FFM Online Newsletter - April, 2007
The one theme that is constantly heard in the Gilley van as we travel down the road is, "I just can't believe we are doing this!!" We constantly praise the Lord for calling us into this ministry, and for opening doors for us across this land! We feel as if all that God has done in our lives in the past has been preparation for what He has called us to do now. Praise His name!!
April has been a month full of opportunities to praise and worship Him. We began the month at the Maineville Baptist Church in Maineville, OH with pastor Ron Wiseman and his dear wife, Myra. As we drove home from Maineville on April 2nd, we knew that we would only see our home for a few days before we got to return on April 30th! What a work God has done in our hearts during those busy days!! We began at Living Waters Youth Camp on April 3rd with a fish fry and prayer meeting for the upcoming camp. God always uses Camp Director, Mike Ragland, in such a mighty way. He and his family faithfully serve the Lord there in Hayden, AL, ministering to hundreds of youth each year. Jonathan turned 16 on April 4th, and we found time to celebrate together as a family!
At Living Waters, we met a wonderful man of God who runs a girl's home nearby. He invited us to come by on Saturday morning before we started our long trip to NC, so we were up EARLY Saturday morning in time to load the van, clean the house, and be at the Reclamation Ranch in Empire, AL for breakfast at 8 AM! We enjoyed such a sweet time of fellowship there with Director, Jack Paterson, and the girls whom God has placed at the home! We sang at their chapel service after breakfast, and rejoiced as we heard testimonies from the girls about how God has worked miracles in their lives! It was hard to leave, but we had a long journey ahead of us, so we finally got on the road and headed to Monroe, NC! Sunday morning, we began a Jubilee Meeting at Bible Baptist Tabernacle with Pastor Bobby Leonard. God has blessed us this past year with Bro. Bobby's friendship as we crossed paths at several Bible conferences around the Southeast! His church was a wonderful place of fellowship and rejoicing, with many families who are living for the Lord and following His ways! We heard messages from Godly preachers such as Tony Finney, Jimmy Rose, and Don Green. We left there so encouraged about what God is doing in our churches here in America! On Thursday, we drove to Candor, NC where we were to begin a Family Weekend Conference with Pastor Mark Moore at Center Baptist Church. That night we enjoyed dinner and prayer meeting with the sweet people there. We learned again that God often has plans other than ours, and will work it all out according to His purpose. That night one of the leading church members died, so that dear pastor faced the stress of ministering to that family as well as conducting a meeting all weekend. In addition to that, Rick awoke the next morning with an abscessed tooth and in great pain! (I guess he didn't want to feel left out!) God once again directed our steps to a local dentist who prescribed antibiotics and a pain medication. Fortunately, Rick only had to preach ONE sermon while on pain medication!! (It was delivered in slow motion!) God amazingly worked all things for good as we ministered to the bereaved family, led the Family Conference, and enjoyed the fellowship of Bro Mark Moore and his wife, Vera. On the Sunday evening of the conference, Center Baptist met together at Tabernacle Baptist there in Candor with Pastor Mike Free. We had a joyous night of worship as we saw a precious 13 year old girl saved!! What a joy it was to talk and pray with her! We left Candor and instead of heading to our next meeting in Carrollton, GA, we made the trek back home to leave Leah and the boys while Rick and Nancy continued on to our dentist in Ripley, MS. We are SO thankful for him and his ministry!! Leah and the boys enjoyed their unexpected day at home, though I'm sure they would NOT have chosen to have their Dad in pain!! That Tuesday we finally headed for Carrollton and the wonderful Camp Meeting at Central Baptist Church with Pastor Doug Bearden. They were so gracious to allow us to slip in late! God really moved in that meeting, and our hearts were so full! After finishing out the week in Carrolton, we headed for Webster, FL for a week's revival at First Baptist Church. God moved in such a mighty way that week, and we were so blessed by the friendship and fellowship we were shown. We had the privilege of meeting with some of the home schooling families in the church and hopefully left them with some encouragement. What a precious church!! Pastor Hoss Moore and his wife, Lisa, have a wonderful ministry there. There was a sweet 11 year old girl saved that week! On top of all that, we felt as if we were stepping back in time to the days of "Rawhide"! Who would have dreamed that real cowboys still live and work there in Florida?! We enjoyed the cattle auction, the Webster Market, and the boys especially enjoyed staying in a house where the owner raised goats and cows!! These city boys (wanna-be country boys!) had a time feeding the animals and naming them all!! After the week of revival, we drove to Columbia, SC where Nancy and Leah enjoyed the Annual Women's Jubilee at Alpine Baptist Church on Saturday. God once again worked a miracle for us as our van, lovingly dubbed "Old Faithful", quit as we neared the exit for the motel. Rick coaxed it into starting again and we made it to the motel parking lot before it gave up for good!! The pastor called an angel disguised as Barry Spears who came at once to jump it off and then lead Rick to the auto parts store to buy a new alternator. By 11PM, "Old Faithful" was fixed and running once again, but we knew that it was really our Faithful God Who worked that miracle for us!! We then ministered on Sunday morning and evening there with Pastor Rick Kirchinger and his precious wife, Judy. Nancy had the privilege of teaching the women's Sunday School class that Sunday morning, and Rick preached in the evening service.
It was with full and grateful hearts that we headed home after a very busy and blessed month!! We had only a few hours to get Leah unpacked and re-packed for her trip to Taiwan. Ah, but that will have to wait for our May update!!
Let us say again, we praise His name for allowing us to serve Him in this ministry! He is so faithful, and continues to show Himself mighty and strong!!