In the Summertime
A trip to Florida in the heat of the summer is quite unusual for us, but we had been asked to come, so that's where we went. Our meeting, as stated earlier, was supposed to have been a longer one, but for many reasons, it didn't end up that way. We flew into Tampa on Saturday, June 30, and were met by Bro. Tim Benefield--one of the men on staff--and his wife and son. We felt the heat as we left the airport and realized anew why we traveled north in the summer in years past.
We managed to obtain a nice guitar and a small P.A. system (bringing our own system would have been interesting on the flight) and felt somewhat ready for the morrow. Many changes have been made at the West Gate Baptist Church under Pastor Bruce Turner's leadership. We were a little overwhelmed by the new auditorium they are ready to move into, as well as the college facilities for Florida Baptist College.
Services were a great blessing. We sang in the morning and evening and Dad preached in the evening service. There was a great Fourth of July emphasis today and we tried to match that spirit as well.
This church has faithfully supported our ministry for many years. In fact, Dad and Mom had visited them even before we went into evangelism. It's great to see the work continuing on after all that time.
On Monday, we headed home to Pittsburgh, and eventually, West Virginia. We didn't seem to be too worse for the wear. Just a little more thankful for the cool evenings we have here at home!