Dear Friends and Supporters,
The Christmas Holiday has come and gone . We had a wonderful time in Omaha, AR
at a Christmas revival with our friends at Bible Baptist Church . We also got to
see the inner workings of a lumber mill while we were there. The wood they were
cutting was cedar. Not only was it pretty to look at, it smelled good. This was
God’s handiwork up close and personal!! There is a vast wonderland
of God’s creations out there to acknowledge and marvel.
We have seen a little bit of snow in our
travels. I know the northern states had a white Christmas according to some of
our friends and relatives. Several places we have been recently had a real
blizzard after we left. I say thank you Lord!!! For allowing us to leave first,
I mean. We have actually crossed the
country twice in less than a
month. But sometimes that’s the way the crazy schedule works. When one of our
supporting churches has a special occasion and invites us to be a part of it we
try to be as obliging as possible. Our supporting churches are very dear to us.
They are a main part of our ministry. Not only do we represent them all over the
country, but without them we would not be able to stay on the road like we do.
This year we are going to try something new with the help of some of those same
churches. We have chosen several different parts of the country to hold revival
meetings in nursing homes with the help of a local church. They will be three
day, afternoon meetings with preaching and special music just like an old time
camp-meeting. Our first one will be held in March in Fairmont WV. We are very
excited to see how these meetings are received.
We had some great meetings in Texas a few weeks ago. Some of the nursing homes
we visited were ones we had not been to in a while. Surprisingly enough a lot of
the folks remembered us from previous times and it was like visiting old friends
and family. These folks are such a blessing. They become attached to you after a
while. They treat us like family members. They are sad when we have to leave.
James has more Grandmas’ than you can imagine. They especially love to visit
with Paul Jr. and Lydia.
Well, the New Year Holiday has also come and gone. I don't know where the time
get’s to. We managed a quick trip to West Virginia. We were able to visit our
home church and the Fairmont nursing homes. As an added bonus we got to see our
son John and his family. The only bad part was we arrived in a snow storm and
the temperature never got above 20 degrees. I know it seems like I can't be
satisfied but that’s a little too cold!!
One of the things I get to do while a program is in progress, is watch people. I
take a lot of pictures and videos but aside from that I love to watch the
reaction that the gospel music and God’s Word has on some of these people. Some
of them you can see an awakening of sorts come over them. This is especially
apparent among those with dementia or alzheimers disease . We were in a facility
in Arkansas one day and there was a gentleman sitting in the corner of the room
writing on a clipboard as fast as he could. After the program Butch approached
him and inquired about what he was writing. He was actually the staff
psychologist and he said he was going to do some research on the wonderful
effect our “Jesus music” had on the folks in the room. The other day I watched a
woman sitting at a table all by herself. She appeared to not have a clue what
was going on around her. When the music started she moved her hands across the
table just like she was playing the piano. I’m not a piano player but she sure
looked like she knew what she was doing!! I saw a little lady in Florida one day
at one of our programs get so excited
she nearly fell out of her wheel chair. It really blesses my heart to see
people react to God’s Word and music in such excitement. It also blesses my
heart to have the privilege that God has given us to share it with these same
folks. So we say a very heart felt THANK YOU to all of you out there who support
our ministry with your prayers, finances, love and friendship. We couldn’t do it
without you!!!!
Till next time ------!!
…....... Roxann
Hinkle