FFM Online Newsletter - June, 2008
The month of June began in Harriman, TN at Emory Gap Baptist Church's homecoming service. Bro. Willard Gunter is a sweet pastor whom we met in Mexico last year. His precious church has such a heart for missions! That evening we enjoyed ministering in Knoxville, TN at North Knoxville Baptist Church with Pastor Guy Milam. We feel so at home there at N. Knoxville as we have been ministering there since 2001. These people have watched our children grow up! They are such an encouragement to our family and support our missionary children as well!
We enjoyed the next five
days at HOME!! As always, there was much to do, including a 50th
Birthday celebration for someone in the family!! It was a wonderful week of R &
R, and we were ready to head out again for Newnan, GA on Saturday. We enjoyed
celebrating the Homecoming services with Calvary Baptist Church there in Newnan
on Sunday, and stayed for the Camp Meeting through Wednesday. Pastor Bryan
Calhoun is such a godly young man and is a blessing to us! Despite 97 degree
heat at an outdoor meeting, the Lord blessed that week in a mighty way! We
enjoyed listening to the powerful preaching of Tom Gilliam, Phil Chapman, and
others. We then traveled to Calvary Baptist Church in Middleton, TN where we
sang a Friday night concert, and then Rick spoke at their Father/Son cookout on
Saturday. Pastor Tim Matthews was our music director at our home church in
Decatur when we moved there in 2006. He has since been called to pastor, and it
was a joy to be with him and his sweet family! On Saturday afternoon, we drove
to Memphis, TN where we began a revival on Father's Day at Cherry Road Baptist
Church with Pastor Marc Drake. Marc and Pamela are long time friends from
Wilmington, NC, and it was truly a joy to minister there with them! Their church
wins the award for the friendliest church we've visited!! Their precious people
were such a blessing and an encouragement to our family!! Rick preached a series
on "An Invitation to Revival" and folks were so responsive. The Lord is at work!
During the daytime, we worked on recording for our new CD. Much of the time was
spent working out all the bugs with our new sound equipment, but little by
little, we hope to get this project finished! Please pray that this will be
accomplished
and that the Lord would be glorified.
We left Memphis and headed for Campbell, MO where we took part in a Camp Meeting
at Calvary Baptist Church with Pastor Tony Wood. Tony and Tricia are faithfully
serving the Lord there at Calvary and God is using them! The services were
blessed, and SEVEN precious young people were saved that week!!
Praise His name!
We left Missouri on Sunday afternoon to begin the 15 hour drive to Taylorsville, NC, stopping at one of our favorite prophet's chambers at Albany Independent Baptist in Albany, KY for a few hours of much needed rest! The Camp Meeting in Taylorsville was an incredible time of worship and praise as we heard many of our favorite preachers expound the Word of God: J. C. House, Mike Bagwell, Jimbo Seaton and Tom Hayes to name a few! It is an incredible atmosphere of earnest expectation of what God is going to do under that outdoor tabernacle in Taylorsville! With well over 1,000 in attendance, it is a sight to behold! The Lord blessed with relatively cool weather for most of the week, praise His name! To top it all off, we were blessed to get to hear our friends, The Rochesters, on Wednesday night of the meeting! Their sweet, humble spirits are always a joy as they minister in song.
We left Taylorsville on Friday so that we could enjoy a Saturday at home....an unheard of event at the Gilley home! Then on the last Sunday of the month we ministered at Temple Baptist Church in Tanner, AL during the morning service. Pastor James Spears is a precious man of God. We then drove 3 hours to Bowden, GA to worship with Liberty Baptist Church and Pastor Ken Bowman. After enjoying the service there, we packed it up and headed home, arriving about midnight. The boys eagerly packed up again the next day for a camping trip with Dad!! They surely do deserve a few days off after months and months of packing, traveling, ministering, schooling in the van and in motels, etc! A little relaxed time with Dad is just what they needed.
We can truly sing the old song, "I've Been to Calvary" this month after ministering at four Calvary Baptist Churches in GA, TN, MO, and NC!! We're thankful that we have also been to Calvary spiritually through the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!