Ministry News - 2010
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July 29, 2010
We got a call on the 27th alerting us that Cynthia's mom wasn't doing well. We left the camper, hopped in the truck and got Cynthia back to Alabama so she could be with her mom. It's a good thing we did as Cynthia's mom went on to be with the Lord yesterday. I drove back to Tennessee and will load up, hook up and head to Alabama this morning. We'll stay there long enough to take care of everything that needs to be taken care of.
I spoke last night at Gum Stand Baptist Church here in Pigeon Forge. It is such a blessing to be able to encourage other Christians and to be a witness to the lost through my testimony and our ministry. I had numerous people tell me afterwards what an impact hearing my testimony had on them and all I could say was "Praise God!". We are truly blessed.
Remember Cynthia and her family in your prayers. We'll be in prayer about that as well as where we will need to go next.
July 16, 2010
If you're ever in Pigeon Forge, TN you really should attend services at Gum Stand Baptist Church! We visited Wednesday night and it was such a blessing. Wonderful, wonderful singing and the pastor delivered a message that we all needed to hear. Everyone was super friendly and we will definitely be visiting them on Sunday for Sunday School and worship services.
When we ride our scooters around, we often get "looky-loos" who are fascinated by them. We always have to answer lots of questions every time we stop... and this gives us opportunities to share the Gospel with others. Since we ride quite a bit, we are going to have t-shirts made with a Bible verse on the back so people can see it as we ride around. Just one trip up and down the parkway has the potential to expose these Bible verses to several thousand people. Maybe just seeing the message will be enough to convict the hearts of the people.
We're going to need more gospel tracts soon and would love if someone could donate them to us. We do have storage limitations so we can't keep multiple boxes of them around but we can carry a box about 15" square. If you would like to provide us with some gospel tracts, please contact us! We can make arrangements with a local printer or perhaps order some online and have them shipped directly to our campground. Please be in prayer about this.
July 11, 2010
We attended Sunday School and worship services today at Liberty Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge. It was a very friendly church and the pastor preached straight from the Bible. It is wonderful to see churches today who will preach God's Word and not worry about offending someone. We have found that many churches in this area no longer provide Wednesday night services and this is very saddening. We are in prayer about it and ask that you be as well. Additionally, we aren't sure why God has us here so please lift us up in your daily prayers so that His will may be made known to us.
July 5, 2010
The Lord always puts at least one special person in our path at each campground we visit. We never know who that will be or when we will meet them. At Loft Mountain, it was Phil. Jerry spoke to him and his wife when they arrived in the site across from ours. Later that day Jerry and Phil had an in depth conversation and Jerry was able to share his testimony with Phil. For the next few days we waved and spoke with the couple as we each came and went from our camp site. Then one day Phil's wife came over to let us know that her husband had not stopped talking about Jerry's testimony since he had heard it. He wouldn't tell her what Jerry said, simply telling her that she needed to hear it from him. We invited them over later that evening and Jerry shared his full testimony with both of them. We're not sure of the total impact it will have on them but we are so glad that we could be a blessing to Phil and his wife and we give all the glory to God!
We struggled with where we would go after Loft Mountain, looking at Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. We just couldn't seem to find an affordable campground or if it was within our budget, it was in an unsafe area or so far out that we'd be the only ones there. We prayed about it and asked the Lord to show us where He needed us to be... apparently He needs us in Pigeon Forge, TN. We got a very good rate at Walden's Creek Campground, a rate we didn't think we'd find in the area so we'll stay here for at least a month (even though the sites are a little cramped, very close together). We don't care for all the touristy stuff in Pigeon Forge and even if we did, it just isn't in our budget. But the Lord has us here for a reason and we are anxious to find out who we are supposed to meet here. Please remember us in your prayers.
July 3, 2010
We had our Campfire Social last night and everyone had a really good time roasting marshmallows and sharing stories. We watched the sun set then we huddled closer to the fire as the temperature dropped into the 60s. Those that came thanked us for having the "get together", some said they envied us for what we are doing and passers by even said they really liked the ministry concept. Just the sight of us openly displaying our faith gives courage to other Christians and plants a seed within the lost. The Lord has truly blessed us and we are thankful to be able to serve Him every day.
We didn't use all the bags of marshmallows we bought so we'll take them and give them to families with small children here in the campground. It will be a good opportunity to speak with them, give them a gospel tract and share the Word of God with them.
June 30, 2010
The 4th of July weekend campers are starting to arrive already. Sites are filling up, children are running and playing, we hear conversations and laughter around the campfires. We bought quite a few bags of marshmallows and gathered a lot of firewood so we could hold a "Campfire Social" this Friday night. We'll invite everyone in the campground and offer the opportunity to fellowship, have a good time and to give us another chance to present a Christian witness. To our prayer partners, please pray for God's blessing on this event.
June 28, 2010
We attended the worship service that was held in the campground yesterday. It was led by seminary students who are part of a group that holds worship services in the National Parks. They did not do the usual site-by-site notification on Saturday night so attendance was sparse. I think about 10 people were in attendance. The young man who preached did a good job despite the fact he was not feeling very well at all. We spoke to him after the service and offered to lead the following Sunday's service if he still wasn't feeling well. He was very appreciative and asked for our site number so he could stop by and visit with us.
A young couple in their mid 20s tent camped in the site across from us yesterday. We overheard them discussing which flavor of Ramen Noodles they would have for dinner that night. Cynthia and I invited them to join us for dinner, a meal of chicken and rice, green beans, corn bread, salad and iced tea. They eagerly agreed. When we all sat down at the picnic table for our meal, I let them know that we ask the blessing before eating. They seemed a little surprised by this but didn't object. During and after the meal, we had a long conversation about many different subjects, each others lives up until now, etc. We explained that we were missionaries and that the Lord has blessed us tremendously and that we were happy to share what we have... not just our food but the Word of God. The next morning as they were packing up to leave, we walked over to tell them goodbye and gave them one of our gospel tracts. They thanked us over and over then got into their car and left. We certainly hope that we made a lasting impression on them.
June 26, 2010
We decided to go ahead and go to Loft Mountain Campground. We arrived here on June 24th and we'll stay here until at least July 8th. After setting up camp, we needed to go into town for supplies. On the way to town, we stopped and picked up 2 people who were hitchhiking. We told them our back seat was filled with camping gear but they were welcome to ride in the bed of the truck. They weren't very talkative but did thank us when we dropped them off at their desired destination. We gave them one of our gospel tracts that looks like a survivalist tip sheet on the outside. They readily took it and we noticed them reading it as we pulled away. Another seed planted, 2 more hearts for the Spirit to work on.
Today in the campground we met a group of youth from 19th Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC. We spoke with their pastor and a deacon who was with them. We talked about their youth group outing and also discussed our mission. Jerry was able to share his testimony with them and we gave them one of our cards. Who knows, our next destination may be Washington DC.
Tomorrow there will be a worship service here in the campground. We will attend that and since the campground services are generally very informal, perhaps we'll get a chance to speak to those in attendance. We enjoy walking around the campground and visiting with the other campers, making casual conversation and leading those conversations towards the Lord. We were told a few days ago that the Lord wants you to use whatever talent you have to serve Him. If all you can do is walk and talk, God can use you. If you can sing, God can use you. We enjoy camping and talking so we gladly let God use us to further His kingdom. We are so thankful that God is providing for us and allowing us to operate RV Outreach Ministries.
June 25, 2010
Every day the Lord puts someone in our path to witness to. It is not always an elaborate gathering, a church meeting room or a campground setting... it is often just a casual encounter. We sometimes get asked how many people we have led to the Lord, but we have no way of knowing that. Our task is to spread the Word of God, to inform people about the King of Kings, to show them that they need a Savior and explain the path of salvation. We are not here to "convince" anyone to become a Christian, the Holy Spirit is the one who will convict their hearts and then it is up to the individual to make that eternal decision.
We can't witness to someone then ask "Hey, can we take your picture so we can put it online?". We are always in the service of the Lord, always presenting a Christian image, even when we are just out and about. We can easily take pictures of the places we go and the things we see but not the actual interactions with the people we encounter. Remember us in your prayers as we continue our mission to spread the Holy Word of God throughout this wonderful nation of ours. If just one soul is saved from Hell, then it is worth the effort. All praise and glory goes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
June 23, 2010
We need to have 2 very large vinyl decals made for the front and rear of the camper so we can be a rolling billboard for Christ as we travel from campground to campground. The cost will be just under $500 but we do not have that much extra in our budget. Please visit this page to see the ways you can help. God can take a little and do a lot! Thank you!
God is good! As you may know, the Alabama Baptist did an article about our ministry this month. This in itself is a tremendous amount of exposure. Now that same story is being seen across the nation. We have seen the story on AL.com, WoodallsCM.com and others. It is great that the Word of God is being mentioned on so many non-Christian sites! We are hoping that this added exposure will allow many, many people to hear about Jesus.
We met another missionary team today at the campground we are staying at, Nick and Lucy of Breath of Christ Ministries. They also travel in an RV spreading the Word. We heard them speak tonight at a church near the campground and it was very, very good. They are a tremendous blessing and they truly have a heart for Jesus so please remember them in your prayers. Here is a picture of their RV, a '94 Winnebago Brave!
Tomorrow we head out to Peaks of Otter Campground in Virginia. We're not sure how long we'll be there, most likely through the weekend. After that it is on to Loft Mountain where we'll probably stay put for a while. Pray for us as we travel.
June 21, 2010
We attended a fellowship at the Baptist Church in Blowing Rock, NC last Wednesday night. It was a celebration of birthdays, no matter what month yours was in. We had a really good Baptist meal followed by a cake auction, the proceeds went for their youth mission trip. They auctioned off approximately 25 cakes and brought in just over $800. We had a great time visiting and chatting with everyone about our mission.
We enjoyed our 12 night stay at Julian Price Campground and we feel that we made an impact on quite a few campers there. Up to the day we pulled out, we had people stopping by our camp site and thanking us for what we had done for them and what we will be doing for others. We're now in Mt. Airy, NC at the Mayberry Campground. We'll be here for just 3 nights as the rate increases for us after the 3rd night. From here we'll head to Roanoke Mountain Campground in Virginia where we'll spend 4 nights. We hope to be able to find a Wi-Fi hotspot in Roanoke Mountain Campground so we can update the site again before we arrive at Loft Mountain. We don't think there is Wi-Fi anywhere near there and we'll be there for a minimum of 8 nights, perhaps longer. We feel that we're not supposed to go into Pennsylvania as we had originally planned so we'll go where we feel the Lord is leading us. Please keep us in your prayers!
June 14, 2010
We had a fun weekend! We passed out numerous scavenger hunt cards and camping activity sheets to the children in the park. The kids were very excited to participate in the scavenger hunt and we saw many parents helping them look for the items on the list. There was a group of Boy Scouts here this weekend and the leaders were glad that we offered the activities to give the kids something more to do while on their adventure. Most of the weekend campers left yesterday afternoon or evening to head back to their everyday life. We are glad we had the opportunity to meet them and to let them know that the Lord loves them and that they can have a personal relationship with Him.
We attended Sunday School and worship services yesterday at First Baptist Church in Blowing Rock, NC. Everyone was very friendly and we really enjoyed our visit with them. The pastor preached a powerful message on fishing for men and it really hit home with us. We always pray about doing more to lead others to Christ and ask that the Lord show us what we can do. We told the pastor about our ministry and he invited us to call him during the week. We plan to go back Wednesday night and hopefully we'll be able to share our testimony.
June 10, 2010
We are set up at Julian Price Campground and it is very nice. We've already had the opportunity to share Jerry's testimony with other campers and we have spoken to quite a few. We get asked about our magnetic sign on the truck that says "RV Outreach" and we have a tag on front of the truck that says "Jesus is Lord". It is a great way to get a Christian fellowship started and it builds up other Christians when they talk to other Christians. We are anxiously looking forward to the weekend when the campground will fill up with families! We love what we are doing for the Lord. Here is a shot of us just before we arrived at the campground. This is our home, a wonderful Christian home on wheels. We are truly blessed!
June 9, 2010
We departed Wilson's RV Park this morning and are headed to Julian Price campground near Blowing Rock, NC. We will spend 12 nights there. This is a primitive campground with no water, electric or sewer hookups... and of course, no Wi-Fi. So unless we are able to get into Blowing Rock and find a free Wi-Fi hot spot, you probably won't hear from us again until the 21st. On or about the 21st we will move to a campground that has hookups and Wi-Fi so we can update the site, do laundry, fuel up, etc. By staying in this spot for a while we save a significant amount on fuel costs as well as campground fees.
June 6, 2010
Today we attended Sunday School and worship services at Cherokee Baptist Church in Cherokee, NC. They had a guest preacher and he preached a powerful message. Just before the preaching started they sang Amazing Grace in English then sang it in the Cherokee language. It was beautiful! We shared about our ministry with the Sunday School class and also with the guest preacher. We gave him a card and asked that he pray for us.
We have a change of plans. The road is closed on the north side of Mt. Pisgah campground and this cuts off all access to everyone from Asheville. If we went to that campground from the south, we would have to travel a good distance out of our way to get around the road closure. With the cost of fuel and the steep mountain roads the detour suggests, we decided against staying there. We will bypass that section and head into Asheville via a different route. We will spend a night or two at Wilson's Riverfront RV Park then continue on. We can't stay here long as the cost beyond 2 nights will exceed our budget. Maybe the Lord has a reason for this change of campgrounds but we felt this is where we needed to stop.
June 5, 2010
We departed from Dahlonega, GA and moved on to Cherokee, NC. Along the way we stopped to visit the World's Largest Ten Commandments near Murphy, NC. It was very nice! We met a group from a Pentecostal church and Jerry was asked to give his testimony to them right there! After hearing it, three men each donated $20 towards our ministry. They said the Holy Spirit told them to donate. They also asked if we would come speak at their church but they had to go through a committee first.
We are camped in Smokemont campground until Monday, June 7th. There is no electricity and we have to go get our water in 5 gallon jugs. We also have to go empty our holding tanks when they get full. But God has us here for a reason so we are happy to do it. We have talked with quite a few people at the campground and are glad to be a witness for Christ everywhere we go.
Fuel has turned out to be a bigger expense than expected so we'll have to cut back on something else in our budget to allow for that. The cost of fuel and campground fees are our biggest expenses but we know that God will provide!
Yesterday while scooter riding, Jerry's guardian angel was with him. A small rock flew up and struck him in the leg and just as he looked down to see what hit him, another rock struck his helmet! Had he been looking up it would have hit him in the face. Praise God for small miracles and all His blessings!! Remember us in your prayers and prayerfully consider supporting our ministry.
June 3, 2010
We attended Siloam Baptist Church last night here in Dahlonega, GA. There were about 20 people in attendance and the study was in the book of Romans, Chapter 2. It was a lesson on hypocrisy, a great lesson to help us live as Jesus would have us to live. Take a moment and read this short chapter and see what the Word of God has to say about how we live.
Today we are headed to Smokemont Campground in Cherokee, NC. Since we'll be there over the weekend, we're expecting a decent crowd. Along the way we will stop in Murphy, NC and visit the World's Largest Ten Commandments! We're excited to see that and we will post pictures once we have internet again.
June 1, 2010
We're here in Etowah River Campground in Dahlonega, GA. We rode the scooters into town looking for a church to attend Wednesday night. Several churches we found do not have Wednesday night services and the largest church here doesn't even have Sunday night services! How sad that people miss opportunities to be in the house of God. It is so important to win souls for Jesus and to energize Christians so that others may come to know Jesus. Please pray for us as we do just that.
We would like to thank those who are supporting our ministry. Your generosity will allow us to visit even more areas and spread the Word of God. You may not think that $10 a month is much, but God can take a little and do a lot with it.
We will be in this area for 2 more nights then we will move on to Cherokee, NC. Please remember us in your daily prayers!
May 31, 2010
Today we are on our way towards Dahlonega, Georgia. That's pronounced "duh-LON-uh-guh". We've been saying it wrong for weeks now. We'll spend 3 nights here and hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can get out and about. Please remember us in your prayers.
May 13, 2010
We'll be in Jemison, Alabama until May 30th then we'll head towards Dahlonega, Georgia. Since it will be peak camping season when we head out, we felt it might be a good idea to make reservations at a few places that are popular on the weekends. Our first destination will be Etowah River Campground in Dahlonega, Georgia. This is a full hookup site. We'll spend 2 nights there then head on to Cherokee, North Carolina. We will spend 4 nights here at the Smokemont Campground which will be boondocking. They do have a water supply and dump station and with our solar we can generate our own electricity. We'll move from Smokemont to Mount Pisgah Campground where we will remain for 7 nights. This is also dry camping. We'll continue along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive for the next 17 days spending the night wherever we happen to be. On July 1st we'll roll into Loft Mountain Campground and there we'll spend the 4th of July holiday. We'll depart there on July 8th. After that, we'll just wander north up Skyline Drive en-route to Amish country in Pennsylvania.
We're have no idea where we will be able to find Wi-Fi hotspots so we may not get to update the site until we get to some sort of civilization. For this reason, the "Where are we now?" page may be a little behind. We'll get the site updated as soon as we can. We are so excited!
April 25, 2010
Cynthia is attending a Beth Moore Women's Conference this weekend in Woodstock, GA. Today is our day to teach Children's Church so it will be just me since Cynthia won't be home until this afternoon. I will have 2 youth members assisting me today so I won't be all by myself. The lesson today will be on Zacchaeus from the Book of Luke, Chapter 19. The children today will learn the story as well as the kid's song about Zacchaeus.
April 12, 2010
Well, the F150 is gone. Delivered it this morning to the new owner at his bank. Tomorrow morning we will pick up a "new to us" 2003 Chevrolet 1500HD Crew Cab pickup truck. The 1500HD is essentially the same as the 2500 series truck with a few minor differences. We are very excited about the tremendous amount of towing capacity the 1500HD has as well as more cargo capacity. And yet another nice thing is... our scooters fit in the bed of the Chevy with the tailgate closed! We had to remove the tailgate on the F150 when we hauled the scooters.
We need to add running boards to the new truck so Jerry can get in and out of it easier. Without them, it's an effort for him to get into the truck. The kind we need are $400.00 and that's more than we have to spend right now on that, so it'll have to wait.
April 10, 2010
We had been concerned about the ability of our F150 to pull our camper efficiently in the mountains so we prayed about it and put it up for sale. A gentleman came and looked at it and said he'd take it. We are to meet him Monday at 10:00am at his bank to complete the transaction. We are now in need of a "new to us" tow vehicle. We are looking to buy either a used 99-03 Ford F250 or F350 that has a 7.3L diesel engine OR a used 01-06 Chevy/GMC 2500HD truck with the 6.0L gas engine, OR a 99-06 Dodge with a 5.9L diesel engine. We prefer single rear wheels.
April 8, 2010
Cynthia and I visited Center Hill Baptist Church in Jemison, Alabama last night. We spoke to the Brotherhood and WOM groups and it was a blessing for all. Thank you Center Hill Baptist for inviting us to visit! Also, this church is in need of a pastor so please remember them in your prayers.
April 4, 2010
Cynthia and I have never attended a sunrise service before so we decided we would find one and go this year. Not many churches hold them anymore so it was a challenge to find one, but we did. We attended the sunrise service at Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Clanton, Alabama. There was quite a crowd there despite the early hour. It was a simple, casual service where we gathered beneath the crosses in the church cemetery, sang a few songs, heard the pastor say a few words and then a prayer. It is such a great feeling to know that we serve a risen saviour!
March 18, 2010
We have been invited to speak at Center Hill Baptist Church in Jemison, Alabama on Wednesday, April 7th at 7pm. If you are in the area, we invite you to attend. We are so thankful that God gives us the opportunities to speak to others about how He has blessed us and to share with others about our ministry. We will depart from this area on May 31st, 2010 and head to the Appalachian region of the Eastern United States, so if you would like us to speak at your church, please contact us soon.
March 7, 2010
Jerry was asked to teach our Sunday School class today as our regular teacher was out. The lesson was on unity in the church and how to stay focused on Jesus and not cause strife over little things. We should never let pride or our personal opinions interfere with the Lord's work. That's a hard pill to swallow for many people but unity in the church is very important. Don't let little things become big problems in your church!
Today was also our turn to teach Children's Church. We love being able to do that! We prepared a lesson about missionaries and how anyone can be a missionary. We told the children about the Great Commission and how easy it can be to tell your friends about Jesus. We gave an example of kids playing on a playground and one child asks another if they know who Jesus is. The child explained to the others that Jesus died for them and was raised again 3 days later, that Jesus loves them and will save them if they trust Him as their saviour.
Another example we gave was about how bees find flowers. We told them that one bee finds a flower (representing the good news about Jesus), he then returns to the hive to tell others the good news and where it can be found! Each story had a coloring sheet to go with it and we even brought in some fresh cut flowers (but no bee, lol). The children loved it and were anxious to try out what they had learned this Sunday morning. Praise God for his blessings and for allowing us to do His work.
March 4, 2010
We were invited to speak at Union Grove Baptist Church in Jemison, Alabama last night and it was awesome. It is such a great feeling to be a blessing to others while bringing glory to God! Jerry gave his testimony and told the WOM and Brotherhood groups about our ministry. The pastor there told us he would like us to return and speak again during a Sunday morning service when more people would be in attendance. We are so excited to be doing God's work!
We are so thankful for the donations and support we received and it takes us a little closer to our goal of 70 supporters who give $10 per month. This goal will allow us to travel more frequently and to be able to stay in more campgrounds where we can spread the Word.
January 31, 2010
Today, during the morning service, Jerry gave his testimony and formally explained the ministry to the church. It was such a blessing and the response was overwhelming. We are so glad that our testimony and our ministry brings glory to God. We made a video but the the audio turned out very low. We'll try to get that rectified and put it online.
January 25, 2010
Cynthia is director of the WMU (Women's Missionary Union) for our church and during their last meeting, they brought up the subject of presenting the ministry to the congregation. I spoke to our pastor and he said we could do it the following Sunday, which will be the 31st. So on Sunday, January 31st we will officially present our testimony and the ministry to our church during the 11:00 AM worship service. If you happen to be in the neighborhood and would like to attend, you are certainly invited. The address of the church is shown on the home page of this site.
January 18, 2010
We visited Rock Springs Baptist Church in Calera, Alabama last night. Although we did not get to give our testimony, we did speak to the pastor about returning at a later date to do so. The pastor was a young man and seemed sort of quiet and reserved before the service. However, once he started preaching, wow! It was like Clark Kent turning into Superman. We enjoyed the service and hope that we will be invited back to share our testimony with the congregation there.
January 11, 2010
God is great! For some reason I kept getting the feeling we needed to visit Oak Grove Baptist church. Oak Grove Baptist is very close to our house and I had visited there a few years ago when looking for a home church. Anyway, after church at Providence Baptist (where we are members) let out on Sunday morning, we drove over to Oak Grove to see what time the evening service began... 6 PM.
We arrived about 5:45 PM and the pastor was out due to an illness and Don (the music director, I think) led the service. We sang some great hymns and then instead of preaching, he told a story about a handicapped man and what he was doing for the Lord. After he told the story, I asked if I could share my testimony. I was able to share what God has done and is doing in my life despite the hardships I have been through. Based on the reaction of the congregation, it was a blessing to them.
We were able to show how God has made good from the bad in our life and that all things are possible through Him. We were also able to tell about our ministry and what our goals are. We received a lot of hugs and handshakes and were very glad that we went that night. As I told the congregation that night, I may be the one they see giving testimony but it is God who gets the glory!
January 1, 2010
Happy New Year everyone! We had a very blessed 2009 and we are looking forward to a wonderful 2010. God has done so much for us and this ministry and we are honored to be able to do His work and help spread the Gospel. Keep us in your prayers as we continue this ministry into 2010 and beyond.
We had a great praise and worship service last night at our home church. We sang many of the all-time favorite hymns and gave thanks for all the blessings we received in 2009. We then gathered around the altar and Bro. Allen prayed for a prosperous new year, growth for the church and that lost souls be saved for the glory of God!
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