Random Pictures

The past two weeks we have enjoyed fellowship with friends, speaking in two churches in two different states and having some time to relax.
Mark and Debbie Culham were in town for a family event and Debbie's mom Barb Kelderman joined the four of us for supper at Village Inn.  It had been years since we all had seen each other and it was wonderful to catch up.

Debbie and Nancy took a selfie in the parking lot.  Can you tell it was windy that evening?

 Paul and Vivian Canfield invited us along with Nick and Leona Venditti to their home for a meal last week.  Paul served as the Open Bible Missions Director when we were appointed as missionaries to Hungary and he just last month returned from a trip to Hungary, so we had a lot to talk about.

Paul and Vivian Canfield and us.

 October 21 we spoke at the New Life Open Bible Church in Sedalia, Missouri. 

The church in Sedalia has renovated their platform since we were there last.

 Last Sunday we were at the Living Church of Jesus Christ in Eldridge, Iowa.  Both churches have been long-time supporters and this was our third visit to each place.  It was good to see people we had come to know and to visit with so many of them.

Sometimes our pictures won't run on a church's system, but the Eldridge folks helped us come up with a solution.

 October 15-17 we were guests of Central Region at the Gathering at Rathbun Lake in Iowa, a beautiful, relaxing setting where we had time to talk with many long-time pastor friends and make many new friends also.  There were great services and seminars, delicious meals and fun presentations.  We also had time to get some exercise.  Mike played golf one afternoon and Nancy hiked one of the trails.

View of Rathbun Lake from the hiking trail.

 Last Saturday, we took a couple of hours off to visit Antique Archeology in Le Claire, Iowa.  Le Claire is near Eldridge, so while we were in the area, we stopped by.  Antique Archeology is the home of the History Channel's reality TV series "American Pickers."  We often watched that show when we lived in Hungary.  It was fun to see a little bit of Iowa while in a foreign country.

Mike in front of Antique Archeology

So, there you have some random pictures from our last couple of weeks.  A big thank-you to our hosts in Sedalia, Eldridge and Des Moines.  You all made our stay in the US a little bit brighter!

Family and Church Family

Sunday we attended Journey Church in Des Moines. It was the last week of their world missions emphasis month in which we participated along with Vince and Lois McCarty.  Vince is the Executive Director of Open Bible Global Missions and our boss.  During the service, Pastor Darrick Young interviewed us, giving us the opportunity to share some about our ministry in Hungary and our plans for Romania.  After the interview, Vince spoke about Global Missions and how Open Bible has made a difference in the lives of people around the world. 

Rev. Vince McCarty speaking at Journey Church in Des Moines

Mike with three of his 24 cousins

Earlier in the weekend, we made a quick trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for a gathering of Mike’s relatives.  All but one of Mike’s mom’s seven surviving siblings were there.  Three of his cousins also were there including one cousin from Alaska.  The stories the aunts and uncles told kept us rolling with laughter.  Then Uncle Ken called from Washington state and joined in the fun for a while. He mentioned the “skunk in the culvert” story and the laughter began again. We were so happy to be able to reconnect with relatives we have not seen for several years.

God is very good to us.  He has blessed us with church family everywhere we go and with physical family who love us, too.  We always tell people that we cannot do what we do without their financial help and their prayers.  That is true, but we also need and appreciate the strong connections we have with our family and our church family.  Yes, God is good.

90 and 91 Years Old

Last weekend we helped celebrate a 90th anniversary and a 91st birthday.

Touring the original building of the First Church of the Open Bible at 19th and Crocker Streets in Des Moines.  (Currently the Kathetral.)

Friday and Saturday we joined the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines, Iowa.  Friday evening was a powerful time of worship and prayer. Jeff Farmer, former President of Open Bible Churches was the speaker and spoke a prophetic word that seemed like it was just for us.

Saturday morning we joined a tour of the original building of First Church, Open Bible National Headquarters, and the Butler Building which formerly housed Open Bible College where Mike and I received our Bible education. After the tour was a luncheon featuring former pastors, leaders, and musicians of First Church. What a great time it was to reminisce! 

Eileen has hosted us every time we visited the Lacon church over the last ten years.

 Saturday afternoon we traveled to Lacon, Illinois and Eileen welcomed us into her home again.  Every time we have visited the church in Lacon over the past years, she has hosted us.  While we were there, we learned that Sunday was her 91st birthday!

Pastors Ben and Lola Carlson and their son David who turned four on Friday.

Sunday was a wonderful day of worship with the Christ New Covenant Open Bible Church.  Pastors Ben and Lola Carlson and the congregation welcomed us with open arms and were open and generous to us.  And we learned that the pastor's son David had turned four years old just the Friday before.

Happy 91st birthday, Eileen, happy 90th anniversary, First Church and happy 4th birthday, David!

We Enjoy Itineration

We enjoy itineration.  It is a wonderful time to be able to visit many churches, renew long-time friendships and make new friends.  Yes, our main objective is to raise funds and gather prayer support for our ministry in Romania, but we receive many additional benefits.

Last Sunday we were invited to speak at Hanford Community Church near Mason City, Iowa.  Our Bible college classmates, Dan and Sarah Carlson are the pastors there and we enjoyed time after the service reminiscing about our college days and catching up on news since then.  But we also had a great time getting to know some of the church members over the potluck lunch including one member who is Palestinian and another who is 107 years old!

Churches large and small have invited us to speak and we participate in worship services of different styles, but we always enjoy the presence of the Lord, the welcome of His people, and their amazing generosity.

Sometimes we travel for hours for one service.  Many times we are tired of sleeping in different beds, but we are truly blessed by God to be able to meet, minister to, and fellowship with loving people wherever we go.  We are looking forward to living in Romania and ministering there, but God is good to us, giving us this blessed time with our brothers and sisters in Christ here in America.