Georgia/Florida Summer 2012

     I apologize for taking so long to get back to sharing about all of my ministry trips this summer.  I have already shared about Virginia, California and Alabama.  Now it is on to Georgia. 
     After driving back to Oklahom from Alabama, spending four nights at home and leaving my wife home with the kids, I drove to Georgia.  I went to a new church that I had never been to before in Nashville, GA and met some great folks.  The new pastor there is Rev. Paul Guthrie.  Brother Paul is a dear friend of mine and had asked me to come by and meet his congregation.  I preached a Sunday morning service for them and we had a potluck dinner.  They were very kind to let me live in thier evangelist's quarters while I was there as well.  That night I preached for Pastor Rob Merit, another close friend of mine, at Chatterton Holiness Baptist Church near Douglas, GA.  Chatterton has been a monthly sponsor of HMA as long as I can remember.  That night our service got out a little early so I slipped into Douglas and went to church at Westside Holiness church where Bro. Steve Gentery is pastor and was able to see many of my old friends.  Westside has been one of the strongest supporting churches of HMA since I met them.  While I was there Pastor Steve asked me if I could swing back by in a couple of weeks and preach for them.
     The next day Bro. Robbie Guthrie took me to lunch with the Sheriff of thier county and then the Sheriff took us out to the county jail.  While in the jail the three of us had a long and deep discussion and bible study about salvation, sanctification and the works of the spirit.  If was a fruitful day.  One of my biggest plans for being in Georgia had already fallen through so I drove down into south Florida and preached around for Pastor Rufus Caraway and his organization while I was closer to them than I had been in years.  We had a wonderful time preaching and having church with the saints at the Upper Room Church of God in Arcadia, FL, God's Miracle Mission where Bro. Scott Hostetler pastors in Tampa, FL, New Life Holiness Church in Lake Placid, FL where Bro. Travis Matney pastors and with Pastor Timmy Baggett and his church in Lakeland, FL.  While in Florida we had the tremendous priveledge of stopping by our HMA affiliate in Center Hill.  HMA Pastor J. R. Smith recently re-organized and re-opened Covenant Holiness Church and we were thrilled to be in service with them.
     After hitting all of the churches that I could in south Florida I drove up to Pensacola and preached at Beams of Light Holiness Church for Pastor Phillip Deane, one of the HMA board members because....well, because he is one of my board members.  :)).  The very next night I drove back into Alabama and preached again at Fretwell Tabernacle in Perdido, Alabama where I had just been with my wife about three weeks earlier.  While I was there our newest HMA ministers, The Davis Family, (see our website at www.holinessmissionstoamerica.com), asked me if I would go with them to Samantha Church just outside of Birmingham.  I went and I was so glad that I did.  The Lord moved so sweetly in that service and I was able to get re-aquainted with several old friends.
     Lastly, I drove back to Douglas, GA and spent the night with some great and special freinds of ours, Bro. Tommy and Sis. Mary Guthrie.  The next morning I went to the Annual Holiness Baptist Campmeeting to hear Brother Phillip Deane preach.....(because he's my board member.  Haha).  He is going to kill me.  Anyway, he truly did preach a powerful and wonderful message.  I rarely get to hear much preaching in person anymore but that morning I was awestruck and inspired.  I was supposed to preach that night at West Side Holiness Church in Douglas and then leave out for Oklahoma after service but Pastor Steve Willingham of the Holiness Baptist Campmeeting asked me if I could possibly stay over and preach the next morning during the campmeeting.  So I did preach for Pastor Gentry that night at Westside and we had a great service, as we always do at Westside, and then I spent the night again with Bro. Tommy and Sis. Mary, went back to the campmeeting and Brother Deane and I both preached and then I left for Oklahoma. 
     As you can tell, this summer I have traveled and preached probably more than I ever have since I got off the field "full time".  Most of the churches that I preached at this summer were churches that have sponsored HMA monthly without me ever getting to visit them for years at a time.  I felt a tremendous pull to get back and see these blessed saints and thank them again to thier faces.  The other churches were new aquaintances that were interested in our work and our message or churches that were just on our regular schedule.
     This was the end of our 'big trips" that were scheduled this summer and these last few blogs about Virginia, California, Alabama and this one about Georgia and Florida, span a period of time where I was home for 6 nights out of 7 and 1/2 weeks.  We have taken some "smaller" trips since then and I will try to blog about them as well.  During all of this traveling and preaching out, we, (with the trememdous help of our staff and families), were able to maintain all of our other mission works and the furniture thrift store while continuing to build on our part of the kingdom of heaven.  Also I would like to add that 100% of all of the funds raised on each of these trips were used in the direct work of reaching the least, the last and the lost!  God bless each and every one of you.