Friday on the Coast

Maggy and I started our day sharing a breakfast time with Gary Kirkendall before he headed back to LaGrange. Gary blessed me much this week, more than he probably knows. He wrote a few things about his trip on his blog tonight. One of Gary's gifts that I have always appreciated is that he has such clarity about the basics of any dilemma. While I'm pulling my hair out, he makes a statement or two and suddenly it all becomes simple. After Gary departed to Georgia, Maggy and I drove to the hospital. One of our members was having a heart catherization (I never know how to spell that) this morning. She received a great report and we enjoyed a visit with the other folks who came to sit with the family. In the afternoon I attended the funeral of one of our members, an elderly lady who has not been able to attend for a long time. In the late afternoon I spent most of my time preparing for tonight's Good News Night. We had a minimal number attend tonight, as we are between work crews. I did a lesson on The Four Facts of Temptation. Even though attendance was small, we did have two community visitors. Some of our friends from Pennsylvania have already arrived, and several more are due tomorrow. Other workers will be coming in from across the country ... Wisconnsin, Oklahoma, and parts unknown! This will be the largest crew of workers we have had yet. We will see how it goes! Charlie mentioned on his blog that Meredith (from North Carolina) set down her purse in the auditorium. Someone picked it up and left with it. This is the second time this has happened. Our auditorium is full of things for people to pick up and have. Last time, the purse never showed back up. This time, a sweet lady got home with it and realized her mistake. She brought it back this afternoon. It had everything in it, cash and all. UPS shipped it back to her, free of charge. Out here, hope remains. Enrique (Henry) was baptized about a month ago at Central. We have come to love our hispanic brother deeply. He is a true servant. At least once he mopped the entire church building. He was always ready to jump into a project. We met Enrique because he was working for a shady contractor who let him work a few weeks, gave him a check no one would cash, and then let him go. Enrique's mother is very ill and has been calling and asking him to come home. So, we have arranged for him to get back to Mexico to be with his family. He has not seen his children in three years. This faith-filled brother says he will be back. To tell you the truth, I believe him. As he has for a long time now, my friend Chris Lockhart came over to Pascagoula to stand beside me and work with me. Chris' faithfulness in this highlights my thoughtlessness. Because of the hospital visit and following funeral, I completely forgot about him coming. He drove over from Mobile, looked for me, called me ... and decided to go back home. I'm sorry, Chris. Thank you for your diligence and care. I enjoyed talking to you on the phone for a long time, but I'm sorry I didn't get to see you. I'm especially sorry that you gave up so much of your day for nought. Tomorrow will be a day of arrivals. Pray for the safe journeys of all of our workers.