rushmore is responsible for layout and production. Initially, one copy each of the first quarter book will be sent out to hundreds of congregations to acquaint them with the study and elicit orders for use in 2017.

Saturday, I completed the July edition of Gospel Gazette Online for publication to the Internet, and Rebecca finished proofing it. For a change, the holdup this time was me! I was the last one to have his or her article ready.

Looking ahead to the new week, Sunday I will speak for the Bible class and morning worship of the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS; two weeks later, I will speak at the same times again. Monday, I must attend to details for printing The Voice of Truth International volume 89 in Hong Kong, printing of Into God’s World literature, etc. in Minnesota and price thousands of tracts and Bibles for another mission work that intends to saturate 100% a South Pacific island nation. Tuesday evening, I am to speak in a Gospel meeting for the Huntsville Church of Christ outside of French Camp, MS. I’m sure I will find enough worthy undertakings to fill the balance of my hours and days – so I won’t get bored!

One Day at a Time

Director & Speakers of the Mission Lectureship

Wednesday morning (July 15^th) began very early. Brother Mark Posey, Gospel meeting speaker for the Old Union Church of Christ lodged with me for the duration. He opted to spend Tuesday night with me per my suggestion and depart on the morrow. Brother Mark decided to leave at 6 a.m.! So, we had breakfast of waffles and sausage at 5:30 a.m. Afterward, Rebecca and I returned to bed for a while as brother Posey headed back to Alabama.

Rebecca, too, left for her home before lunch. That night, she was to meet with team members from her congregation with whom she was going on a mission trip to Guyana, South America. Subsequently, Rebecca along with fellow Christians flew out on Saturday. They will be conducting two Vacation Bible Schools daily for a week, one with about 300 youngsters in a city setting and one with 30 or 40 in a the jungle.

That evening, it was my pleasure to visit with the Crockett Church of Christ west of Senatobia, MS. I acquainted brethren that night with an “Overview and Update” about the efforts of the World Evangelism team overseas.

Thursday and Friday I worked on a future edition of The Voice of Truth International. In addition, sundry other activities filled the days.

Saturday morning, I headed for Union, MS to participate in the 3^rd Annual Southeast Mississippi Mission Lectures. It was hosted by the Church of Christ there, and I was pleased not only to participate but to share the day with stateside and foreign missionaries and other interested brethren. It was a good day.

Interesting Window Treatment at the Gary & Anna Free Home

Sunday morning I headed out from Winona, MS to Indianola, MS once more. I had spoken there weeks ago in the absence of the congregation’s preacher, and I was doing so again. For Bible class, I spoke about the age of the earth, deriving information from the Bible and true science, both of which counter the theory of evolution’s astronomical “age of the earth.” During worship, I preached about proper reverence for and awe of God in Christian worship. Sunday evening, I preached about the Ascension of Jesus Christ, a cardinal or foundational doctrine of Christianity and relative to the hope of God cherished by every child of God today.

For the afternoon, I was the guest of brother Gary and sister Anna Free.  Everything on the dinner table was exquisite, especially the beef roast. The meal was complimented with some of the best corn on the cob, green beans and rolls. Lastly, I enjoyed a slice of chocolate pie. Umm! After evening worship, several church members enjoyed one another’s company at Wendy’s restaurant.

Finally, I returned home a few counties away to Winona. A new week lies ahead, during which I must work feverishly on two future issues of The Voice of Truth International before I leave for my fall mission trip to Asia. As a matter of fact, I need to finish fleshing out my travels in October and November to Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India. Tuesday, we are scheduled to have a visitor come to the World Evangelism Building. Wednesday, I have another appointment with the congregation of the Lord’s church outside of French Camp, MS. This coming Saturday I will be headed to an appointment with a church in Arkansas. Already, the lonely drives without by Bonnie at my side have proved difficult. I pray for courage and peace of mind in the service our Lord Jesus Christ. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Woodsy Gospel Meeting

The Old Union Church of Christ in Carroll County, Mississippi hosted a Gospel meeting Sunday, July 12 through Tuesday, July 14. “If you don’t know how to get there, you can’t get there from here.” The white frame chapel and accompanying cemetery is tucked away as if secretively in a clearing amidst dense trees and pervasive kudzu vines in rural Carroll County. The Old Union Church of Christ is the only congregation of the Lord’s church in that Mississippi county, and it can only be reached by carefully traversing a series of gravel roadways and selecting the correct forks in the road. Our visiting song leader was late Sunday morning as he (a precocious high school young man) and his father opted for the wrong fork along the way. Recently, I came to know that one family who had attended my wife’s funeral got lost leaving the meetinghouse and wandered about, finally from house to infrequent house, trying to find their way back to civilization. I joked with the visiting Gospel preacher that I was going to have to blindfold him before I took him to the Old Union Church of Christ so that he would not discover its location and divulge it to others.

One of the Old Union members developed an appreciation for the digital podcast sermons of brother Mark Posey from the Austinville Church of Christ in Decatur, Alabama. Subsequently, I provided the contact information for brother Mark, whose articles also appear monthly in Gospel Gazette Online. It was my good pleasure to have brother Posey in my home from Saturday through Wednesday morning to accommodate his participation with the congregation for its Gospel meeting. I was really the beneficiary of it all as my daughter and I were banqueted along with Mark Posey by brethren.

I am indebted to my daughter Rebecca for helping me for not only the occasion of brother Posey’s visit, but for several weeks since her last day of teaching school this past school year. She is leaving today (Wednesday) for her home in Collierville, Tennessee so that she can make final preparation for her mission trip to Guyana, which begins Saturday.

Brother Mark Posey did not disappoint. His refined presentation and years of experience as a student of God’s Word charmed all present with the simple and pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. Typical attendances of 30 or less were bumped up to a full house!

Jerry & Paula Bates

Tuesday morning, Rebecca and I helped brother Jerry and sister Paula Bates load recycled Bible literature and new copies of The Voice of Truth International into a trailer. Periodically, the Bates or I haul literature to some point to be loaded into an oceangoing container for transport to some foreign nation.

Tuesday was also the 42^nd wedding anniversary for my late sweetheart and myself. Singing hymns about heaven and death during the Gospel meeting was a near impossibility for me. These days, tears come and go without prior notice. Overall, I am doing as well as can be expected, and life goes on – until it doesn’t. In the meantime, I busy myself as best I know how in the service of our King. Please kindly remember me from time to time in your prayers.