>

Amarillo By Mornin'

May 14-17, 2010

We left for Amarillo on Friday morning, the 14^th and arrived at the Drury Inn late that night, exhausted and FREEZING! That didn't matter, however, when we saw how nice our hotel was. Having a nice place to stay eases the pain of having to be away from home so much. Not that our home is that “nice” but I'm sure you've heard there's no place like your own.

On Saturday we enjoyed steak at The Big Texan: Home of the FREE 72 oz. Steak before finding Triumphant Truth Church where Pastor Alberta Helton leads a loving congregation. It was a smaller group that we ministered to but, wow, what receptive and loving people they were.

We met some precious folks, Johnny and Shirley Sluden who loved on our kids. They said Bobby reminded them so much of their own son who was near the same age.

Pastor Alberta and her husband, Pat have a ranch outside of Amarillo and have served the Lord for a very long time.

After the service we drove to Elk City, Oklahoma to stay at The Clarion and rise the following morning to drive up to Leedey to serve at Harvest Fellowship Church with Pastor Mark Haney and his gracious wife, Jada. This was a date that almost wasn't as there was a mix-up in the scheduling and Pastor Mark didn't have us down on his calendar. At first he thought he'd have to cancel us but he changed his mind and we were so relieved. What a blessing these people were. They are a young church and are seeking to be relevant but peculiar to their community.

Pastor Mark and Jada are no strangers to pain as they lost their 1 year old son eight years ago in a dry drowning. This tragedy has not left Pastor Mark and Jada empty-handed but, instead, has allowed them to minister with more compassion and with more skillful understanding into the hearts of the people they lead. Once again, God encouraged us as we set out to encourage others.

Pastor Mark and Jada treated us to lunch but unfortunately, it was hurried. We had to get to Purcell for the evening service.

We made it to Union Hill Baptist Church near Purcell in plenty of time and after loading in we had time to sit and visit with Pastor Barry McConathy for a while and just get to know him a little bit. He used to pastor Whispering Pines Baptist Church in Conroe, Texas, where our friends Fred and Felecia Rivas attend. Barry and his wife, Char, were very close friends with Fred and Felecia and Char and Felecia used to sing in a trio together. Felecia has told me since there's not a day goes by that she doesn't think of her friends, she misses them so much.

After the concert Pastor Barry, Char and another couple that I really enjoyed getting to know but can't remember their names (I know, that's AWFUL!!!) went out for pizza and had a fun time.

We drove out as far as Shawnee to the HI Express we've stayed in before and found rest there for the night. A long drive home on Monday but glad to be home for the week.