May 1-3, 2009

Buffalo Valley & Prague, Oklahoma

I got Landis up at 6:30 Thursday morning and he started his school before 7:00 a.m. Half way through, he had his breakfast, resumed his schooling and finished it by 9:00. What a relief to have that off of our shoulders the rest of the day. I was right proud of us until Hope griped at me for not waking her up and helping her get her work done early too. Oh well. Can't please everyone.

Derick Luthe came over Thursday morning to have a look at the motor home because it didn't idle well. I invited Charcy to come along so we could get some hanging out time in. Not necessarily was I suggesting we'd “visit,” as I had home school and packing to do. She accepted the invitation but brought her ironing to counter my chores. She got a little of it done but Kendrick, who is nearly 5 months old, demanded that she spend most of her time feeding him lots of food.

For our lunch I served taco soup, a favorite recipe from my mother-in-law, followed by strawberries, shortcake and fresh whipped cream. My sister, Mary and her three boys came by just in time for dessert and we enjoyed some good hard laughing around the table, hopefully burning a few of the calories we'd just consumed. After everyone left, I spent the remainder of the afternoon and most of the evening packing. Once I get the motor home stocked with a small wardrobe, I'll not have to “pack” every weekend.

Bobby asked if I'd be ready before dark, and I was...barely. We left at 8:00 that evening and drove to West Memphis, Arkansas, where he parked us at a rest area and we all slept. We have some work to do in this vehicle because right now we are lacking beds. The three girls slept on the fold-out couch in the front, Bobby slept on top of the bathtub. Seriously. The jet tub that was put in the motor home for Darrell, has plywood over it covered by a vinyl therapy mat. Landis and I shared a twin air bed and I need not tell you we lacked some good rest the next morning. It was a waste of my time to go to bed before we stopped. Landis and I bounced and rolled in the back of that motor home and if you've ever driven on I-40 in eastern Arkansas you know you shouldn't eat with a fork while doing so. You could kill yourself.

We found our way to Talihina, Oklahoma, which is situated in the high hills of the eastern side of the state. Everyone needed naps so we parked at 1:30 and tried to get everyone a comfortable place to sleep. This time I thought I'd be smart and put Landis and Hope on the air bed. Of course Bobby slept on the tub again and Faith and I were on the couch. Grace refuses to take naps so I put a movie in for her to watch from the wheelchair. I tried to position Faith where she couldn't see what the movie was and turned the volume down low so it was just barely audible for Grace but when curious Faith sneaked a peek and saw a Barbie movie she was wide awake. All I could think of was Swine flu and decided she MUST have a nap because we need rest to keep from getting sick. Silly, I know. I am NOT freaked about H1N1. Maybe I'm just stubborn enough that I wasn't going to let her have her way. We fought for nearly an hour. I would almost fall asleep and she'd cry again or Grace would give one of her happy screams. Finally around 3:00 I was falling asleep and thought I heard a knock on the door. I know I was almost asleep because I dreamed that Faith knocked on the cabinet beside me. Then I opened my eyes and heard more VERY persistent knocking. The way the knock sounded, I thought perhaps we were in trouble for sitting where we were. I opened the door to see an older gentleman who asked if we were evangelists and what time the service was that night. Then he proceeded to tell me that he was a deacon at the “other” Assembly of God church in town, where the church was located where we were singing, and how he and the other seniors in town raised money selling Indian tacos to go on fun trips! Well, that was it! No nap and I was now an unhappy, frustrated mother and wife. To top it all off when I turned around from the door I saw that Faith had been lulled to sleep by the gentleman's talking. Bobby said I should have come to the back room and put all the kids in the front. But I asked him if he would have wanted the kids answering the door instead. Why I didn't just let Faith watch the movie and allowed myself to get some rest, I can't tell ya.

Friday night we sang at Buffalo Valley Assembly of God. The date was booked by Amanda Conley, who told Bobby she remembered him coming to sing at her church 25 years earlier...when she was 5. Don't you know Bobby just loves reminders of how old he is? The evening was fun and lighthearted and I forgot my weariness for a while. But by the time we arrived at the hotel in Shawnee after midnight, it all came back to me. We walked into our first floor room of the HI Express (Grace's favorite) and discovered that we'd been booked in a handicap accessible room so there was no bathtub, just a walk-in shower. The kids know that I can't stand a bathroom sink with no counter top so Hope quickly reported to me the bad news followed by Landis who said the floor was wet all across the room! Of course I contacted the front desk and asked if there was another room and of course, there wasn't. I assumed the floor had just been cleaned but the clerk never offered that information. She did do some extensive checking to find us another room but unfortunately they were full. Hoping the floor would dry completely by morning, I told her that perhaps they could move us to another room with a bathtub tomorrow so that I could bathe Grace but right then we were all exhausted and needed sleep. She apologized over and over and spoke favorably of finding a different room the next day.

We had to be at the 107^th Annual Kolache (pr. Ko-lah-chee) Festival in Prague (pr. Prayg) by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday in order to get near the stage before they blocked all streets for the parade. Bobby was to sing 2 thirty minute sets at noon and 2:30. However, it rained and stormed and there was no singing except a little singing of “It's Raining, It's Pouring” in our motor home. Speaking of the motor home, how thankful we were to have our cozy, warm and dry nook to hang out in during all of this. Around 1:30, Jason Hughey, the coordinator for the gospel music stage at the festival, stepped into our humble abode and said we were going to call it a day and handed Bobby a check. I think that's probably the hardest I've ever seen Bobby work for his pay. We did get to see some of the parade in between showers but even the parade was cut short as the participants would rather run for cover than parade their wet selves down main street.

The children were bathed and fed taco soup, (of COURSE we ate soup) back at the hotel in our new room. Yes, they moved us to a room with a bathtub, a bathroom counter top and dry floors.

On Sunday morning we drove back to Prague to First Baptist Church where Jason Hughey is the Minister of Music. Bobby and I attended a fun Sunday School class and then the Lord blessed us with a service that was sweet with His presence. It was one of the largest congregations we've ministered in with about 400 people attending and then Pastor Tim Emmons assisted us in the altar call where approximately 20 to 25 of the people responded. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the service as the people were very quiet and slow to respond. As Bobby asked a few questions and waited for a response, I remembered the 2 weekends prior to this one and the learning experiences we had. I smiled, tapped my foot, raised my hand, clapped a little and nodded my head from the front row trying to encourage him. I prayed for him asking the Lord to remind him to not be concerned with the lack of response from the people, but to please God rather than men. God did minister to us as well as to the people of First Baptist Church in Prague.

After a quick afternoon of driving back to Shawnee to change and eat lunch, we came back to Prague one more time for the evening service to Calvary Way Church which was only about ½ mile from First Baptist. Once again we counted ourselves blessed and privileged to meet and get acquainted with some great saints in the body of Christ. Pastor Starland Davis and his sweet wife, Nancy, welcomed us as we walked in and after service shared of their own bittersweet experience of raising a son, Jerry, they had adopted at birth who was severely physically and somewhat mentally handicapped. Jerry passed away in 2004 at the age of 19 and seeing Grace Sunday evening made Pastor Starland very emotional. He referred to her when he stood up to receive the offering midway through the service so Bobby called me up to speak right after that instead of waiting until the end of the concert. I'm glad he was sensitive to what was happening because I wouldn't have thought of changing things up like he did and it was effective, I believe.

We all get so tired by Sunday evening after ministering and moving all weekend that sometimes we just can't quite make it to the end without a break. Grace and Hope were sitting across the aisle from Landis, Faith and I on the front row Sunday night so I didn't realize Hope had fallen asleep. Bobby introduced her, even calling her name through the microphone but she didn't move. He moved on to introduce Faith as I crossed the aisle to awaken Hope. You know when you force a child to wake up, even when it's as gentle as possible, you fear they'll be a grump? Well, when Hope sat up in a daze trying to steady herself,

Bobby asked her if she wanted to sing and she quickly nodded. She wasn't sure which direction to take for the stage but she made it without falling and then sang like she'd just had a cup of coffee. What a pro!

I drug myself to bed before 11:00 Sunday night, rising early to do laundry, tread on the treadmill, and eat a big breakfast. We were on the road by 10:00 a.m. and arrived home at 10:01 p.m.

Got just a bit of "band practice" yesterday on tape. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b-qxH-LZbc