November Rushmore Newsletter

Whew! Rebecca, Martha and I just sent off the November 2018 edition of the Rushmore Newsletter, plus past, leftover newsletters to additional recipients. For several days, our living room looked like something between a warehouse fiasco and an obstacle course, as we processed about 2,000 newsletters for mailing. In addition, just a few moments ago, I sent 762 email notifications with links for the current newsletter. Altogether, then, nearly 3,000 physical and email addresses have been apprised of our mission labors. Imagine how 3,000 prayers could aid us in our meager efforts to spread the Gospel of Christ. Just think of how even small amounts of financial participation with us could fund our overseas mission activities and related fare. We humbly solicit your prayers so that God may be glorified and so that souls may be edified—Christians and non-Christians—worldwide.

Hot Off the Press!

Hot off the press—sort of. I just published the November issue of Gospel Gazette Online. So as to not delay publication, the November edition is appearing ahead of completing proofreading—looking for typos, punctuation and grammar adjustments. Life is busy, and my daughter who is our chief proofreader is aplenty busy with teaching school, teaching Bible classes and speaking this weekend for a ladies’ inspiration day in Arkansas. Evidently, Martha and I have been busy, too—not getting the issue of GAZ done in sufficient time for Rebecca to proof it already. I thought that while Martha and I were in Myanmar for a couple of weeks I would work in the evenings on GAZ, but spare time—as well as energy—was sparse.

We remain thankful for both the writers for and the readers of Gospel Gazette Online. Visit GAZ at www.GospelGazette.com. If you are not now receiving monthly notification when each new edition is available, request a free subscription at rushmore@gospelgazette.com.

Christmas in—October!

Christmas in—October! Why not? Martha asked a couple of days ago if we could put up Christmas decorations. I hadn’t put up any of Bonnie’s Christmas decorations since she passed away in 2015. Christmas Day was her birthday, too. Bonnie grew up without any religious upbringing, and consequently, Christmas had no religious connotations for her and her family; it was merely a national holiday, a time of gift-giving and enjoying seasonal foods. For Bonnie, it was a secular Christmas, similarly as Saturday and Sunday migrated from their pagan origins to merely secular days.

So, Martha and I hauled Christmas fare from the attic in our Winona home. We did not put all of it up, but we squeezed a good portion of Xmas décor into our living room. Christmas in October? Why not? If retailers and their patrons can attempt to celebrate Christmas in July, why can’t Martha spread a little Christmas cheer about us. Besides, we don’t expect to be in Winona during the Christmas holidays; we plan on spending that time with three of Martha’s grandchildren and their parents in Ocala, Florida.

As a sidebar, a few years ago I was visiting a young family. I asked the children if their parents hadn’t told them that Christmas (gift-giving) happens twice a year—in July as well as December. Immediately, the little ones donned critical looks as they gazed at their parents, perhaps thinking that they had been shortchanged. I was more amused than were the parents!

Christian Friends in Myanmar

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About 30 hours from here to there, and of course, about 30 hours back. Two weeks there—in Myanmar. Martha and I left the USA on Thursday, October 4 for Asia and returned to North America on Saturday, October 20.

Sunday, Martha and I worshipped with the Collierville, Tennessee Church of Christ, great encouragers and one of our supporters. Today, Monday, we drove the two hours from our daughter Rebecca’s home in Collierville—outside of Memphis—to our parsonage in Winona, Mississippi. Rebecca and we refer to her home as our own private B&B; she takes good care of us.

Abroad, I taught the “Book of Job,” “New Testament Worship” and “The Cost of Discipleship” for about 60 hours total. One of the four instances of worshipping with precious brethren from two congregations in Yangon, it was my pleasure to speak about “Bible Authority.” Martha taught ladies for about 20 hours, too.

While in Myanmar, Martha and I viewed some sites together, but we especially enjoyed our Christian brothers and sisters. We also love playing with the children. The hardest part for us, though, is the very long journey—howbeit by three jet airplanes each way—across nearly 12 time zones—changing day for night and back again. Weary is hardly an adequate description of how we feel presently, but we will recover and adjust.

Martha and I are thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ and Christian brethren who make it possible for us to serve our God. We are likewise thankful to brethren around the world who graciously receive us and from whom we are edified.

Where Are We?

Where in the world are we? Can you tell from these two photos? For one week so far, we have been abroad. Martha and I traveled just under 30 hours via three jet airplanes to a country 10 and a half time zones from Mississippi. For one additional week, we will remain here. Other than family members, let us know where you think we are.

4 X 4

Four states by four states, Saturday and Monday. Martha and I left Winona, Mississippi on Saturday, proceeding also through Alabama and Georgia to Tennessee for Sunday speaking appointments. Monday morning, we reversed trajectory and traveled from Cleveland, Tennessee back to Winona.

On short notice, I assembled Sunday morning with the brethren of the Ooltewah, Tennessee Church of Christ and was permitted to talk briefly about out mission work. It just so happened that the congregation was having a fellowship meal after morning worship, and we stayed for that, too. Sunday evening, we worshipped with the Central Church of Christ in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was my pleasure to address the congregation regarding our ongoing mission efforts. Both congregations received us well and were of great encouragement to us.

Curiously, two of the evenings we lodged in a Cleveland hotel, the Oscar Myer Hot Dog Mobile was parked in the parking lot. That was the only marvel we viewed, though we considered Rock City, Ruby Falls and the Incline Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We really didn’t have time to pause our return to Winona, since we are leaving Winona on Wednesday in preparation for leaving the USA on Thursday. Martha and I are headed for Myanmar (Burma) for a couple of weeks, plus the 30 hours travel time each way to and from the country. One of these days, we intend to linger somewhere long enough on our treks to “see the sights.”

October Gospel Gazette Online Published

 

Just now, Gospel Gazette Online for October was published to the Internet. View it at www.GospelGazette.com. GGO is the result of the collaboration of several brothers and sisters in Christ who make it possible through a labor of love for souls. One unnoticed but vital contributor to publishing GGO is my daughter, Rebecca. She has ample credentials, education and experience to do a stellar job of proofreading. Her mission is to find all of the errors that I have overlooked or made myself, so we can amend the pages before they are published. She inspects formatting, spelling, word choices (e.g., “seen” when it should be “scene”), punctuation, clarity and, if necessary, questions content.

Gospel Gazette Online is in its 20^th year of continuous publication on the Internet. Readers from around the world regularly contact us to express their appreciation of GGO. Please peruse the current October edition as well as the thousands of archived pages. Let us hear from you.