News from New York

This past weekend, I left my little apartment in Indiana once again, and began working my way northeast. My first stop was at Faith Baptist Church in Kenton, Ohio. My Sunday presentations went very smoothly, even the technology cooperated perfectly. I enjoyed staying a couple of days with a widow who lives a mile or two from the church, and we discovered a common interest in puzzle books and in playing Scrabble on the computer.

On Monday, I continued my travels northeast to Cincinnatus, New York, where I'll be staying for several weeks at a guest house owned by one of my supporting churches. This is a very pretty, hilly area, and Cincinnatus is a quiet rural town, so that this guest house is a real pleasure to stay in.

Last night I presented my ministry at First Baptist Church in Memphis, New York. This church has had some interesting adventures in the past few months, when the roof over their auditorium collapsed last winter under the weight of the season's snow. By the time I visited them, what was left of the building had been torn down and they had moved their meetings back into their older 19th-century facility, which they had previously been using as a gymnasium. I thank the Lord that although they have much on their minds as they rebuild the church facilities they need, they have not lost their interest in missions and were willing to have me come anyway.

Setting up all the technology was an exercise in missionary flexibility and creativity, as we tried to find a way to make my DVD so that it could be heard in the gym, where all sound seems to disappear somewhere in the high ceiling, and the echoes and electric fans combine to make it difficult to hear voices clearly, even with a microphone. But we were finally able to come up with something that worked, and I think most people could hear the DVD reasonably well. The warm weather made us all a little sleepy, but in spite of that, the evening went well and people seemed interested in hearing about my ministry.

My meeting that was originally planned for this Sunday was canceled, so I'm looking forward to visiting my two supporting churches in the area. Next Sunday I will be speaking at two different churches, so it will be quite busy.