Greetings to all from the evangelism trail.  We have entered a very busy time in our fall schedule, and life seems rather like a whirlwind at times.  Since we last wrote, Esther is our newest successful hunter (or is that, huntress?), having bagged a nice little deer while we were in Wyoming.  She was absolutely thrilled to go hunting with Paul and to actually bring home a deer!  We were all quite happy for her as well.

We were home briefly(for about ten days) during which Paul preached in our home church and we ministered in music.  I went on a binge-cleanout of our things and attempted a garage sale over the weekend, but it was a huge waste of effort, since hardly anyone came by.  The fact that I was selling winter clothing was not helped by the heat wave that his that weekend, spiking temps into the 90’s.  I mean, really, who wants to even think about sweaters and long sleeves when you are standing in flip-flops and sweating at 10:00 am?  So, I had to pack everything back up into bins and put it all back in the house for the time being, until I can get a little more time to dispose of it properly.  Such is the life of and evangelist’s wife. 

We are back on the road and have held two meetings since leaving home. The first was a missions conference in southern Indiana, where the Lord used His Word to convict us about reaching our Jerusalem.  How many opportunities do we allow to pass us by each week, just because we aren’t keeping eternity’s values in view? 

Last week, we were in the Lansing, MI, area.  The temperatures have dropped significantly as we have traveled north, necessitating long sleeves, tights, boots, hats, gloves, and coats!  This morning as we packed up the trailer to leave, it was 27 degrees! 

Please pray for the needs of our trailer.  The last three weeks, we have had to deal with some serious trailer issues.  Of course, there is always something, but these have been serious, time-consuming repairs.  What most people do not realize is that, yes, you can take it into an RV service center to be repaired, but many times, they are booked solid for weeks, even months.  They are in no hurry to put us in line in front of other customers.  Parts usually have to be ordered, and they take days, or maybe even weeks, to arrive, then several more days for the repair.  In the meantime, our family is in limbo, having our “home on wheels” in the shop for an unspecified and seemingly interminable amount of time.  Our other option is to get the parts and fix it ourselves.  Paul, who has become quite the trailer repairman in the last sixteen years, does an admirable job of not only diagnosing the problem, but fixing it as well.  Josiah helps at times, and so does Daniel.  This is usually our best option, since it is the fastest.  It also means a lot of running back and forth to get parts, tools, and other necessities, and a great deal of time sitting on the ground under the trailer.

 I believe in the last update, I mentioned the broken gears in the main slide out.  Paul fixed them while we were in South Dakota.  By the time we had reached Indiana two weeks ago, they had broken again.  Three days later, it was once again operational.  We drove to Michigan, and found to our dismay, when we arrived, that we had a broken leaf spring and a bad tire. Two days later, those were both replaced.  When we packed up this morning, we found that our KantLeak water system, has, in fact, been falsely advertised.  It has been leaking for some time in the bowels of the trailer, and has rotted out part of the bay.  The trailer place has no solution for this problem, having recognized the inferiority of the product and moved on to another type of system.  That still remains to be fixed.  There is another problem with the slide out, that involved cutting off some carriage bolts and readjusting the arms of the mechanism that runs underneath the slide.  Paul is currently working on that, now that we are in Indiana again. 

I do not say this in a complaining spirit, but rather to let you know the everyday struggles of the evangelist.  These problems are not unique to us–just today we were told of another evangelist who plugged into a hookup and blew all of his appliances and electronics because the box had wrong wiring.  It happens, and it is difficult to maintain an attitude of joy when everything seems to be falling apart around you.  The desire of every evangelist is to study the Word and share the Gospel.  It is really hard to do this when you are working on your trailer/vehicle all day.  Pray for those who have an itinerant ministry, that God would supply their needs, and encourage their hearts.  Pray that the devil would be kept at bay and that the distractions he throws in our paths would not discourage us.  Pray for souls.

We were privileged to see two young boys trust Christ this past Sunday in Michigan.  One had been coming for quite some time and had heard the Gospel numerous times, and the church was thrilled to see him walk the aisle and trust Christ as his Savior, along with his friend.  God still answers prayer. 

We are in northern Indiana this week, and begin our next meeting in a few days.  It will be a busy time, but we are thankful for the ministry the Lord has given to our family.  Pray for us, brethren, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified.  Thank you for your prayers, your support, and your friendship.

Sarah

sarah@paulcrow.org