Rescheduled again

We had a Baptism scheduled for yesterday, but we were forced to reschedule once again because the church that we were going to borrow a baptistry from was not prepared for us. When I called to remind their pastor on Saturday, he admitted he had forgotten about it, and asked if we would mind resceduling for later.

It will be nice when we have our own baptistry one of these days, and we won't have to depend on others to help with the arrangements.

We have used a loca pond in the past, but a couple of the people who were to be baptized this time are nervous about stepping into any water if they can't see the bottom. I can understand their hesitation. The last time we used the pond, I think I could feel some fish nibbling on my toes! Or maybe it was just my imagination.

The baptism has been rescheduled for June 14. We are expecting to baptize 2 adults at that time.

Our services yesterday were wonderful. It was nice to see our attendance was back up, after several weeks of low attendance.

Piedmont Missonary Baptist Association

We enjoyed attending the 25th annual meeting of the Piedmont Association meeting. It is a small association, consisting of Landmark Missionary Baptist Churches in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee.

This is the kind of association meeting that I enjoy. Very little business to discuss, if any. More than anything, it is just an opportunity to fellowship with like-minded believers, and to hear some good preaching. The speakers this year were Bro. Tommy Kay, pastor of White Oaks Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, and Bro. Robert Branch, pastor of Tanglewood Missionary Baptist Church in Union, SC.

Tanglewood Baptist in Union was the host church this year, and they showed us all great hospitality while we were there, including a meal on Friday night, as well as Saturday afternoon, with plenty of fried chicken. Bro. Branch was fond of saying that preachers need to "eat the bird and preach the Word." I guess he's very fond of fried chicken, like most Baptist preachers.

It's been too long...

It's been over a year since Brian and I have used this blog. It's a fantastic tool to keep in touch with anybody who is interested - but alas. Life tends to get busy and we forget.

There is a lot going on with us right now. I'll let Brian tell about everything that is going on at church. I am very excited about what the Lord is doing in Gaston, SC - but he really enjoys sharing the work so I will let him.

The kids are all doing great. Blakley is finishing up her last year in elementary school. She didn't play softball this spring (for the first time since she was 4 years old). Amazingly enough, I've kind of missed it. I didn't think I would. I think it was best for her to sit this season out, though. She has really struggled with school this year and she really couldn't afford to have one more thing to devote her time to. She has been in Girl Scouts this year, though. I am thinking about leading a Cadette Troop next year as she will be old enough to move up to that level. We'll have to see though. She is currently working on earning her Bronze Award. For a project she wants to organize a mini concert at a local nursing home. I think it's a great idea. She gets to share her God-given talent with some people who will appreciate the attention she wants to give.

Jacob is doing great. He's turning out to be something of a "talker" at school. He hasn't brought home anything lower than a 96 on his report card all year. His teachers only complaints? He talks a little too much sometimes and he can't keep his bottom in his seat. Ha! I don't know where he gets these talking tendencies. hehehe Jacob is in Eagles (Gifted and Talented) this year. I think that has been such a wonderful thing for him. It presents a challenge for him at school - which he DESPERATELY needs. I think he has such a problem with talking because he finishes his work so quickly and doesn't have anything to do. It's no excuse, I know, but I don't want him to be bored with learning.

Christian is finishing up his first year of school. He's getting to be such a big boy. They grow up too fast. He spends half a day every day in a Spanish speaking only classroom. He is learning quite a bit of Spanish. Brian and I are both very excited to see him learning a second language so young. It is going to be so beneficial to him in his life. We are praying that he will one day find a way to use the ability to honor and glorify the Lord. Brian is looking forward to having a visitation partner who can be of some help to him when knocks on the door of a Hispanic family. It will be so nice not to have that language barrier there. Back to Christian - it caught me off-guard when his teacher (of the english speaking class) asked all the students to write something. Christian wrote his IN SPANISH! He still hasn't gotten to bring it home. His spanish teacher was so proud of him she's insisting that she keep it til the end of the year. LOL I don't blame here.

Brian is staying very busy with church and family. We have an elderly lady in our church that ocassionally needs Brian to take her to her Dr's appointments or to the grocery store, etc. She was so sick last week. Brian went over to check on her one day and I think he did some light housework for her. She is such a sweet woman. We call her our "South Carolina Grandma". She considers us family, too. Every Wednesday night I pick her up to take her to church. She always has a smile on her face no matter how tired she is. She always has the Funnies from Sunday's paper for Jacob to read. It's such an encouragement to Brian and me to have her in our church family. She is our encourager so many times. Brian, of course, has also been doing a lot with the kids while I go to school. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Speaking of me going to school - that's not going to be happening for much longer. May 9, 2009 will be the day that I am officially a college graduate! YAY!!! I am so excited. Although while I sit typing this, I should be writing an extra credit paper. Or studying for a final... I'm just so excited about what is going on in my family. My kids are healthy. My husband is healthy and able to work. Graduation is just around the corner. My Savior lives - and is in control of everything under the Sun. He is taking care of us, sustaining us, and loving us. What more can a person ask for? God is so good - ALL THE TIME!

Real quick - before I wrap this up - I want to share what we did last night. Brian, the kids, and I all went to a church about 5 miles from our home that was hosting a live simulcast event by Dave Ramsey. You may have heard about it. It was called "Town Hall for Hope". Brian and I have been on a big Dave Ramsey kick this year. We are determined to be debt free in 6 years - all except for our house. We've had a yard sale, we are looking into selling some of my old text books on ebay, we've almost got our van paid for... It's such a blessing to take control of our money instead of letting it control us. I am so excited about this, I'm telling everyone I can about it. Go to www.daveramsey.com. We are hoping to go through Financial Peace University this year. If you want to know more about it, you can find all kinds of info about it on this website.

Anyway - back to the Town Hall for Hope. Dave really laid it out for all the country and world to hear. I do not believe that our government is going to be able to get us out of this recession. I think the American people are going to have to do it - by being more responsible with our money. Pay cash - less credit... I know - sounds crazy, doesn't it? Normal is changing in our household. I've been telling people - "I am an American, and I refuse to participate in this recession." LOL The really great thing? By telling people about Dave Ramsey, I give myself an avenue to talk about the Lord. It's been so helpful for me.

Okay - I guess I've bored you all enough. (Did I leave anything for Brian to talk about?) Now I guess I know where Jacob gets his tendency to talk. :)

Take care, everyone. Please keep us in your prayers. We need them...

Christel

Easter 2008

The Lord has been so very good. We enjoyed wonderful services today, both in the morning and evening. Our numbers were down a little bit, but the Lord still blessed.

Please pray for Desi Dawson - a teenager whose family has been visiting with us regularly for about a year now. She came forward this morning and made a profession of faith. We are planning to have our next baptismal service in May when the weather warms up a little. Hopefully, if everything goes as planned, Desi will be baptized then along with her aunt and a couple of others. Praise God!! It's so good to serve our Lord.

Her cousin, Dalton, also came forward this morning. He will be 7 in May, and he is asking some serious questions about salvation. Brian is so patient with the children and all their questions. Dalton is in my Sunday School class so he asks me questions from time to time also. Especially today since we spoke about Christ's death and resurrection. I have a feeling that soon there will be one more in that family that will come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.

Also, please pray for Desi's family. They are going through some hard times right now - the details of which I will not go into - but they desperately need our prayers. Please pray specifically for Chip, Desi's father.

After church, we stopped at Burger King for lunch. (I really miss getting together with my family on Easter Sunday after church. I would have loved to have had some of that good home cooking today.) When we got home, the kids got to hunt easter eggs. They had lots of fun finding the eggs and eating them as well as they candy they got. Blakley got to church this evening and told one of the church members that she sat on the couch eating candy and watching TV all afternoon. All I could do was laugh. Then another girl said she had done the same thing. Oh well - they don't get to do that but maybe once or twice a year (Easter and Halloween). I guess we could look at it as keeping the dentist in business...

I guess that's it for me. I'm going to let Brian blog about the remodeling we've had done to the house we are meeting in as well as the work day and some of the visitors we've had recently. We've been very busy over the last month. Brian is doing some deputation each month trying to raise support for the land/building fund. Please pray with us about having the mortgage for the land/house paid for by the end of this year. We are 1/4 of the way through the year - it's going to be a very big challenge. But God is all powerful - he can do what we can't. "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."

God bless!
PS Hope you enjoy the pictures below!

It's about time!

Yes, I know, it's about time I updated this blog, since it's been a few months since I have done so. So much has happened during that time, it will be hard to bring this thing completely up to date without leaving many things out.

I think I'll start with the most recent things that have happened and work my way backwards...

Yesterday, I was proud to baptize my 7 (almost 8) yr old son, Jacob. I was so incredibly proud of him, and happy to have the privelege to baptize him myself. He was actually saved during a VBS right after we moved here in July of 2006, but he has been hesitant to come forward for baptism. We asked to borrow a baptistry from an Independant Baptist Church in the area, and they gracefully provided for the occasion.

Then, Sunday night, a lady who has been attending our mission for as long as I can remember, but had never joined, finally came forward to request baptism. I can't help but wonder if watching my son get baptized that morning influenced her to make the decision when she did.

Last Sunday, Feb 10, a couple came forward to join by promise of letter from a Baptist church in Hopkins, SC. They have been attending for several months, and we have been looking for them to join for quite a while now, but waiting for them to be ready to make the move. I'm glad they finally did, and they will be a welcome addition to our congregation.

In January, I experienced the loss of my grandfather, Johnie Oldner. He was an ABA pastor for many years, pastoring churches in Benton, West Helena, Colt, Grapevine, and perhaps a few other towns in Arkansas over his 40+ years of ministry. He also served in the US Navy during WWII in the Pacific. We traveled back to AR for the funeral.

Before that happened, we had an interesting first time visitor, a young boy (I think about 10 or 11 yrs old) who was invited by one of the other kids that come to our church. During his first visit with us, he came forward during the invitation and told me he wanted to be saved. After he prayed and asked the Lord to save him, we announced his decision to the congregation, and we all rejoiced together. He has only been able to come back once since then, and that is disappointing, but I'm glad for the impact we have had on his young life, and I am still hopeful that we can get him in church soon.

My memory of November and December are kind of a blur, with all the holiday busyness and excitement. I always enjoy the holidays very much, but I am also glad when they are over and the lights come off the house, and the tree comes down, and things can get back to normal.

Anyway, that's our recent past. To anyone reading this blog - please continue to pray for me and the mission work, as we face whatever challenges and struggles lie in our path ahead.

Father/Daughter Pumpkin Carving

My daughter, Blakley, and I recently went to a father/daughter pumpkin carving event. It was a lot of fun. It was put on by her girl scout troop. We both got a little messy scooping out the guts of the pumpkin, but I think it turned out pretty well. I'll just let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Signing Day!!

Tuesday, October 30, at about 12:30 pm, we finally signed the closing papers for our property. Yes, now it is OUR property! It seems like this has been a long time coming, and we've had to overcome many obstacles along the way, but it is now done.

Please pray for Mr. Rikard and his wife (they are the ones who sold us the property). They have lived in the same house for over 50 years, but because of their declining health, they decided it would be best to move closer to their daughter. It will be a difficult change for them I'm sure. Mr. Rikard told us of how he was saved in that house, when he came home from a revival meeting many years ago.

Below, you can see pictures of Mr. Rikard and I as we signed the necessary documents.

Under the Shadow of Our Steeple

There is a song called “Does Anybody Hear Her?” by a group called Casting Crowns that mentions a woman in need, looking for hope, living within reach of Christians who fail to help her because they are too caught up in their own issues to notice her desperate need. Even though we don’t have a steeple on our rented building where we meet, I thought of this song when I encountered a young man named Jason outside the door to our church one Sunday night. He had been kicked out of his home and he was desperate, with no idea of where he was going to go or what he would do. He stayed for our services that night, and our church took up a small collection for him – just enough for a hotel room for the night and a little extra pocket money. The next day I offered to pick him up at the hotel and give him a ride to a shelter, or to a friend’s house, or wherever he needed to go. I also let him use my cell phone to call his parents who live in Texas. He ended up catching a bus back home to Texas. During the time he was with me, he heard the plan of salvation several times. Please pray for him, that God would touch his heart, that he will be saved, and that he can rebuild his life.

Let it be true!

I'm going to post it here, and maybe that will make it true - we will finally be closing on the property in Gaston, SC next week - October 30. There have been so many delays, and it has been a little bit frustrating, but I hope that we have finally worked out all the details so that we can close the deal.

It will be so nice to finally have our own place in which to worship!!

Pray for Bro. Dennis

Please pray for Bro. Dennis Richey, who is the pastor of Glendale Baptist Church in Mauldin, SC, which is our sponsoring church. He suffered a heart attack Saturday (Oct. 20). After a few tests, the doctors decided that he needs bypass surgery - quintuple bypass surgery! He should be having the surgery today (Oct. 24). In fact, he may already be through with the surgery by this time. Pray for him and his family as he recovers, and pray for his church as they cope without him for a little while.