The Weekend Dispatch 10/30/2023

The last night of revival at House of Prayer in Tusla was wonderful. We are praising God for His help in the final service and the whole week. We appreciate Pastor Bill Parks and all of his fine congregation.

We have some pictures from Thursday and Friday.

Saturday afternoon we made the short trip from Tulsa to Claremore, emptied our tanks and got set up in the rain. In the evening we carried in the sound equipment and got a soundcheck.

Sunday morning was Pastor Appreciation for Pastor Jimmy Millikin here at Westside Holiness Church followed by a fantastic meal. It was a wonderful day and we loved being a part of it.

The Sunday evening service was a super finale to the wonderful weekend. Wow! Thank you for stopping by to check on us.

Davy

Schedule Note From Davy:

Pastor Phillip Horton from Richlands, Virginia passed away Friday and his funeral is scheduled for Monday. Pastor Jimmy Millikin from the church here in Claremore has a long history with the Richlands Church and He will be attending the funeral Monday. We will not be having revival service tonight while he is gone, but we plan to crank back up again Tuesday night. If anything else about this week changes, I will let you know on Mile Markers.

A Schedule Change

We have four more revivals on the schedule before we go to Nigeria later in the year, but we have made a change this week. We were supposed to be in Birch Tree, Missouri at Victory Holiness Church with Pastor Ronald Coots November 12-16, Sunday-Thursday. 

That date has been postponed and will be rescheduled next year, hopefully in the summer. Bro. and Sis. Coots' daughter-in-law is going through a major health crisis and they need to devote their full attention to that situation. We agree completely.

We are still scheduled to be at Junction Hill Pentecostal Church near West Plains, Missouri Friday-Monday, November 17-20 so we will be somewhere between there and Wichita, Kansas Sunday the 12th and the days following. I will let you know when the situation becomes more clear.

Thank you for checking in with us. Have a great day.

Davy

Where And Why?

It occurred to me while I was driving today that I had not brought you up to date on our whereabouts for the next several days. Where are we and why?

If you looked at our schedule two weeks ago, you would be excused for thinking we left Alabama yesterday afternoon on our way to Texas for revival beginning Wednesday. That was the original plan.

Plans are always subject to change and the church we were going to had a change of plans nearly two weeks ago. I shifted gears and decided to make a very quick trip to Ohio in order to deliver our tent trailer to the barn where it needed to be.

Going to Ohio opened up two opportunities. First, I was able to schedule a quick trip to East Tennessee Luxury Coach to have a wheel seal replaced and secondly, we should be able to stop for a couple days of Bond Campmeeting. We are on our way to see you, friends. Surprise!

Then we will drop the trailer at the Lazy OD Ranch and make our way to Oklahoma. The change in routing added 700 miles, but it will save me many more miles later by having the trailer in place. Adding Bond Campmeeting to that was like a cherry on top!

With the trip to Texas deleted, I was able to accept the invitation to preach Sunday night at Allentown so we can add that to the plus side too. All in all, the change worked out fine.

Yesterday we finished the first leg of the trip. We left Tanner Williams at 6:30 and we were hooked up to the trailer and leaving Allentown by 7:00. Eleven hours later we were pulling into East Tennessee Luxury Coach in Vonore, Tennessee. I drove the bus 508 miles pulling the tent trailer and KJo and followed in the Jeep.

That is probably the longest bus travel day since Covid and absolutely the longest day pulling the trailer in a few years. I am really glad to have that day over. Hallelujah!

That is where we are and the why. I hope we see you along the way. You can find our latest schedule changes HERE. Thank you for stopping in.

Davy

Tent Revival Coming Up

Early this year when I was pretty sick, I knew I needed to work smarter not harder in 2023 IF I was going to make it through the year in one piece AND finish on the right side of the ground.

One of the things we did was cancel the next four revivals beginning the last Sunday in January. I hated to do it, but all of the Pastors were very understanding and the four weeks with no preaching and no singing went a long way toward getting me back on my feet.

We did go to church 3-5 times each week, enjoying services and being fed by various Pastors. That was a big boost to us as well.

The second decision was to cancel almost all of our scheduled tent revivals for the year. I really hated to do that, but I knew in my heart it was the best decision.

We kept the three day tent revival in Vermont. They set up their own tent, it is not super hot weather and it is only three services. We handled that fine although I did get a glimpse of what it was going to feel like to handle our sound equipment each night.

The final tent revival of the year and the only one using our tent is coming up September 17-22 in Richton, Mississippi. I kept that one on the schedule for a few reasons.

1. It was late in the year and gave me the most time to be in better form physically.

2.  We have set our tent up there multiple times and the Richton folks know the routine and how best to help.

3.  Pastor Scott Morris has the same vision for tent revival as me and I do not have to carry that weight.

Bro. Morris has checked several times to make sure I am up for tent revival and I appreciate his kindness and thoughtfulness. However, I want to try and I believe we are ready. 

By God's grace, the tent will go up in the air on Saturday, September 16 and we are excited. Please pray for our strength and for the power of God to touch lives in Richton, Mississippi.

You are welcome to come be with us too! Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe is hoping to be able to come and that would be an awesome bonus.

Thank you for reading, dear friends.

Davy

Schedule Change and Bro. Shobanke

Schedule Change

We have had a change in our schedule concerning the near future. We never know when someone is planning to visit us, so I need to let you know.

Over the weekend we received bad news that shook us. Pastor Ben Shoemaker called to tell us they had an accident at the church in Thomasville, Alabama that included an electrical fire and one of the men getting burned. 

I did not ask for permission to give his name so I will not at this time. One of the church men spent several days in the hospital for burns and faces a long recovery. We are praying that he heals completely without longterm difficulties.

Although the brother that was injured, heroically put out the fire and called for help, the power is off at the church and the building has a lot of smoke damage. They had recently finished a remodel of the sanctuary so it is a double blow.

We were scheduled to begin revival for Bro. Shoemaker two weeks from this coming Sunday and of course, that is understandably not possible at this time. Pastor Shoemaker was concerned about us losing a revival and I appreciate that, but canceling was the right thing to do.

The last thing they need at this time is the pressure of a visiting preacher coming to town in two weeks. They will have enough on their plate as it is. Please pray for Ben, Deidre and the church in Thomasville, Alabama.

Update On Bro. Shobanke

Bro. Shobanke came through surgery on his neck and he is recovering well. He was released this week to his son's house in the Dayton area and we were able to see him yesterday evening on our way to church last night.

I can not describe how thrilled I was to see my friend again and pray with him.

I had talked to him in the hospital on the phone and I could hear that he was a little stronger, but I was comforted to see him face to face. Bro. Shobanke has a long way to go and I would love if you would pray for my dear friend. He is weak and unable to do things he needs to do.

He is scheduled to return to Nigeria soon and his son, Emmanuel, is planning to accompany him home. That is a huge blessing.

Thank you. I think that brings us up to date.

Davy

A New Place Coming Up Soon

We met Pastor Marcos Fabiano here at Bethel Revival Center in 2019. He has been pioneering a Brazillian mission work in Everett since 2016.

Pastor Marcos on the left last night with Pastor Orville Plummer.

He is a great guy and we are excited to see him again this week at revival. He called and told me he would be there and we were excited to hear the great news. It was wonderful to have him and to get to visit with him.

Pastor Marcos contacted me a while back and asked about us preaching for him while we are in Boston and we are so glad to receive the invitation. We love going new places.

By God's grace, we will be singing and preaching for Pastor Marcos Sunday evening July 30 at 6:30. We are expecting a great visitation from the Lord in the service. Please pray for us as God opens new avenues for us to minister.

Thank you for stopping in today. Check back tomorrow. I think I will have a special Wordless Wednesday. See you then.

Davy