In Flatwoods

The snow was beginning to blow as we packed up for our trip to Flatwoods, West Virigina. Our trip was mostly uneventful and we arrived safely at the Flatwoods Baptist Church. Pastor Paul Beatty, his family, and a few others joined us in setting up our P.A. system and helped us to get ready for the services on Sunday. We've been with the Beattys on at least three other occasions and we've always been encouraged to be with their church. This time was no exception. Dad preached a strong message about knowing when our hearts have grown cold, and there seemed to be a moving of the Holy Spirit. The church building was full, and following the service, we had a great meal in the upstairs fellowship hall. For the evening service, we simply met in the pastor's office with about 10 others and prayed, gave testimonies, and sang. The pastor's desire was that we focus on getting our hearts prepared for the week. There was sweet fellowship as we shared our prayer requests and asked God to do a work in hearts. We were only able to be at the meeting until Tuesday night, but many visitors came and we did a lot of singing. It was nice to be with our friend, Jesse Kragiel, who made us sing with him (Thanks a lot, Jesse!). Pastor Beatty even asked to sing with us...that was...um...really, uh...well, it was fun! He kept asking to sing with us, so we decided that he could sing "Higher Ground" with us. Of course, we did not practice as planned, so he did have to "find his note", but he did alright. The weather was a bit icy the last night and we were afraid that we wouldn't be able to make it back up the mountain where we were staying in a missions apartment. The Lord gave us safety, however, and the trip home went well. (The use of chains on the van has really helped.) Dad preached in our home church that Wednesday, and then it was back into the routine!