Dear Friends and Supporters,  Nov. 30, 2007

        It seems that the closer we get to the end of the year, time speeds up! Christmas stuff has been in the stores since before Halloween. If you blinked your eyes, you just missed Thanksgiving. In my opinion that’s one of the most important holidays of the year. It makes people stop and think of all the things we have and need to be thankful for. It’s also usually a time to spend with family that you don’t see any other time of the year. We really shouldn’t need a special holiday to remind us to be thankful but that’s the way it is.

        We have met some really special people lately. We were in a senior center  the other day and heard this story which I really want to share. It is a true story. A man we met was a chaplain in the Korean War. His unit was under a great deal of fire power daily. The men were trying to put up an American flag on a small knoll so they could try to boost moral. Every time someone would try, they would get wounded or killed. One young man in the unit volunteered but said he could only do it at 4:00 AM. Everyone thought that was strange but he was given the OK to proceed. At precisely the time he requested, he took the flag and walked up the hill, hung the flag on a makeshift pole and then returned to his unit completely unharmed. In fact not a shot was fired the whole time. This gentleman relaying the story, who was the chaplain, couldn't fathom it. He asked the young man to what he attributed this unbelievable event and why the special time. The young man simply stated that every morning at 4:00 AM, his grandmother prayed for him so he knew he would be safe. Does that make your spine tingle?!? You can’t dispute the power of prayer!! 

        I met a woman a few days after that who reminded me so much of my own mother. She was embroidering what appeared to be a small tablecloth while the family was singing. She ran out of thread in her needle and had to refill it. It must have taken 20 minutes for her to rethread that needle. I wanted to reach over and do it for her but we were sitting right in front and I didn’t want to interrupt the program. When I would visit my Mom she would have me thread a whole pack of needles with different colors of thread and then hang them on the curtain by her sewing machine so that when she needed one, all she had to do was look for the right color. The folks that we meet really tug at your heart strings. We bring them some gospel music and remind them through message that God still loves them. They remember times in their past when things were different. They ask us to come back again soon and they promise to pray for us. If you have any kind of a heart at all you can’t help but love these folks and want to meet and encourage as many of them as possible. 

        October was a busy month for us. We ended up in Texas for several weeks. We held a revival  meeting at Second Baptist Church in Abilene, TX. We had a wonderful turnout and really enjoyed visiting with our friends there. Their hospitality was outstanding. We had our annual Homecoming at King’s Highway Baptist Church with Bro. Henderson. The groups all did a super job and a good time was had by all. We also held another revival meeting in Avoca, TX. The youth in the church did some special music. Bro Dennis Huffaker accompanied them on his guitar and Butch preached some great messages. Bro Thatcher  made us his famous pancakes and the ladies of the church treated us to  some good home cooking. We then traveled on to North Carolina  and South Carolina. We helped Carolina Baptist celebrate their anniversary and Bro Adams birthday also. (It actually was my birthday too but I wasn’t owning up to it.) We then headed north to Pennsylvania again. We had a wonderful revival meeting in Center Moreland, Pa. It was very well attended and decisions were made for the Lord.      We really enjoyed getting to know the pastor and his wife and also the folks from the church. They are very sweet and so hospitable. We look forward to visiting again in the future. Many thanks to Bro. Rick Stritzinger for putting us up at his house again. It is better than a bed and breakfast inn. We got bed, breakfast, supper, dessert and some great fellowship with the whole family. You can’t ask for more than that. We had another set of meetings in Mowry, Pa. with Bro. Alan Sienkiewicz. There were many answers to prayer. Hearts were moved and blessed. We did manage to keep up with all our friends in the senior centers, nursing homes and retirement homes and we even added some new ones to the list. There just doesn’t seem to be enough days in the week to visit everyone who needs it. But we will keep on trying. We hope ya’ll have had a wonderful holiday. We pray that you enjoyed your family if you were visiting them. Count all your many blessings. Be thankful for all God has given you. And DON'T forget the power of prayer!!!