Traveling On My Knees

Last week someone gave me this poem:

     As I started my journey last weekend toward my next meeting, I thought about the church ladies I was going to see.  Over 2 years ago, I went to thier church to share my burden for South Africa.  

2 yrs. ago at Race Street Baptist Church

lunch with the ladies (2010)

     They all warmly received me.  After sharing what the Lord has asked me to do in South Africa, they also grew a burden of thier own.  That burden was to encourage and pray for this missionary to get to her mission field.  While reading that wonderful poem, these dear ladies come to mind. 
     Over the past 2 years I have received a multitude of letters from each of them.  They have told me of the prayers that they have prayed for me and the blessings they see as I do what God has asked me to do.  

lunch with the ladies last weekend (2012)

   As I spent time with them last weekend, I noticed that their sweet spirits have not changed.  Some things did change, however.  One of the ladies who wrote more frequently had been in an accident and her mind is not as sharp as it used to be.  I also noticed that more ladies have joined the group.  Each had love for the Lord and their own set of

burdens for others to be saved.

     It was such a delight to share my ministry again with their church, but also to fellowship once more with those dear ladies before I leave for the mission field. I know that they will be "traveling on their knees" on behalf of the Zulus in South Africa & me!

A Promise & Blessings

For over a month now one of my dear friends from a church in MD

 has been asking me to come back to visit her church before I leave for the mission field. 

 Her and "the girls" (what I call them) wanted us to all get a chance to spend some time together. 

 Last weekend, I did not have a scheduled meeting,

 so I attended their church (one of my supporting churches).

As I headed out to visit my praying supporters at Hunt Valley Baptist Church in MD, 

I rounded a corner and saw a beautiful rainbow.

God placed that in the sky for each of us that day.

How does God speak to you through a rainbow?

Rainbows always remind me of God's promises.

I asked the Lord, as I drove, "Lord, what promise can I claim from You today?"

The promise that He brought to me was -

Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

"I am with you always"...

What a promise!

He is always with me,

as I make phone calls,

schedule meetings,

drive long distances,

make important, life changing decisions,

choose what to leave behind when packing for the mission field,

and today,

as I drove yet another distance

to attend a church pastored by my old youth pastor,

 attended by dear old friends and new ones...

What promises would He fulfill in my life today?

In my mind, I was going to update my praying friends 

on how my support was coming along,

get to catch up on how my friends are doing,

 and of course spend some quality time with "the Girls".

God had a better plan!

As soon as I got out of the car in the church parking lot, a dear little boy came running to me all excited, because he was getting baptized.

That is exciting!

I was blessed to be able to see, not only him, but 6 others baptized that day!

In the lobby, I found some dear friends to chat with.

Like me, they too were excited that I will be leaving soon for South Africa.

HVBC Missions Wall

One of my favorite young ladies was so excited to see me.

She asked how I was and chatted away to me 

(I believe God will use her in missions one day).

She informed me that they were having a special day in the bus ministry 

and she could not talk long because her mother needed her help.

To make a long story a little shorter,

I ended up helping a little with their bus ministry.

They were doing special breakfast treats for their special program

 and needed help pouring the juice.

What a blessing to have so many kids in one place!

I guess I feel more at home with the children 

and long for my new ministry among the Zulu kids in South Africa.

A great challenge was given from God's Word.

I think 4 kids responded to the invitation.

While my head was bowed, a hand reached up and tapped me on the shoulder,

"Would you come and talk with one of these girls?"

Would I ???  Of course!!!!

I had the priviledge to lead a young lady named Mackenzie to the Lord!

God's promise to be with me was true!

I don't know about you, but whenever I go through the Scriptures, 

while leading a child to Christ,

 I am always praying on the inside- "Lord, please help them 

to understand Your Word and to believe in their heart".

You know, Mackenzie was just so ready.  

She had been coming on the bus for a while now and knew she needed to be saved.

No, she does not understand everything in the Bible,

but she had the faith of a little child (Mt. 18:2-5; 19:13,14).

After Sunday School, I quickly went upstairs 

(a little late because of talking with Mackenzie).

I was blessed to sit in a pew with a new family

 (at least new since I had been there 2 yrs. ago).

It was great to hear Pastor Bottrell preach again and to be in a growing church.

the "Girls" at our picnic lunch

For lunch, "the Girls" and I went out to Oregon Ridge Park

for a picnic lunch.

We had a delicious spread, lots of laughs and blessed fellowship.

They are truly my "sisters".  I love the times we spend together!

Me & "the Girls"

It is always a delight to serve the Lord.

These ladies are also faithful servants at their church.

I guess that is why we like to spend time together, because we have alot in common!

The full outcome of my day was truly unexpected, but I saw the Lord work 

and His promises fulfilled.

Pappy's Bible

Pappy Frey's Bible

While visiting with my Great Uncle John & Aunt Floss, 

I was able to see and read my Great Grandpa Frey's Bible (who we lovingly call "Pappy Frey").

On the inside of his Bible he wrote this:

Uncle John told me that Pappy Frey and Mammy 

were saved at a special service at the local church.

Mammy was saved at morning service and Pappy was saved in the evening.

What an exciting day that was for our family!

The date is easy to remember because it is the day before my birthday (not the year though).

From now on I will always remember that my Great Grandparents

 were saved on February 17th.

Pappy, Mammy & some of the kids 

What were the events that led up to them accepting Christ as their own personal Saviour?

My Aunt Floss told me that Pappy Frey was known as the town drunk.

He also did some work in his garage and had some very bad pictures posted on his walls.

At that time, Mammy and Pappy had two children - Roy (my grandfather) and Hazel.

All the kids- Roy and Hazel are the two oldest (on the right)

My other Great Uncle, Paul (who we call "Amos") told my dad the other day about the events

 that led up to Pappy Frey attending that church service where he got saved.

He said that Pappy was passed-out drunk in a ditch somewhere,

 when a friend of the family came along and found him.

This dear friend took Pappy home with him and sobered him up.

 When Pappy was sober, he invited him to come with him the next day to the special church service.

He made Pappy promise that he would come with him.

The next day, Pappy's friend came to pick up Pappy for service.

Pappy was not ready and said that he did not remember promising him that he would come.

Mammy and the kids went to church with their family friend and as you read in the entry from Pappy's Bible,

 Mammy was saved that morning.

When that friend came along to pick them up for church service that night, Pappy went along.

That evening, Pappy accepted Christ as his personal Saviour.

My Great Grandpa, "Pappy Frey"

As a Christian, Pappy Frey was differant than before.

The town drunk, no longer lived in that community.

Pappy tore down all of the bad posters on his garage wall. 

One of my Great Uncles told me that he put up pictures of great Christians instead 

(like Spurgeon and R.A. Torrey).

After salvation, Mammy and Pappy Frey gave thier children

 Bible names like: David, Samuel, John, and Martha.

The old man had passed and the new man was alive in Christ.

Pappy Frey working on oil burners

Pappy was a hard worker.

He taught his children to work hard, obey God's Word, and be kind to others.

One of his sons told me that he would come downstairs early in the morning 

and find Pappy on his knees in prayer.  

Many times the children would hear thier names being uttered in prayer.  

Pappy and Mammy prayed for thier children. 

 Many times the boys would come back in from the morning milking

 to find thier father still on his knees in prayer.

Mammy did her part in raising the kids to honor the Lord.  

Aunt Floss told me that she remembers coming to dinner while she was dating John.  

Mammy would have each of the kids recite a memory verse before they could eat thier dinner. 

My Great Uncle John is a pastor.  

He said that most of the Scripture that he has committed to memory

 is from his childhood, because of Mammy.

Below are some of the notes that I found while paging through my Great Grandpa's Bible:

Was he thinking of the wretched life he used to live, before he found Christ?

I am thankful to God for the godly heritage I have because of Pappy Frey.

I believe he would be proud of his sons and daughters as they serve the Lord in thier homes, 

at thier jobs, churches, and some even in ministry.

I can't wait to get to Heaven to talk to him about the people that God

 has led me to minister to in South Africa.  

I believe he would be proud!

Reading Pappy Frey's Bible

On Sunday morning, before going to church with Great Uncle John & Aunt Floss, I did my personal devotions out of Pappy Frey's Bible.  What a treat!

My Bible with Pappy's Bible

Pappy's Bible contained a story. 

His story started on the first page with his and Mammy's date of salvation.

God's Word contains the same story for each of us.

The story of God who loved us so much that He sent His Only Son to die for our sin.

The Bible shows each of us how we can be a new man, with old things passed away.

A heritage of faith can be passed down to our children,

 grand children, and great grand children.

The story of salvation can be shared by a loving family friend, 

who desires for others to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This story of God's love, is the same story that I will take to the Zulus in South Africa.

What a story!

Travel Journal: March 17 & 18, 2012

SATURDAY: This morning I did my usual morning walk and then left Michigan to drive toward home.  At one point during my journey home the GPS kept saying "Bridge to Canada 1 mile".  I was getting a little concerned when hardly anyone else was driving on the highway with me except those with Canadian license plates.  If you didn't already know this, my GPS has taken me to some odd places in my travels.  Most of the time it is very useful and I am thankful for how helpful it is, but that day I was getting a little concerned that it might take me to the border and I didn't have my passport with me.  Needless to say, it did not take me to Canada, Whew!!!!   

Driving was not too bad on Saturday morning.  After I got halfway to my destination, I stopped at a Rest Area to stretch my legs and to get a little work done.  After a few phone calls, it was very clear that the Lord's will was not for me to go to my original destination for Sunday service.  After talking to my dad a while, he reminded me that his Uncle John and Aunt Floss (my great aunt & uncle) were living in Sharpsville, PA, right on the edge of the OH/PA line.  I called them and asked about coming to attend the church that Uncle John was preaching at (my Great Uncle John has pastored some very productive churches and is now interum pastor at a small Baptist church in the area).  They invited me to stay the night with them.

What a blessed time we had of catching up 

and of sharing all that the Lord has been doing in our lives.

I am just so blessed to have family who love God and are serving them with their whole heart.
In a later post I will share with you some of those blessings, but for now I just want to catch you up on my Sunday meeting.

Pastor & Mrs. Frey

SUNDAY: Today, I was given the Sunday School hour at my Great Uncle's church.  The people were so receptive as I showed my DVD and shared testimony about all that the Lord is doing.  I know there will be people who support prayerfully and financially from this church.

My Great Uncle is an excellent preacher 

and my Great Aunt is just a joy to be around.  

The Lord has given her a true love for people.  

She is like a breath of fresh air!

I will tell you more about them later and about who this Bible belongs to 

(look for it in my next post).

After a delicious lunch and Great Aunt Floss's Raspberry Pie - YUM!!!  I was off to another church for evening service.  My plan was to stop at a church in Bedford, PA on the way toward home.  My parents often go to Bedford to visit Antique shops and Flea Markets and are always telling me to visit some of the churches in that area.  Since it is almost a 4 hour drive I had not yet been able to do that, but this time had a chance since I was heading right through.  

I visited a friendly church, where the ladies just made me feel like I was part of their family.  The pastor asked me to stand and give a testimony and to tell who I am and where I am going.

I left feeling loved and blessed.  The Pastor's message was kind of a conclusion of this whole trip.  He preached about how one of the benefits of being saved is the believers around you.  God has certainly used His people to encourage, support, and bless me!

 Ps 68:19 

"Blessed be the Lord, 

who daily loadeth us with benefits, 

even the God of our salvation. Selah."

Travel Journal: March 10-13, 2012

SATURDAY~ Today I drove out through Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, Ohio.  Thank you Lord for the beautiful sunny day, saftey, and less traffic than usual.

Driving through Fremont, OH

SUNDAY~ This morning I attended Cleveland Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was such a blessing to finally meet Pastor and Mrs. Folger.  Thier church is the sending church for my dear friend Karen Nolan.  Karen is a single missionary lady to Mexico.  She has stayed with me a number of times while attending my home church's Missions Conference.  Karen has been a blessing to have as a friend and was a huge help to me as I started deputation.  It was great to attend her home church and meet the people who were her prayer warriors.  


During the afrternoon, I drove a few hours to Clyde, OH.  
For evening service, I attended Harvest Baptist Temple.  This is the church that my pastor came from.  It is also the church where the Sharps are from.  The Sharps are missionaries who go all over the world helping churches with thier sound systems, audio/visual, setting up radio stations, and anything high-tech that needs to be done.  God has given them so many useful talents to help churches bring people to Christ.  I actually sat beside Mr. Sharp's mother!  Funny, the people you meet at church :)  The service was challenging and the fellowship was sweet.  After service, I drove about 40 minutes down the road to Fremont, Ohio.

Looking out over my balcony

MONDAY~ This morning I woke up and opened the door to my balcony.  From there I heard the sound of birds singing, church bells ringing, and a train whistle in the background.  Where was I?   Well, I already told you :)  I was in Fremont, Ohio.  The Lord provided a wonderful place for me to stay.  It was a little Bed & Breakfast called "Blessings".  One of the oldest houses in the historic part of town.  

Blessings B&B

It had lots of Victorian charm, but most of all I loved the inn keepers, Ryk & Eve.  As fellow Christians we were able to share with each other what the Lord has been doing in our lives.  If you would like to see more pictures from my stay at "Blessings" click here
Today, I worked on my application for my South African Health Insurance.  I have to have prook of insurance for South Africa in order to get my VISA approved.  So I had the paperwork emails, took it to be printed, filled it out and faxed it back (whew, it sounds alot easier than it was).  Also, forgot to say I found another Goodwill (I have "thrift store radar").


TUESDAY~ The weather has been so nice, so I have been walking through the historic area every morning before breakfast and every evening.  After enjoying a great breakfast, while visiting with Eve & Ryk, I did some paper work.  

Me with Ryk & Eve

Today, I spent some time on the phone again with my insurance man.  the Kilmers and I are also trying to track down some Zulu John/Romans for me to ship to South Africa.  I made a number of calls (with great help from Mr. Engles), but have still not found a place that prints Zulu John/Romans.  Please pray about this.  I was hoping to find a place in Ohio or Indian so that I could pick them up on my trip back home.  Tonight, as I was sitting on the couch updating my calendar and on the phone with a friend, Eve came out to tell me about the tornado warning.  She took me over to this closet and said that if the tornado siren goes off I should hide in there. 

The Tornado closet

 The closet was just right for one person to hide in.  Nonetheless, the tornado did not come through and we all got a good night sleep.  


Wednesday I will be at Lagrange Baptist Church in LaGrange, Indiana.
Thursday & Friday I will be at Covenant Baptist Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Saturday morning I will drive toward home visiting a new church on Sunday morning and evening.
Thank you for praying!

My Faithful Prayer Warriors

 I am so thankful for all of the people who hold me up in prayer.

Some of the dearest people to me are those who don't have much, 

but choose to give for the furtherance of the Gospel.

After hearing about a few youth groups and Sunday School classes that have taken me on for support, the 4&5 yr olds from my Master's Club class have decided that they too could support me for $5.oo a month.

You may say, $5.oo, how can that help a missionary?

I might reply, "Every little bit helps". 

That may seem a very simple answer, but it is very true.

Do you realize that if 500 people would pledge just $5.oo 

like these little children, that would cover all of my support 

needed for the mission field ($2,300per month).

Many times we do not give financially to our church or our missionaries because we think that what God has led us to give is very insignificant.

These little ones have given thier best.

Every week they look at the map on thier classroom wall.

 They pray for the Zulu people, 

that Miss Gina's support will grow so she can go,

for my saftey as I travel,

for the churches I am visiting to catch the burden for South Africa,

and many other pure hearted requests.

Each of the children are excited when I am able to attend thier class on Wednesday nights.  They want to personally hand me thier pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters (which usually come with a hug).

Ryan, is such a playful little boy, but is always 

ready to reciprocate any love that you share back to you.  

Last week, as he hugged me, he said, "I hope you get to Africa soon".

Jessica, is a talkative and very busy little girl.

She is always so inquisitive and ready to talk about everything,

including South Africa.

Evelyn, is such a joy to have in class.  

Her smile and happy nature are so fun and refreshing.

She is always ready to learn new memory verses.

Every time I see her, she comes over to me with a few cents in her hand.

With a smile she gives her "best" to me and says,

"Is this enough for you to go to South Africa?"

What simple faith!

Truman, has a sweet heart.

He truly cares about the needs of others.

When we have prayer time, he faithfully prays for 

"his daddy's job to not be too stressful".

I can only imagine how sincere his prayers are for me.

Eric, was quiet when he first came to our class.

Now he fits in as "one of the boys".

He refused to smile for this picture because he wanted to be silly.

I love having him as a part of our class!

As Ryan worked with Jessica on her verses,

 and as the teachers worked with their students

on memory verses, I was again reminded about how blessed 

I was to be one of the teacher in this little class.

They are my faithful prayer warriors!

There is a song that we some times sing called, 

Give of Your Best to the Master.

These little ones are giving thier best to Him.

GIVE OF YOUR BEST TO THE MASTER

by Howard B. Grose 1902

1. Give of your best to the Master;
   Give of the strength of your youth;
   Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor
   Into the battle for truth.
   Jesus has set the example,
   Dauntless was He, young and brave;
   Give Him your loyal devotion;
   Give Him the best that you have.
   • Refrain:
     Give of your best to the Master;
     Give of the strength of your youth;
     Clad in salvation’s full armor,
     Join in the battle for truth.
2. Give of your best to the Master;
   Give Him first place in your heart;
   Give Him first place in your service;
   Consecrate every part.
   Give, and to you will be given;
   God His beloved Son gave;
   Gratefully seeking to serve Him,
   Give Him the best that you have.
3. Give of your best to the Master;
   Naught else is worthy His love;
   He gave Himself for your ransom,
   Gave up His glory above.
   Laid down His life without murmur,
   You from sin’s ruin to save;
   Give Him your heart’s adoration;
   Give Him the best that you have.

Proverbs 3

⁹ Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruitsof all thine increase:

Ecclesiastes 12

¹ Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;