Monday, April 21, 2008

Long winded preacher

This last Sunday was a tough one to get through. We announced that we would be having a morning Sunday School and AM service two or three days ahead. On Sunday morning two young people came. One was the young girl, Tracy, who got saved on week #2. The other might have been her little sister. I really can’t remember. The service was short and sweet. I mostly preached to my family about preparing for future service.
I had intentions on starting the PM service at 6:00, but no one was there. We started right at 7:00 with a few songs and the kids sang a couple of specials. I started preaching about 7:30. I was originally going to preach on the second coming. Before I started I asked if anyone had a question I could answer from the Bible. Thelma asked if I could speak a few minutes about having a Christian family. So, I preached on the duties of fathers, mothers, and children. Then I preached on the second coming, and then I preached a little bit on the purpose of the law. Then I spoke a few minutes about moral living. After a while I noticed my two younger children, 9 months, and 2 years, were really restless and my dear wife was starting to look tired. When I finally looked at the time it was about 10:15. WOW!!! Talk about long winded preacher. I closed the service as quick as possible, and we left for home about 10:30. When we left there were 15 – 18 people still standing outside talking.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Two more saved!!!!

Last night was another wonderful crusade service. Pastor Minnville from Tabernacle Baptist church preached. He has preached each of the past three Tuesday night services. This service was especially great because we had two ladies come forward for salvation. The first was a 24 year old lady, Thelma, who has come to the crusade since day one. She is the same one I dealt with after the first service for close to an hour. She came forward during the second week and talked with another lady about salvation. This week she came forward and said she was ready to give her whole life to God. Praise the Lord!!!
The second lady is a mother of four. We stopped one day and gave her and her husband a ride home. When we mentioned the crusade she said they would like to come for a visit. She previously attended an Evangelical Church in her area. I saw that she was under conviction for a couple of nights. It was such a blessing to see her accept Christ.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

I've Never Saw it on Quite This Fassion.

Last night, April 8th, we had another interesting service. Pastor Minnville, pictured in the April 5th post, preached on the rich man and Lazarus. He preaches mostly in Patios which means my family and I don’t understand much if anything said. Each night of the crusade we have had up to twenty standing outside the building listening, talking and otherwise. About five minutes into the sermon one of the fellows outside made a negative comment. Without missing a stride Pastor Minnville walked around the corner and preached for the next thirty minutes out the window to the crowd outside. The church people “Amen-ed” him on even though most could no longer see him. Pastor Minnville is sixty-nine years old and has slowed quite a bit, but last night we saw that he still had a good firing desire to preach. It was great!

After the service Sister Minnville led a fifteen year old girl, Tracy, to the Lord. Sister Minnville called me and Tracy’s mother into the room and she told us both that she had accepted Christ.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

When it rains it pours

You’ve heard the phrase “It’s either rain or shine”. This Sunday we had both the same day. We had our first Sunday morning service this Sunday. (The Crusade started last Sunday night) The AM service was quite and calm with only my family attending. Ethan led the singing, the girls sang a special, and I preached on assurance of salvation. The pm service started around seven with four children. Within just a few minutes several more joined the service. There were several that came and went during the service. We had three different groups for the service; one for the singing, a second for the first half of the preaching, and a third for the second half of the preaching. In all we had about twenty that came through the service at one time or another. There were about six or seven that lasted the entire service. The biggest disturbance of the meeting was an opossum that walked through the church with a mango in his mouth. The fifteen or so people that were there scattered. Several tried running away while a few others took folding chairs to swat at it. (They like to eat them.) We never did catch it. We have two that are asking lots of questions about salvation and one couple that is interested in getting married. Please keep us in your prayers.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

One down, and one to go


Tonight’s meeting concluded the first week of Crusade in Mourne Sion. Last Sunday was very eventful with three children sick at home, two getting sick at church, and a flat tire with no jack. We had three other churches that brought people during the week as far as an hour and fifteen minutes away. Apart from the other churches our attendance was from four one night to eighteen on Sunday night. One received Christ as Saviour, Praise the Lord!!! There are a couple more that we are praying will come forward for salvation. The picture above is the Tuesday night service. Pastor Minnville from Tabernacle Baptist is preaching.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Another trial and error in language

One night this week during the crusade I was trying to tell a young lady in Patios, “Thank you for coming tonight”. However, I confused the word “oswe-a” with “anbetan”. So what the lady heard was, “Thank you for coming tonight, troublesome”. After a good laugh at my expense they were kind enough to correct me. I have really enjoyed learning the Patios. Most are willing and able to teach you a word or two occasionally.