Pastor's Blog

A bit unusual for me to post an entry on the weekend but there are a couple of folks who need our prayers.

First, Emma Kate Ladnier was hospitalized with RSV and a touch of pneumonia.  She was doing better yesterday and will likely be discharged today.  Pray for little Emma Kate.

Maria Wainwright fell down some steps yesterday and suffered a broken arm, separated shoulder and other bumps and bruises.  I “think” she was discharged from the hospital last night but obviously she needs our prayer support.

Kristie Potts continues to need our prayer support as she battles a malignancy.  She is a woman of strong faith.  Keep praying.

I received news of another prayer need yesterday but do not have permission to share it yet.  Just pray.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow.

Stacey Dyess finally knows what good bbq tastes like!  He can thank me later.  Just saying!

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

No updates on those for whom we have been praying.  Just keep praying!

Scott Pouncey was taken to the hospital yesterday and is in ICU.  Pray for him and his parents as they have decisions to make concerning Scott’s situation.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday morning and evening.  Friendship family, let’s be faithful!

This Sunday, 10/22, is going to be another “sweet” day at Friendship.  You are asked to bring bags of candy that can be used at our Hallelujah Festival on Sunday, 10/29.  I saw Daphne with two huge bags yesterday that she is taking to the service this Sunday.  Please consider helping with this outreach/inreach ministry.

Pray for Israel!

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

The Lord blessed the Friendship family with a good day in our services yesterday.  I am thankful!  Bro. Jerry taught the adults in the auditorium.

Robert Baria is doing well with his radiation treatments and his immunotherapy.  He will have a total of thirty-three radiation treatments and six weeks of immunotherapy treatments.  Keep praying for Robert & Roseanne.  Roseanne does such a good job of keeping me updated.  I am grateful.

There are several really urgent unspoken prayer requests within the Friendship family.  Please pray.  God knows!

Henry Wyse was in the service yesterday morning.  He is not jumping fences but is recovering nicely.  Keep praying!

Talked to Pastor Mack Morris yesterday and he had just completed another radiation treatment.  Pray for Dr. Mack.

Please continue to pray for Kristie Potts in Michigan.  She and John are great people!

We need members of the Friendship family to be extra “sweet” this Sunday, 10/22, by bringing candy for the Hallelujah Festival which will take place the following Sunday.

The Ladies Helping Hands ministry will meet tonight in the Preschool Building beginning at 6:30PM.  All ladies invited to attend.

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

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and evening.  I pray the members of the Friendship family will be faithful to attend.  Thank you to those who are faithful!

Our friend, Kristie Potts, had a visit with her oncologist yesterday.  She was diagnosed with a malignancy last November and it has returned in a strong way.  Pray for Kristie, John and family as they make decisions as to how proceed going forward.  John & Kristie are absolutely great folks!  I am blessed to call them friends.  Pray without ceasing!

Speaking of great folks, Deidra and I met with Lonnie Weaver yesterday afternoon.  Lonnie is a local attorney.  I will simply say that we were greatly impressed and blessed with Lonnie as he is a fellow believer and his compassion toward Deidra was spot on.  His wife, Heather, works with him and she was the same as Lonnie.

Today is the first of three “sweet days” leading up to our annual Hallelujah Festival which will take place on Sunday, 10/29.  Members of the Friendship family are asked to bring bags of candy today, Sunday or next Wednesday which will be used on 10/29.  Thank you in advance for your help.  Also, we will need folks to have “stations” where this candy will be distributed.  Contact Elizabeth or Lindsey to sign up or for more information.

David, Kim & John have obviously awakened the South football team!  Their last two games have been amazing!  Go Jags!

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

The Lord is certainly blessing us with some great weather!  I love weather and these past few days have been absolutely awesome. Thank you Jesus!

Keep praying for those for whom we have been praying.  I failed to mention Jerry Francisco in yesterday’s entry but do ask that you continue to pray for him.  Pray for Sandra too.

Lindsey Vice & Elizabeth Westbrook are spearheading our annual “Hallelujah Festival” which will take place on Sunday, 10/29.  Here is what we need at the present time – folks willing to host a booth and tons of candy donations.  You can bring the candy to any service over the next week (Wednesdays/Sunday) or simply bring them by the office.  Questions?  Contact Lindsey or Elizabeth as they have all of the answers.  Remember, this is a “sweet” time for the Friendship family.

Chino Galindo is flying back to Guatemala today.  Pray for traveling mercies for him.  Chino is like family and is such an important part of GRACE Ministries.  I am very grateful to Chino for all he does for GRACE Ministries and especially the help he is to Deidra and the girls.

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

Well, praise the Lord!  He blessed us with a really good day in our services yesterday.  We saw seven folks come forward in the morning invitation desiring to become members of the Friendship family.  God is good!  We praise Him for these additions.  Bro. Abel did a nice job of sharing the Word in our evening service.  I am grateful.

Obviously, I was humbled and grateful by the gifts given to Lizzi, Sydney and Audrey by the Ingalls Avenue Baptist Church in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  How thoughtful of them!  Deidra joins me in expressing much appreciation for this act of kindness.  Thank you Dr. &Mrs. Mack, Bro. Vann and Bro. Green.

I have not gotten with Henry Wyse to get an update on his recovery from his surgery.  Keep praying!

Pastor Mel Hacker remains in rehab and it is a roller coaster ride for him.  Pray for Pastor Mel and his family.

Our good friend, Kristie Potts, in Michigan has gotten a less than favorable report regarding her malignancy but her faith in God remains strong.  Please join me in praying for Kristie, John and family.

Jason Fosmore’s mother continues with her treatments.  Keep praying!

Since I have been without internet service for the past several days, I have not gotten to express my written gratitude to all those who have been a blessing to us during our time of grief.  We, as a family, are most grateful.  Blown away!  Humbled!  The attendance at all of the visitations and services was amazing!  There were folks in attendance from ten different states at Thursday’s service.  Over one hundred folks made the drive to Richton, MS for the graveside service.  Soy was a much loved young man.  We miss him!  Pray for us.

I continue to be blessed by the support given to me by our staff and our deacons.  They are holding my hands up big time!  Thank you brothers.

The next few days are going to be a “sweet time” for the Friendship family.  We are asking you to bring candy to the services this Wednesday, 10/18, Sunday, 10/22 and Wednesday, 10/25 to be used at our Trail of Truth and Treats on Sunday, 10/29.  We need tons of candy so please help.

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

“The greatest love you can have for your friends (family) is to give your life for them.” (John 15:13 GNT)

A celebration of life service for Michael Curtis “Soy” Taylor, 42, will be held at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, October 12, 2023 at Friendship Baptist Church 12581 Saeger Road Grand Bay, Alabama with Pastor Jack Bailey, Pastor Joe David Bailey, Evangelist Michael Mason and Pastor Teddy Turrentine officiating. Burial will follow at 3:30 p.m. in the Davis Clark Family Cemetery in Richton, Mississippi. Visitation will be held Thursday, October 12, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. also at the church. Serving a pallbearers will be Eddie Albritton, Morris Bryant, Ross Genzink, Noah Hogan, BJ Parson, Christopher Taylor, Josh Turrentine, and TJ Vice. Musicians will be Jeanette Bates, Brad Hutto, Rex Looney, Cindy Stanford and Al Stokes.

Soy was born on Tuesday, August 18, 1981, in Texas and passed from this life on Monday, October 2, 2023, in Guatemala.

Soy was preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert & Mary Taylor and Fortunato & Marie Cortel along with his grandfather-in-law, Charles E Turrentine.

He is survived by his wife of sixteen years, Deidra; his three daughters, Lizzi (11), Sydney (10), and Audrey (9) (his daughters are the apple of his eye!); parents, Curtis and Myrna Taylor; siblings, Christopher (Rebecca) Taylor and Natalie (Kevin) Ripski; parents-in-law, Teddy and Lisa Turrentine; sisters-in-law, Daphne (Brad) Hutto, Dana Turrentine, Gina Turrentine, and Hien Tran; grandparents-in-law, Charles and Ann Clark and Carolyn Turrentine; many other relatives and a host of friends.

Soy was a proud veteran of the United States Navy having served from August 1999 until August 2003.

Soy accepted Jesus as his personal Savior at the age of 23 and faithfully served Jesus from that point forward. Early on in his walk with Jesus, he felt the call from God to reach the nations with the Gospel of Jesus. In August of 2006, Soy met his future wife, Deidra, who also felt the same call to reach the nations. Soy and Deidra were united in marriage on August 11, 2007, determined to fulfill God’s call on their life. The next 10 years were spent in Grand Bay, Alabama ministering through their local church, working, praying, visiting foreign countries and seeking God’s will for their lives on the mission field. On June 14, 2017, they answered God’s call to the international mission field by moving with their three daughters, Lizzi, Sydney and Audrey, to serve Jesus in El Tejar, Guatemala.

Since moving to Guatemala, Soy’s involvement has included working in a feeding/tutoring ministry which served impoverished children. In February of 2020 a new school, Colegio JET, was opened to help educate those children in the original feeding center plus many more. At the time of Soy’s passing, 204 students in kindergarten through the tenth grade attended Colegio JET. Soy initially served as the technology director for the school setting up and overseeing the computer lab while also teaching the students about technology. The greatest impact Soy had at Colegio JET was to be a father figure to many young people especially the young men. Many of them referred to him as their father.

Soy worked alongside Guatemala Relief and Compassion Effort (GRACE Ministries) handling all their technology including the website, online giving, et cetera. Soy was most passionate about locating families in the remote areas of Guatemala who were in need of a house that the mission teams would build.

Soy was a member and very involved in Friendship Baptist Church (preschool church director, soccer ministry, Sunday School teacher, technology, et cetera) while living in Grand Bay and then Iglesia JET (sports ministry, student ministry, technology, et cetera) while living in El Tejar.

Soy’s tent making (Acts 18:2-3) was to work online on the technology side for Diamond Pro Manufacturing in Hartselle, Alabama.

Soy was a faithful husband, father, missionary, and friend to a multitude of people in the USA and Guatemala. He was loved by all who knew him. Team members who traveled to Guatemala to work alongside Soy and Deidra may have forgotten Deidra, but no one forgot Soy! He was a fun loving, life of the party, selfie taking, costume wearing, dominoes playing, card playing man.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in Soy’s name to Shining Light Abroad Ministries P.O. Box 513 Grand Bay, Alabama 36541.

“I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus.” (Missionary Jim Elliot)

Once again, overwhelmed!  Blown away!  Mind boggling!  All of these words describe my feelings this morning but perhaps the word that best describes how I feel is “humbled!”  As I pulled up on our church campus last night a great sense of being humbled overwhelmed me as I saw what had been done on the outside and then that sense increased even more as I walked inside the auditorium and saw what had been done, was being done and the folks (number) who were present.  Wow!  Amazing!  Just the attitude that was prevalent among those who were there – teens to senior adults!  My thoughts were, “Soy is deeply loved!”  Love equals action!  Oh, how they love Soy!  Oh, how they love Jesus!

Folks are already (or will be) driving and/or flying from other parts of Alabama, Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi to attend tomorrow’s service.  Again, humbling!  Oh, how they love Soy!

Deidra and Daphne did well in meeting with the funeral director, Ladd Pulliam, yesterday morning.  Perhaps the smoothest meeting of that type that I have ever witnessed and that was not my first rodeo.  My hat is off to Ladd for his professionalism.  Jones and Son Funeral Home in Richton, MS is handling the arrangements.

Two visitations are planned for today/tonight.  The first is from 10:00 – 11:00AM and the second from 6:30 – 7:30PM.  Once again, these visitations are designed primarily for the members of the Friendship family in order to lessen the wait time during tomorrow’s visitation.  It may be that others who cannot attend tomorrow will need to visit tonight.

I do hope and pray that many members of the Friendship family will attend the service at noon tomorrow.  I am in hopes that we will have an overflow crowd showing Soy & Deidra’s daughters some of the impact their father had on others.

My words are simple, “thank you Jesus” and “thank you family and friends!”  May the Father be glorified, Jesus be exalted, and the Holy Spirit be followed!

Wow, life can change in a moment’s time without notice.  Today, Deidra, Lisa and I were scheduled to be in Michigan with my Mama and three siblings visiting maternal relatives and hosting a gathering tonight.  Great plan and then life happens.

In reality, Deidra, Daphne and I will drive to the funeral home in Richton, MS to make the final arrangements for Soy’s celebration of life service.  I never thought I would be doing this!  We need God’s grace!

Tonight, around 6:00PM we will gather on the church campus to clean and make sure things are ready for the visitations and service to come tomorrow and Thursday.  It should not take long.  Bring cleaning things (vacuums, brooms, et cetera) if you want to help.  Thank you to Gary & Rachel Walton and the others who are taking care of the flower beds.  Thank you to Bobby Broome for taking care of the lawn care today.

I appreciate Al Stokes and the folks from the Grand Bay Church of God ministering to us this past Sunday evening.  A blessing!

Tomorrow morning, 10/11, there will be a visitation time with Deidra and family from 10:00AM until 11:00AM and another one from 6:30PM until 7:30PM.  This is basically designed to allow the members of the Friendship family to attend the visitation prior to the influx of our out of town family/friends.  We do hope our Friendship family members will attend the service beginning at noon on Thursday, 10/12.

Please note that there will be no other activities, classes, Bible studies, et cetera taking place tomorrow morning or evening.

A mere “thank you” seems very inadequate but it is all we, as a family, can offer at this time.  You have been so kind to us!

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

I am a day late with updates on those within the Friendship family.  My apologies.

Henry Wyse did well through his surgery and should have come home yesterday.  Keep praying for Henry & Sue.

Robert Baria received a treatment on Tuesday.  Keep praying for Robert & Roseanne.  Robert is an amazing man!

Larry Crawley was in Sunday School and the service this past Sunday.  He has one more treatment to go.  Keep praying for Larry.

Chuck Rockwell needs a heart cath but is not physically able to have one right now.  Pray for Chuck & Beth.

Carol Lucky continues to recover nicely from her shoulder surgery.  Praise the Lord!

Larry Whitehurst’s nephew, Ed, was involved in an automobile accident and is hospitalized in Mississippi.  Possible back surgery coming for him.  Pray for Ed and his family.

The memorial service last night for Michael “Soy” Taylor was simply amazing.  Tough, but amazing.  Four hundred plus in attendance.  I am told there were one hundred seventy-three folks watching on line with over four thousand views and fifty shares (I have no idea what those numbers mean but I guess they are good).  The impact of Soy’s life on the young and the old alike was very evident.  I heard “lo siento mucho” (I am very sorry) a million times it seemed.  The young people were extremely broken emotionally.  Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney, Audrey, Lisa and I were all deeply moved.  Pastor Adan did a great job of sharing the Word.  Sabrina was her usual great self singing.  Jonathan shared from his heart.  Chino simply could not share as he is so broken.  Deidra and the girls provided a meal for everyone present – a special Guatemala soup called estofado, rice and drink.  The folks enjoyed it.  It was a fitting end to the evening as Soy & Deidra have fed thousands since arriving in Guatemala on June 14, 2017.  Soy would have loved every second of the celebration.  Soy did a nice job of preaching his own memorial service!

It has been an emotional night for me.  As I type this, I am watching Deidra get some sleep which has been very scarce for her since Saturday night.  Deidra, like her mother, does not function very well without some sleep.  Pray that she can rest.  Thank Jesus for the rest she is getting.

I am getting messages from folks who are just finding out about this tragedy.  Will you help by reaching out to folks you know who know Soy, Deidra, GRACE Ministries to make sure they know?  The COLS in Alabama will take place next Thursday, 10/12, beginning at noon at Friendship Baptist Church 12581 Saeger Road Grand Bay, AL 36541.  Pass the word!  By the way, I anticipate an overflowing crowd.  It may be the largest COLS in the history of Friendship Baptist.  I could be wrong but that is my feeling.

The money be given through Zeffy.com to help Deidra and the girls with the expenses of getting Soy’s body home, the funeral homes (Guatemala and Mississippi), the cemetery, et cetera plus day to day living expenses is amazing!  Far above my expectations.  Daphne and my brother, Eddie, were told by a complete stranger yesterday that the Lord impressed upon her heart that a certain amount would be given through this means.  If she is right, oh my goodness and glory to God!  Will you share the Zeffy link with others through your social avenues?

Sorry for being so long with this entry.  Hope you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.  Pray for Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney & Audrey.