Pastor's Blog

This entry is late and I apologize for that fact.  However, there is a method to my madness as I wanted to visit the hospitals before posting in order to give an update.  (I won’t even mention my severly injured arm – LOL!)

Lois Kirschenman is doing well and will go home this afternoon if her physical therapy sessions go well today.  She has such a positive attitude.

Miss Vivian is making progress.  They are going to take her completely off the vent three times today.  Her road to recovery appears to be long but at least she is on the road.  John Milton has returned to work while Cecil & Myrtle remain at the hospital. 

Marisa e-mailed me this morning to say that Carla had a not so great day yesterday as she experienced some pain.  Miss Joyce Bosarge goes for her first radiation treatment today.  Betty Taylor meets with the doctor on 9/25 to set up her surgery.  Betty McMann’s brother-in-law is in the midst of his radiation treatments.  Pray for all of these needs.

Richard Emmons, 31, was walking along Highway 98 near the Fairview community on Saturday when he was struck by a vehicle and killed.  He attended church at Friendship during his growing up years.  Pray for his parents, Rickey & Helen, and their family.

The Lord blessed and we had a good day in our services yesterday.  God is good! 

Wow, did you see where Indonesia has passed a law that makes adultery punishable by stoning to death?  Homosexuality is punishable by a public lashing and eight years in prison.  I don’t suspect there will be many affairs or folks coming out of the proverbial closet in Indonesia. 

Saturday was a good day.  Why?  Bama won while UT & ND suffered losses!  (Sorry Mike Parker!)  If only I had not injured my arm! 

Hope you have a great Monday with Jesus!

Lois Kirschenman did well through her surgery – praise the Lord!

Mitchel & Tiffany Bowden Fox’s mobile home was completely destroyed by fire last night.  They were not home but lost everything.  Of course, Tiffany is Vivian Ladnier’s granddaughter.  Pray for them.

Miss Vivian is doing really good.  She and I had a brief conversation this morning.

Pastor Travis Northcutt’s maternal grandmother does have cancer.  She will begin radiation as chemo & surgery are not options.  Pray for her.

Pray for Wiley Reed from Chatom as he had surgery this morning.  I will explain who he is later. 

Pray for Pastor Terry Rainey & Pastor Eddie Burdette.  That shout you heard last night was when Clemson went ahead 27 – 24 and that moan was when GT kicked the winning field goal.  By the way, Go Michigan!

Lois Kirschenman will have one of her knees replaced this morning.  Pray that procedure will go well. 

Miss Vivian had a tracheotomy done yesterday morning and that procedure went well.  I visited with her before the surgery and she was alert and thanked me for praying with her.  She slept all day after the surgery but her vital signs were good.  Keep praying.

Whitney Bryant got a good report from the doctor regarding her scan.  She will need to take a radioactive iodine pill and they have to get one of her levels corrected.  Thanks for praying for Whitney.

Teddy Ray Jackson’s dad, Andrew, was diagnosed with an infection.  I am not sure if he remains hospitalized or not. 

David & Vera Bosarge’s neighbors are in a difficult situation.  The lady is seemingly near death.  Pray for the Armstrong family.

Darrell & Betty McMann are in Illinois to be with her brother-in-law while he undergoes radiation treatments. 

Laurie Robertson Chandler asked us to pray for her uncle, Gene Robertson, in Michigan who has cancer.  Laurie and her parents will travel to Michigan in the next couple of weeks. 

Dale & Karla Bosarge are in Michigan this weekend doing ministry at two churches.  Pray for safety in travel and for great services.  By the way, Karla’s dad, Bill Teasley, continues to recover from knee replacement surgery. 

Ian McClinton actually had an ACL replaced on Wednesday.  It has been a painful process for him.  Pray for Ian.  Gerald Poiroux was given the okay by the doctor to ride a mower so he is a happy man! 

9/11/01.  I will never forget receiving the phone call from Lisa to tell me that something was wrong in New York and that I needed to get to a television set.  Wow, around 3,000 deaths and 6,000 injuries.  It changed our lives.  Life can change in a millisecond!  Pray for those families who lost loved ones on that day. 

9/11/96.  I will never forget that day either.  That was the day that we said an earthly good bye to my good friend, Pastor Jack Williams, as we placed his casket in the ground.  I am praying for Miss Annette & her family today. 

I pray that you will have a great Friday/weekend with Jesus.

We had another good Wednesday in our services/Bible studies.  I thank God for folks who are faithful on Wednesdays.

No significant changes in the lives of those who are hospitalized, battling cancer, et cetera.  Whitney Bryant goes today to get the results of her scan.  Pastor Abel Garcia has yet to hear from his nuclear stress test.  Just keep praying!

I need to remind the members of the Friendship family about signing up for next summer’s GRACE trips.  We ask you to sign up by this Sunday, 9/13.  Sign up forms are in the foyer of the auditorium. 

Also, we still need a large number of scholarships for the pastors’ conference in October.  Thanks to those who have given already.  Please make this a matter of prayer. 

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.

I made a mistake – imagine that!  I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that Bobby Stork’s brother, Donald, was having surgery.  Deacon Carl Ray Moulds was at the hospital with the family from start to finish and gave me a report late yesterday afternoon.  Donald did well and the doctors were encouraged by the outcome.  Pray for Donald Stork.

Bill Teasley, Karla’s dad, will have surgery this morning so please keep him in your prayers.

I am writing this near the midnight hour and there has been no significant change in Miss Vivian’s condition one way or the other.  Just keep praying.

Pastor Max Lara has gone home from the hospital and I assume he is doing well in his recovery.  Pray for Max.

T. Garrett has gone “above & beyond” the call of duty to help us try to secure a passport for Hien (pronounced Henny) from the Vietnamese government.  We are still in the “being reviewed” process but I do appreciate the many hours TGW has given to this effort.  We would love to take Hien on a GRACE trip with us but can’t do so without a passport. 

Speaking of GRACE, members of the Friendship family are asked to sign up by this Sunday, 9/13, for next summer’s trips.  We have folks from other churches who are ready to fill any vacancies. 

We are on a normal Wednesday schedule today with the 10:00AM service followed by the multiple services/Bible studies tonight.

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.

I left the hospital around 8:45PM last night and Miss Vivian’s condition was basically unchanged.  The doctors have decided to just let her body recover some before proceeding.  Not sure what’s next but do know we just need to keep praying.

I don’t have an update on anyone else so I assume that no news is good news.  Pastor Abel Garcia & Whitney Bryant are scheduled to get their respective test results this week.  Lois Kirschenman is scheduled for a knee replacement this Friday morning. 

Labor Day ’09 was exactly that for me.  Soy & Deidra helped me as we worked at Charles’ place – mowed the lawn, did a ton of weed eating, trimmed the front hedges, and trimmed some limbs hanging over the parking area.  I can’t figure why Soy is so eager to help Charles but basically always has an excuse when it comes to my yard? 

I enjoyed the Labor Day weekend as it marked the beginning of another college football season.  I began by watching some of the USC vs NCSU game last Thursday night and finished by watching the UM vs FSU game last night – good game to watch!  Of course, the highlight for me personally was the Bama game on Saturday night. 

I hope that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.

God deserves the glory for providing us with a good “holiday” weekend.  I knew that we had a fairly significant number of folks out of town.  However, we were blessed as we had a good number of out of town guests join us for our worship services.  Yes, we were down “some” but all in all it was a good day. 

What a joy to welcome Bro. Robbie Howard and Vanjee (sp?) Moore into the Friendship family by transfer of letter.  Of course, in my way of thinking, Bro. Robbie has, since 1971, been a vital part of the Friendship family. 

What can I say about the evening service?  Kathy, Kayla, & Kourtney Wadkins did their usual outstanding job in presenting the Gospel in song.  Jamison Willis, the 10 year old from Pell City, was outstanding – wow!  The fellowship meal was great and the auditorium was basically packed for the service.  God gave us a great service.  If you missed it, you missed a blessing!  Thanks Kathy for coordinating that service. 

It was also a blessing to see our Hispanic friends join us for the evening service.  We had 13 adults in our 2:00PM service and they stayed for the meal and 6:00PM service.  I watched as the Friendship family members embraced them in a warm way and they really enjoyed themselves.  Thank you for being a part of this ministry!

Edwin Williams is looking into getting his CDL in order to help in our bus ministry.  I challenge others to do likewise.  Contact Bro. Benny for more information. 

Miss Vivian’s situation is basically no different as of 8:30AM today.  They did turn the ventilator to a lower setting at 5:00AM but had to up it because she was having some problems breathing on her own. 

Wayne Hickman, Chuck Hodges’ stepfather, is battling cancer and is in a local hospital.  Pray for him and the others who are battling cancer.

It is 7:45AM and Cecil Guidry just called to tell me that the doctor says Miss Vivian had a bad night.  Her kidneys are seemingly shutting down and he said they would have to take “another route” to treat her.  Obviously, the family is very concerned about this latest development.  Keep praying.

Miss Lillian Brinkman was sent home from the emergency room and told not to talk.  The family requests that she have no visitors.  Pray for her too.

This post is coming at 8:15AM and I just returned from the hospital visiting with Miss Vivian and her family.  The doctor came in and said that Miss Vivian had “surprised” (not sure if that is the exact word he used) as she was actually some better this morning.  He didn’t expect that.  Cecil & John told him that it was a God thing. 

Please understand that Miss Vivian is still a very sick lady.  If I were to classify her condition then it would be critical (that is my classification and not the medical staff).  So, pray fervently! 

Miss Lillian Brinkman is being taken to the hospital this morning as she has pneumonia and is having problems with her throat.  I don’t know if they are going to admit.  The good thing is that she is going to the same hospital where Miss Vivian is so the family will not be in two different locations.  Miss Vivian & Miss Lillian are sisters-in-law.

We seemingly have a ton of folks out of town for the weekend.  I encourage the members of the Friendship family who are in town to be in their rightful place tomorrow morning and evening.  Don’t forget the meal and the singing tomorrow night. 

Hope you have a great Saturday!  Roll Tide!

Miss Vivian Ladnier came out of surgery around 6:30PM.  The good news is that she did well and the doctor was able to remove all of the “puss” (Myrtle’s word) from her right side.  They placed a protective covering over the tear in her esophagus.

The less than good news is that the doctor told the family “If you go in tomorrow morning and she is alive that is good.  If you go in on Sunday morning and she is alive then you are blessed.”  The next 24 – 36 hours are critical so please be diligent in your prayers for Miss Vivian and her family. 

I am posting this at 8:30PM.  I will update again tonight if there is any change.  I will update tomorrow morning whether there is a change or not.