Ministry News Archive - 2009
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
It is Christmas Eve! We hope that everyone has all that they need and some of what they want. May God bless you and yours and may you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Well, 2010 is almost upon us and we are very excited. We are that much closer to launching the ministry full-time! On one hand, it is a little sad as we will leave our church, our friends and our family. But on the other hand, we think about what we will be able to do for the Lord! We hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Not much camping goes on in the winter until we go full-time, so entries from now until the spring will be primarily about our church activities. Cynthia is singing in the Christmas Cantata and she has been practicing a lot. The Cantata will be Sunday, December 16th at our home church during the evening service.
 We pulled the bench seats out of the camper as they were very uncomfortable and we replaced them with cushy office chairs. Now we can sit in the camper for extended periods and be very comfortable. This comes in handy during rainy, cold weather. :) I added more shelving to the camper so we can have a little more storage space. There's not much to start with so we have to make use of every inch we can. The bibles take up a lot of space but we are so happy to be able to have them.
The camper mods are mostly done and the camper is as we need it for when we leave home next July. If you'd like to see all the easy RV mods we have done (and some not so easy), click here. December will be that last month that we spend anything on it. Starting January 1st, we will save every penny possible so we can have an emergency fund. We don't want to be stranded should we have a truck or camper problem.
Please keep us in your prayers. We get more and more excited as the day we leave draws closer and closer. Keep Robby in your prayers as well as he prepares to graduate from high school and begin his college life at the University of Alabama.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Today we received 300 bibles for us to distribute through our ministry! We give praise to God for providing for us as we endeavor to reach more and more people for His sake. We are thankful that we are able to continue this ministry and we look forward to reaching as many people as we can while we are able.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
It's time for Revival at Providence Baptist Church! Starting Sunday, November the 8th and continuing through Wednesday the 11th, come hear the word of God preached by Pastor Sid Sample. Weeknight services start at 7 PM... we hope to see you there!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
In an outreach effort, we invited members and prospective members of our church and Sunday School class to a cookout at Brierfield State Park. We figured a setting away from church would be less intimidating and allow us the opportunity to be a witness and a source of fellowship.
Including Cynthia and I, we had 12 people in attendance and everyone had a really good time. Of course, the sports fans were glued to the Alabama-LSU game while it was on and they had to be quieted down numerous times. Our pastor, Brother Allen was there and he was the biggest fan... and he sure can whistle! We enjoyed a meal of grilled hamburgers and chips followed by roasted marshmallows around a campfire. Everyone had a good time, enjoyed a tasty burger and some great Christian fellowship.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
 Today was the Fall Festival at our home church, Providence Baptist #1 in Montevallo. Cynthia was in charge of the bouncies which consisted of a giant bouncing room and also a giant "sticky wall". On the Sticky-Wall, you put on a velcro suit and jump onto a velcro wall... and stick. It was great fun for kids of all ages.
There were about 2 dozen activities for the kids to participate in and win prizes. We also served hot dogs with chips and a drink and offered chili and boiled peanuts to everyone. There was a pie bake-off and a chili cook-off. Cynthia entered the chili cook-off and wouldn't you know it, she won first place! There was not a drop of her chili left at the end of the day. Overall, it was a lot of fun and we gave a lot of new people the opportunity to visit our church and see what a great church family we are. Hopefully, this will allow us to bring in new members and win souls for Christ! God is great and we give Him all the glory.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We visited Thomas Mill Baptist Church today and I was able to give my testimony and tell about our ministry. We received a lot of very positive feedback from those who were at the service. It is such a blessing to us when we can be a blessing to others and give God the glory! If you would like us to visit your church, feel free to contact us.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Since we live on a fairly small budget, we decided to sit down and plan out 2 weeks worth of meals along with a grocery list. We didn't want to be eating the same things all the time so we made sure not to have any duplicate meals. The exceptions are breakfast and lunch and they tend to always be along the same lines with slight variations. You can view the menu and the other information by clicking here.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Cynthia and I completed the solar installation today, the last step was mounting the panels on the roof and running the wires to the charge controller. Everything went well and we are now able to generate our own electricity! You can read all about the installation process by clicking here. We're anxious to go on our next camping trip so we can really test the solar system. Pray for clear weather the weekend of the 23-25th.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October is here, the fall weather is a welcome sight and the solar installation on the camper is nearly complete. We're trying to decide where to go for a "Fall Colors" camping trip; we'd like somehwere that's reasonably close so there isn't so much travel time. We're leaning towards Cheaha State Park but that''s subject to change. We're planning to take the trip the 23rd, 24th and 25th of this month so we have until then to decide on the destination. Hopefully, there will be lots of other campers so we can hold a scavenger hunt and other activities for them.
September 30, 2009
We received word from the University of Alabama that Robby has been awarded a Presidential Scholarship! This is worth the value of 4 years tuition! Even if tuition goes up, the scholarship will adjust so that it pays for his tuition 100%! What a blessing! We are so proud of Robby and we thank the Lord for all he does for our family.
Wednesday, September 20, 2009
We've been busy getting the camper ready for full-timing, getting solar panels installed; making sure it is ready for winter, etc. It's a lot to do and since it has rained so much this month, it seems to be taking forever. That's OK, we're excited about every little thing we do that prepares us for our mission.
An update on our son, Robby. He has decided to attend the University of Alabama instead of Auburn to study chemical engineering. Two things influenced his decision, Alabama sent him acceptance letters almost immediately and we have yet to hear from Auburn. The other is the proximity of Tuscaloosa to family. Either school is a good choice, but the prompt acceptance by the University of Alabama and the U of A School of Engineering made a huge difference. Now begins all the filing of paperwork for grants, scholarships, etc.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
 We went out yesterday for a full day of Geocaching and Waymarking. Most of the caches we found were "log book only" and had no room for a card or tract, but we did find one that we were able to leave a card in. I wonder how many people from now on will take a moment to read it? We may never know, we just do what the Lord wants us to do and we let him gauge the results.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
We've decided to get into geocaching, hunting for hidden treasure boxes using a GPS. It is a fun thing we can do while we are traveling and we can leave a bible tract in every box we find! Visit Geocaching.com for more information on geocaching.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Cynthia and I will be at Thomas Mill Baptist Church near Six Mile, Alabama on October 18, 2009 during the Sunday morning service. We will give our testimony and tell the congregation about our ministry. If you are in the area, please stop by and visit with us... or if you'd like for us to speak at your church, contact us today to schedule it.
 Saturday, August 15, 2009
Cynthia and I went tubing down the Cahaba river today and it was a blast! We paid just $10 each to rent 2 tubes and be driven up to a drop off point north of Centreville, Alabama. We floated downstream experiencing calm open ares of water, fast running rapids, enormous boulders and amazing wildlife. The ride ended at the city park between the 2 bridges that cross the river.
The trip to the drop off point took about 8 minutes. The ride down the river to where the truck was took just over 2 hours. We brought along a bottle of water and a disposable waterproof camera, we ended up taking quite a few pictures. It was really a great time and would have been more fun if the water level was a little higher. Every now and then we'd hit our butts on underwater rocks - LOL.
We saw lots of fish jumping, large birds along the shores catching fish, beautiful flowers and trees, birds flying overhead, the mud nests of swallows under the overpasses... scenery you might not otherwise see unless you were on the river.
The tube rental place is located in Centreville about a mile north of the beginning of US 82 on the right. They have a big sign visible from the highway but you have to be looking for it or you'll miss it. It's called Adventure Shoals and you can call them at 205-316-1116.
You can view the pictures we took on this trip by clicking here.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Whew, we're back from our 3 day trip to Wind Creek State Park! We had a great time, even got a visit from the grand daughters and their mom and dad. They came up for the day on Saturday and we all took the kids swimming. Jerry swam with the girls while everyone else enjoyed the shade.
Elvis visited the park Saturday night and put on a free show. This guy was actually pretty good and we enjoyed the show. He said he'll be back to the park over the Labor Day weekend, so if you're there you'll get to see him.
We rode our scooters all over the park and a few areas outside the park. We always get asked a million questions about the scooters since most people have never seen a Honda Ruckus before. It gives us an opportunity to talk to people and to make new friends. We also save a ton on gas as we can ride them all over and get 112 MPG rather than taking the truck which gets 12 MPG. You can read about our scooter adventures by clicking here.
We got to play bingo while we were there and Cynthia won a $5 gift certificate to the marina store. Cynthia spent it on Fireballs, Chewy Sweet-Tarts and a campfire starter. We also attended a "fellowship" service Sunday morning. It was really church but to avoid potential legal issues, they call it "fellowship".
We removed the giant decal from the front of our camper as it was starting to peel. We'd like a company with a good reputation to put their logo on there and give us a little compensation each month to advertise for them as we travel around. That'd be a great way for them to reach a very large, targeted audience.
We placed gospel tracts in the bath houses, at the pay phones and also on some bulletin boards. We never know what becomes of them and likely never will, but it is just one way we can spread the Word. We know it will do good because the Bible says in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."
We talked with several campers from other parts of the United States and they said they like to come to Alabama as we have the best parks. That's good news for Alabama and good news for us since we are Alabama residents. We're already thinking about where we want to go next, now to find that next great campground... Pictures can be seen here.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
We've made plans to visit Wind Creek State Park near Alexander City, Alabama. We'll arrive Friday August 7th and stay through Sunday August 9th. We're not sure what site we'll have as they don't take reservations. If you happen to be in the area, be sure to look for our Palomino Gazelle G210 or our scooters!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
MSNBC.com asked viewers to submit pictures of thier RVs along with a brief statement about it. We submitted ours and it made the final cut on the story they did. The story can be found here and the link to the slide show is here. Our camper is on page 2 on the bottom row.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Had a little change of plans so no camping this weekend. We'll certainly head out the first available weekend that doesn't have rain in the forecast. We'll likely take a day trip on the 25th to a local attraction or possibly just scout out some campgrounds for future reference.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Alrighty... it looks like our next trip will be the 24th, 25th and 26th of this month. Tentatively, we are looking at Desoto Caverns Park in Childersburg. There's another park not far from there in Alpine, we may look into that one as well.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
 Happy 4th of July everyone! Be sure to take a moment to thank a past or present member of the US Armed Forces for making this holiday possible. Our prayers go out to those serving to protect the rights and freedoms of others. And remember, only 2 people ever willingly died for you. Jesus died for your soul, a soldier died for your freedom.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Whew! We're back from Pensacola safe and sound. We had a great time but we sure are tired, the sun really wore us out. The campground was nice, the sites were spaced a good bit apart so no way to really talk to your neighbors. It was so hot that not many people were walking around before sunset. Most visitors there seemed to stay 1 or 2 nights, with a handful that stayed as long (or longer) than we did. Lots of tent campers, I sure felt sorry for them in the heat.
We took a good number of pictures; they'll be posted in the photo section as soon as I can resize them. It's been ages since I have been to the beach and it was fun, but now I won't need to go again for about 5 years. We really, really enjoyed the scooter rides we took along the various National Seashores. We rode from Navarre Beach all the way to Fort Pickens... it was beautiful. Makes me wonder how people can see the wonder of nature, the ocean, the wildlife, the sunrise and sunsets... and still say there is no God. Anyway, those are the people we are trying to reach via our ministry!
Now we'll start planning our next trip, we'll post that info once it is finalized. It will be somewhere a little closer so we can do a "Friday through Sunday" trip and travel time won't be so long. Keep us in your prayers!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
We're headed to Big Lagoon State Park today! The camper and truck have been washed, the scooters are loaded in the truck and we're excited. Check in time is 3PM so we'll try to arrive around then (some campgrounds charge you half a day if you arrive too early). I've updated the "Where are we now" and "Where will we be next" pages so you can keep up with us! Special thanks to those who have told us you are praying for us on this trip.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Today is the day we can see June 25th on the 10 day weather forecast - LOL. Looks like rain, but we know it's hard to predict that far in advance. We're going no matter what, so if you're in the area... look us up. The new propane tank cover arrived last night at 8:15 PM via FedEx and I installed it this morning. Now the front of the camper is finished and it looks good! Check the mod page for a picture.
We changed cell phone carriers yesterday from Nextel to Verizon. Nextel was a good service but had limited coverage, so we decided to go with Verizon. We selected the new enV Touch phone so we can now use voice, text, web, email and navigation from the phone. With Nextel we only had voice and walkie-talkie so this is a big improvement for us. I have never sent a text message in my life so give me a while to figure out how to do it.
We set up an account on Twitter this week as well. We can post messages to it from the new cell phone but information there is very limited. I think you only get 74 characters per message, but it gives us more exposure so we decided to sign up. Our account name there is RVoutreach if you wish to follow us. We also added a video to this page, it is very powerful. Be sure to watch it if you have a minute, it's a short video.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
 Vacation Bible School is this week at our church. Cynthia is not in this picture but here's a shot of Jerry teaching one of the youth classes, he's telling them about the ABC's of salvation. They are: Admit you are a sinner, Believe that Jesus died for our sins and Confess Him as your Lord and Saviour. The theme for VBS this year is the Australian Outback, hence the decorations (although they are hard to see in this small picture). We're having a great time and so are all the kids in the various classes.
Monday, June 1, 2009
We are back from our trip to Tannehill State Park and we had a great time! We held several activities for the kids at the park including the popular scavenger hunt. We gave out prizes to all the kids that participated and also provided them with gospel tracts to give to their parents. We were also able to share our testimony with a few people and by their own admission, they received a blessing and all the glory is given to God. We took pictures while we were there and you can view them by clicking here. We are now looking forward to our next trip on June 25th which will be to Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, Florida.
 We are in need of bibles! We'd like to have either the original King James Version or the English Standard Version to hand out. The cheapest we found are at this site. These New Testament bibles are only .50¢ each and are sold in cases of 100. To get this price, you must purchase a minimum of 3 cases. If you are in a position to purchase 3 cases of these bibles and have them shipped to us for just $150.00 (shipping is FREE, tax is $6), it would be a tremendous blessing for both you and our ministry. Prayerfully consider this if you would and always keep us in your prayers.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
We will be at Tannehill State Park May 29, 30 and 31. If you are in the area and would like to stop by for a visit, just look for our truck and camper. We have yet to see another Gazelle camper like ours so we should be easy to find. If we are not at the camp site, we're probably out riding our scooters.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
We bought a new queen size 8" memory foam mattress last night from Wal-mart for $269.00 plus tax. We researched the different ones that online retailers carried and we also visited quite a few local mattress stores. Local stores wanted upwards of $1500 for a similar mattress and the only difference we could determine was the outer cover for the foam itself. The very expensive Tempur-Pedic mattress was soft to touch with your hand but felt no different when you laid down on it.
We took the new mattress out of the box and let it expand. It opened to it's full 8" thickness and 60x80 dimensions in about 15 minutes. The box said it could take up to 48 hours. It does have that "new memory foam" odor so we are letting it air out according to the included instructions. We slept on it last night and oh my goodness, what an amazing difference over a quality inner spring mattress! We bought this for the camper but will leave it inside until we go full-time next year. Here's a link to the mattress at Wal-mart if you're intersted. Amazon also carries quite a few memory foam products, you can search them by clicking here.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Cynthia is back to normal after her surgery... and back to work. She did very well and we want to thank everyone for their prayers. Now we'll be able to go camping again - and scooter riding now that spring is in full swing!
As you can see, I have been working on the web site a little. I've added more information about our camper, tow vehicle, etc. I'll be adding even more as the days go by. You'll also notice the Google ads and links to RV related items at Amazon. For every click or purchase you make, we get a little bit in return from them. Hopefully this can be enough to cover the hosting costs of this site at least. We do all the design, graphics and coding ourselves so that saves us a ton right there.
What would be nice is a sponsor - LOL. Imagine their logo on our camper every where we go... talk about direct advertising. Oh well, wishful thinking, I guess. Anyway, the sun is out and those sticks in the yard aren't going to pick themselves up...
 Friday, May 1, 2009
We decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, Florida... however, when we got to the park it was full! So we trekked on over to Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Good thing we had an RV Park directory on hand! Although Gulf State Park was clean, it was very boring. There were a lot of campers but everyone seemed to stick to their site, only waving if we waved first. We know now to make reservations if we want to go to Big Lagoon. We only took a handful of pictures as this turned out to be a short trip, but here is one of our campsite. A few more pictures can be seen here.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Cynthia is recovering from her surgery very nicely. Today is her first day back to work but she will only be working half days for 2 more weeks. I made it to the Memphis Spinal Cord Injury Clinic just fine but did get a bit of bad news... it seems my spinal cord is starting to fray apart at the point of my initial injury. It's already been handed over to the Lord so I will not worry about it.
My son enjoyed his visit to Auburn University and likes the school overall. He is still anxious to visit the University of Alabama campus so he will be able to compare the 2 schools and decide which he wants to attend. He has 3 more weeks left in his junior year of high school. Just 13 more months and he will be a high school graduate and ready to start college, then we'll leave our home to live in the camper and pursue the ministry full time.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The house is starting to look emptier now as the sale of our personal belongings progresses. Our son has one more year of high school left before we go full-time. He is looking forward to college and we are going to "War Eagle Day" on April 20th to familiarize him with Auburn University. He is a University of Alabama fan but Auburn has a great chemical engineering program that he wants to take so he is willing to sacrifice and attend Auburn. According to the documentation from Auburn, he should get a full tuition scholarship based on his 4.0 GPA and 31 ACT score.
 With the proceeds from our yard sale, we ordered a few more items we needed for the camper. A 42 gallon portable holding tank (for those times when sewer hookups are not available), an automatic changeover propane regulator with a remote indicator, Maxxair II and Maxxair 800 vent covers so we can have the vents open even in inclement weather, screens to keep bugs out of the heater and refrigerator exhaust panels and a large, folding grab handle that will make it easier for me to get in and out of the camper. The last 2 major items we need are a surge protector and to replace the RV mattress with a queen size memory foam model.
I also installed a new 110v outlet that bypasses the RV electrical system, plugging directly into the campground power supply. This will allow us to run a 1500 watt electric heater in cooler weather thus saving on propane costs.
Cynthia goes in for surgery on April 13th and will be out of commission for 2-4 weeks to recover. I have to go to the VA Spinal Cord Clinic in Memphis, TN for 3 days beginning on April 21st. It's the annual checkup they like to do on patients with spinal cord injuries. We both should be fine but please keep us in your prayers.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
We had our big yard sale today, selling most of our excess personal belongings as well as items donated to us for the sale. It was a long, tiring day but we did well and want to thank everyone who assisted with the event or donated to the ministry. May God richly bless you!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
We're having a yard sale on Saturday, April 4th at our church (the address is on the home page) from 8am-3pm. We're selling the items we won't need anymore plus things that others have donated to us for the sale. So if you need some good stuff and would like to help a good cause, come by and take a look.
 Saturday, March 21, 2009
We just returned from a 7 day stay at Tannehill State Park near McCalla, Alabama. The combination of it being Spring Break and the weekend for Trade Days, the park was full! There were so many families, all out having a wonderful time enjoying the park itself as well as the camaraderie that campers share.
With so many children at the park, we decided to host a scavenger hunt. We passed out game cards to all the kids and gave the parents gospel tracts. The kids really enjoyed hunting for the 40 different items listed on the game cards and the parents thanked us over and over for sponsoring the event. We also gave out lots of coloring sheets, word search and puzzle sheets.
Several of the parents asked if we did this at every campground we visited. We do because it gives us a great opportunity to give the children fun, safe activities to do as well as the opportunity to share the Word of God with the families. Unfortunately, we still don't have any bibles to hand out and due to the cost we are not able to purchase them on our own.
Cynthia is scheduled for surgery in April. Expected recovery time is about 4 weeks so please keep her in your prayers.
We took a few pictures while we were at Tannehill State Park, you can view them by clicking here.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
This is our first outing in the travel trailer. We were sure we would forget something so we stayed close to home, visiting Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama. It was perfect weather, highs in the upper 70s and a beautiful clear blue sky. The campground was packed! There were a few people in the Class A motor homes, dozens of travel trailers and 5th wheels and even more people camping in tents.
We made a list of the things we forgot to bring, the most important being the remote for the TV (ha ha). We had our 4 year old grand daughter Gracie with us to make it an even more special camping trip. She absolutely loved it. There were kids of all ages everywhere, playing, laughing and having a great time. We took our metal detector to look for lost treasures and instantly we had a crowd of kids around us helping dig up whatever might be there. A few coins, fishing lures, fishing weights and trash… but even when we dug up a pull tab from a soda can, the kids were so excited.
We saw a family with 3 small kids who lived in a tiny 2 person tent. They had a very old 2 door car with a sign on it that said they were looking for a home and anything anyone could do would be appreciated. Of course, Cynthia and I thought about how blessed we are even though according to society's standards we are poor. We only brought enough supplies for one night and had nothing to offer them except the graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate bars we had to make smores. You should have seen the faces of those kids when they saw what we brought for them. The young mom and dad were very appreciative.
Our budget is pretty tight right now so we didn't have the things we needed to hand out to the kids or their parents but we did our best to be a Christian example and to let others know how God should be the most important thing in your life. Hopefully we'll soon be able to have everything we need when we go to the RV parks and campgrounds.
We had a great time and met a lot of friendly people. We're anxious to be able to do more for the people we meet, to assure them of God's love and to guide them in the right direction regarding His plan of salvation. We'll be heading to Tannehill State Park on March 17th and we intend to stay for 5 nights through the Trade Days event.
We took a handful of pictures while we were at Oak Mountain State Park, you can view them by clicking here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Yet another testimony as to how the Lord will provide. We managed to get a 2008 model travel trailer that has a MSRP of over $21,000.00 for $10,168.00! The travel trailer is exactly what we need! It is in mint condition with a ton of extras that the owner had purchased saving us yet even more. We brought the trailer home last night and it now sits snugly in our driveway.
We'll spend the next several weeks purchasing the things we still need to add to the camper such as a surge protector, water filter system, shelving to create a little more storage, etc. Praise God for His wonderful blessings!
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Bible says the God will hear the prayers of those that love Him. Our prayers have been answered as we now have $10,000.00 to purchase the travel trailer we located in Mississippi. We'll be leaving Tuesday February 17th to go inspect it and complete the purchase if it is in suitable condition. If we do end up getting it, we will update the site accordingly as soon as possible.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
We located a used 2008 Palomino Gazelle G-210 travel trailer in Biloxi for $10,000.00 that would suit our needs perfectly! The only thing is we are about $2500.00 short of that amount. If it is meant to be, the Lord will provide.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
We are inching towards our goals as we continue to sell our personal belongings. We'd like to thank everyone who has let us know that they are praying for us. Your kind words and prayers are very much appreciated.
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