Monday, February 22, 2016

#8 Weekend Woundup and Weview

We are coming to you this morning live from New York.


Friday morning Sis. Judy King took us to DFW airport and we appreciate her kindness very, very much. We are not flying directly into Dallas when we return so we did not really need to leave the Green Machine at the airport. When Sis. Judy insisted on taking us, we were very thankful.

We zoomed through security and went to our gate, 29. Then went to the second gate, 40. Then went to the third gate, 20 and there we boarded the plane. 

Here is a funny. Gate 40 was a good ways from food. Odie said, "Our gates are never close to the restaurants." While they were gone to fetch the food they changed us to gate 20 and I took all of our stuff down there. Gate 20 was directly across from a huge complex of a bunch of restaurants!










Bro. and Sis. Hardyal met us at the airport in New York City and treated us like kings from the very first moment. We really appreciate all of their hospitality and kindness. They have really overwhelmed us with good treatment.

Odie, Kelly Jo, Pastor Ivan Hardyal and Pastor Wade Hicks.












Bro. Victor Raguenath came to the hotel to visit with us Saturday morning. 


Bro. Victor came from Guyana in the early 70's and attended Export Bible Institute. He pastored churches many years and is now semi-retired and now works to promote cooperation, evangelism and fellowship among churches hear and in Guyana.

Bro. Victor has also invited us to Guyana for open air meetings. We had a wonderful sweet visit with him.

Saturday afternoon Paul Hardyal drove us to The Bronx to visit Pastor Danilo Florian and Bro. Henry Reyes. 


They are interested in the possibility of organizing a city wide meeting there among some churches. They already cooperate with several churches in outreach so it is very possible they will be able to pull something together.


The Pastors in The Bronx and in Queens are unsure they can secure open ground for the tent, which is very hard to find in the city, plus permission for tent revival between now and July. If something comes together here it may be open air or in one of the churches.





Bro. Reyes, Davy, Bro. Wade and Bro. Florian





Saturday night Bro. Hardyal came to pick us up for supper and brought us a homemade treat. We love plantain and these are thinly sliced, fried green plantain chips! Trust me, they are absolutely delicious!












Sunday morning we sang and preached at New Life Christian Center for Pastor Hardyal and his fine people. We had a tremendous service. These folks love Bro. Wade Hicks and his brother in law Bro. Hobert Bowling. Bro. Wade and Bro. Hobert were kind enough to introduce us to their friends and so now they love us too!






















Sis. Hardyal and Kelly Jo











Sunday night Pastor Gee at Love and Grace Church organized a special service so we could sing and preach to several congregations at once. I do not know how many churches were represented but I think I counted seven Pastors there.


We had a wonderful service of fellowship, singing, preaching and praying. God moved in mighty way in the altar service. I know God was working miracles in lives right before our very lives.





















Pastor Gee, Kelly Jo and Davy















Thanks to Lydia for helping Odie get pics after church.



If we have a City Wide meeting in Queens inside a church, then Bro. Gee's church would be excellent. They also own a small parking lot close to their church and we may be able to set a tent there. My tent would not fit on it but that is just a small obstacle. There is a new hindu temple between the church and the parking lot so that would be interesting and could be the providence of God.

I would say the trip has been an overwhelming success and we have made some friendships that will last a lifetime. I appreciate God using Bro. Wade Hicks and Bro. Hobert Bowling to open the doors for us in New York City. Every preacher and every pastor we met here is a direct result of their introductions and influence. God bless you, friends for having confidence in our family and connecting us with your friends.

I want to thank Pastor Hardyal for opening his family and church to us. We have never been treated any better than by these folks that had no idea who we were. They went strictly on recommendation and made us feel like family.

Pastor Hardyal introduced us to Pastor Gee and then he in turn introduced us to all the Pastors that came to service Sunday night. Thank you, my dear brothers for taking a chance on us and for catching our vision to take the precious Gospel message outside the four walls of the church. I believe that God is going to do great things.

Thank you all for praying for us this weekend. God has helped us tremendously. This afternoon we fly to Nashville. I will tell you more about all that later.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Sunday, February 21, 2016

View Out The Front Window February 21, 2016

Check out our posts from the last week at the links below.

Our view this week has been one of almost constant change.

Here is our view out the front door in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.



This is our view out the front window in Sapulpa.



This is our view out the window at the Oklahoma City Walmart.



This is our view out the front door at Walmart.



This is our view out the front window at Pauls Valley Walmart.



This is our view out the door at Pauls Valley.



This is our view out the front door in Gainesville, Texas.


This is our view out the front window in Gainesville.



This is our view out the window from our motel in Queens the night we arrived.



This is our view out the window during the day.



This morning we are singing and preaching for Pastor Hardyall at New Life Christian Center in Queens, New York and at another church this evening. Bro. and Sis. Hardyall have really rolled out the red carpet welcome for us and we appreciate it so much. We are having a wonderful time. Hopefully we will have pictures and information about the trip tomorrow.

I hope you have a great Sunday.

Davy

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Planning Time For Singing at Sea 2017

Hey friends, it is Odie checking in. When I wrote last week's Saturday Blog I had no idea where I would be reporting from this week. We could get no clear direction on where I needed to be while my parents were gone to New York. 

On Sunday afternoon we decided that I should go to New York with them and I was able to get the last cheap seat on their flight. So here I am reporting from New York. 


We flew into JFK on a nonstop flight from Dallas yesterday, Friday. We are here to preach and to meet with some pastors over the weekend about the possibility of a City Reach Campaign in New York this summer. We have no idea if something can be put together that quick but we are super excited about the doors God is opening here! Stay tuned in the coming days. I am sure we will have many exciting things to report.

Pastor Hardyall and his wife and son met us at the airport and then we met two of their daughters later. They have already captured our hearts in just a few hours. We are really looking forward to spending some more time with them this weekend.

Singing At Sea

Long time blog readers will remember that I have been on two southern gospel singing cruises. The first cruise was in February 2012. My cruise companion for 2012 was my cousin Lisa Isaacs.


Enjoying beautiful Half Moon Key


My Host group The Isaacs



Our ship The Carnival Fascination


My second cruise was in February 2015. My 2015 cruise companion was Kaylene Stephens.


The Carnival Paradise in Mexico


Breath taking sunset 



The Isaacs were not on the 2015 cruise. Jeff and Sheri Easter were our host group in 2015.


I thoroughly enjoyed the Singing at Sea put on by Templeton Tours. The ship is completely chartered. The bars and casinos are shut down. We get to enjoy all the fun and food of a cruise in a Christian atmosphere. At least 25 of southern gospel groups are there to sing. I have a fantastic time! 

The picture below is  me and Jeff Templeton on the cruise in 2012. 


I knew 2016 would be extremely busy year so I did not plan to go this year. As sailing day approached for this years cruise I caught a very bad case of cruise fever. The Carnival Paradise set sail for the Singing at Sea on Monday and I was not on board.  I did have some dear friends who sailed this week. I cannot wait until they get back to land today for their reports to start coming in!

Monday afternoon I called Templeton Tours and started the official planning for my next cruise. I have to book a handicap accessible cabin way in advance because there are only a few and they fill up fast. The 2017 Singing at Sea will set sail on Monday February 13th and I plan to be aboard. 

Many of you have expressed interest in this cruise to me. Now is the time to begin planning. The 2017 brochure is supposed to be online Monday at www.singingatsea.com or you can call the offices of Templeton Tours to request a brochure to be mailed to you. 1 (800) 334-2630 Prices are reasonable for a Christian cruise starting at just under $600 plus  $195 taxes and fees per person.  It will not get you or me a discount but tell them Andrea Boggs sent you. 

Next year the cruise we be sailing with Royal Caribbean. The ship is the Enchantment of the Seas. From my initial investigation the ship looks beautiful. The cruise will be a four night cruise leaving Florida on Monday the 13th and returning Friday the 17th of February. I am already counting the days. Let me know if you will be sailing too on the Singing at Sea.

Thanks to  Google for photo of the Enchantment of the Seas. 


Thank you for reading today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Odie