Arizona Trip, Part II

Some of you may have seen the blog that was posted on our old site, prior to the launching of our new site. It told of the rest of our trip to Arizona in March. Yes, that was a long time ago! We had hoped to be able to update you on that trip...alas, we were foiled once again. Here is the rest of the story.... Our stops along the way: Apache Junction, Claypool, Gilbert, Glendale, Bagdad, Goodyear, Peoria, and Buckeye. We were in several familiar churches with familiar faces, but many of the churches we ministered in were brand-new works. The Phoenix area is exploding with growth, with around 300 people moving into the valley each day. The Lord is raising up new churches to meet the need. What a blessing to be involved in encouraging new churches with preaching and music! A very special thanks goes to Pastor Mike Henry, his wife, Deborah, and their family. Pastor Henry was deeply involved in heading up the entire trip. The church helped pay for our tickets. He helped us get into some new churches and took care of our needs while we were there. As the pastor of Royal View Baptist Church, he is taking over the work from Pastor Jim Roy, and his wife, Linda. (They are old friends of our family.) We were excited to see the Lord continuing on the work in Gilbert. We were thankful to have a part in the church's Missions Conference. They reached their goal for Missions, and beyond! We also want to thank the Carnes Family, who hosted us in their home for the first part of our trip. What a sweet spirit is evident in their lives! They saw to it that we had plenty of good meals and snacks, a comfortable place to sleep, and maybe even more importantly, access to the Internet. We truly were amazed at their hospitality. Another highlight of our trip was being able to visit the First Baptist Church in Bagdad. (Pastor Doug Culver) The meeting was held on an off-night (as we call it), so that other churches could come for the special service. We had a great time with the Culvers and others from their church. We even did a "live broadcast from Bagdad"--and had a fun time with that! Pastor Jim Roy, and his wife, Linda, hosted us during the second part of our trip. They were such a help--as they always are. God is blessing their work as they begin a new era in a new area: Buckeye. This couple has been faithful to the Lord for many years and we know God will continue to bless them in the days to come as He has over the years. Two souls were saved in our meetings in Arizona, and from what we hear, folks received a blessing from the services. We hope to be able to visit again some time down the road...and we pray that fruit will continue to abound from our Arizona Tour.