A TRIP TO A NEW BABY IN NEW YORK

Since we were expecting the birth of our new grandson in upstate New York, we decided to visit some home missionaries on the way.

Here are Marc and Casie Neppl of Suffolk, Virginia.  We stayed at their house for the weekend.

On Saturday, their friends took us all out on a fun boat ride. 

This is the church on Sunday morning.  They recently moved a wall and made a lot more space.  We had a great crowd even though David and Charity Sexton were on vacation.

 Here is Marc leading the service.

Sandy and I left Sunday afternoon and drove up to Delaware to stay with our friends Jay and Annette Baines.  Here is a picture of Jay.  He is an Associate Missionary - pastoring a church of 450 with 2 Sunday morning services, while starting a new church and speaking there on Sunday evening.

We traveled from Delaware to York, Pennsylvania. It was good to spend some time with Allen and Jenny Hall who are starting a church in York.

We closed up our suitcases again and headed to Rochester, New York.  It was good to be with the church there on Sunday.  Here are the home missionaries there - Dana and Betty Booth and Jim and Sylvia Martin.
Like all of our missionaries, they are salt of the earth people.

Buffalo, New York is only about 1 1/2 hours from Rochester, so we went over to see the team there. Naturally, we went out to eat together.  Brian and Emily Williams are on the right with their 3 children in the front.  Tim and Amanda York are on the left with their baby.

I'm holding Bryson York here.  Tim said he would send this picture to his dad and say, "Richard says Ha Ha."

Back to Rochester for the Big Day - the birth of my grandson!

This is my son, Nathan, and his wife, Rachel, with my new grandson, William.

Jim and Sylvia Martin are also the grandparents to William.

It is hard to see much of William since the nurses had him all bundled up.

One more picture of this good-looking boy.  We are very thankful!

COLORADO TRIP

A group of 24 Home Mission supporters and staff members journeyed to Colorado for the Memorial Day weekend.  On Thursday night the Barry Long family came to our hotel to share some about their work in Aurora.  Here is Barry, Jessica, Austin, Abby, Braden, and Mike from their church. Thanks, Abby, for looking at my camera.

On Friday, we visited Colorado Springs.  We went to the Garden of the Gods park and some of us had to do some rock climbing.  In case you can't make it out, that is me on top of the rock with John Moran, Earl Dunn, and Richard Burns.  

We rode a train to the top of Pike's Peak - 14,000 feet high!

Here's Sandy in front of the sign.

I took this picture from the top of Pike's Peak - it doesn't do it justice.

I would have taken more, but it was cold!  In the 20's and windy.

On Saturday, we visited Castle Rock.

Here is the school where the new church meets.

Sign for Truth Free Will Baptist Church

Susan Burke and Kelly Burns

They set up for church early, so we could see what it looks like on a typical Sunday.

Here is Ron Parker with the church setup in the background.

David Crowe and Tim Stout.

It was good to have 3 Board members and their wives with us on the trip - 

Bob and Brenda Lewis, Ron and Elaine Parker, and Tim and Tobiann Stout.

Three of our Colorado home missionaries:

Barry Long, Donnie Burke, and Mark McCraney

Katie Burke

We had a mini service.  They did a great job on the music!

Tyler Burke hasn't been playing the drums very long, but did really well!

This is our group listening.

We also had a time of prayer as the missionary families knelt for prayer.

Larry and Wanda Powell talking to home missionaries.

The Long, McCraney, and Burke families.

On Sunday morning, we traveled down to Pueblo West to attend church with Mark Thomas and the church there.  They also meet in a school.

Before church, Mark shared some information about the history of FWB's in Colorado.

Mark likes to use his hands when he talks.

The church provided us a nice lunch after church.  Then we all pitched in to help clean up.

Bob Lewis had some experience in this as a former (3 times) home missionary.

Mark and Donna Thomas

On Sunday afternoon, we visited the Air Force Academy.

This is Sandy in front of the Chapel.

On Sunday night, we went to Colorado Springs to attend church with Dexter Guin and the church there.

They have a beautiful new building!

John Gibbs did a good job singing in both the Sunday services.

(John is a former home missions staff member)

Tim Stout preached Sunday morning and David Crowe preached Sunday night.

Both did a good job!

The church provided a nice supper after the service.

Dexter and Dennise Guin.

Then we got a picture with their daughters: Kayla and Kristen.

A picture of the whole group.

On Memorial Day, we all headed home.

Good memories of seeing the beauty of God's creation, meeting home missionary families, and enjoying fellowship with each other!

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Sandy and I traveled to Erie, Pennsylvania the weekend before last to be with the Grimes family and their new church.  On Friday and Saturday, we had a Marriage Seminar at the church.  Here is a picture of Daryl and Michelle on the left.  Darin and Joy Alvis (home missionaries to Buffalo, NY) were kind enough to support the church and attend the seminar. They are on the right.

Here is Tony and Marie Drakulic.  (Sorry I didn't get your face, Marie)  They are moving from Columbus, Ohio to Erie to help start the new church.  I really appreciate people who are willing to do that!  It was good getting to know this nice young couple.  Pray for Tony to get a job in Erie.

Tom and Pam Jones (home missionaries near Pittsburgh) also came up to attend the marriage seminar.  It is great to see more churches getting started in the northeast and it is great to seeing these home missionaries supporting each other!

Daryl has been able to rent a building for a very reasonable price.  Here is a few people before the Sunday morning service.  That's Sandy at the front.

Another view of the auditorium.  I liked the way they showed the announcements on the screen before the service.

Here is Daryl greeting everyone.  This was only their 3rd Sunday service and they set a new record attendance - 35!

On the right is 16 year old Luke Grimes.  He did a great job playing the guitar and leading the music. That is Tony Drakulic and Michelle Grimes also singing.

Here is Charity Grimes. (on the right)  The Grimes have another son but somehow I didn't get his picture.  Sorry, Isaiah.

Luke and Daryl getting something to eat at the lunch after church.

It was nice to have a room to have meals like this.  Most of the people stayed and ate.

It was very exciting to be at this brand new church!  God is working in Erie!

Home Missions Summit 2012 - Wednesday

On Wednesday of the Summit, the men and women each had their own sessions.

The theme for the women was, "If Shoes Could Talk"

Wanda Powell decorated several shoes - professional looking job!

Teresa Womack and Ida Lewis made up these individual purses for the ladies. Nice!

Each purse contained a $50 bill for the women to use for a pair of shoes. (Home Missionary wives who weren't present also received the money.)

Sandy Atwood (she's pretty!) did a skit on Finding the right fit (for your shoes and your ministry)

Debbie Burden was the speaker for the ladies. One woman said, "She did an excellent job challenging us to be ready to share the gospel of peace with others. She even told us we had beautiful feet!

It was so good to have many of the wives at the Summit. Every wife of a church planter that I know is very involved in the work. We appreciate their sacrifice and dedication!

To start off our session, some of the guys shared some funny stories. It was hilarious. It was good to hear the classic Whistle Story from Howard Gwartney again.

Keith Burden (FWB Executive Secretary) did a great job speaking to the guys and giving encouragement! One church planter told me it was the highlight of the conference for him.

The guys divided into small groups to share good ideas and prayer requests.

Church planters are my favorite people - I appreciate all of them!

This is one of my favorite pictures - the home missionaries praying together!

The Summit was a time of seeing friends, eating good food, laughing together, and hearing good teaching on building new churches.

Thank God for a great time at the Home Missions Summit!