Since we began, April has traditionally been a busy month for us.  Accordingly, we find ourselves in a cycle of traveling and preaching for several days on end.  Our first trip took us from IN to Willmar, MN.

We are currently traveling with a borrowed trailer from a family in our church.  The unit is a 30-foot bumper pull trailer in which the children sleep on two different beds, one a couch fold out and the other a dinette fold down.  While much smaller than what we were used to, this trailer is a great blessing from the Lord. 

As we traveled through IL, we faced some tremendous cross winds.  Yesterday, we passed a tractor and trailer that had blown over in the wind.  As we drove, a particularly strong gust of wind struck the truck and trailer.  The trailer fishtailed and whipped violently in the wind.  At one point, both tires on the one side were off the ground.  Despite all the excitement, we were able to make it safely to Willmar, arriving this afternoon. 

As for our search for a trailer in northern IN, we were disappointed by the lack of options that we have available to us.  Today, there are far fewer companies that make a unit that will work for us than there were when we first started in evangelism.  When we had nearly despaired of finding a trailer that would serve us well, we were introduced to a new company that has been in business for only a couple years.  They make a unit that will work for us.

Please pray that God will give us wisdom as we continue our search.  Please also pray that the Lord will bring in the finances that we need to pay for the unit.  So far, we have a little over half of what is needed to purchase the trailer outright.

Above all, though, please pray for souls to be saved.  Pray that Satan will be hindered as he tries to distract men and women from hearing the Word of God.  Pray that God’s power would be on us as we minister in every church.  Pray that the Word of the Lord would have free course and be glorified. 

And, as always, thank you for your prayers.

The insurance company got back with us this week and gave us an amount for the trailer.  They will be giving us about $1,000 more for the trailer than what we paid for it originally.  All in all, I am very pleased with the way State Farm has handled the claim.

As for a new trailer, Sarah and I will be touring trailer factories in northern IN trying to see where we go from here.  We would covet your prayers for God’s wisdom as we look.  We are trusting the Lord the settle the entire thing.  So far, He has worked everything out very well and we are actually excited to see what He will do in the future.

Thank you so much for all your prayers.

Well, it happened.  In nearly twelve years of pulling the trailer, I have never had a major accident.  Until this past Monday, that is.  Traveling like a barn sour horse, we came out of Taylors, SC, and entered the automotive quagmire of Atlanta, GA.  A wreck on the northeast side delayed us for a couple of hours so that by the time we hit the intersection of I-20, it was officially rush hour.  It took us about four hours to get from the Mall of Georgia to Six Flags.  (We stopped at neither place, but for those who know Atlanta, these are familiar landmarks on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.)  After making it through the traffic to the west side of the city, I realized that we needed to stop for fuel.

Motorists who have not pulled a large rig such as a forty-foot trailer rarely appreciate the difficulty that larger vehicles face.  Just any filling station won’t do: evangelists need one with lots of space in which to maneuver.  Thankfully, filling stations have taken steps to accommodate the needs of larger vehicles, some of them even creating designated lanes for RV’s.  It was into one of these designated lanes that I pulled.  It was late and we were in Villa Rica, GA, not far from the AL state line, ready to be rid of GA traffic for the night.

As I pulled into the RV lane of this gas station, I quickly realized that not all RV lanes are created equal.  Not all are endowed by their creators with ample space for large RV’s.  In fact, this one seemed to have been designed for smart cars more than for any sized RV.  It was especially unsuitable for a truck pulling a trailer, no matter what the sign said.

Not to worry, though.  I have been pulling large trailers for twelve years, right?  When we were done fueling, I had to back up to reposition the trailer in the lane so that it would clear when I pulled through and made a left hand turn to return to the freeway.  No problem.  I kept the rig on the right side so that my trailer would follow and miss the large concrete bumpers erected to protect the narrowly placed pumps.  Textbook.  One learns a few things through experience over years of repetition. 

In front of me sat several cars parked in designated parking areas—areas that some engineer is probably still laughing about because there is no way a large RV can make the turn out of the RV fueling lane with those cars there.  I had to carefully watch the cars in front of me so as not to hit them and watch in my mirrors to make sure that my trailer cleared those awful concrete barricades.  The barricades were quite war worn, bearing the the scars of several victories in previous encounters with different RV’s.  I had missed every obstacle when I began to turn the wheel to the left.  The rear of the trailer pivoted to the right as I did so and, out of my line of sight, struck the right hand barrier.  We did not so much as feel the impact, because we were going very slowly.  Nor could we hear anything, but as I completed the turn, I felt a slight pop.

The barrier had torn the back part of our trailer to bits.  Although it was towable, it is still not livable.  As technicians at the local RV service center examined the damage, they used the word totaled a lot.  Of course, the service center pronouncing the unit totaled is not the same as the insurance adjustor announcing the unit totaled.  We will have to wait and see what insurance says.  In the mean time, we are in the busiest time of our year without a trailer.

Please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s will concerning a replacement.  Some have already offered to help fund the new unit.  We are so thankful for the willingness of God’s people to help me the need.  Whatever happens, we are confident that God will provide.

What a busy schedule the Lord has given us so far this year!  We are very grateful to see how He is opening door after door and blessing our ministry in every place where we have been.

Currently, we are in the state of North Carolina where we have nearly a month of meetings in different places in the western part of the state.  You may have seen the news that cold weather has descended upon the eastern seaboard to such an extent that many inhabitants are longing to return to the days of global warming.  The cold has significant effects on anyone wanting to live in a trailer.

A couple of days ago, the temperature was predicted to drop into the single digits.  It is customary in the trailer to leave the water running a trickle in order to keep it from freezing during nights when the temperature dips below 32 (Fahrenheit).  The problem is that the temperature can drop so low that even running water can freeze.

So to allay the problem, we actually winterized the trailer by using an air compressor to blow the water out of the lines.  In the meantime, we moved into the church’s mission house so that we could appropriately bathe and hydrate ourselves.

Then we moved on the next church, Emmanuel Baptist of Kings Mountain NC.  There we tried to hook up water only to find that all the outside spigots had frozen during the cold snap.  Not to worry, though.  After about an hour of working with a cheap Wal-mart hair dryer, we were able to get everything thawed.  Or at least, so it seemed.  As the outside temperatures climbed in the mid-40’s, the janitor and his family arrived to clean the church before the Lord’s day.  What did they find?  The pipes burst inside the building, necessitating that the water be cut off again.

So we still have no running water.  But then again, neither did much of humanity in days gone by.  It makes me sort of wonder, Do wells freeze deep in the ground so that you have to break the ice off them before you lower the bucket?  If conditions continue as they have been, I may soon be in a position to find out.

Acts 15:41 “And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the
churches.”

As an evangelist, this ministry of confirming the churches is a major thrust
of my ministry as I travel. I want to see souls saved and churches strengthened.
December was a great month for us financially, compared to years gone by.
Two things helped us out tremendously: first of all, several weekend meetings
during the month, and second of all, a special financial gift from the
Maranatha Baptist Church of Ripley, Tennessee. For the first time in many
years, we had a little bit of financial breathing room during the Christmas
season.

January found our family in Silver City, New Mexico, ministering in the Calvary
Baptist Church for four weeks. Would you pray that God gives them a
pastor? They need wisdom as they seek the Lord’s will in this matter.
February has us all over the country from Texas to North Carolina ministering
in a different church every week. Please pray for souls to be saved and
churches to be strengthened. It is wonderful to see those prayers answered
as we travel.

Many of you have prayed about our trailer situation in the past. The unit we
are in is wearing out and in need of replacement. Yesterday, for the first
time since we have been looking, I received some encouraging news as far
as a trailer replacement. Please pray for wisdom for us to make the right
decision in this regard. I am now convinced that if we get the right trailer,
we may be able to keep it for the next ten years instead of purchasing a different
one every three or four years due to wear and tear.

Thank you so much for your prayers.

In the middle of October, my family and I went to eastern Colorado to the town of Fort Morgan.  Pastor Shannon Munday wanted me to preach the week before he started a revival meeting with another Evangelist, Bro. Dwight Smith.  The Lord worked everything in a wonderful way. 

On Sunday, October 19, I preached and the Lord worked on a teenaged boy’s heart named Josh with the result that he trusted Christ as Savior.  A few weeks ago, Josh had attempted suicide; now, he is on his way to heaven.  The next Sunday was Bring a Friend Sunday.  That morning, Bro. Smith preached the Gospel and many people came to be saved.  One entire row of unsaved people stepped out of the aisle in the invitation and came forward to be dealt with about salvation.  There were so many people to be dealt with that the pastor ran out of personal workers.  I had been leading the invitation hymn with Sarah at the piano.  In the absence of personal workers, I came down from the platform and dealt with a man.  Still, we needed more, so Sarah left the piano to go deal with a lady.  Bro. Dwight took over the playing of the piano.

The meeting went through Wednesday night with both Crow and Smith family working together.  By the time the meeting closed Wednesday night, we had seen sixteen people trust Christ as Savior.  It was one of the greatest meetings I have ever been in.

On the way out of town, we had a leaf spring shackle break on the trailer, causing one side of the trailer to ride lower than the other.  In the providence of God, we were able to get to our destination in Colby, KS, and get the broken part fixed with spare parts that I have been carrying around for several years (since the last time I had trouble with my leaf springs). 

Now, after preaching in the Colby Independent Baptist Church, we will head back to MS on Monday.

Thank you so much for your prayers.

Tuesday morning, a farmer from this part of South Dakota went to the operating room for surgery.  It was to be a six hour procedure to remove a malicious tumor from his liver.  Once the doctors had opened him up and looked at his liver, they aborted the rest of the operation and sewed him back up: there was nothing they could surgically due to the tumor’s proximity to his bile duct.  The farmer’s son contacted a church member and wept, thinking that his Dad would not have much longer to live.

At the service that night, the church member spoke with the pastor and me, expressing his desire to go and see his friend who, as far as he knew, was not saved.  Reasoning that three would be a crowd in the hospital room, we elected to go with just two of us from the church.

So it was that yesterday morning, the church member and I headed to the hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.  The patient we found was sore from having been cut open the day before, but in good spirits, having retained his sense of humor through the ordeal. 

As is generally the custom, we engaged in small talk for a while, during which Tom, the patient, wept occasionally.  He had never dreamed that such a thing would happen to him; he was only 63 years old.  Of course, the main goal of our visit was not small talk, but the Gospel.  At one point in the conversation, God, in answer to our prayers, opened the door to talk about the most important thing.  I asked pointedly, “Tom, are you ready to go?”  He responded that he was.

After being interrupted by a phone call that I had to take, I reentered the room, wanting more information about Tom’s readiness.  We talked about being born again, that just as there is a definite point in time when a person is born physically, so there is a definite point in time when a person is born again spiritually.  Then came the most important question that I could ask: “Tom, was there ever a time when you trusted Jesus Christ as Savior?”

Tom’s answer came without hesitation.  “Yes.”  After another question about when that happened, he related to us how that he had begun attending a Bible study.  What could it hurt?  It was only one night a week, and he needed to read the Bible anyway.  Each person in the study group was supposed to read a certain portion of the Bible.  As he was reading his portion, God spoke to him in a definite way.  It was then that he trusted Christ as Savior.

Tom is still apprehensive about the future in this life.  Although he was saved about six years ago, he has never really grown in the Lord, his woman pastor notwithstanding.  Still, it was a joy to hear how God is still reaching out to man, offering His saving grace to all who will believe.

“If you weren’t born with a wrench in your hand, trailer life is not for you.”  Such forthrightness from a trailer salesman was interesting to hear.  Yet the truth of what he was trying to convey was very well put.  He who would live in a trailer must grow accustomed to constant maintenance.  For the Crow family, we are running out of innovations to keep the mechanism together.  “Extremely flexible” caulk won’t stretch enough to compensate for the flex in the front of the trailer to keep the water from pouring in, while “extremely durable” plastic latches are unable to withstand the onslaught of a junior high boy.  Not only are parts for RV’s expensive; they are are also hard to get once one quits the big cities.

Enter the Crow family in Millbank, South Dakota.  The town boasts a population of just over 3,000 people, but no RV dealer.  In fact, I think it would be easier to purchase a tractor here than anything to do with a home on wheels.  Parts availability will obviously be a problem here until Case International ventures into the trailer business.

Enter the roll of duct tape.  Strong.  Versatile.  Ubiquitous.  And, as of a couple of months ago, the weapon of choice against trailer entropy.  The high dollar tubes of caulk all proved feckless in stemming the flow of water into the front of my trailer.  In the course of owning this trailer, I have had to see a lot of money go out the tubes, as it were, only to have the flexible sealant break open because the front flex was too much.  After trying everything I knew to do, including spending $6,000 to have a shop do it professionally, I decided to bite the bullet and don the duct tape.  Sadly, the hillbilly fix has been the best yet.  The duct seals and forms a sort of roof under which the trailer can flex all it wants without the water entering in and rotting the trailer from within.  Duct tape saves the day again.  Cue hero music.

No one in my family broke the door handle.  Just ask them and they will be glad to assure you of their innocence.  Nevertheless, the latch that holds the screen door closed was mysteriously broken apart in the night, no doubt by a thief who, upon breaking and entering our trailer, was dissuaded from further crime by the lack of viable goods to steal.  Evidently, A Beka school books don’t bring much on the black market.  Regardless of how it actually broke, the latch had to be fixed.  Though we did not know it, there is a housefly convention going on right now in Millbank.  After we kill one in the trailer, there are at least four who break into the trailer to attend its funeral.  We needed a means to keep the door latched.

Once again, duct tape provided the perfect solution.  After taping the plastic back together and reinstalling the latch, we are finally beginning to turn the tide in the war against the flies.

By the time the year ends, there is no telling what all in our trailer will be held together with duct tape.  Stayed tuned for more of the duct tape diary.  Who knows what it will be next?

July, 2014, marks twelve years that my family and I have been in full time evangelism.  It has been a wonder to see the Lord’s working in the hearts of people as the Word of God has gone forth.

We have had an interesting year so far, including something that we have never done before outside of our home church.  After the spring schedule of revival meetings and the early summer of camp in New Mexico, the Lord has directed us to Louisiana for six weeks.  During this meeting, we have not had meetings every night, but the pastor has given me his pulpit during most of the regularly scheduled services.  I have also been helping with outreach and will be assisting with vacation Bible school later on.  Every Sunday night, I have been teaching on Baptist history, we just finished a four-part series entitle “Praying Like Paul,” and a deacon and I just yesterday installed a cabinet that we built for the church office.  Below is a picture of the two of us the day we installed the piece of furniture.

In just over two weeks time, we leave LA and head north for a schedule of revivals in the Midwest and mountain states.  Please pray for us as we travel.  A major concern right now is the trailer.  Please pray that God holds it together as we travel.

My family and I are separated for the next couple of weeks as I labor in the Calvary Baptist Church in Silver City, New Mexico, and the Gila Christian Ranch, the camp connected with the church.  My family are all home ministering in our home church while I am away.

One of the greatest treasures that God has given me in the ministry is the number of people that pray for me on a regular basis.  They come from all over the country, from all walks of life, and from all stages of spiritual growth.  Still, they thrill my heart with the words “I pray for you daily.”  It is not uncommon for some of you to ask me for a prayer list.  Understandably, you want to know what requests are on my heart so that you can partner with me in asking God for them.  For those of you who want that prayer list, I offer you one today.  This is the most important prayer list I have ever given anyone, and it is my desire that you partner with me in praying for these requests.  As you will soon see, this prayer list is not original, but it is of utmost importance.

The first request that I would venture is that God would help us to maintain a clear conscience in everything that we do in the ministry.  The writer of Hebrews requested, “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” (Hebrews 13:18)  As one in the place of serving God, there is a temptation to do so in a dishonest fashion.  Some had succumbed to the temptation in Paul’s day.  He reminded Timothy, “Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander.” (1 Timothy 1:19-20)  Timothy had not far to look before he could see evidence of some who started in ministry only to abandon the idea of a clear conscience.

The next request is for freedom of the Scripture.  This request comes from the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians.  He requested, “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)  “Free course” refers to a runner who is unhindered in his push to the finish line.  It describes ability to move unhindered and swiftly.  So Paul instructed the Thessalonians to pray concerning his ministry, and so I would request that you would pray for me.

The next request comes from the very next verse.  “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2)  Deliverance from those who are unsaved is an important request.  For every man that God raises up, Satan raises up a man or woman to oppose them.  Paul’s request was he might be delivered from such people.

The final request is perhaps the most important.  It is given almost verbatim in two books of the Bible.  To the Ephesians, Paul put it this way, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:18-20)  To the Colossians, the request was similarly worded: “Withal praying for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:3-4)  The ability to speak fluently and persuasively was highly valued in the Hellenistic Age in which Paul lived and ministered.  He therefore requested for the ability to speak well in the cause of the Gospel—that God would empower him to speak with not only skill, but also with boldness.  If the Apostle Paul needed skill and boldness to proclaim the Gospel, then who am I to not request prayer for the very same thing?

These are my four requests that I would ask you to pray for in my behalf.  But would you not take these requests and step farther pray for your pastor along these same lines?  Would you not take him to the throne of God and ask that God would do for him what I am asking that he do for me?

Thank you for your prayers and for listening to my prayer list.