Pastor's Blog

Larry Whitehurst messaged me last night to share that he has been admitted to the hospital.  He sodium level had dropped to a dangerous level.  They are giving him sodium intravenously.  If his sodium level does not get to a satisfactory level then they will not be able to do the heart cath scheduled for this morning at 10:00AM.  Larry asks us to pray that his sodium level increases and that the heart cath can be done today.  Thank you in advance for praying.

Our GRACE Ministries team has had a couple of hiccups.  Four folks had their flight cancelled and are now scheduled to arrive in Guatemala very late Saturday night.  Not ideal but God knows.  The final six folks just arrived at 2:00AM local time.  We thank God for traveling mercies He bestowed upon this team.

Seven years ago this morning, 6/14/17, Soy, Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney & Audrey boarded a plane heading to Guatemala to answer the call of God upon their lives to serve Him as missionaries by serving the Guatemalans.  There have been lots of highs,  a number of lows with one extreme low.  However, through it all God has been faithful.  Please keep praying for Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney & Audrey, SLAM and GRACE.  May the Lord continue to give us a vision and may He guide each step of the way.

The good news in Guatemala is that it is now raining daily.  They have been very dry which is not a good thing as their rainy season usually begins around May 1.  May was a dry month.  So the rains are refreshing and very much needed.  Thank you Jesus.

I pray that you will have a great Friday with Jesus.  Pray for Larry!

Good news – Larry Whitehurst’s heart cath has been moved up to tomorrow morning.  Keep praying for Larry.  Pray for the doctor to get a good look at what is taking place within Larry’s heart.

Gene Davis in Georgia will be having heart valve replacement today.  He asks for our prayer support!

Sharlene’s sister-in-law’s family will be meeting with the funeral directors today to make arrangements for the visitation and service.  Pray for the Myer family.

One of the flights scheduled to arrive in Guatemala today with some of our team members has already been cancelled.  Bad weather in the Miami area.  Pray for all of these things to work out in a timely manner.

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

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and evening.  Bro. Abel will be teaching in the auditorium at 10:00AM and 6:30PM.

Speaking of our Wednesday services, we need a teacher for our 5th-6th grades Girls In Action class.  Also, we need someone to help Peggy Knighten in our four and five year old class.  Contact Tina Sprinkle if you will help.

Larry Whitehurst needs our prayer support.  It appears that something is going on with Larry’s heart.  He had an episode during one of our prayer meetings and has not been feeling well at all.  The hope was to get him in for a heart cath basically immediately but that did not happen so now he is scheduled to have one on Monday, June 17.  It is scheduled to begin at 9:00AM.  Pray for Larry & Judy.

Sharlene Sessions sister-in-law, Cindy Meyer, has passed from this life.  You will remember that Cindy’s husband, Ernie, just recently passed from this life.  Pray for the Meyer family as they walk through this valley.  Arrangements pending.

A team of twenty-six folks will depart tomorrow, 6/13, heading to GRACE Mountain.  This will include thirteen folks from the Friendship family, four from the Grand Bay Church of God, one from Providence Baptist in Hatton, AL, and eight from the New Life Fellowship Church in  Anderson, South Carolina.  Pray for safety in travel and for a great week of ministry.

Derek & Meighan Brown, GBCOG, were scheduled to be on this team but, unfortunately, Derek shattered his ankle a few days ago.  He had surgery yesterday, 6/11, and will not be able to put any weight on that foot for the next eight to ten weeks.  The surgery was deemed successful.  Pray for Derek to have a complete recovery.

Speaking of mission trips, as it stands right now, our December 4 – 11, 2024, is completely filled. We already have folks on a waiting list.  It is a good problem to have.

Scott Fontenot is with me in Guatemala.  He graciously drove us to Atlanta on Sunday night (11:00PM until 5:00AM).  He has been busy since our arrival as Sergeant Deidra is relentless!  This is Scott’s first time in Guatemala and I am glad he is here.

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

Good morning from the Atlanta airport.  Traveled through the night in order to catch an originating flight here. Long story.  It is all good.

Pastor Roy Crouch and family did an awesome job in our morning service yesterday.  Pastor Roy preached the Word!  Titus & Issac did great on the piano.  The singing was very good as well.

The evening service with the GBCOG as really good.  I appreciate Pastor Jamie and his folks being such gracious hosts.

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

Jason needs a place to stay tonight, 6/7, through Sunday afternoon, 6/9.  Lisa and I are hosting Pastor Roy and family which means we have no room.  Anyone willing to host Jason needs to let me know no later than 1:00PM today.

“I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. Lord, when did we ever see you a stranger and show you hospitality? And the King will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

Day five of our 2024 Vacation Bible School.  Pray, pray, pray!

The tenth night of our “ten days of prayer” was a special night.  Jeanette Bates secured a local harpist who came and blessed us with her musical abilities.  To me personally, it was soothing to pray while listening to the songs of the faith being played on such a beautiful instrument.  Thank you, Jeanette, for arranging this!

We had ninety-eight folks in attendance at last night’s prayer meeting which means we averaged fifty-one folks nightly.  Thank you, Jesus!

This Sunday morning, 6/9, in our 10:00AM service, we will be blessed by the preaching ministry of Pastor Roy Crouch and the music ministry of his family.  Friendship family, do not miss this special time of worship and the Word.

This Sunday evening, 6/9, we will travel to the campus of the Grand Bay Church of God to join them in a worship service beginning at 5:00PM.  I am praying for the members of the Friendship family to show up in huge numbers.  Pray for that service!

The visitation with the Grady Walker family takes place in our auditorium tomorrow, 6/8, beginning at 1:00PM and lasting until the military honors begin at 2:00PM.  The service will begin at 2:30PM and conclude by 3:00PM.  Keep praying for Carolyn and family.

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

Happy birthday to our daughter, Deidra.  I pray that she will have a great day and will be abundantly blessed.  If only she could go to Tecpan today!  We love Deidra!

13, 68, 202!  What?  Thirteen salvation decisions in yesterday’s VBS!  Sixty-eight folks in prayer meeting last night!  Two hundred and two children in VBS yesterday!  Can you say, “Amen!”

Our tenth, and final, night of our prayer time takes place tonight beginning at 7:00PM in the auditorium.  We are averaging forty-six folks each night.  Tonight, we have a surprise – something way different!  I am looking forward to it.  Friendship family, let’s finish this thing strong!  Real strong!

Pastor Roy Crouch and family this Sunday morning at 10:00AM!  Student pastor, BJ Parson, and some of his youth from Thelma Baptist Church will be our special guests in that service too.  Pray, attend, bring others!

I pray that you will have a great rest of your Thursday with Jesus!

No regular services (10:00AM or 6:30PM) on our campus today.  VBS from 9:00AM until noon!

Kathy King was discharged from the hospital yesterday.  Obviously, she is still taking treatments so much prayer is needed on her behalf.

Remember the visitation with the Grady Walker family this Saturday, 6/8, from 1:00PM until the 2:30PMish service time.  Everything in our church auditorium.  Pray for Carolyn and family.

Our hope was for the attendance at last night’s prayer meeting to be at least sixty-six.  God heard us and the Friendship family responded as we had seventy-one folks present!  How awesome is that!  Bro. Chris & Pepper did a great job of leading us and Bro. Abel is always doing whatever it takes to make it work!

Two more nights and my hope is that we will reach one hundred folks in attendance tonight.  We will meet in the auditorium beginning at 7:00PM.

Pray for Pastor Roy Crouch and his family as they come to minister to us this Sunday, 6/9, in our 10:00AM service.

Remember the joint worship service with the folks from the GBCOG on their campus beginning at 5:00PM this Sunday, 6/9.

Friendship family, please support our youth camp by purchasing a meal(s) following the service this Sunday morning.

I wrote yesterday that I hoped something good would happen to you.  That was intentionally aimed at our daughter, Deidra.  It did!  God is good!

My goal today is to be like Myrtle and get accurate VBS attendance totals for Monday, Tuesday and today.  LOL!

One more thing – Jason Husband was at VBS yesterday.  Plans are for him to be with us all week including this Sunday.  However, in order for that to happen he needs a place to stay Friday night and Saturday night plus someone to take him home following the service on Sunday night.  Otherwise, he will have to go back to MS Friday afternoon.  Any takers?

VBS!  VBS! VBS!

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

I apologize for no entry yesterday.  I had plans but. . .  (I do have a red truck!)  Sorry!

Kathy King remains in ICU.  Pray for Kathy, Matt & Jasmine.

There will be a memorial service for Grady Walker this Saturday, June 8, beginning around 2:30PM.  The Air Force will be involved in that service which will take place in our auditorium.  A visitation with Carolyn and the family will begin at 1:00PM.  Keep praying for the Grady Walker family.

Rita Boutwell is coordinating the feeding of the Walker family.  Contact her if you will help with this ministry.

Miss Annie Hayes was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon.  Praise the Lord as she is much improved.

Our first morning of our Vacation Bible School went very well!  We had two hundred (+/-) children in attendance which is awesome!  Things seemed to run “smoothly” and for that we are grateful!

Our seventh night of our ten consecutive prayer went well.  We had thirty-three present.  My prayer for tonight is that we will have at least twelve folks who missed last night but have attended a previous night will be able to attend tonight AND that we will have at least twenty-one folks in attendance who have been unable to join us up to this point.  Will you join us?  Thank you!

I need HELP!  I have dropped the proverbial ball on promoting the meal being served this Sunday, 6/9 by our youth camp students.  These will be “to go” plates and will consist of baked spaghetti, green beans, bread and dessert.  Cost is eight dollars ($8) per plate with a maximum of forty dollars ($40) per immediate family.  Will you PLEASE send our daughter, Daphne Hutto, an email (daphnehutto@gmail.com) to place an order no later than this Thursday, June 6, at 4:00PM?  The church office will be open this afternoon and Thursday afternoon from 1:00PM – 4:00PM if you would rather call in your order.  Please help support our students!

Pastor Roy Crouch and his family will be our special guests this Sunday morning, June 9, for our 10:00AM service.  Pray and invite others to join you for this special service!

We will join the fine folks from the Grand Bay Church of God for a service this Sunday, 6/9.  This will be on their campus and will begin at 5:00PM.  We want to have a tremendous crowd from Friendship!

One final thing – the folks attending the prayer service this past Sunday planted a seed offering of one hundred thirty-five dollars for the love offering to be received on Sunday morning for Johnny & Sharlene Sessions’ mission trip.  We prayed for God to bless it ten fold.  He did!  The offering total was sixteen hundred and six dollars!  But God!

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.  I also pray that something good will happen to you today!

Kathy King and Miss Annie both remain hospitalized.  Pray for these ladies.

Day four of our ten consecutive days of prayer was very well attended (37) and the spirit in the room was genuine!  Day five tonight beginning at 7:00PM in the auditorium (West side door).  Tonight, we are planting some seeds and bringing our specific prayer requests.  Everyone invited to join us.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow!

Special “cash only” missions love offering for Johnny & Sharlene Sessions in the morning service tomorrow.  Come prayed up and prepared!

Our Vacation Bible School ’24 begins tomorrow afternoon at 5:00PM with a rally led by Bro. Abel and our great VBS workers!

Sunday, June 9, will be a great day.  Pastor Roy Crouch and family will be ministering in our 10:00AM service.  Our students going to camp will be serving “to go” lunches after the morning service.  We will travel to the campus of the Grand Bay Church of God for a joint worship service with them beginning at 5:00PM.  Pray for this most special day!

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