Tuesday, September 21, 2010

You'll Never Guess What Happened On Our Way To CTEN

** Last Monday my wife Nancy and I left Edgewood on a road trip in the direction of Kerrville, Texas, the home of Commission To Every Nation (CTEN). We were eagerly looking forward to our three-day orientation with CTEN which, was to begin on Tuesday. But, on our way about 350 miles from Edgewood and with another 300 miles to go to get to CTEN, our 1992 Jeep Cherokee with almost 270,000 miles gave up the ghost. Actually, it blew a head gasket leaving us stranded at McDonalds in Ft. Stockton, Texas. As we sat in the parking lot wondering who we knew in Ft. Stockton it dawned on us that we might have a bit of a challenge or an adventure on our hands as we had never even heard of Ft. Stockton until making our treks down to I-10 about a year ago.
**So, with no one to call in Ft. Stockton for help we called our son Mark who is stationed at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas. The Army graciously agreed to give him the day off to come and rescue us but not until the next day when we were supposed to be in Kerrville at CTEN's orientation. To make a long story a bit more manageable, since we knew we would not make it to CTEN, we decided to take Mark up on his generous offer to catch a ride with him to his apartment outside Ft. Hood in a town called Copperas Cove and stay there through the next Sunday when he could drive us back to Ft. Stockton to meet my brother who was going to meet us and help us get the Jeep back home. Mark made the six hour drive from Ft. Hood to Ft. Stockton the next day and after stripping the Jeep of all our essentials we headed back to his home in Copperas Cove. It was there in that little town that is nowhere near a body of water resembling a cove that God began revealing to us why He chose to break our jeep in the middle of nowhere (my apologies to Ft. Stockton).
** It all started with a retired couple named Gary and Barbara who belong to Southern Hills Baptist Church who prepared us dinner after our long drive to Copperas Cove. While visiting with them we discovered that one of Barbara's passions is quilting. I mentioned that the orphanage in Cameroon needed quilts and she asked me how many. She didn't even bat an eye when I told her we needed 37 quilts. And by the time we left Copperas Cove Barbara and Gary had put together 27 quilts and promised the remaining 10 by the time Mark comes back home in October. But, not only did they provide for our quilt needs, they also brought us 40 pairs of flip-flops for the kids in Cameroon. What a wonderful, godly, and still energetic for the Lord couple!
** While in Copperas Cove we were contacted by several couples and families who were interested in our future work in Cameroon. What a joy it was to sit down whether in a park, at a lake, or in their church and have the opportunity to share our passion for missions and in particular our passion for the Fulbe people with these brothers and sisters in Christ. Besides being overjoyed we were simply amazed at the interest this small church of about 100 people was showing in our ministry especially since we had never contacted it previous to coming to Copperas Cove on this unscheduled trip. We also enjoyed a wonderful lunch with Pastor Preston, his wife Karna, and one of their four precious children. They too, wanted to know what we were up to and how they could help. Finally, Sunday came and I was invited to share for a few minutes during Sunday School about how God is leading us in regard to Cameroon and the response from the church was overwhelming to us.
** Before we left to return to Ft. Stockton, we were asked by many of the members of Southern Hills Baptist Church how much personal support we lacked and what our other financial and material needs are in getting to Cameroon. When I, in an off-handed manner, mentioned that we will need to purchase a 125cc motorcycle trail bike once we get there I was asked how much that would cost and lo and behold Barbara told me it was covered and then asked what else we needed. I promised to send them a list.
** Nancy and I cannot remember in recent years a church with such a heart for missions and missionaries that was so willing to take us in and treat us as royalty. Like our home church they are a church that loves the doctrines of grace and has a deep-seated passion to see the Gospel preached to all the nations for the glory of God and the eternal joy of those He has called to Himself. They are also a church that knows how to love missionaries. What a blessing they were to us--so much so--that when we are on our way to CTEN again--it will be via Southern Hills Baptist Church and Copperas Cove which, truly was a "cove" for us.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh! It's so amazing how our sweet Savior loves to surprise us in the most amazing ways! I am so glad that you were treated in such a sweet & caring way. We serve such a mighty God!!!!!

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