Out Here Hope Remains

There is hope for the helpless ... Cry Out To Jesus. -- Third Day

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Good News Continues

GOOD NEWS NIGHTS with Danny Dodd are officially over, but the good news was very good indeed! Tuesday night was an awesome night with a fantastic message. In fact, more than one person said that these were some of the best messages they had heard Danny preach. I agree! Tuesday and Wednesday, Ed Humphries, Singles and College Minister from Gateway in Pensacola led our worship. What energy, passion, and joy these brothers brought to Central with them! We had community visitors each night, as well as hurricane relief workers from around the country and campaign workers from Magnolia Bible College. Monday and Tuesday night we were honored to have Les Ferguson, Sr. with us, along with Roger Hines and his wife from Kosciusko, MS. Tuesday night we were glad to have A.L. and June Franks, who have faithfully ministered to the entire state of Mississippi via the Magnolia Messenger for many years. Tonight Garvis Seymore (above with Ed and Danny), President of Magnolia Bible College was with us. It was great to see all of these friends! After the services Tuesday night, Ken told me that he wanted to be a part of the Central Family. We met and talked for a while, and he expressed his desire to be baptized. While I rejoiced with Ken's decision, I also wondered how we could accomodate this. Ken is in a wheelchair. This brother is so delightful and has such a lovely attitude, you would think that everything in his life was just the way it should be. Not long ago Ken fell off of a roof onto a concrete drive. He came to us with no where to go, and we took him in. David Kilbern had to administer Ken's pain shots so that he could make it through each day ... until someone stole his pain medication. Ken will have surgery on his back this coming Monday. Please keep him in your prayers and I'll try to keep you posted on his condition. So, after thinking about this all day today and not knowing how we were going to do it, Robert, Eddie, Jessie and myself helped Ken unite his life with Christ through faith and baptism. It was a joyful moment that brought much rejoicing! I need to ask you to pray for Roy Clark. No, not the 'pickin and grinnin' star of Hee Haw, but a man we met a few days ago. When he first showed up at Central he was hungry and very dirty. Sixty-five years old, Roy was living in an abandoned house and scaring up carpenter work on the Coast. His wife, a diabetic, had dropped a large object on her foot and was in the hospital somewhere in North Mississippi facing a potential amputation. Roy, unfortunately, fell off of a six foot ladder and landed on his nailgun, resulting in a fractured back. Surgery will likely be necessary. He is a very sweet and humble man. Congratulations to Heather for attaining her 60 day chip ... 60 days free of drugs and alcohol! What a great accomplishment! And only with God's help! Looking forward to God's surprises tomorrow! You just never know what he has in mind. As David Jordan says, one way to make God laugh is to make plans. Thanks for reading (and commenting!).