Trip Diary
Sunday, May 25: Due to a mix-up with the schedule, Dad had to drive to Garrettsville, Ohio, to preach at a meeting at the Church at Troy on Saturday. He took this opportunity to spend a few days in Toledo with Jonathan and Jessica Marshall and their family before heading to Garrettsville. Jonathan had requested that Dad help their family plant a garden--something Dad understands well. After a few days with the grandkids, he headed over to the meeting where he preached and even plucked his banjo a bit and sang.
The rest of us were invited to sing at Calvary Baptist in Mannington, West Virginia, as we were just at the church for a wedding the Saturday previous. Pastor Lee Bowman kept us busy all day with providing special music. The Haught family took us out for lunch, and then we tried to rest in the church's mission room. The church always seems to receive our music and we are thankful for such sweet people that allow us to minister to them.
Friday, May 30-Tuesday, June 3: After our Recital on May 29, we prepared to fly out the following day for a meeting in Grand Prairie, Texas, at the Lighthouse Baptist Church. Upon arriving at the DFW, we immediately tried to adjust to the extreme heat. The pastor, Bro. David Grice, and another man, Bro. Jason, picked us up at the airport. One piece of luggage took a while to make its' appearance, and after waiting for a good amount of time, finally an airport employee showed up to bring luggage up from the unresponsive luggage belt. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Cracker Barrel before being shown our quarters for the weekend...a lovely little mission house just down the road from the church property.
On Saturday we spent some time passing out tracts about the upcoming events, one of them being a concert at the church that evening. We went to several shopping areas and fanned out to talk to anyone we could. It was quite warm out, and we pretty much sweated buckets. The blessing of it all was that Dad got to lead a young Mexican man to the Lord in the parking lot of a grocery store. We came back to the mission house to rest and get ready for the evening.
There were quite a few visitors from other churches in the service tonight, including a college friend of Dad's, Earl Patrick. Also, the Potters from Heath, Texas, came this evening. Lauren Potter has been a great blessing to our family, having spent the summer of 2003 traveling with us and supporting us financially for some time. We sang a great deal and there was a good response.
The next day was full with us singing all day, Dad preaching in the evening, and a delicious Texas meal of brisket and all the trimmings, including the real Southern tea. It was a day of celebration for the church, as they have been in existence for five years. How exciting it was to watch how God has blessed the church's efforts over the years! There were many visitors and one young girl was saved. We had such a great time fellowshipping with Pastor Grice and his wife and hearing the story of the little boys they are adopting soon. It was a blessed trip and we truly enjoyed ourselves. We pray that God will continue to use the Grice family and the ministry of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, Texas.