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

Friday, December 30, 2016

A Summary of Our 2016 Nigeria Trip

I received a phone call from Bro. Shobanke this week and his call reminded me that I had not posted a summary of our recent trip to Nigeria. I know that many of you are interested in Bro. Shobanke and Nigeria so I want to make sure all the information is here to view. I hope you enjoy.


Our latest trip to Nigeria was filled with excitement and we enjoyed it very, very much. God blessed, helped and guided every step of the way and His hand was evident several times. It is very easy to pull back and try to control things myself but it is ultimately better if I can trust God to bring His will to pass in spite of everything I see going "wrong."

The first highlight of the trip was to preach camp meeting in Osun State for Christ Campaigners Church at the City of Mercy. Pastor Isaac Adewale was so kind to invite us and he, his wife, family and church treated us like royalty.

I preached two nights of camp meeting there and a one day Minister's Conference. You can read about it HERE and HERE.







Bro. Shobanke arranged all of our transportation to Osun State and went with us every step of the way. By Saturday night we were back in Abeokuta and getting ready for the Sunday services at Christ Ambassadors Holiness Church. Sunday morning I preached in the church and Sunday night I preached the first night of the outdoor Gospel Crusade on the crusade grounds next to the church. You can read about Sunday HERE.







Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights we continued the Gospel Crusade with great success. The nights I made specific calls for the lost to come and be converted, God sent grace to dozens. Two nights I made a call for every one to come to the altar and both nights I had 100% response in the altar service. I was flying high to see so many respond to the help of God. You can read about the crusade HERE and HERE.





We also visited the school one day. We love the work that the school is doing. Sis. Ruth and Sis. Rebecca and their staff are doing a super great work and we are thankful for it.








We were able to take a few hundred dollars in school supplies, $200 for school supplies that can be purchased there, money to supplement Sis. Ruth and Sis. Rebecca's salaries and $1500 to complete the new classrooms that are badly needed.



Bro. Shobanke told me Wednesday that the construction on the rooms is now completed and the painters were beginning now. Praise God!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was preaching the Minister's Conference in Bro. Shobanke's church. We had three whole days of great services where we enjoyed fellowship with God's servants, studied the word, worshiped together and sought God's face. It was a time of great strengthening and encouragement.

I love preaching to these guys and believe it or not, they love the preaching. They have wholeheartedly embraced us and they have accepted us like family. I can not tell you how good that makes me feel. These people are my brothers and sisters, there is no doubt about that. You can read about the conference HERE, HERE and HERE.





We also took some money to help Dorcus as we do every year. Dorcus was saved in the Gospel Crusade in 2009 and has grown into a wonderful Christian woman. We love this lady very much.



Dorcus had clothes made for each of us and melted my heart when she presented them to us. I am wearing mine in the pictures below.



We were blessed to spend and evening with Bro. Shobanke's family and what a treat that was. The people you see below are my family. They have adopted me and I have adopted them.



We were also blessed to take gifts for Bro. Shobanke's family, money for Christ Ambassadors Church, Bro. Shobanke, his Pastors, several preachers attending the conference and other Pastors and families as He led.

Bro. Shobanke had a project in mind for the money we gave the church and I will tell you more about that when he sends pictures. Hopefully I will have pictures of the completed classrooms at the school soon.

We are blessed to go to Nigeria with full hearts and full hands because you and the Lord make it so. Thank you to those that help us carry this burden for these wonderful people. God is doing a work in their lives as He is in ours and it is exciting to be on the side lines looking in.

That pretty much sums up our Nigeria trip 2016. Thank you for praying and thank you for reading.

Davy

Thursday, December 29, 2016

A Change In Next Week's Schedule

I posted this Thursday morning but I am re-posting shortly after noon with an update. The update is inserted within the post in red type below.

Kelly Jo and I made a farewell trip to Acapulco Wednesday at 11:00 AM. It was a bittersweet visit but the food and salsa were grand. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to so many of our friends.



A Change In Next Week's Schedule


We have not even left the barn yet and our 2017 schedule is already changing. That is why we always say in Odie's newsletter, "Please call before diving long distances because our schedule is likely to change, like maybe today."

Well, today, the schedule changed.

We are planning to leave later today in order to be in service Friday night with Pastor Ryan Martin Sullivan, Missouri. Sunday we are supposed to preach the dedication service for the residential portion of the "Hope For The Hurting" program at Bethany Revival Center in Wichita, Kansas. Both of those dates are still on.

We were supposed to be with Pastor Brent Moore and his church in Ardmore, Oklahoma a few nights next week. I touched base with Bro. Moore Wednesday and there was a slight hitch. They still wanted us to come, but Bro. Moore was going to have be away. 

He has been asked to preach a campmeeting in Croatia and will be traveling there with two of his children next week. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and he felt like God had opened the door. I absolutely agree with everything, except for us going to his church in Bro. Moore's absence.

We have filled the pulpit for Pastors that had to be absent. We have preached in churches where the Pastor was called away at the last moment. However, preaching a revival for a church when the Pastor can not attend at all is uncomfortable. I love for the Pastor to be there and it is not the same with out him.


I begged off and we agreed to schedule our revival at a date to be determined later. I wanted to let everyone know as soon as possible since we have quite a few friends in Oklahoma and Texas that might be planning to visit us in Ardmore. I will post here when we are going to be in the area again.


We are looking forward to being with Pastor Dennis King and our wonderful friends in Gainesville, Texas for both services on Sunday January 8th.


Update: Pastor Russell Cheek has asked us to preach a few nights at Amber Holiness Church in Amber, Oklahoma. We are happy to accept his invitation and we are now planning to be there Tuesday through Friday, January 3-6. The services will begin at 7:30.

Wednesday

Wednesday night we attended revival at Dryden Rd. That will probably be our last service there until Easter and it sure was a good one. Pastor Gary Lee preached outstanding! We are blessed to have a great home church and we praise God for them.










We are looking forward to cranking the BoggsMobile and hitting the road in a few hours. We have been "sitting still" long enough. We will try to write soon from some where down the road.

Thank you for reading.


Davy