A Little Generator Drama

Yesterday I posted a short summary of City Reach Phoenix area. I am always overjoyed when a post is received well and that one was definitely received well. Thank you for the positive response. HERE it is if you have not had a chance to read it.

A Little Generator Drama

Last week I wrote about repairing the radiator for the generator in the BoggsMobile. Today we switch generators and continue the saga.

After about two weeks of City Reach Phoenix area, I started having some trouble out of my gasoline generator that we need for tent revival. During the special service at Paradise Valley Park on Saturday, the voltage was dropping to unacceptably low levels with the generator under a relatively light load. It was making our sound equipment do very strange things. I lightened the load even more and continued the service without some of the equipment.

We gave the generator a thorough workout during sound check under the tent Sunday night and it performed fine although the voltage levels were lower than they had been. Service that night was a totally different story from sound check. The voltage levels kept dropping until I lightened the amp load considerably.

Bro. Jimmie and I put the generator through some load tests during the day the best we could using a heat gun, a blow dryer, an iron and a heavy duty air compressor. We were trying to see how it behaved under various loads. The results were disappointing to say the least. The voltage output on both legs was great under no load but with a light load on one leg it would drop on both legs to about 112-114 volts. With a light load on both legs the voltage would drop to 108 with momentary drops to 105.

That is way to low for sensitive electronics. I started looking for some one to work on my brand of generator but could find no one in the Phoenix area that was even willing to look at it. All the generator guys I talked to thought it was probably the voltage regulator and that it would need to be replaced. They could not get parts for my brand so there was no need for them to look at it.

I put in calls and emails to the manufacture more than once but still have not received a response over ten days later. The generator is lightly used even though it is 11 years old. I was hoping they could direct me to some service or some parts. There is a shop in Dallas and another in Cincinnati that will work on my big generator so I will try to get it repaired later and save it as a back up.

In the mean time, we pulled out the small generator I used for years and tried it. I knew that it was showing signs of weakness last fall and it proved to be on its last legs as well.

What to do now? As I began to research which generator would best fit the needs of City Reach this year I discovered a distressing fact. Regular contractor type generators, like I have been using and like I was trying to purchase, are not ideal for all the electronics we are using in tent revival. We have three expensive power amps, an expensive mixer, ear monitors, cordless mics, a piano, two powered speakers, three processors, four very expensive main speakers, two very expensive sub cabinets and a few other things I have probably forgotten.

Most of these components need very clean power to perform at their optimal level. It is obvious that the low voltage I was getting out of the old generator was not good for the equipment but evidently even at its best, the power produced by my conventional generators was not ideal for all of the electronics.

To get clean power for sensitive components you need an inverter generator. An inverter generator produces power and then puts it through an inverter that maintains a pure sine wave at the required voltage. That is just fancy talk for "get ready to spend some dough to get what you need, Davy!"

When I started adding the price of replacing the sound equipment onto the price of an inexpensive generator, the price of the cheap generator started going up and up and up.

Small inverter generators are not that expensive if you buy an off brand but we also need lots of amperage so we really only had one choice. That choice was spend the money and buy what we need. Thankfully they were on sale this month and a couple of companies in the area that are participating in the sale had them in stock.

I bought it, picked it up and brought it to the tent in time for sound check. It is an absolutely amazing piece of equipment. It produces ample, clean power at low RPMs and at incredibly low noise levels. We could literally set this generator at the edge of tent and have no problem with generator noise.

We put it under a load two nights and it performed flawlessly. The voltage was rock steady and all of our sound equipment functioned so much better that it was very noticeable. The difference was incredible.

I hope that operating on my conventional generator for so long did not shorten the life of any of the electronics. But there is no way to know what you do not know! I was doing the best I knew and now I know more, so I am doing better.

That sounds a lot like life in general and the Christian life in particular!

We have been careful and diligent to save for City Reach the last few years and individuals and churches have been kind, generous and attentive to give toward City Reach, so we had the money on hand to make this purchase. The money was budgeted for future months of City Reach and will have to be replaced, but praise God we had it. God is faithful and He continues to prove that to me every day.

I remember what Bro. Randy Webb said to Bro. Dennis Heath when a tree fell on Bro. Heath's new fifth wheel and totaled it. Bro. Dennis was "treemendously" disturbed and Bro. Webb said, "Don't worry about it. If money can fix it, it ain't broke."

That may be true but it is probably much easier to swallow IF you the have the money!

That should bring you up to date on our latest generator drama.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Summary of City Reach Phoenix Area

Here are a few of the posts from City Reach Phoenix area 2016.

City Reach Pictures I

City Reach Pictures 2

City Reach Pictures 3

City Reach And Ambassador Youth Choir

City Reach Label Link

Special Prayer For City Reach from Central City, Kentucky

I am so very thankful to God for the results both seen and unseen from the City Reach Phoenix campaign in El Mirage Arizona from April 3-22. I can not stop thinking about and talking about all of the good things I witnessed first hand during the meeting and praising God for the testimonies that were told to me as well. But rather than listen to me ramble on about City Reach, it might be good to hear about it from a different perspective.

I asked Pastor Noah Martinez to share some thoughts about City Reach from his perspective as host Pastor. I appreciate him taking time to give us his overview. Without local Pastors I can not effectively set up and orchestrate City Reach, so I need to hear what they have to say when everything else has been said and done.

I also asked Pastor Scott Morris to share his thoughts concerning the nights that he was with us. I have posted his comments down below as well.

Now, both of these Pastors are my friends. They are very kind and generous to me and my family in their assessments. I do appreciate that. However, I believe you can get a feel for the affect of City Reach from their reports.

Pastor Noah Martinez, Desert Cove Assembly, El Mirage, Arizona

As Christians, we are always looking for ways to serve the Lord. Many things He will approve and bless and we will feel His smile. Then there is City Reach. Not only did He approve and make a way, He made a highway! Our scheduled meeting with the Boggs family was put through trials, twists, and turns – however, once the tent was finally set up, God’s Glory came down. From day one we saw God’s Hand.

On a Saturday in early April, we had almost every DCA member show up for set up. Our initial plan was for a two week event. If you wonder about City Reach’s success, we felt it was a success on the very first night. Every single night we had visitors. Every single night we had people in the altars. Every single night we left the meeting with the feeling: things could not have been any better. The outcome was so great that we felt it was not only right, but imperative we go on another week. In doing so, the outcome multiplied.

Thinking back, City Reach has been the most important event DCA, or for that matter, I personally have ever been involved in. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Bro. Davy, Sis. Kelly, and our favorite, Sis Odie. We have a new vision. We have new members. We have a new relationship with our city. We have new friendships with people who came from several parts of the country to support the meeting. We have a pile of new contacts to continue to reach for. And we have a new debt we will gladly repay to the countless saints who kept us in prayer all over the nation.

Moving forward, I cannot wait to see how the results will continue to unfold. We have the ambition of starting another work in Phoenix. Our church is dedicated to continued support of City Reach. We have the promise that if we do the lifting, HE will do the drawing, “And I - if I - be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me.” Our prayer is for the results of other City Reach campaigns to be greater. Thank you, Boggs family and thank you Lord.

Pastor Noah, Desert Cove Assembly
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We were blessed to have Pastor Scott Morris with us for the tent set up and the first several days of City Reach Phoenix area. He was a tremendous help to the services and has been a terrific encouragement to us through this whole City Reach journey. I thought it would be good to hear his thoughts on this particular City Reach campaign as well.

Pastor Scott Morris, Richton, Mississippi

Praise the Lord!

City Reach Phoenix was all we prayed for and more. Bro Davy asked me to share some of my thoughts concerning being able to be at City Reach Phoenix. I would like to thank Pastor Noah Martinez and the congregation of Desert Cove Assembly for making me feel so welcome and for the wonderful place to stay. I also want to thank the Boggs Family for allowing me to be a part of their burden and what God is doing through City Reach. 

Bro. Davy, Sis. Kelly, and Sis. Odie have been a part of our annual tent revival in Richton, MS for the past few years. It was during one of these tent revivals that Bro. Davy had mentioned to me his burden to set a side a year and do City Reach campaigns. I became excited about the possibility from the very beginning. The excitement began to grow as we watched God put it all together. 

I had determined to be a part of at least one, hopefully more, of the campaigns this year. City Reach Phoenix fell at a time when I could get away for a few days, so I made plans to be there. As we set up the tent and got ready for services to start, you could feel the excitement growing.

From the start of the first service we knew we were in the right place at the right time. God moved in a mighty way that Sunday night and it was only the beginning. I watched as God worked through the Boggs family to reach for the hurting each and every night i was there. Bro Davy, Sis Kelly and Sis Odie are right at home under the tent. You can tell this is where their heart is and that they are burdened to reach the unchurched. I believe this is the only beginning to great things God is going to do this year with this ministry. 

Pastor Scott Morris
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No summary of City Reach in the Phoenix area would be complete without thanking Bro. Alan Harris and his church in Central City, Kentucky. They called a prayer revival the whole first week of City Reach Phoenix area and called down the power of God on us. They encouraged us, empowered us and inspired us tremendously! May God bless them for their love in action toward the body of Christ!

Davy

Doing The Work Of The Evangelist

It was bus work for me most of the morning and into the afternoon on Tuesday. We moved to an RV Park on Monday and arrived in the middle of a raging wind storm. We heard a loud POP on the roof and we all said, "That was a different noise!" BoggsMobile noises make me nervous.

The different noise was the roof vent lid that is over the shower. The wind ripped it open, breaking it free from the metal bracket inside and shattering the plastic lid. In a few moments it was broke into a hundred thousand pieces. I was not about to get up on the roof in 30 MPH sustained winds unless I absolutely had to do it! Since it was not raining and nothing else was in danger of breaking, I stayed on the ground.

Early Tuesday morning I went up and removed what was left and took a picture of the model information. I could have ordered a lid online but I wanted to make sure I was getting the correct one so I went to Camping World about 20 minutes away. They had exactly one in stock, so I bought it.

It only took a few minutes to put it on. While I was up there I checked the AC covers and made sure they were all secure. I do not have the best success with AC covers so I thought I might as well check.



I also snapped a picture of the RV Park. I wanted you to see what a desert RV Park looks like.

While I was out, I stopped at the ATT store to add minutes to Bro. Shobanke's US phone. He should be in the US by Friday and Kelly Jo mailed the phone to his first stop in Iowa. I do not know if our paths will cross on his visit this year but we certainly hope so.

Tuesday evening Kelly Jo and I met Pastor Noah and Sis. Carla Martinez for a nice meal out. We really enjoyed the fellowship with our dear friends. The Martinez family are really great people and we are thankful to have them in our lives. We have enjoyed our time with them while in City Reach. We should get to see them again tomorrow at Bro. Johnson George's church.

Speaking of Pastor George, I have a flyer they created for our revival there. We are very thankful for God putting us together with Pastor Johnson George and his wife. They are wonderful people of God and we appreciate the open door they have extend to us at Bethel Church in Phoenix. We will be singing and preaching Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday morning and both services Sunday.

After we finish in Phoenix we will hurry off to Atwater, California to begin City Reach Tent Revival in Atwater, California. Pastor Jared Burris has received the final permission to set up in the city park and we are thrilled about that. We are expecting God to meet with us in powerful services as He saves, heals and delivers.



Please pray for these meetings and come be with us if you can possibly do it at all! We would love to have you.

Davy

Revival In Pictures - City Reach Phoenix Area

This is Revival In Pictures post from the last few days of City Reach Phoenix area and from taking the tent down the last night. Odie was out of town the last two nights including the night we took the tent down so our picture output is a little weak. Kelly Jo did think to give her phone to someone else for a little while to capture a few snapshots of the take down.

We had a wonderful time in Phoenix area and we are thankful for all that God has done. I hope to have a summary of this particular City Reach in a few days.

Thanks for checking in today.

Davy