Monday, January 2, 2017

Weekend Woundup and Weview #1

The weekend started for us Thursday morning as we prepared to pull the BoggsMobile out of the barn. We cranked about 12:30 and pulled out a little before 1:00 PM.


I pulled the bus up by the road.


And backed the tent trailer into the barn.


We finally pulled out about 1:30 or so and my sister in law Karen snapped a picture of the BoggsMobile and Green Machine as we were going into Lebanon.


It was a cold day and very windy but it looked beautiful. The wind was steady at 20-30 MPH all evening with gusts over 40 MPH according to the weather apps on our phone. I believe every word of it. The wind was hitting us right on the nose of the bus or the front corner every mile.


We went through snow flurries on the west side of Indianapolis and barely missed some dangerous snow squalls I understand. I intended to drive 400 miles but the constant wind wore me down and we stopped for the night at the Flying J truck stop in Effingham.

The Ryan's at the Effingham exit has been a regular stop for us for years. It has been a good one too. Many of the Ryan's have went down hill and closed the last year or two. Sadly, I think this one is not far behind. That is too bad.


Friday morning we worked our way around St. Louis and arrived in Sullivan in the afternoon. We love Bro. and Sis. Martin, the Graham family and all the folks at Full Gospel Assembly in Sullivan. It had been three years since we had been there so we were long overdue for a visit.








Sis. Martin went on a short term missions trip to Milawi in Africa when she was in Bible School and she has a great heart for missions and Africa in particular. She is always very encouraging to us when we are going to Nigeria and we can count on her and her family holding us up in prayer.

We planned to bring her some material from Nigeria and we told Bro. Shobanke about her. He sent some one to get the material and refused to allow us to pay for it. He was thankful that Sis. Martin supported us faithfully with prayer and he wanted to give her the gift himself.

All we did was deliver it!





It was very good to have Brentni Hrapeck with us all the way from Kentucky.
















It was so good to be with our friends again in Sullivan. We had a wonderful service and a great response in the altar service.

Saturday morning we were up quite a bit before daylight and hit the road. I wanted to be in Wichita in time to attend a watch night service and I had a few other things I wanted to take care of on the way.


We were 225 miles away at the Flying J in Joplin, Missouri by 10:00 AM. In the picture below I am doing "the work of an evangelist" using my brand new blue hose. 


My old blue hose had a few years use on it and it disintegrated in my hands the last time I used it. Thankfully it came apart before I opened the blank tank valve!

I have been there and done that and do not care to go back there or do that again!

On a much better thought, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and fellowship with Bro. Mitch Boggs Jr. and his wife Sis. Lynn. They took us to one of their favorite restaurants in Joplin, The Red Onion. It was really good.


Mitch and Lynn stopped in the Lazy OD Ranch recently and I told you then we might get to see them again soon. It was a treat to spend a little time with them and have a leisurely visit together.



We left Joplin and made a beeline to Wichita. The First Church of God in Christ was having watch night service I really wanted to attend. I was also hoping the taco truck near Bethany Revival Center was open...And it was!

The Carne Asada Tacos were excellent! Wow!


Kelly Jo had a little cheese and sour cream so she doctored a few of them. Double Wow!


We parked and settled in at Bethany Revival Center and then took a little nap before church. The service was starting at 10:00 PM so it worked out great!


It was an awesome service and we had a great time with friends.









Sunday afternoon was the reason we came to Wichita this weekend. We were part of the dedication service of the Hope For The Hurting residential program. God met with us in a mighty way. It was a great service. 


We are so excited about Hope For The Hurting and the potential it has. I know that God is going to help a bunch of folks. I am glad that Pastor John and Sis. Judy DiZazzo invited us to be a part of the dedication.














This is upstairs in the hallway of the Hope For The Hurting living quarters. They have worked so very hard and it looks great. They have a few finishing touches and they hope to begin accepting participants soon.




After the dedication service we had a wonderful meal with the whole church.
















Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe came up to be with us too! It was great to see him!




I told Sis. Carol she looked like the flying nun.



Sunday night we went to preach for Pastor Terry White at New Horizon Holiness Church. This is the church we served as Pastor for nearly four years. I appreciate Bro. Terry inviting us and all the folks receiving us so well. It is always a blessing to go back.









Sunday night's service was wonderful too and we enjoyed great fellowship too. It really was a tremendous weekend!

Thanks for reading.

Davy

Sunday, January 1, 2017

View Out The Front Window January 1, 2017


This was our view out the window Friday morning before we left from the Effingham, Illinois Flying J.



This was our view out the front window Friday in Sullivan, Missouri at Full Gospel Assembly.



This was the view out the front door at Sullivan.



This is our view out the front door at Bethany Revival Center in Wichita, Kansas.


This is our view out the front window in Wichita.


Today is the big day for dedicating the residential part of the Hope For The Hurting program for Bro. and Sis. DiZazzo and Bethany Revival Center. The service is at 1:00 PM.

I hope you have a great Sunday. Thank you for reading.

Davy

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Goodbye 2016

Hello, this is Odie checking in from the road. We had a great time last night with Pastor Ryan Martin and our friends in Sullivan, Missouri. I am sure that Dad will have pictures from our visit next week. Now we are headed on toward Wichita, Kansas.

This is December 31st and that means we have survived another year. It feels like 2016 just began a few weeks ago and after a few blinks it is gone. We began 2016 singing Great Is Thy Faithfulness in West Harrison, Indiana. God has proven to us over and over again how great His faithfulness is. 

I am a person that likes to have  a plan. I am open to some changes in the arrangements but I like for things to follow my plan as close as possible. It seems like life loves to laugh at my well laid strategies and throw me curves. I am learning to trust God plans and to know that His plans are ALWAYS better than mine. 

City Reach was our ministry focus for 2016. The Lord blessed us with several great City Reach campaigns in 2016 and we know none of them could have been possible without Him! Praise God for the souls that were saved and people that were helped of God.

This year we traveled from coast to coast and many places in between. We saw many awesome things along the way. It is always great to see our family and friends along the road. We have made new friends that are now lifelong friends. Sadly, we had to say an earthly goodbye to friends as well. 

Now as a new year approaches. I am ready to say goodbye to 2016. It has been a wonderful year!!  I will look back in my memory banks with fondness but I gladly welcome 2017. I am ready for a fresh start! 

How exactly will the next 12 months go? I may have ideas and dreams but God is in control. I am willing to fervently pray, sincerely believe and then trust God to do what is best for me. I am going to enjoy life one day at a time and appreciate the journey. I pray and believe that walking without any help will become a reality for me this year! I am going to look for that miracle every day and I am going to serve God no matter what happens.

Thanks for joining with us on the blog this year. Stay tuned right here and we will take you on every crazy adventure we face in the coming days, weeks and months. 

Last Monday Lisa, Deidre and I spent a few of hours together before we had to go our separate ways. We enjoyed lunch at Cheddars and a browsing visit to Hobby Lobby. Spending time with these two is always a blast!  

 

 

 

 

A final picture with Deidre on Tuesday

 

Many miles may separate me from these two lovely cousins but they are never far from my heart. I love them both so much!

That is all for 2016. Thank you for reading! Happy New Year and I will see you next year. 

Odie