Short Midwestern Trip

Sunday, August 3: A lot of our trips West are to Illinois, and on the way we'll try to break up the trip by stopping in Indiana or Ohio. This time we took a Sunday to be at the First Baptist Church in Lizton, Indiana. Pastor Terry Danford and his church have had us in many times before, but this was the first time that we have been able to be with them for longer than one evening service. Their church had been hard hit with the recent floodings in Indiana, and they had to replace all of the carpet in the basement. They worked hard to prepare the Prophet's Chamber, which was also in the basement. Everything looked wonderful to us, especially after a good drive! Pastor Danford helped us set up our equipment and we were able to get to bed at a decent hour. It was a joy to be with First Baptist and to fellowship a bit more with the Danfords. Dad preached all the services today and we did a lot of singing. The church is small, but is looking forward to new outreach coming soon. We ate the afternoon meal with the Danfords and were thankful for some rest, as well. After the evening service, the harp was set out and several plucked on it here and there. We ended up getting pizza and eating and talking with the Danfords and another young man in the church. (A couple rounds of foosball were enjoyed by the crowd.) Monday-Friday, August 4-8: It was off to ChicagoLand today, as we were to be with Bible Baptist and Pastor Chris Huff in Mt. Prospect all week. We were glad to be able to get in a bit early on Monday so that we could eat a meal with Matt & Julie before the week began to get too crazy. Dad and Mom stayed at a hotel closer to the church while the rest of us stayed with Matt & Julie. Timmy and Zach are growing so fast. One bonus about this week is being with family! The meeting itself proved to be a real uplift. Keynote speakers included Bro. Anthony Benjamin from St. Croix, Evangelist Phil Schipper, Evangelist Rick Drummond, Bro. Bob Foltz, Pastor Dave Smith from Harmony, PA, Pastor Bob Nogalski, among other pastors from the area. Dad also preached and we were kept busy singing. One morning in particular the Lord really seemed to move as we sang the song, "Again". It was exciting to watch the Lord use the music, even though at times we don't know if we're having any kind of an impact at all. As far as we know, there were no salvation decisions throughout the week, but we know many hearts were encouraged as the messages were preached. Thursday was Teen Emphasis Day and we focused our songs on themes of surrender and dedication. The three of us (old) maids joined Matt and the youth group at Laser Quest. It's been a long time since we've played, but we still kept up pretty well with those youngsters! The week did not seem to reach a huge crescendo as perhaps it had in years past, but obviously the Lord was not moving that way. Apparently He wanted us all to just gain instruction and remember to keep on being faithful in His work. We were blessed to be at the Campmeeting this year, and truly hope that the Lord will continue to work in hearts. We were able to eat one more meal with Matt & Julie and family on Saturday before heading up to Wisconsin for the weekend. Sunday, August 10 AM: We consumed a delicious meal with Pastor Jeff Shergalis and his wife, Grace, on Saturday after arriving a bit late. They were quite gracious, however. (Time with family was taking the preeminence there!) Pastor Shergalis is doing a great job at Brodhead Bapt. in Brodhead, Wisconsin. He and his wife have been at the church for about three years. There was a good crowd today, lots of good food, great preaching from Dad, and some okay singing from us. Dad ran into a friend from Bible College days...hard to believe that's been about fifty years ago! Lakisha Tyus, a friend from Rockford, Illinois, joined us today. She'll be staying with us for a couple of weeks. An afternoon service finished up our stay at Brodhead BC, and we moved on to Madison for the evening service. Sunday, August 10 PM: A guy from the church here in Madison helped us unload. We haven't been at the Grace Baptist Church or met Pastor Dean Howell before, but the church received us well. We also sang one song in Spanish at the request of the Spanish church that is growing here under Grace Baptist Church's leadership. Times like these always reinforce the fact that we need some "polishing up" on the Spanish songs we know! Pastor & Mrs. Howell had us over at their beautiful log home for some refreshments. We had already discussed the possibility of leaving after the services, and although the Howells urged us to stay, Dad decided to head on home. This was the first time in a long time that we have driven through the night. We took turns driving...Dad even tried to rest on top of the luggage in the back at one point, but it was futile. We sure looked a sight when we pulled into our driveway at 3pm the following day...but praise God, we arrived safe and sound back in West Virginia!