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.

The Truck Cometh

Today, a tractor trailer pulled up in front of the World Evangelism Building in Winona, Mississippi. On it were five pallets of The Voice of Truth International magazine, tracts and books. Sometimes, it is fortunate for us when visitors happen by but maybe not as opportune for them. Sister Sadie and brother Therman Hodge spent some time with us as they were passing through Winona, and we put Therman to work helping us unload the freightliner. Then, Sadie helped prepare a mailing while Therman helped make ready a shipment of boxes of literature for overseas. They graciously applied themselves to the tasks at hand, and as always, they were great encouragers to the five of us who labor daily in Winona as team members of World Evangelism (i.e., Betty Choate, Jerry and Paul Bates, Louis and Martha Rushmore).

So, The Voice of Truth International volume 97 arrived today; volume 98 is being printed, and volume 99 is being composed now. We didn’t even know the truck was coming today! There is always something to be done and usually more things that remain undone that need our attention. There are many elements behind the scenes to what we do as servants of our Lord. Next week, both the Bates and we Rushmores leave the USA for various destinations in Asia.

Leoma Church of Christ

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Visitors from the Leoma, Tennessee Church of Christ came our way recently and spent two days helping us at the World Evangelism Building in Winona, Mississippi. Adults and children worked alongside of us Tuesday and Wednesday, September 18-19. Some bundled tracts in anticipation for calls from them for church tract racks and outreach. Others helped pack books into boxes for distribution without charge to stateside preacher students. Several helped process the newsletter mailing for sister Betty Choate. (Martha and I mailed our newsletters the week before, and Jerry and Paula Bates will mail their newsletter this week.)

Per usual, otherwise, the five of us in Winona fulfill daily orders for books and tracts in the USA, plan our overseas mission trips, visit congregations in the USA to apprise them of their investment in our labors, work on The Voice of Truth International and Gospel Gazette Online and a zillion other things behind the scenes to foreign missions.

Today, we met with a new team member, Cloyd “Ben” Frock. He has newly moved to a congregational work in Arkansas, but he will be participating with World Evangelism from afar as he has time. His expertise and experience promise to bring a whole new and much needed interface with users of our extensive base of Christian literature via the Internet. In the months ahead, the face of the online presence we already have will be upgraded and modernized. In addition, we will make available as much as we can the hundreds of books, tracts and magazines we have to work seamlessly on all contemporary media devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.).

Volume 97 of The Voice of Truth International is on its way to Winona and ought to arrive sometime this week. Volume 98 is being printed, and we are beginning to work on volume 99. The October edition of Gospel Gazette Online has been completed, and once the proofing and corrections are made, we will publish it to the Internet. Brethren, we are never idle—always covered up in what we do, and we thank you for making it possible to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this capacity.

August Rushmore Newsletter

For the last two days, Martha and I have been processing the August 2018 Rushmore Newsletter—getting it ready to mail on Monday. This afternoon and in addition to that, the August newsletter has been added to the Gospel Gazette Online site. Subsequently, I have sent out email notifications to additional persons regarding the availability of the newsletter on the Internet.

This issue of the Rushmore Newsletter includes an update regarding the acquisition of an ATV (a rural Gospel chariot for a remote part of the globe) for Amerindian brethren in Guyana, South America. Not long from now, Martha and I will return to Myanmar (Burma) in Asia, where we will be teaching for two weeks in a school nestled in a jungle setting. We love being with fellow Christians and non-Christians, too, around the world who eagerly embrace every opportunity to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are indebted to the churches of Christ and the Christian families who make it possible for us to serve at home and abroad.

Happy Days!

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Martha and I have enjoyed some happy days of late. Of course, we’re always glad when Rebecca can visit us in Winona, Mississippi. Sometimes, though, we visit her in Collierville, Tennessee—often using her home as a waystation in travels for speaking appointments west of the Mississippi, north and east. For a few days, however, Raymond and his wife Crystal with two precious grandchildren in tow came by to visit us. Oh, how we played with the little ones—4-years-old and 2-years-old. There was some liveliness in this little cottage, the likes of which unknown in recent time. Balls, firetrucks, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, dollhouse, wooden blocks, cornhole, Scrabble and such provided merriment for one and all. A side trip to a small, local park amused all of the kids—of all ages.

Rebecca made brownies and pizzas—with “help” from Elaina and Bryson. Each child made a personal-sized pizza, too. Sunday, we worshipped together at the Old Union Church of Christ. On our trek across gravel roads and through the woods on our way to the meetinghouse, we dodged—not wildlife—but a stray, young steer that seemed to have nowhere to go except to mosey down the center of the country lane. I thought we might see some deer or wild turkeys, but the domesticated critter was a surprise. Returning to Winona, we reconvened at the Chinese restaurant for a delicious buffet meal. All too soon, having finished lunch, Raymond, Crystal, Elaina and Bryson headed toward their home in Ohio. Later, our son Robert called from Florida to top off the day. “Family” is another word for “love.”