Weekend Woundup and Weview #7

This post has been updated Monday afternoon

Monday's post stirred a lot of interest and I am thankful for that. I love bragging on the grace of God. Thank God for His saving power. You can read about the grace of God in Bro. Jack Eubanks life HERE.

The Weekend!

This was a busy weekend but we did not have to drive very far and the weather was absolutely beautiful! 

Friday night was the last night of revival at Forts Lake and it was a great service to finish up. God moved in the altar service and it was difficult to say goodbye when it was all over. We have hopes of seeing some of them this week and next week so that makes it a little easier.

We have a few pictures from Friday night. You can find two other sets of pictures from Forts Lake HERE and HERE.

We did not have to be in a rush Saturday so I intended to sleep until noon.😀 I did not get that done but I did let the girls rest a while. Once they were stirring, they went to Mobile to finish buying some things for Odie's vacation and to also buy groceries. 

I spent some time with Pastor Tim Cauley and then started the process of leaving about 2:00 PM. I filled up the fresh water, unhooked the hose and then cranked the bus. After the bus was running, I unhooked the 50 amp pigtail from the panel and stored the cords and such.

I think it was about 4:20 when I pulled out and about 5:00 when I arrived at Walmart. We wanted to park at the Walmart very close to the airport but they can not allow parking there due to local ordinance. We parked a little further away but close enough.

Kelly and Odie met me there and we had a nice dinner and they spent the rest of the evening getting Odie ready to go. We went to bed early but none of us slept good. I "might" have gotten 10 minutes sleep before I snapped this picture of Odie loading up in the car at 4:10 AM Sunday morning.

She sure looks happy! She must be going on vacation! This may be the first time that Odie discovered that 4:00 comes twice a day!

Only one of us can go passed security with Odie so Kelly Jo took the frisking and followed Odie as far as she could.

We had intended to go to church Sunday morning with friends but it was after 8:00 by the time we had Odie in the air and we were settled back in the bus. Since we had not slept, we zonked out and I slept until 11:00. 

Odie had good flights to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale. Shortly afternoon, Odie was in Florida.

She caught the shuttle by herself and made it to the hotel just fine.

Kaylene arrived late Sunday night.

We really did not know what to do Sunday night. We were still foggy in our minds from lack of sleep and wanted to go some place where we could hear preaching instead of singing and preaching ourselves. I know that makes me a little selfish but I get that way sometimes.

I heard at the last minute that Pastor Scott Morris was going to be preaching a special service in Saraland so the choice was made and away we went. I am so glad we did. Bro. Scott preached great and we had wonderful fellowship with friends old and new.

We slept right there in the parking lot of the church Sunday night and woke up to a gorgeous sunny day on Monday.

We only had about 50 miles to go to Foley, Alabama. We arrived a few minutes before 11:00 and had a big surprise when we went outside to unhook the car.

Can you see the tail dragging from the Green Machine? It is a long section of threaded rod! Evidently we ran over it and it poked through the bumper of the car and we dragged it along behind us.

I am not worried about the damage to the Green Machine. That is nothing. A little duct tape will have that ready to go in no time. What do I worry about is all the air lines, coolant lines, electric lines and only heaven knows what else that an object like that could damage under the bus. Not even mentioning the bu$ tire$ that rod could damage.

As far as I could see from a cursory examination, the only obvious casualty is a mud flap behind the tag axle on the driver's side. I thought it was completely gone but then Kelly Jo noticed is was only partially ripped loose and was tucked up by the muffler. It may have saved the muffler from being badly damaged.

I was not losing any air from the suspension system the last few miles but I will look at everything a lot closer this week. I will also check and recheck the air pressure in all of the tires.

I spent some time looking at my dash cam footage today, trying to see where I picked that thing up. I see a possibility about 10 miles up the road. Here is a screen shot.

Can you see it laying at an angle near the bottom of the picture? If that is it, then I can see how I missed it. I have looked at the clip over and over and I can not see it from less than 30 feet away. I will try to drive up there today and see if there is a crack there that would explain that line.

Update: KJ and I drove up that way for lunch today and the line in the pictures above is still there. It is not a crack in the pavement. It was not the 12' piece of 1/4" threaded rod that we carried to Bibleway. It is a mark and it is still there.

Conclusion? I will search the dash cam footage from Saraland to Foley and see if I can find anything else.

We got settled in here at Bibleway and even had a few minutes to rest before church. This is our first time with Pastor Eddy Sullivan and his church and Monday night's service was a great way to get acquainted. We had a tremendous response in the altar! Praise God!

My picture taker is on vacation so I may be a little short on pictures. Maybe I will have enough for a Revival In Pictures post on Friday.

By the way, Odie and Kaylene did make it aboard the ship.



It looks like they are having fun already.

That pretty much wraps up our weekend plus Monday. Thanks for tuning in.

Davy

Bro. Jack Eubanks - Changed By The Gospel

The Heart of The Gospel Is Change!

Before we went to Nigeria in November I reread most of David Wilkerson's book, The Cross and the Switchblade. When I was a very young man that book put in me a hunger to win souls and that hunger is stoked every time I read it.

The book was still laying on my chair when we returned to the bus in December so I picked it up and read some chapters again. On December 26th I read a passage that has been burning in my heart every day since then.

David Wilkerson's grandfather taught him an important fact about the Gospel. Jay Wilkerson said, "The heart of the Gospel is change, it is transformation. Christ's message is extremely simple: an encounter with God, a real one, means change, every time."

Oh my! What amazing power is available in the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Today I am writing of a great example of that very power of transformation. His name is Bro. Jack (O.W.) Eubanks from Ellisville, Mississippi.

I do not think I have introduced the majority of you to Bro. Eubanks. I know that many of our Mississippi friends and Alabama friends know him, but the rest of you should too. He attends First Assembly in Ellisville where Bro. Kenny Morris is the Pastor and has been our dear friend for many years. 

Davy and Bro. Jack Eubanks (Picture added 2/26/2017)



His conversion story and subsequent change embodies the very truth that Jay Wilkerson taught his grandson so many years ago. When Bro. Eubanks encountered Christ he was a man that was filled with hate and violence along with physical and emotional pain.

The Gospel brought radical change. He was suddenly saturated with overwhelming love for the very people he hated. The change was so complete that he spent a big part of his life ministering to the people he had hated and now loved.

I had heard the amazing story of his conversion for years and it was a thrill to hear it from his own mouth several years ago when we met him. Imagine my surprise when I was reading on the PE News site and came across the personal story of our very own Bro. Eubanks.

I know you will enjoy reading the story below and you will probably be interested in reading the original article from the Pentecostal Evangel in 1976. It is on pages 8 and 9.

Thanks for reading.

Davy


PE News

O. W. Eubanks joined the Mississippi Highway Patrol during the race riots of 1964. A large, broad-shouldered white man, he relished the opportunity to strike fear in the hearts of African-Americans who were in trouble with the law. By his own admission, he was a foul-mouthed sinner who liked “rough stuff.”

A radical conversion to Christ in the early 1970s altered the course of Eubanks’ life, and his hardened heart became tender toward African-Americans in his rural community. He and his wife, Thelma, ultimately pioneered an Assemblies of God congregation consisting mostly of African-Americans, which they pastored for 21 years. He shared his story in the Feb. 8, 1976, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Eubanks’ conversion occurred in the midst of deep personal suffering. His 20-year-old daughter had recently been killed in an automobile accident, and he had been experiencing excruciating back pain. He realized that he was far from God, and his father-in-law, a Pentecostal preacher, encouraged him to seek the Lord and repent of his sins.

Eubanks began attending an Assemblies of God church, where he accepted Christ, was healed of his back pain, and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. He was a new man, and everyone could see the difference.

After being filled the Holy Spirit, he started witnessing to people. His Bible became his constant companion in his patrol car, and he never grew tired of sharing how the Lord changed his heart and life.

One night, at a roadblock on Interstate 59, he stopped two African-American men who had beer in their car. He had to charge them with illegal possession of liquor, as it was a dry county. He also witnessed to them about the Lord, telling them that “liquor was a tool of the devil.”

One of the men, Joe Pickens, came to see Eubanks several days later. He tearfully confessed that his life was messed up and accepted Christ. Before long, Pickens and his four daughters all had made definite decisions to follow the Lord and had experienced Spirit baptism.

News of the conversions spread through the largely African-American rural community of Bay Springs, Mississippi, where racial segregation still held sway. Patrolman Eubanks had been known for his tough ways, and people took note when he began ministering Christ’s love to African-Americans as brothers in Christ.

In 1974, Eubanks started holding a Bible study, which developed into a thriving congregation. In the first two years, about 45 people accepted Christ under Eubanks’ ministry. The congregation, Bay Springs Assembly of God, was organized in 1975. The Sunday School superintendent was a redeemed bootlegger.

At the time, it was unheard of in that community for a white man to pioneer or pastor a church of African-Americans. Eubanks realized that he was breaking cultural mores. However, he insisted that God’s values must trump cultural values: “If a man is a child of God, then he’s your brother. I don’t care what color he is, you have a duty to witness to him.” Eubanks recounted “grumbling and opposition to the church,” but noted that it was “nothing that God couldn’t handle.”

Bay Springs Assembly 1976

Bro. Eubanks served as pastor of Bay Springs Assembly of God until 1996. Sammy Amos, an African-American, followed Eubanks and is now in his 20th year as pastor. Amos, in a recent conversation, echoed Eubanks’ vision for the church: “We only care about souls, we don’t judge people according to their color.”

Amos noted that Bay Springs Assembly of God continues to be an interracial lighthouse in the rural community, where most churches are still segregated. The congregation has about 115 adherents, including blacks and whites, and is known for its outreach and deliverance ministries. The largely African American church started by a white highway patrolman continues to demonstrate to the world that God can indeed change hardened hearts.

Read the entire article by O. W. Eubanks, “Highway Patrolman Pastors New Black Church in Mississippi,” on pages 8-9 of the Feb. 8, 1976, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Odie Is In Florida

This is our second post of the day. The first one was our normal Sunday View Out The Window Post. I am writing real quick again because I wanted to let you know that Odie made it to the hotel in Florida. 

She had good travels and is now awaiting Kaylene who is traveling from Kansas. They will board the Singing At Sea tomorrow and then they will be off!

We love and miss you Odie!

Davy

View Out The Front Window February 12, 2017

Here are links to the posts from the last week.

Odie's Saturday Post

Revival In Pictures - Forts Lake Assembly

A Picture That Flung A Craving

Revival In Pictures - Moss Point, Mississippi

I Believe In The Blood

Weekend Woundup and Weview # 6

This was our view out the front window late yesterday afternoon when the BoggsMobile arrived at a Walmart. 

We are here because we wanted to be as close to the Mobile Airport as we could get. Odie has to be there and inside by 5:00 AM Sunday morning. By the time most of you read this, she will be in the air with her wings spread for vacation!

I hope you have a great Sunday.

Davy

Almost Sail Away Time

Hello my friends,

This is Odie checking in on yet another Saturday. I hope you have had a great week. It has been wonderful to see our dear friends at Forts Lake Assembly. Pastor Tim Cauley and the entire church family welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family. This revival has been extremely encouraging. We had very good services! 

Almost a year ago I wrote this post about planning for my next cruise. Well, the planning time is over and it is about time for the fun to begin. I am super excited for this next week on The Singing At Sea 2017. I am almost packed and ready to go! Vacation will officially begin for me early tomorrow morning when I reach the airport. I will be flying from Mobile, Alabama to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

The cruise is chartered by Templeton Tours and it will be 4 days and nights of food, fun, fellowship and Southern Gospel singing. 

 

We will be sailing with Royal Caribbean on The Enchantment of the Seas. It will be our home from Monday afternoon until Friday morning. It is exciting to try a different cruise line and ship and experience new things about cruising. 

Enchantment of the Seas  (Stock Photo)

This will will be my 3rd cruise and also my 3rd Singing At Sea. I first sailed in 2012 and was joined by my cousin Lisa Isaacs. We had a blast and still laugh and reminisce about that awesome week. on The Carnival Fascination in the Bahamas. 

I sailed again in 2015. It was an amazing trip to Mexico. I was joined by my friend Kaylene Stephens. We enjoyed our week on the Carnival Paradise. I loved spending time with friends, making new friends, exploring new places, and enjoying wonderful music!

Kaylene be traveling with me again this time. I looking forward to seeing her again. We are anticipating a fabulous week of vacation on the beautiful sea! We are scheduled to stop in Nassau and Coco Cay. I will have updates when we return. Please pray for our safety as we sail and as we fly to and from Florida. 

My parents will be at Bible Way Assembly in Foley, Alabama Monday-Friday. I pray they have a great revival. If you are close by, go visit them. I know they would love to have you in service with them. 

Thanks for checking in. I appreciate you taking time to visit us here on the blog. 

Odie