Pastor's Blog

Age 81, a resident of Mobile, Alabama, passed away on Sunday, February 17, 2019. He is survived by his wife, Willa Jean Tagert, children, Joseph Keith Tagert, Donna Kaye Abercrombie, Ronald Kent Tagert and James Kenneth, 4 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild, brother, Theodore Tagert, other relatives and many friends. Visitation will be held at Serenity Funeral Home on Thursday, February 21, 2019 from 5 pm until 7 pm. Funeral service will be held in the chapel at Serenity on Friday, February 22, 2019 at 12 noon. Interment will be in Mobile Memorial Gardens.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  (Psalm 119:11)

The main reason I am posting an entry today is to tell/remind the members of the Friendship family that there will be a 90th birthday celebration for Miss Lillian Brinkman this afternoon from 2:00 – 4:00PM in our fellowship hall.  All members of the Friendship family are invited to attend.  Miss Lillian is a charter member of the Friendship family and is a wonderful example of faithfulness.  Lisa will be there to represent us and I hope many other members of the Friendship family will attend.  It is a “come and go” event.  I wish Miss Lillian the best!

Jimmy Tagert’s father has been moved to another facility.  His health seems to be in decline.  Pray for Mr. Tagert and his family.

Doug Martin had a brother-in-law pass from this life yesterday.  Pray for the family.

Regular schedule tomorrow morning and evening.  Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit for all three services.

As I write this entry, I am sitting the Guatemala City airport waiting on my first flight.  I have enjoyed the past two days with Lizzi, Sydney and Audrey.  It has been good to be with Deidra too.  So, I am a man of conflicting emotions this morning.  Ready to get home and see family and friends there.  Sad to leave the girls and Deidra here.  Emotional stuff.

I also would love to walk down to the school construction site daily and just continue to marvel at what God has done, is doing, and is going to do.  I am really excited about this newest ministry opportunity.  It will be neat stuff the next time I get to travel to Guatemala and see the progress.  God is good!

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

The team left GRACE mountain at 4:00AM today.  They are bound for Phoenix, Grand Rapids and Mobile.  Pray for safety as they travel today.

The medical/dental team had a really strong last day.  As a matter of fact, they were seeing patients in the mission house until 6:30PM last night.  Even did some minor surgery.  What a great group of medical/dental folks led by the four doctors.  Awesome!

The building team did the house dedications and they were really, really special.  It was one of those “you had to be there” type things to truly appreciate it.  There are twenty happy new homeowners today!

Thank you for checking on this team.  Thank you for praying.  Please continue to pray for Guatemala Relief And Compassion Effort and Shining Light Abroad Ministries.

By the way, they are now digging the foundation for the school.  O happy day!

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  (Psalm 119:11)

Happy birthday to my brother, Eddie.  I will not say how old he is today but will simply say that I will turn sixty in fifteen months if the Lord allows me to live.  Eddie is a great guy and does much for the Kingdom of God.  Hope his day is great!  (He is not one of our thirteen blog readers but hopefully word will get back to him)

Anna Carol Bosarge and Robert Baria both did well through their respective surgeries yesterday.  Praise the Lord.  Keep praying.

I do not have an update on Jimmy Tagert’s father but do ask that you keep praying for him as well.

The group left this morning and I am going to spend the next two days being “papi” to our three granddaughters.  So, no blog entries until at least Saturday morning and more likely Monday morning.

Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit for all three services this Sunday, 2/17.

I pray that you will have a great Thursday, Friday and Saturday with Jesus.

There was not an update yesterday morning and the reason can be summed up by saying that I took my wife to the airport in order for her to fly home.  That round trip only took me just under four hours when I was expecting it to take a little over two at the most.  Welcome to Guatemala!

The team had a good Monday and Tuesday.  The medical team saw more “sick” folks yesterday than all of the other days combined.  They also had their longest day as they did clinic at the coast.

The building team finished all twenty houses.  There may be a piece of hardware that will have to be put on today but otherwise the houses are completely finished.  John Potts has done a nice job of leading the building teams.

So, one more day of ministry for this team.  Pray for them to have a great Wednesday.  Blessings!

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  (Psalm 119:11)

Anna Carol Bosarge and Robert Baria are both having surgical procedures done this morning.  Pray for them and their respective procedures.  Pray for the surgeons.  Pray all goes well.

Jimmy Tagert’s dad is being moved to a different facility and then the family will be making some decisions.  Keep praying for Mr. Tagert, Jimmy and the entire family.

Miss Annette Williams had a heart cath yesterday and it revealed no blockages.  Praise the Lord.

Regular schedule for the Friendship family today – morning and evening.

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

The team had a usual/unusual Sunday.  Most of the men made their way down to the GRACE Community Church at 8:00AM for a breakfast with some of the men from the church.  Dr. Rich Strabbing brought a message to that group and he did a really nice job.

All of the team then attended the service at the church.  It featured the ministry of the men’s quartet from the Great Commission Church in the village where this team is building.  Carla Mast led the North Americans in sharing two musical selections before the musical leadership team from the church led a couple of songs.  Pastor Lazaro then preached in English and his daughter, Marsha, translated.  Pastor Lazaro brought a good message.  The invitation was special.

The team then headed to El Rodeo to give food bags and a meal to two hundred and fifty families.  That translated to around seven hundred people.  Pastor Max Lara preached.  It was a blessed opportunity for the team as they witnessed some of the devastation from the volcano’s eruption last year.

As soon as the team got back to the mountain they gathered in the feeding center for supper where they were joined by about forty Guatemalans.  These were families who have sponsors on this trip.  Special meal.  Special time.

So, good Sunday.  God is faithful.  Keep praying.

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  (Psalm 119:11)

Happy 83rd birthday to my dad and 80th birthday to my mama today!  Yes, they share a birth date three years apart.  Dad is probably in hopes he will get out of the hospital today.  Mama is probably in hopes they will keep him another few days.  Just saying.  Regardless, I hope they both have a great day!

I am told our services were well attended yesterday.  I am grateful.  I appreciate Bro. Jerry & Bro. Jim preaching in my absence.  I also am grateful to Bro. Jim for the way he handled his resignation.  Professional and respectful.

Jimmy Tagert’s father is seemingly some better.  Today is that critical day five so please continue to pray for him.

Anna Carol will have a MRI today and then a surgical procedure on Wednesday.  Keep praying for Anna Carol.

Robert Baria is also scheduled to have a surgical procedure on Wednesday.  Robert is an inspiration to me.  He is a great example of faithfulness.  Pray for Robert.

Dad’s white blood count is low and continues to decrease.  The hospitalist is concerned about this.  He has put dad on a medicine that is supposed to help his body produce blood cells.  It sounds as though he could be discharged at any time or that he could remain in the hospital for several more days.  I appreciate your prayers.

Only one of our thirteen blog readers noticed the mistake in my past two entries (same each day).  So, Tony Gettig wins our “blog reader of the week” award!  The dude is sharp!  As I told Tony, “you cannot fix stupid!”

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

The team had a good Saturday.  The medical folks stayed local as they did ministry in Santo Domingo which is right behind the mission house.  They had a busy morning and the dental side had a busy day.

The building team was able to get twelve houses built and ten of them are finished to the point of only needing the hardware installed.  Truth is they could have built even more but leader John Potts would not let them keep going.

Today will be church service and then an afternoon of ministry.

Keep praying for this team.

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

Jimmy Tagert’s father is in the hospital and they are monitoring him for swelling on the brain.  They are giving him medication to hopefully prevent swelling.  Days four and five are critical and today is the fourth day.  Jimmy and family are requesting the Friendship family pray fervently.

If my dad gets good results from a blood test today then he will be discharged from the hospital at some point today.  I am thankful for my sister, Melissa, and brother, Eddie, being there with our parents during this time.

Regular schedule for the Friendship family this morning and evening.  Bro. Jerry Hovel will be preaching this morning in both services and Bro. Jim Chinners will be preaching in our evening service.

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