Pastor's Blog

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Happy birthday to my parents!  Yes, they share the same birth date three years apart.  My dad is now 82 years old and mama is now 79 years old.  I hope they have a good day!

The arrangements are still pending for my Aunt Alice’s service.  The family meets with the funeral directors at some point today.  I am honored that Uncle Harley and the boys have asked me to preach Aunt Alice’s celebration of life service.  So, I will be leaving at some point this week to honor their request.  Aunt Alice was definitely a good one and will be missed greatly by her family.

It is shortly after 2:00AM as I write this and it has been raining for the past hour or so.  You know what they say about Baptists and rain, right?  Put that with the fact that we have a good number of the Friendship family out of town plus the sicknesses that have been going around and it will drive a pastor crazy if the thinks too much about it.  So, I am in hopes that the members of the Friendship family who are in town and who are physically well will be in their rightful place this morning and evening.

I thank God for a safe, uneventful day of traveling yesterday.  I left GRACE Mountain at 3:30AM and landed in Mobile at 5:00PM.  I appreciate Soy taking me to the airport at such an early hour.  I felt pretty “odd” when he started crying and hugged my neck as I got out of the vehicle at the airport.  Next time I will just get a shuttle!

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Friday evening greetings from GRACE Mountain in Guatemala.  I stayed behind two days after the team left primarily because yesterday, 2/8, was Sydney’s fifth birthday.  She is our fourth oldest grandchild and she was glad to have her “Papi” celebrate the actual day with her.  I also had a meeting yesterday and another one today.  Plus, I was able to observe Deidra and the work she is now doing in the feeding center.  By the way, she is doing a great job!  (Yes, I am biased)

The visitation with the Cheryl Haynes family takes place today, 2/10, from noon until the 2:00PM service time at the Serenity Funeral Home in Theodore.  Pray for Brianne and the family during these days.

Word came to me either Thursday night or Friday morning that Helen Jarvis passed from this life on Thursday, 2/8.  If my calculations are correct, Helen was ninety six years old.  In these latter years I have had the privilege of visiting her in the convalescent facility where she lived.  Helen was a sweet lady.

The visitation with the family will take place at the Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home on Monday, 2/12, from 9:00AM until the 10:00AM service time.  Pray for the family during this time.

I received word on Friday afternoon that one of my maternal Aunts, Alice Gettig, had just passed from this life.  It appears that Aunt Alice suffered a massive heart attack.  Arrangements are pending.  Pray for her husband and three sons.  Her oldest son, Tony, was the narrator for our adult Christmas musical this past December.

Regular schedule Sunday morning and evening.  Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit for all three services.  I sure hope many members of the Friendship family will be in attendance too.

I am going to be honest in saying that it was tough telling Lizzi, Sydney & Audrey good bye.  Lizzi gets it more than the other two do.  Friday has been an emotional day for me and I am normally not an emotional person.  However, I am blessed to see our daughter and her family in the center of God’s will for their lives.

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

A very strong finish for this GRACE team.  The entire team made their way down to the My Special Treasure School to feed them breakfast and then to listen to the students as they sang four songs.  The entire morning was a very, very special time.  Deidra organized the meal but the ladies from Michigan did an excellent job of cooking it.  Then all of the team was involved in serving eggs, sausage, oatmeal, bread, drinks, et cetera.  Very blessed experience.

The medical team then hurried to their last clinic.  I do not know the numbers as I simply failed to ask but I do know they had a good day.  Dr. John Nicely once again did a great job coordinating the medical side of this trip.  (So much easier to do whenever Jenn Solis is not present to complain)

Dean Kapenga did such a great job of leading the building team that he was able to fly home Wednesday morning.  The building team stayed around MST a bit longer before coming back to GRACE Mountain.  They then painted on the inside of the mission house as well as the outside of the feeding center addition.  They did a nice job.

The women from the surrounding areas were still talking about the two days of conference led by Tess Scholz.  A very nice job!

Supper at Pizza Hut was followed by share time in the upper room for about an hour and a half.

The entire team will leave GRACE Mountain at 2:45AM Thursday, 2/8, heading to Chicago, Grand Rapids and Greenville.  Pray for traveling mercies.

This team has been a huge blessing.  Great spirit.  Great attitudes.  Great work ethic.  Just overall great experience with no drama – awesome!

Thanks for checking on them and thanks for praying.  Pray them safely home!  Blessings!

The team had a really good Tuesday of ministry.  It was a short day/long day scenario.  Our morning devotion began at 6:30AM and by 7:30AM the medical team was on the road heading to the coast.  They saw four hundred folks and got back to the mission house between 7:30 – 8:00PM.  Long, but productive, day for them.

The building crew had the short day as they did not arrive in the village until noon.  They made fairly quick work of the three concrete jobs and closing up those houses.  They then dedicated all sixteen houses.  They were back on GRACE Mountain by 5:30PM or so.

The building crew also fed the students at My Special Treasure school.  Once again this was a blessed time of ministry.

Krista Arendsen and Carla Mast were paint machines yesterday.  They did some painting in a local elementary school and then painted inside the mission house.

Jeff Eckert worked on plans for the facility that will eventually be used by our medical folks.  He met with the architect.  It was a good day in that area too.

So, much was accomplished yesterday to the glory of God.  Thanks for reading.  Thanks for praying.  Blessings!

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Happy second birthday to our grandson, Asher.  I would write that I hope he gets what he wants today but he always gets what he wants every day!  We are blessed that this past year saw him become a part of our family.

Kenneth Smith’s father, Dale, passed away over the weekend.  There will be a memorial service on Friday evening at 5:30PM from Life Church in Mobile.  The service will be preceded by one hour of visitation with the family.  Pray for this family.

The service for Brianne’s grandmother will take place this Saturday at 2:00PM from the chapel of Serenity Funeral Home.  The service will be preceded by two hours of visitation with the family.  Pray for this family too.

Regular schedule this morning and evening.

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

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Brianne Seymour sent me word this morning that her paternal grandmother passed from this life around 4:00AM.  Pray for this family as they walk through this valley.

Regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening.

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

The team had a good Monday.  The medical team went somewhere near Antigua and hosted a clinic that saw three hundred and fifty folks.  They had a good day of ministry.

Dr. John Gissal began the day by extracting Lester Suruy’s wisdom teeth – ouch!  I am told that Lester is swollen and sore.  He did well through the procedure.

The building team (all ten of them) began their day by serving breakfast to the children at the My Special Treasure School.  Deidra coordinated this ministry.  Cristina Fuglseth cooked the pancakes beforehand (others probably helped but I do not know who they were but thanks to each of them)  The school numbers have increased so we were short of food but Burger King came through with extra pancakes so everyone was happy.

So, the building team did not arrive in the village to build until 11:00AM.  Five and one half houses later all of the houses have now been constructed.  Three need concrete and then the doors and windows and the building portion of this trip will be history.  The team does not plan on getting to the village until around noon tomorrow which will give them ample time to complete the building and also to do the house dedications.  Again, small building team numerically but great results.  Dean Kapenga has done an awesome job of leading this portion of the trip.

Tess Scholz taught a women’s conference at the feeding center this afternoon.  She said it went well.  She will do the same thing tomorrow.

As usual, Jan Kapenga had a wonderful supper waiting on the team upon their arrival back at the mission house.  The girl can cook!

Thanks for checking on this team.  Keep praying!  Blessings!

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Good morning from GRACE Mountain.  Thank you to each member of the Friendship family who was involved in our services yesterday morning and evening.  I am told that our numbers were not great which disappoints me but that does not lessen my appreciation for those who did attend.  I pray those battling the flu will soon be well.

I already know this coming Sunday, 2/11, will see a good number of folks traveling because of the public schools being out the week of 2/12.  So I am asking now that those of us in town be faithful in our attendance.  Our God is a faithful God and He certainly deserves our faithfulness.

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

A good Sunday was had by the team.  Early morning shopping in Antigua, lunch at Las Antorchas, afternoon service at GRACE Community Church and then an evening service in the upper room.

Pastor Terry Rainey is doing an excellent job of serving as team pastor this week.  His preaching/teaching has been spot on.  Some of the best messages on the Second Coming of Jesus you will ever hear!

Carla Mast and Juan Marcos Ruiz are doing a great job of leading our musical worship.

Jan Kapenga is doing her usual great job of cooking with an assist from Teresa & Teresita Lara.

John King is helping in all of the ways that he can.  (Translated – as much as Nana Laurie will allow!)

Laurie is doing a great job of coordinating the medical clinic locations.  Dr. John Nicely is doing his usual good job of coordinating the clinics.

Dean Kapenga is doing a superb job of leading a very small building team that simply is getting the job done.

Krista Arendsen has done an amazing job painting a mural on the front wall of the feeding center.

Lazaro, Deidra and I held a meeting with the parents of the children involved in our feeding center program this afternoon.  I think it was productive.

The men involved in the medical clinic construction also met and had a productive meeting.

So, this team was blessed with a really good Sunday.  God is faithful.  Thanks for reading.  Keep praying.  Blessings!

Good morning from GRACE Mountain.  The team enjoyed a good Saturday of ministry.  The medical folks went to a new church start and saw one hundred and fifty folks.  John King told me last night the lower number is simply due to being in a new area trying to establish a presence.  All I know is that one hundred and fifty folks received medical attention and medicines.

The building team had another strong day.  Actually they have built for one and one half days as they did not get to the village until almost noon on Friday.  The team yesterday consisted of nine folks but in that day and a half they have gotten ten houses built, one ready for the metal, and eight have received concrete.  They have seen two flat tires and are building on sites that do not sit right next to each other.  Their goal was fourteen houses for the week but they added two yesterday and it is very possible all sixteen will be built by the end of Monday.  Amazing work team!

Today will be basically a normal GRACE Sunday.  Antigua, church service and then an evening service in the upper room.

All is well.  Thank you for checking on this team.  Keep praying for them.  Blessings!