FFM Online Newsletter - August, 2009

The month of August was a month of homecoming for the Gilley Family!! We began in Albany, KY at Albany Independent Baptist Church with Pastor Melvin Daniel. We always enjoy being with Brother Melvin and are so thankful for the way God is blessing his church! We then headed to the Crossroads of America Jubilee at Victory Baptist Church in Greenfield, IN with Pastor Calvin Hensley. We spent the next few days in Louisville, KY with Nancy's parents celebrating her mom's 83rd birthday and her parents 61st Anniversary!! What wonderful examples they are of true love and commitment!! This was our first happy homecoming! Our family time is always a blessing!! We then drove to Bristol, VA for the Family Heritage Revival at Antioch Baptist Church. Pastor Brad Davis and his wife are a special blessing to our family, and the preaching of Brother Jerry Atkins was an encouragement to us all! We then headed towards home as our next meeting was only 30 minutes away at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Athens, AL!!! God had rearranged our schedule for this week and we were waiting to see what His plan was for us. On Tuesday night, while at the meeting, we received a message from our daughter, Rebekah, saying, "I'm boarding the plane in Taipei!!" That meant that we had the WRONG date for her homecoming and she would be home a day EARLY!!! NOW His plan was evident!!! If we had been in meetings far away, we would not have been able to pick up Rebekah for her early arrival!!! Pastor Jason Pylant graciously released us from our commitment to his meeting, and on Wednesday night, we all (Including David and Lina!) piled into the van and headed to the Birmingham airport to pick up Rebekah!!! What a joyous homecoming that was!!!! Rebekah had given up 3 weeks of her summer vacation to teach at orphan camps in China, so our time together was short and precious!! Three days later we piled into the van again and headed for Wilmington, NC, our home of 19 years, where we enjoyed a Family Revival at Fellowship Baptist Church with Pastor Arnold Griffin. This was truly a happy homecoming for us all as we visited with church family and friends from the area!! The Lord blessed the meeting at Fellowship in a special way, and we praise His name! On Friday we loaded up again to return to Louisville, KY so that Rebekah could have a chance to visit with her grandparents during her short time at home. David and Lina drove up also, so that our whole family could spend one short afternoon together!! They then drove back to Decatur while we headed on to Connersville, IN for a Family Revival at Garrison Creek Baptist Church with Pastor Tim Fluty. The Lord blessed tremendously there during those 2 days of ministering together. Then on Tuesday of that week, we had to say our sad good-byes to Rebekah so that she could get to the airport in Birmingham, AL to catch her flight back to Taiwan. Rebekah, Leah and Jonathan rented a car and drove home to Decatur to allow Rebekah to finish packing up, and then left at 3:30 am for the airport! Fun sibling time, despite the early hours!! Meanwhile, Rick, Nancy, Joseph, Benjamin, and Joshua finished out the week in Indiana and drove home on Thursday! The final Sunday of the month was spent singing, preaching and ministering at our home church, Fairview Baptist right here in Decatur, AL!! What a special treat to worship and minster at our home church with our pastor, Dr. Ches Carr! It was one final homecoming for the month!! We are so thankful for our church and the love and support they have given us these past 3 1/2 years. We were strangers and they took us in!

Once again, we marvel at the faithfulness of our great and mighty God!! He is so worthy of our praise! He is worthy of our worship!