November 1. Up a little before 7:00 to get ready for the road again. Got all packed up, read Bible, studied memory verses before Ran and Connie were up. It was around 9:00 when we sat down for breakfast. Then we loaded up the car and left Huckabees’ place a little after 10:00. We didn’t have far to go so it didn’t matter too much what time we left. It was another very cold, cloudy, and windy day. We traveled west to Marshall, then south on 69 to 20 west. Arrived in LaGrange around 3:00 and met Bro. Jeff at his house. Kathy wasn’t home—is away for a while taking care of her frail mother. We took in our belongings that we would need for the night and talked with Jeff a while before he headed back over to the church. Then we had a nap and a refreshing shower before heading over to the church ourselves. Their Wednesday night service begins at 6:00. We got there around 5:30 and had plenty of time to look at the missionary bulletin boards and meet some of the church members before the meeting started. It was refreshing to know that Jeff holds strongly to old-fashioned Biblical standards, practices, and preaching, without apology. The message he preached was from Psalm 122, which was written by King David after the rebellion and death of his son Absalom. David had a great desire to get back to the house of the Lord, the city of the Lord, the throne of judgment, God’s peace and prosperity, and the work of the Lord. David did not stay away from the Lord’s house when he was going through a time of great trial. He wanted to go to God’s house. “Peace from God brings prosperity from God so that we can lead a quiet and peaceable life.” After the meeting, Bro. Jeff took us out to Pizza Hut, which was next door to the church, and we had a bite to eat and a little more fellowship together. November 2. Thankful for a good night’s rest. Lewis said it had rained hard during the night. We got up around 6:15 and it was still raining and was very dark outside. Dressed and packed up and headed over to the church to meet Bro. Jeff. It was still very dark and rainy. LaGrange is right at the end of the time zone so the sun comes up late there. We discovered this morning that we have a headlight out too. Jeff took us to breakfast at a little restaurant not too far from the church. Daddy and I each enjoyed a large bowlful of oatmeal and a glass of juice. It was finally getting light around 8:15 when we left the restaurant and headed out for our day’s journey. We were thankful that the rain stopped after a couple hours and the day got brighter although it stayed cloudy all day. But the day was much warmer than we’ve had for several days and we were very grateful for that. We stopped north of Cincinnati for lunch at Perkins. When we got back in the car after lunch, I discovered that my window does not work anymore. At least it is not completely shut so a little air can seep in. Arrived in Berea, KY, around 4:30 at the Holiday Motel where we are spending the night. I was very thankful to get here and get out of the car. Had been in the car too long and had not had any exercise. My legs were numb and hurting, and I was happy to get them moving again. After we got settled in our room, we got a bite to eat from our snack bags and cooler. Then we went over to WalMart (almost next door to the motel) where we could walk around and also make a couple purchases. Daddy checked on headlights, and they said they can put one in for us in the morning. It was quite warm out this evening when we went over to WalMart. Got two legs made for the crocheted lamb while we were traveling today, but was tired so didn’t do more. This evening, I did the other two legs. All done. Oops, not yet. I forgot about the tail. Will do that in the morning.
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October 30. Quite chilly today with a damp, nippy wind. About mid-morning, we went out with Ran and Connie to Meijers and then to Hollywood Market to do a little food shopping. Brrrr! Too cold to be out today. Connie had made a pot of beef vegetable soup before we came, and we enjoyed that hot soup for lunch. Had a long nap again after lunch. This cold weather is so perfect for sleeping—the body just did not want to get out from under those cozy quilts. This evening, the Huckabees took us out to Seros Family Restaurant for supper. We ordered from the senior menu. Delicious food and large portions—too large for seniors. Dessert came with it too. Three of us had spumoni ice cream (pistachio/cherry/chocolate neapolitan) - very good—and Connie had tapioca pudding with whipped cream and cinnamon on top. That looked good too. We went right from there to the church meeting. Erica Sharpeta, the pastor’s daughter, showed her slide presentation from her recent short term missions trip to PNG. She is a registered nurse and spent a year with John and Lena Allen in their village. Another missionary they support, Mark Chartier, gave a brief report of their work as Bearing Precious Seed missionaries as he pastors a church in Wolverine, MI. His wife, Nicole, is five months pregnant with their first child, after 16 years of marriage. They are quite excited. Then Bro. Hutchinson preached and shared his heart with us again. His text this evening was II Corinthians 8:1-9. I sensed, even before he told us, what his theme was going to be—verse 9. As he brought out truths from verses 8 & 9, many hearts were touched. You could sense the Holy Spirit’s working in our midst, and many people went to the altar to pray. Giving is proving the sincerity of our love to our Lord Jesus Christ who, though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor. Giving is a way of showing our love for the world, as Christ showed His love for us. After the service, they had a little fellowship time in honor of Butch K’s birthday. “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 God has called us to come to Him so that He might send us to deliver others from their affliction and bring them out of the world. October 31. We had thought about going out this morning to TJ’s and the Bible discount store, but it was cold and very windy out there so we decided to stay in the house where it is warmer. After lunch, we braved the weather and went out to TJ’s and the Bible discount store. We got a number of items at TJ’s, but nothing at the bookstore. So many kinds of “Bible” study books on all kinds of subjects with all kinds of unusual ideas by all kinds of authors that we have never heard of, and most of the books not KJB. Went out again later for dinner at Plato’s Coney Island restaurant. I had forgotten that it was Halloween until we saw some of the workers and some of the customers dressed in costumes. The restaurant that Huckabees planned to go to was closed for Halloween so Plato’s was a second choice. We went straight to church from supper. After we got there, we remembered that we were supposed to bring the computer because Bro. Ron Takala was going to be bringing an adapter so we can hook up our old projector to our new computer. So Ran and Daddy made a quick trip back to the house to get the computer. We are thankful for Ron’s help with this need. Another wonderful meeting this evening. Bro. Hutchinson’s text tonight was Joshua 3:1-3, Stepping Out into the Water. If God commands it, you CAN do it. There is a time for waiting (Acts 1:4) and a time for action. We need the power of God to get the job done. People have been waiting 2000 years for someone to come with the gospel. Our time for waiting is over. It is time for action. It is time to step into the water and cross the river. Keep your eyes on the LORD, not on circumstances – v. 3, “When you see….” The ark represented the presence of the LORD. Therefore when you ‘see’ the LORD, keep your eyes on Him and follow Him. Consider Peter walking on the water—He did not keep his eyes on the Lord, but looked at the circumstances. Joshua 3:13-17, If you want to please God, you must step into the water. Don’t stand at the edge of the water until it parts because it never will. v. 5, The LORD will do wonders among you if you believe and obey. Jesus could not do many miracles in his own country because of their unbelief. In our country, we have a lot of Nazareth believers. Therefore the Lord cannot do many wonders in this country. “12Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go…. 19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.” Nehemiah 9:12,19 Praise God that He gives us light to lead us in the way that we should go. In His manifold mercies, He never forsakes us. October 28. Writing this on Sunday morning, the 29th as it was too late last night after we arrived home from the meeting. Only have a few minutes now before we leave for church. Praise the Lord for a warm comfortable sleep Friday night. It was almost 7:00 before I got up Saturday morning. Didn’t have to hurry as we didn’t have far to go today. Took a shower, fixed some breakfast, read Bible. Wasn’t very hungry so before we left, I warmed up the rest of the rice and put it in the hot mug that Patty had given me the morning before for hot tea. A little after 9:00, we started loading up the car. It had rained during the night and was wet and cold outside. The assistant pastor, Tom Bowen, came over to see us off. He said they don’t very often have people come and stay in their prophets’ chamber. Too bad. Such a nice place. As we headed north to Detroit, the day eventually turned sunny and felt a bit warmer, though the wind was cool. We could see a front coming, however, and by the time we got into Michigan, it had clouded over. We heard that there might be rain and snow in Michigan, but were thankful that didn’t come about. I was sleeping when we passed through Toledo and into Michigan. Must have gotten tired out after no nap on Thursday and on Friday. Did do some praying along the way, but didn’t do any crocheting. Stopped at a Burger King south of Detroit, in New Boston, for Daddy to get some lunch. I had eaten most of the rest of my rice in the car. Arrived at the Huckabees around 2:30. So good to see them again. Chatted for a while. Brought our belongings in. Chatted some more before getting ready for the missions banquet and the evening meeting. A joy to finally meet the new pastor of Westview Baptist, Pastor Hector Sharpeta, and his wife, Cynthia (Cindy). Pastor Sharpeta is originally from Puerto Rico, but has lived in the US since he was a young boy. A blessing to meet the guest speaker, Bro. Herb Hutchinson, and his wife, Helen, too. Spent time getting acquainted with them during the meal. He used to pastor a church in Kalamazoo, but his ministry now is traveling and speaking in churches, holding what he calls “mission revival conferences”, rather than “mission conferences”. His desire is to see churches gain a new vision for missions—being and sending out missionaries. He is aware of how cold many churches have become or are becoming to foreign missions, and are nearsighted in their “mission” outreach. After supper, was the first meeting of the conference, and Bro. Hutchinson spoke to us from Philippians 4:10-19 encouraging people to ask the Lord how much more they can give for missions. “Billions of people are still waiting to hear the gospel for the first time. What if you were on the waiting end?” Mostly new people in the church since the change of pastors and enjoyed meeting some of them. October 29. Up a little after 6:00 this morning. Fixed oatmeal for breakfast for Daddy and me. Connie and Ran had other cereal for breakfast. Around 9:15, we headed for church. Daddy spoke in Sunday school on the missions miracle in John 6. Then Bro. Hutchinson spoke in the main meeting from Proverbs 11:30, The Fruit That Was Meant To Be Shared. Where is the tree of life in the world today? The fruit of the righteous is the tree of life. We have the fruit of the tree of life, and people need our fruit. We must share our fruit—it is a tree of life. The fruit of the righteous is necessary for winning souls. There were quite a few people there this morning. It was a very moving message, and people’s hearts were stirred. After the meeting, there was a fellowship meal downstairs again. Lots of food to eat and lots left over. Sat with Huckabees and Hutchinsons. Then we came “home” and took a nap. This evening’s meeting was at 6:00. We were thankful that we arrived early to get the slide presentation ready to go because we found out that I had only copied a picture of the presentation shortcut and did not have the presentation itself on either the flash drive or the DVD. Connie took me back to the house to get the laptop, and we arrived back at the church just a couple minutes after 6:00. They hadn’t started the meeting yet, but had waited for us to return. They got the presentation set up, and then the meeting started. Showed the presentation, and then Daddy expanded a bit more on our ministry. It was fifth Sunday sing night at the church, and there were five groups who sang specials. Then Bro. Hutchinson preached to us once again, a very sobering and heart-stirring message from Acts 16:6-15—A Cry for Help; A Call to Missions. v.9, When God gives a command, we only need to obey. We do not need to pray about it. We don’t try a commandment to see if it works. Just obey it. Just do it. v.10, They didn’t get together and pray about it. They immediately endeavored to go. Even though it was Paul who received the vision, Paul’s immediate obedience provoked others to obedience. A cross reference to Acts 16—those in hell can never be reached with the gospel; no one can answer their cry for help. Stopped at White Castle on the way home, and Ran picked up some little burgers. Then we had a little supper after we got back to the house, and the men watched football. “23And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” Exodus 2:23-25 When we cry unto the Lord, we can always be certain that He hears, that He remembers His promises to us, that He will look upon us and have respect unto our needs. October 25. Up early to shower and wash hair. After breakfast and quiet time, Daddy helped me rearrange the room so that the bed is at an angle, and there is access to the heater control knob without having to pull the bed out to turn the heater on. Swept and dusted to clean up the bedroom and bathroom. Packed a few more items. Found some little stones to make a rattle to put inside the lamb I am crocheting to go with the baby layette. Printed out a couple patterns for future crochet projects. This afternoon, Daddy loaded a few things into the car. I made up some small containers of applesauce and fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt to take with us and also got some drinks together. Put all that in one spot in the fridge, ready to load into a cooler in the morning. Don’t remember what else I did other than the dishes. Talked with Mary M a bit before the meeting this evening. She wasn’t feeling too well – had had kind of a rough day. Bro. Bru took charge of the service this evening. He preached to us from III John 1:4, about walking—”How is Your Walk?” Talked about walking in the word, in prayer, in fellowship, in obedience, in service. Can’t remember if there was another point. It was a very practical message. Enjoyed meeting and talking this evening with Jamie V's mother who is down here visiting from Virginia. “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.” Exodus 1:12 We should remember that affliction can strengthen us and cause us to grow and to multiply our lives in bringing forth fruit for God’s glory. October 26 and 27. Didn’t get a chance to write in my journal yesterday. Busy chatting with Patty and Chuck in the evening and watching videos about rocket stoves (very interesting) and PNG airstrips. I got quite a bit of crocheting done while we were talking and watching. We were thankful we didn’t have to hurry after we got up yesterday morning. Finished packing up last minute things, and Daddy finished loading up the car. Put away our bedding to use when we get home, and remade the bed for the guests who will be coming for ABC’s mission conference and staying with Christy and Connie. Had breakfast. Spent some time talking with Connie. Left Shelby around 9:15. The Lord gave us a lovely day. Stopped at a Subway in Oak Ridge for Daddy to get something for his lunch. I ate some yogurt and some tortilla chips and dip that we brought along from home. It was after 2:30, I believe, when we arrived at the Sumner's. So good to see them. The rest of the day was spent chatting with them. Patty made us a nice supper of meat and veggies. She also set out brownies and homemade carrot bread and banana bread for dessert. Was hoping to get some autumn pictures along the way, but many of the trees are still green and there was not much color. Thankful for a good night’s rest and a good breakfast before we left Sumner's this morning. We made arrangements to spend more time with them on our way back next weekend. It was a few minutes before 8:00 when we left their house and headed north. It was a beautiful blue sky day and became very warm as the day went on, until late afternoon when the front came in, and the weather started turning cold. The mountain roads were VERY winding, and the morning sun was extremely bright. My eyes were really hurting by the time the sun had risen high enough in the sky not to be so bright. Had lots of time in the car to read my Bible, pray, crochet, and talk together. Praise the Lord for helping me finish the baby blanket. Was going to work on the stuffed toy, but couldn’t find the pattern I had printed out. (It may be in the overnight case. Later I’ll have to look for it in there.) So worked on the bib for a little while until we arrived at our destination. We had planned to stop at Perkins north of Cincinnati for lunch, thinking we would reach there around 1:00. The many miles of winding mountain roads, and then some construction along I75 delayed us so that it was already after 1:00 when we reached Ohio, south of Cincinnati. We saw a sign for Ponderosa Steakhouse so decided we would stop there for lunch. We had always found it good in the past. Ordered the senior buffet, sat down and gave thanks, and headed for the food bar. Tried a couple veggies first—green beans looked good, but they didn’t smell good or taste good either so set those aside. Had added a carrot and broccoli medley to my plate too, but it had a very unusal taste—some kind of sauce they had cooked it in or added to it. Set that aside also. Meat loaf was also on my plate. It did taste good, and I didn’t waste any of it. Decided to try a piece of chicken next. Chose what looked like too large a piece of fried chicken thigh. By the time I had removed the breading, however, and taken the meat off the bones, it wasn’t too much. It tasted fine. Still hungry, I decided to try some tortilla chips with cheese sauce from the taco bar. Stale chips and lukewarm cheese sauce. Tried a wee bit of dirt pudding and a wee bit of soft ice cream with caramel sauce for dessert. Remembered to thank the Lord even though some of the food was not pleasant. Left a tract and tip for our server Bonnie and headed on our way, arriving around 3:15 at Vandalia Baptist Church, just off I75 in Vandalia, OH. Praise the Lord for a safe trip and for those who are praying as we travel. The assistant pastor met us at the church and gave us a key to the prophet’s chamber—a house next door to the church. What a nice place! We are thankful for a warm comfortable place to spend the night. We were very tired when we arrived here so after unloading what we needed from the car, we lay down for a nap. After nap, we killed a big ole centipede in the bathroom sink. We realized before we got here that we had not packed anything for evening lunch or for breakfast. Hmmm. What are we going to eat while we’re here? We figured we’d better go out to a grocery store after nap and see what we could find. There was a Kroger’s at the next exit so that’s where we went. Daddy got a sub for his supper and some granola for breakfast. (I did pack the rest of the almond milk, and he can use some of that on the granola.) I got one small organic summer squash and a couple organic packaged meals that just need to be heated up. Fixed half the squash this evening with one of the meals, a mixture of quinoa, brown rice, red rice, kale, and chia seeds. It was quite good for a packaged meal. “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah 4:6 If we put our minds to the work God has given us, we will accomplish what needs to be done. We must have a mind to work. October 23. Rain during the night, and dark and rainy this morning, but not cold. The first half of the morning was spent packing for our trip on Thursday, and most of the second half was spent in the kitchen making butternut squash soup. Also made a pizza for our dinner. While I was waiting for things to cook and soup to cool, I started getting journal notes together for Connie. After nap, I got all the soup pureed, part of it put in the freezer for when we come back from our trip, and part of it in the fridge to have in the next couple days. Then I finished the journal notes. and sent them off to Connie. Later, I finished up a Sunday school lesson and started on another. Very stormy and heavy rain this afternoon. Christy did not go shopping because of tornado warnings. A lot of places in Cleveland and neighboring counties sustained significant damage due to very strong winds, and power outages resulted from many fallen trees. A tornado hit down in Spartanburg, SC, and possibly in Hickory, NC. Hangars and planes were destroyed at Hickory airport; a number of planes were tossed and turned upside down. “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this….” Ezra 9:13 Oh, how thankful I am that God does not punish us according to what our iniquities deserve! How great is His mercy! October 24. After getting the wash done this morning, Daddy and I headed for the discount store in Polkville to see if we could find some snacks to take with us on our trip. There wasn’t much of that kind of item on the shelves today, however. About half way there, we began to see trees that had been snapped off or uprooted in the storm yesterday. Lots of utility trucks were out repairing power lines and removing fallen trees or branches. After we got home, I put away the few items that we bought, started packing a bag of snacks for the road, and packed a few more personal things. Daddy went off to WalMart to pay the rent and get a case of small bottles of water. This afternoon, we got a few more things ready for our trip, including putting the presentation on a flash drive and on a DVD. Daddy opened all the small bottles of water for me, and I added Celtic sea salt to each one and repacked them into a couple of small boxes, ready for our trip. Cooked up the broccoli and zucchini this evening as it wouldn’t be any good if we left it until we get back from our trip. It will also be something extra for me to eat when I feel hungry. What is left after tomorrow can go in the freezer until we get back. |
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