The Tent Comes Down

I updated yesterday's post about our friend Sis. Tammy Ferguson.

We have safely completed two long travel days toward Ft. Worth, Texas. Tuesday night found us and Bro. Jimmie at the Flying J in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We are very thankful to God for helping us this far in such a short time. I will have a full travel update some time later.

When service was over Sunday night and the last "Amen" was said, the tent came down quickly. All the folks jumped in and the work was completed in short order. First the chairs were removed, folded and placed in the trailer. While this was going on the sound system was taken down and removed and the lights were taken down too.

Then we separated the tent pieces, folded them up, pulled out the stakes and tucked it all in the trailer. With Bro. Jimmie organizing everything, it was not long before it was ready to ride!

I always have mixed emotions when it is time to take it down. I hate to see revival close but I am always relieved when the tent is down dry and packed away safely.

Look at these folks work!

Here is the empty tent site as we drove away Tuesday morning.

I appreciate Pastor Jared Burris and all the folks from Amazing Grace Holiness Tabernacle working so very hard all week long and topping it off Sunday night. God bless you all.

Hope all is going well with you all this week.

Davy

Sis. Tammy Ferguson

I have pictures from City Reach and from taking down the tent that need to be posted this week, but today we have a sad note concerning a beautiful friend. God really touched our friend Sis. Tammy Ferguson on Friday and Saturday in Atwater and Sunday at Riverdale. Sunday night she slipped into eternity while sleeping. All of her friends and family were shocked with the news Monday. Sis. Tammy was a dear friend to all that would allow her to get close and she will be dearly missed.

Making it harder to believe but possibly easier to accept, is the fact that we had her near us for two days and nights at City Reach Atwater. She came to visit us in Atwater early Friday afternoon and stayed with us until after church Saturday night. We had a wonderful and blessed visit with our friend the last weekend of her life.

It was a special time for us and a very special time for Odie and Sis. Tammy. I teased her all weekend about us being hesitant to allow Odie to ride in the car with a "teenager." She was fun to tease and could give it right back with the best of them. Odie had planned a post for next Saturday about their time together. Here are a couple of the pictures from her visit.

As Sis. Tammy was leaving she came to the front Saturday night and made sure that each one of us had a very personal word of encouragement and love. We begged her to stay over for Sunday but she was anxious to be in her home church Sunday morning. With final hugs and final "I love you" all around, she left us.

Sis. Tammy was so gracious to our family and she really took care of Odie whenever we were around and kept in touch with her even when we were away from California for months at a time. She was a thoughtful, kindhearted friend and an exceptional lady. Please pray that God gives comfort to all of her friends, her family and her church family.

Odie will have more on Saturday.

We will miss you, Sis. Tammy!

Update: Sis. Tammy's funeral arrangements have been announced. Her visitation will be at Riverdale Asembly of God in Riverdale, California Thursday from 5:30-8:30 and the funeral will be at the church on Friday at 1:00 PM.

Also, Sis. Tammy came bearing gifts when she visited City Reach last weekend. She brought the girls beautiful scarves and she brought me this plaque.



She was so thoughtful!

Davy

#20 Weekend Woundup and Weview

I love my Thesaurus but it has been failing me lately. I must come up with some new words to describe things before you all think I am in a rut and simply copying and pasting the same weekend reports over and over again! There is merely no other way to describe this past weekend other than Wow! Wow! Wow!

It has been amazing to watch God work in City Reach Atwater with Amazing Grace Holiness Tabernacle and their community. We are so thankful for the things God has done and the lives that God has touched! Wow! Praise God!

I plan to post more pictures from City Reach from the road tomorrow but I have added a few from the weekend to today's post. It has been a wonderful weekend of church, fellowship, food and new friends. A few pictures can not do it justice. I guess you will have to take my word for it.

The services wrapped up last night and the tent came down soon afterward. 



The tent is now packed away and we have only a few last minute things to prepare before cranking the BoggsMobile and Bro. Jimmie's rig and pointing toward the east. By the time most of you read this, we should be well on our way, by God's grace.

Depending on our routing we have between 1600 and 1700 miles to travel over the next three days or so. That should keep me and Bro. Jimmie pretty busy. Please pray for safety, good weather and good running equipment. I really appreciate it.

Speaking of praying for weather, please pray for good weather in Texas and Oklahoma over the next month. God is able to help us with that and I desire you to ask Him to do so.

Thanks for reading, friends.

Davy

View Out The Front Window May 15, 2016

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

Odie's Saturday Post

On The Road Again Newsletter

God's School Is Still In Session

City Reach Atwater Pictures

Pictures of the Tent Going Up in Atwater, California

Weekend Woundup and Weview

Our view is pretty much the same this morning as last Sunday morning but that is fixing to change. We plan to take the tent down tonight after church and hit the road Monday morning. We should have several different views out the window by next Sunday morning.

Thank you for praying for City Reach Atwater. We are expecting one final great night under the Blue and White Gospel Tent tonight before moving to Ft. Worth and doing it all over again.

Thanks for reading.

Davy

It Is Well With My Soul

Good morning friends,

This is Odie reporting in from Atwater, California. We have had a wonderful week under the Gospel Tent. Several people have prayed for salvation and help! Once again I am amazed to watch as God draws  people in. I love to watch those near by listening in night after night to the services. God has been working in lives this week!

It has been great to work with Pastor Jared Burris and the congregation of Amazing Grace Holiness Tabernacle. They definitely share our burden to reach others. I am a sad we only have two more nights under the tent in Atwater, California. 

You are welcome to come join us for these final nights. It would be wonderful to have you. We are looking for great things to be accomplished. Tonight, Saturday's service, will begin at 7:00 PM and the final service on Sunday at 6:00 PM. Dad plans to take the tent down Sunday night after church.

Wednesday morning I woke up to a text from a friend, Kelli Bufford. It was a reminder of the beautiful song "It Is Well With My Soul". Her text planted the song in my brain and I had to look it up again. The first thing I did was listen to my favorite group the Isaacs sing the song. Continue reading to find links of the Isaacs versions. 

This song is filled with amazing lyrics. When I think of the story behind the song I get convicted. The writer had experienced unspeakable  tragedy but was still able to say through all the horrific things that had been dealt to him, "It  Is Well With My Soul". 

How do I respond to tragedies in my life? I usually fall apart. This song challenges me to depend on God, because my eternity is not affected by the turmoil of my present. I want to Praise the Lord despite my circumstances. 

I refreshed my memory of the story behind the song. This is what I found on www.sharefaith.com. 

"Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.

At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business. Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision. All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.

With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words, When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well with my soul.."

It Is Well With My Soul, The Isaacs version of the lyrics are listed below. The Isaacs do a phenomenal job singing this song. It moves me to tears, in an awesome way!  I listed two YouTube links to two different renditions. The first they recorded several years ago in Norway. They were accompanied by the fiddle player Jessie, that traveled with the Isaacs at the time. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UeOgZqQdgjk

The second video was published to YouTube in May of 2015. It is an amazing acappella version.

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cL8cXd_eh2w

Verse 1

When peace like a river attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say 

It is well it is well with my soul

Chorus 

It is well (It is well) 

With my soul (with my soul) 

It is well, It is well, with my soul

Verse 2

My sin Oh the bliss of this glorious thought 

My sin not just in part, but the whole. 

It is nailed to His cross

And I'll bear it no more

Oh Praise the Lord Praise the Lord Oh my soul

Thank you for reading today. Have a fantastic weekend. Please pray for us as we travel to Texas this coming week. The tent is scheduled to go up near Ft. Worth, Texas one week from today on Saturday morning. 

Odie

On The Road Again Newsletter - May 2016

God is blessing and moving every night under the Blue and White Gospel Tent in Atwater, California. We are having a time! I wish that every one of you could be here to see what God is doing. He is drawing folks in and it is great to see! There is no telling what is going to happen in the next three nights!

Odie's newsletter is going out in the mail today. We received it from the printer a few days late so it is being posted here a few days late as well. It is not only late but the print quality seems low as well. I hope you can read it even though it is a little blurry.

Thank for reading.