Pastor's Blog

Members of the Friendship family are asked to join me in praying for Carla Felps Kyser as she is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow, 11/27.  This is in hopes of eradicating the cancer that she has been battling for the past several years.  Thank you in advance for your prayers! 

Please click on the GRACE blog to read the first update from this GRACE trip.  Thanks!  I will be posting on that site daily and may post here if there is anything that needs to be shared with the Friendship family. 

“O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree” – the words of that song were in my mind as I set up the Christmas tree in the L.G. Camp, Jr. Mission House last night as I waited on our first group to arrive.  Eugene & Louise placed the ornaments on the tree.  If only we would have had a television and a tape of “Miracle on 34th Street!” 

Yesterday was a productive day as I was able to spend some time with our staff here and then go shopping for groceries and other supplies.  Last night I had supper in the home of Pancho & Rita Arriola – the food was great and the fellowship was even greater. 

Eight folks from Canada and four from Alabama arrived at the mission house around 11:45PM last night.  They were pretty tired so once the luggage was unloaded everyone found their bed fairly quickly. 

Today, the C8 (eight from Canada) have gone to hike a volcano.  The Alabama folks will hang around the house awaiting the arrival of the LA/MI/TX group.  They should arrive at the mission house around 3:00PM.  We then go to Pollo Campero for supper and just hang out with the actual work portion of the trip beginning tomorrow morning. 

Today will also provide an opportunity for the Bama folks to work on the arts and crafts for the VBS we will host.  Kim French sent some of the cutest stick on flowers, et cetera and the group has already designed some neat crafts using these things.  Thanks Kim for providing these materials!  (I didn’t even know that Kim knew we were doing a VBS – ain’t God good!) 

Our internet service has been spotty.  As a matter of fact, it was down all day yesterday and last night.  It only came up around 8:00AM so I decided to make hay while it is day!  Please keep praying for us and keep up with us via the GRACE blog. 

I hope you have a great Friday with Jesus.

Wow, what a Wednesday!  I left the house at 4:45AM and drove to the Mobile airport to catch my 6:40AM flight to Houston where I would leave at 9:40AM for Guatemala.  Long story short – Jeff Long and I joined a plane full of other folks sitting on the plane from about 6:20AM until around 8:30AM when they had us leave the plane.  Mechanical problems.  I knew I had missed my connection so I had them reschedule me for the 4:25PM flight so I could make the 7:10PM connection.  The weather was not great but we made it to IAH without a problem.  We boarded the flight to Guatemala on time (around 7:00PM) and sat on that plane for two hours due to lightning and then finally left IAH at 9:30PM arriving in Guatemala at 12:30AM today.  I went to the rental car agency and got a vehicle and arrived at the mission house at 2:00AM.  I was unpacking and the power went out but, obviously, it came back on. 

I do not like sitting on a plane.  I would rather stand in a long, slow line at Wal Mart as to just sit on a plane parked just outside the gate or on the tarmac.  I had between four and five hours of that yesterday but, somewhat amazingly, I did okay.  Thank God for cell phones and text messaging! 

I will have a busy day today getting ready for the team that arrives tonight and tomorrow afternoon.  There are groceries to be purchased, meat to be ordered, building sites to be checked out, et cetera so that will keep me going.  Please pray for our team members as they fly in today and tomorrow that they will have on time schedules. 

Jeff Long, send me an e-mail or leave a comment here to let me know if you made it to Africa.  I should have called. 

Tom or Shari – I need Wayne DeYoung & Jon Duimstra’s driver’s license number and the expiration date for it and their passport.  Please e-mail that info to me today. 

It is 3:00AM so I am going to bed for a few hours.  I wanted our early risers to know what was happening.  Thank you for your prayers.  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day!

As I wrote yesterday, the doctor had hopes of getting Louis Reyer home by Thanksgiving Day.  He did because he was dealing with Louis Reyer who had hopes of getting home in the next hour.  He was discharged yesterday morning and probably was in that patch of greens before nightfall unless Miss Carmen put her foot down really hard!  Thank God that Bro. Louis is better and is home. 

It really has nothing to do with Alabama football but what a real tragedy to read that Siran Stacy, former Bama player, was involved in an automobile accident that took the life of his wife and four of his children.  The driver of the other vehicle was killed also.  Those families are deserving of our prayer support. 

It is great to have friends!  Yesterday, Jean Miersma & Ree Millard from the Kalamazoo, MI area took time out of their busy schedules to drive to Paw Paw, MI to visit my Uncle Bill & Aunt Rosita.  They had a nice visit and I am very grateful to these sweet ladies for being so kind.  Ree had visited Uncle Bill during his hospital stay following his surgery.  Thanks Ree & Jean! 

Today is an unusual Wednesday in that we don’t have any services, class, Bible study, et cetera.  However, it is even more unusual for me as I am leaving in a few hours (6:40AM) for Guatemala.  This is our annual week after Thanksgiving trip and I am going a day early to attend a banquet at the seminary tonight and to get things ready i.e. buy food (we will have Baptists among us) for the team.  Twelve of our team members will arrive in Guatemala tomorrow night and the rest will come in on Friday afternoon.  The construction portion of the trip will begin Saturday morning.  Pray for this team as they travel. 

So, I am missing Thanksgiving Day with my family and I thank them for being so understanding and supportive.  I am missing the day after Thanksgiving shopping – hooray!  I am missing the Alabama versus Auburn football game which has really got some folks to thinking!  (Folks, three letters – ULM!)  The SEC forced the Iron Bowl to be moved back to this weekend and, for now, it presents a conflict for me.  I am sure that once Commissioner Mike Slive is made aware of this situation he will immediately consult me as to how to correct it!     

I will most likely be abandoning this blog and moving exclusively to the GRACE blog each day.  I hope you will follow us as we do ministry in the name of Jesus.  Those blogs will be daily unless our internet service goes down. 

Pray for me and know that I am praying for you.  I hope you will have a wonderful Wednesday!  Time to shut this computer down and pack it for the trip! 

Have you ever been asleep at 3:00AM and dream that you hear the burgular alarm sounding at the church building next door only to awaken to realize that it isn’t a dream?  Such was my life this morning – the church alarm, followed by the phone call from the security company to apologize for waking me up, and me telling them to not send the cops as I would go check it out myself and call the cops, if needed.  (Lisa thinks I am crazy for going over there by myself – she needs to take another look at my guns!)  O well, false alarm and I needed to get up anyway as I have a busy Tuesday ahead of me. 

The Friendship family did well in attending the community Thanksgiving service last night.  Bro. Kerry and the choir did a nice job of sharing the Word in song and Pastor Daniel Randall brought a timely message from the Word.  While Friendship had a good representation, the overall attendance was not that great.  However, it was a good time of fellowship with folks from other churches and, once again, Michelle Rolls and the hostess committee did a wonderful job of hosting the fellowship.  Thank you to each person who brought a cake or pie for the fellowship.  Friendship folks are the finest!

I need to remind members of the Friendship family that we will not have any services, classes, et cetera tomorrow.  We will resume with a regular schedule this Sunday, 11/25.

I read an article earlier this morning that reminded me of some families that will be gathering this Thanksgiving Day minus some family members.  The story told of one lady whose husband died when the bridge collapsed in Minnesota and of another family whose daughter was killed at Virginia Tech.  I thought about folks I know personally who will be spending their first Thanksgiving Day without that special loved one.  We certainly need to pray for those folks but we also need to be reminded that life is a precious gift and certainly cannot be taken for granted as we have no promise of tomorrow.  So, be thankful for your family members and friends and tell them that you love them! 

Louis Reyer is improving and is looking to come home before Thanksgiving Day.  Thankfully, we don’t have anyone else in the hospital at this time. 

I don’t know if you notice or not but there have been several comments added to recent posts.  My friend, T. Garrett Wright, living in NYC with his lovely wife, Johna, has been a frequent contributor.  Clint Landry got into the mix one day and Mark Mast has been a contributor in days gone by.  It at least lets me know that someone out there besides my mama is reading these things!  We even have an Arkansas fan (Bret Hart) living in Memphis who reads the entries – isn’t it amazing that an Arkansas fan can read! 

I pray that you will have a Tuesday filled with the joy of the Lord! 

Thanksgiving week – my prayer is that each of us will spend some time this week counting our blessings and expressing our thanks to God those blessings! 

Louis Reyer was admitted to the hospital Saturday night.  Judy Ziglar, Jodi Johnson’s mother, remains at home battling cancer.  Pat Sessions passed away early yesterday morning and her memorial service will take place today at 2:00PM at 1st Baptist GB.  My aunt, Alice Gettig, is in Cleveland, Ohio today due to a serious heart condition related to blockage from a previous surgery.  Please pray for these folks. 

The Friendship family will host the annual community Thanksgiving service tonight beginning at 6:45PM.  Pastor Daniel Randall, GB Methodist, will bring the message.  We will also host the fellowship following the service and our folks are asked to bring cakes for that fellowship.  Remember, we will not have any services/classes this Wednesday, 11/21.  We will be on a regular schedule this Sunday, 11/25. 

Gene Stallings once said that games against opponents like ULM aren’t considered “big” unless you lose one of those games.  Well, Bama lost a “big” game this past Saturday.  I need to remind my friends i.e. Ross Genzink, Bret Hart, et cetera that these were not just the ULM Hawks but the “Warhawks” which makes a world of difference!   

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

Robbed in cyberspace!  Early yesterday morning I wrote a fairly lengthy entry only to have it disappear into cyberspace.  T. Garrett Wright from New York City had told me about thieves stealing furniture in cyberspace so I think I have been hit too!  Actually, I think that I got knocked offline about the time I hit publish and it all worked together to lose my entry – it was good stuff too! 

Thank you to each person who helped with/attended the surprise birthday party for Miss Kittie Camp Wednesday night after our service.  She was surprised and expressed her appreciation yesterday for the fellowship, kind words, gifts, et cetera.  Her birthday was yesterday which also happened to be the birthday of Homer Perkins, Jessica & Jamie Hall (sweet 16), and my friend in Michigan, Betsy Phillips (21)!  Happy birthday to all you guys! 

Speaking of birthdays, today is the 48th birthday of John R. “Buddy” Jones!  We will take a loose change offering for him following the evening service this Sunday.  It is so good to see Buddy being Buddy again!  Happy birthday Buddy!

The annual Thanksgiving meal for the senior adults of our community went very well again.  They said this was the 33rd consecutive year for this event.  Thanks to Pastor Benny Still for providing the entertainment and inspiration.  Thanks to each person who helped in any way to make the day a success. 

Last night, Lisa and I attended the funeral visitation for Pearl Lafferty.  Miss Pearl is Danny’s mother and she passed away last Friday in Colorado.  The visitation took place in Waynesboro, MS and the funeral will be today in Millry, AL with Danny preaching his mother’s service.  Pray for Danny and his family during this time.  

Lisa, Dana, Gina, and I are in Tuscaloosa today getting ready for the big game this weekend.  We came early to get a good parking space!  Actually, we are about to leave to spend several hours in Moundville as a bonus for the girls and their school work.  Deidra and Soy will join us late this afternoon.  Soy, the girls, and I will attend the “big” game tomorrow while Lisa and Deidra shop!  

We will host the community Thanksgiving service Monday night beginning at 6:45PM.  Michelle Rolls, church hostess, asked me to remind the readers of this blog who attend Friendship to please bring a cake for the fellowship that will follow the service.  For those readers i.e. Bret Hart, Ross Genzink, Jayme DeYoung, T. Garrett, Jamie Glenn, etc. who don’t attend Friendship, just send cash to me in small, unmarked bills!  

T. Garrett, if you will e-mail me your t-shirt size (your wife’s too) today and your mailing address then I will send you a shirt fresh off the press! 

Hope you have a great Friday with Jesus.  Live for Him! 

One of the benefits of attending the state convention meeting is that you get to see folks whom you haven’t seen since the previous year’s meeting.  Such was the case for me yesterday and it is always good to renew friendships.  I have plans to go back to CHBC this morning for the final session. 

Speaking of state convention meetings, I read where the messengers in North Carolina voted this week to expel a church for affirming/endorsing homosexuals.  I am thankful that Alabama Baptists aren’t having to deal with such matters and pray that we never do.

Lisa and I joined Paul & Cristy Leytham at a Mobile restaurant for supper last night.  We had a good time in fellowship and were able to discuss GRACE Ministries too.  They will leave the Mobile area this Friday going to Georgia, Florida, and back to Guatemala week after next. 

Did you hear about the two guys who died unusual deaths recently.  One was found caught in his girlfriend’s cat door.  She had kicked him out and he apparently was trying to reach through the cat’s door to unlock the main door, got stuck, and died.  The other was fleeing from the police, jumped into a retention pond and was attacked by an alligator.  Wow! 

Hope you have a great Wednesday with the Lord! 

Sorry about this being late!  I am about to leave to attend some of the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Mobile. 

Couple of quick things – Carmen Reyer’s sister passed away this weekend and her service will take place today in Hattiesburg, MS.  Bro. Kerry will attend that service.  Pray for the family! 

Saw Bro. Johnny Tucker yesterday and he shared that Miss Judy is having surgery today.  She will be hospitalized for a couple of days. 

Sad things – three folks were trampled to death this past Saturday in China as they were trying to get into a store having a grand opening.  The drawing card was some type of cooking oil that was on sale. 

A man in India married a dog because he tortured two other dogs fifteen years ago.  He says he is cursed because of the torture and has been told the only way to rid himself of the curse is to marry a dog.  Wow! 

Hope you have a good Tuesday with Jesus.