The road was long and winding.  Tumbleweeds.  A semi.  Dirt.  There was not much to see on the way to Texas City.  Jocelyn started fussing.  Praise the Lord, there was a gas station!  I pulled off and decided we were going to stop and eat lunch.

The gas station was the only building within what seemed like miles and it had a country feeling to it as soon as we stepped inside.  We sat down and began to eat our meals.  With Mandi now holding a happy baby, Jocie smiled at an elderly gentlemen who was right beside us.

Within minutes, we were holding a conversation about anything and everything.  It amazed me at just how open this gentlemen was.   He began to talk about his family and his grandkids.  And as if he were bursting at the seams, he told us about his wife who recently left him of several years of marriage.  He woke up one morning to a note that read, "I'm outta here."

People are hurting everyday.  On our way to the car, I had the opportunity to share Christ with him.  He claimed that he was saved and on his way to heaven.  Maybe the Lord just wanted us to encourage him.  Maybe he would use a specific verse on the back of the tract I gave him.  Either way, we are striving to do what God asks us to do everyday:  be an example.

All Along~

I am sitting at the table in a mission's apartment in Tomball, Texas trying to figure out what in the world to post.  What can I post to encourage someone?  What can I post to make someone laugh?  What should I not post?  Is anyone even reading this?  Just thought I'd be honest for a moment.

Life happens so quickly.  Just last night, my wife and I were talking about "the old days" when we first got married, you know, the days before we had a child?  It really is just a vapor in the air.  There is a song that always comes to my mind when I think of my life and all of the events that have happened.  It is called "All Along."

All along, your hand has been guiding me
Shaping my life to be a beautiful song
All along, you lead me through
Things that you knew would make me strong
Your love has been there all along.

It is like I am following a circle that going around and around and around, but is spiraling at the same time.  Eventually, I'll end up right in the middle.  God saved me and that was the starting point.  Little by little, I just keep walking and walking and walking exactly where He wants me to go.  As I keep following, I am one step closer to being in God's perfect will for my life.

But wait?  Is God's perfect will only one event in our life?  I don't think so.  I honestly believe God's perfect will is taking one day at a day and striving to please Him.  And little by little, we'll get to the destination that God wants us at.

Deputation is a spiral.  Little by little, inch by inch, we're traveling everywhere to try to get financial and prayer support before we go to the field. But while we've traveled, there have been so many lessons learned.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

One of these days, we'll be in Hong Kong.  But that's not the end of the spiral.  The middle of the spiral is Heaven.  So, this life is something I need to live one day at a time.

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Where have we been?
Texas has been the place to be!  With it's hot weather, humid temperatures, and friendly people, we've had several meetings in this big state.  It has been a lot of fun.  Currently, we're in Tomball (right next to Houston.)  We were told NASA was right across the way, but we didn't get to see it.  But soon!  Tomorrow, we will be heading to Oklahoma City to see a dear friend of mine graduate from Heartland Bible College and then we're off to Amarillo, TX for several weeks.

Any blessings?
Our biggest blessing has been that several new churches have taken us on for financial support.  Also, we have finally been able to travel in our new vehicle, a 2002 Saturn.  It has a wonderful air conditioner and lots of room!

Souls saved?
Since January, we have seen seven precious souls come to the Lord.

How can you pray for us?
First of all, thank you for your prayers.  It is always an encouragement and without it, we wouldn't be able to be encouraged.  Please pray for our safety, for financial support, and for wisdom as we continue to get closer to China.  (IE:  Homeschooling, where to live, who to work with, etc.)

And that baby?
Jocelyn is just fine.  She had her four month old shots recently and she's growing like a weed.  She can now roll over from her belly to her back.  She is attempting to roll over from her back to her belly.  After several weeks of torture, she is finally learning to sleep through most of the night.  (AMAZING!)

April's adventures!

Bible Baptist Church of El Dorado, Arkansas had a fantastic mission's conference. Not only were we privileged to be a part of it, we got to see the Lord work first hand in this special church's victory service! They increased their faith promise mission's giving by 10,000$!

The conference we attended was wonderful and very packed. From soulwinning, to endless tables of food, to amazing preaching services, it all worked together to bring us closer to the Lord. The entire week was fast paced. Night after night, something special happened. At the closing service on Sunday, every single member was worn out. But there was something different about it. In the midst of being busy, I had to ask myself, "Why were we so busy this week?" Because of God's amazing grace and what He did for us. That is why we are able to do what we do.

BBC's bus ministry runs in the afternoon. Hundreds of children piled into the classrooms to hear about the missionaries and to get a piece of candy. My wife taught in the four year olds class and I talked 1st-3rd grade. Two of the children we had invited out to come to church came that afternoon. It was a special treat!

Some of our dear friends were at that church. They spoiled our family rotten and we were able to take family portraits for the first time, thanks to our friends, the Loves!

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Jocelyn is getting bigger every day. My wife recently packed away all of her newborn clothes and pulled out her 0-3 month clothes. (And I was surprised at how many clothes she had!!!) We're just now starting to learn WHY she has so many clothes.

Traveling with a baby is difficult. But you just have to learn to laugh. It's one of the lessons we are learning right now: life's too serious...just laugh. On our way to El Dorado, Jocelyn decided to use the restroom...well, let's just say it was everywhere. Pulling over on the side of the road, it didn't stop there. She continued to go. Everywhere. The car, her clothes, her changing pad - EVERYWHERE! So here we are...on the side of the road...the only building in sight is a liquor store...and we are changing our three month old daughter on the back of the trunk of the car. Water? Nope...just a creek down in the ditch. I did what every dad would do. I asked for a bag, dunked all of the clothes in the water, and tied the bag shut. Problem solved.

She rolled over for the first time this week. My wife has got to see it, I haven't. She recorded Jocie lifting her head high, though. It's quite funny. She'll lift her head a few seconds, then get exhausted, and start to fuss after she's worked so hard. Then, mommy picks her up.

We do that as Christians. We work and work and work. We get tired, we rest. Sometimes, we even fuss like children. But the Lord is always there to pick us up for a hug or for comfort.

Christ is Risen, Indeed!

Jocelyn Grace ready for her candy hunt! (Or is it just an excuse for her mother to get candy?)
My wife, Mandi, and my daughter, Jocelyn.

What a wonderful thought: Our Savior is risen, INDEED! Because of His triumph over the grave, we have a home in heaven! We just wanted to give a quick update for the beginning days of April. There have been four new churches take us on this month, four souls saved, and we must say - the Lord is good!

During Easter, I traveled to Missouri for a mission's conference. My wife and daughter stayed at home for a few days so she was able to see her sister who flew in from Wyoming. The pictures are of them at Bible Baptist church, our sending church.

Together again!

Finally, we're together again! These past few months have been wonderful and filled with many blessings, but our favorite blessing was packing the car for deputation and setting off for our first mission's conference together as a FAMILY.

Our first adventure started in Bridgeport, TX! Pastor Webster and Bible Baptist Church opened up their mission's apartment for us for a week while we were able to present at their church. It was a lot of fun! We made a lot of new friends, including the Phillips family. They have three precious boys. Melissa (in the picture) fell in love with Jocelyn. She literally carried her around everywhere. If Mandi blinked, that baby was out of her arms and in Melissa's.

Then, we traveled to Dumas, TX to present at BBC. Pastor Korsmo and his church family received us with open arms. In a week, the Lord blessed us with two new supporting churches. We are loving Texas!

On Sunday, Mandi decided to put Jocelyn in a beautiful pink dress. In about fifteen minutes of being in nursery, she was able to poo and spit up on it. Yeah, we think she does not like the dress. We are learning to be prepared for anything. (And the prophet's chamber had a washer and dryer - PRAISE THE LORD.)

While at the conference in Dumas, we were privileged to meet the Baucham family, missionaries to China for thirty years. They started their ministry in Hong Kong and resided their for 15 years. Later, they moved into mainland China and began an underground church. First, it was a blessing to meet SUCCESSFUL missionaries to Hong Kong and hear them say just how wonderful it is there. Also, they chose to learn the Cantonese language. (They are just now learning Mandarin.) So many people have discouraged us from learning Cantonese, but the Lord seemed to just lay it in front of us that it IS possible to learn and it IS possible to start churches in Hong Kong - we just have to keep going!

Since January, we have been able to see three souls saved. We are thankful for serving such a great God!

Sam and Jocelyn cuddling after the first night of mission's conference in TX. She was literally worn out!
This is Jocelyn's new best friend, Melissa. She would not put her down! She seemed quite content to just stay in her arms. (This is the dress she likes to go potty on...)
Pastor Webster, Sam, Mandi, and a sleeping Jocelyn. This is one of our new supporting churches!

March Update!

It's amazing how time flies! This month will be very busy, but we're excited to see what the Lord has in store for us! Jocelyn will finally be joining us on the deputation trail in one short week! (We thought it wise to wait until she had her two month old shots before she came with us.)

I have been traveling from Missouri, to Iowa, and back to Missouri! The Lord has allowed me to be in several mission's conferences this month. At one specific conference, I was able to fellowship with one of my heros, Bob Johnston, missionary to the Dominican. It was a blessed time.

In the middle of February, my wife and I were able to go doorknocking together with our home church. Kiffany, a young lady of 20, asked the Lord into her heart while we were out witnessing. Praise the Lord for a soul getting saved!

Several people have sent us love offerings, emails, and gifts in the mail for our newborn daughter. Thank you for your sacrifice and your kind heart. Words cannot express how thankful we are to you!

Please be in prayer for: safety travels, Jocelyn to become use to travels in her carseat (this is a big deal!), a time to switch out vehicles, support to increase, and the salvation of Randy and Shane.

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CRETZSMANS TO CUBA UPDATE:

A few weeks ago, I posted a link asking to pray for the Cretzman family to Cuba. Thank you for being concerned for them and praying for their family. (This is the missionary family that lost their 3 year old daughter in a car accident.)

I just wanted to share a few results from the funeral. (Matt Cretzman is on facebook and we follow him - all of this information is from his account.) There have been SEVERAL saved. (I do not know an exact number..but someone from the news station was saved, several nurses were saved, and we've read updates several times of young people and adults getting saved while at the funeral or watching the broadcast.) There have been families surrender to the mission field. Also, Mrs. Cretzman is fine from her surgery, but they will be recovering for awhile.

If you wish to visit their website, it is: www.cretzmanstocuba.com

Thank you!

Prayer for Cretzmans.

Please pray for the Cretzmans, a missionary family to Cuba. They are still on deputation and had a car accident the morning of February 19. They were traveling on an icy road in North Carolina. The mother is in a coma right now, the father is alright, their little baby is in the hospital. Sadly, they lost their little 3 year old girl, Azlynn. Please take a moment right now to pray for them. Their website is www.cretzmanstocuba.com .