This program was a kick-off for the school year for Pleasant View Christian School in Montgomery, Indiana. Jason, Joanna, and Rachel Knepp provided supper for us at the school and then the guys warmed up and worked on “Gloryland”, a new song they sang this weekend. The children enjoyed this evening, since they played outside for some of the program and there was a concession stand run by the volleyball girls.
On the road to Indiana,
We were on the road to Indiana (stopping first for a program in Ohio) at 4:00 am. It was a good trip, no bus problems. Denise stayed back since she’s expecting in two weeks, and Sheryl stayed back to take care of Andrea, recovering from a ruptured appendix. Accompanying the quartet were Brian’s two older boys, Daryl’s family, and Caitlin, Jason’s oldest daughter.
We hit the top three this weekend: Burger King, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell. All were great (a little slow)…
We arrived at David Gipe’s house for a meal before the program….
…and visited with Shirley Bowman (wife of Dwaine, affectionately known as Big Bear), and Shirley’s daughter and son-in-law, Sheldon and Kim Lavy. It was nice to look through Shirley’s memory book of Dwaine and listen to some of his CDs he recorded singing with the Hobo’s!
After supper, we drove over to Lighthouse Christian Center where the guys had sung previously other years. They had about 450 people in attendance from all different churches in the area.
We returned to David Gipe’s house for the night. They put us all up for the night, and Kim provided a wonderful breakfast for us before sending us off onto Indiana.
Andrea is recovering slowly and is hoping to be home soon.
Sheryl, Brian’s wife (Andrea’s mom) will be staying back to take care of Andrea and some of the other children.
Denise, Jason’s wife, will also be staying home since she is due with their little one this month. But the rest of us are ready to load up and head out at 4:00 am Thursday morning.
Pray for travelling mercies!
We’re all ready to head out on our Ohio/Indiana trip this weekend. We are looking forward to being in the Dayton, OH area on Thursday evening, but wanted to mention that we’ll be missing a very important person–Big Bear. Duane Bowman (affectionately known as Big Bear) was the one who would invite us to the area and welcome us whole-heartedly! He would come up on stage, kick Jason out of the quartet, and join us for a few numbers. Since last time we were there, Duane had a heart attack and went home to be with the Lord. He will be missed!
We stayed in the area for church the next morning at Greenwood Mennonite Church, Sam Yoder’s church.
We spent the night in one of the members’ houses (he was gone for the weekend, so he let us invade his house and cabin out back). It provided wonderfully for all 3 families and Danny.
The church people were friendly and welcoming. We had a good service–with the congregational singing, Sunday school, and the quartet singing during the sermon slot of time. They provided us with a scrumptious meal, and then we headed home. It was about a 2 1/2-3 hour trip–not bad– so we arrived home early evening.
Andrea Fox (Brian’s daughter) was not feeling well this week. She went to the doctor on Tuesday, but was sent home again–possibly a virus? Wednesday early morning 4:00 am Brian and Sheryl decided to take her to the ER. She was so weak, she had to be carried everywhere.
They started doing some tests and realized she had appendicitis. They scheduled surgery and then realized it had already ruptured! So, she will be in the hospital for 3-5 days.
You can pray for her recovery!
Thank God it was discovered when it was.
On the road again–to Deleware this time. Anna and James Harvey were the promoters of the dinner concert, and it was held at Sam Yoder’s Farm. Also on the program were the Allen Harris family from Indiana(a father and two sons who sing together).
Sam’s farm is a very family-friendly place to have concerts. Jake Petersheim was in his glory–John Deere tractors are everywhere inside. Sometimes they have tractor shows with a concert, but not this time. Still, there are always Sam’s pedal tractor display the whole way around the top of the room–75 of them (he’s got 150 total). And in the display cases around the room, he has 175 model tractors set up. I think he said he has several hundred more at home in display cases.
Renita Petersheim and Sam Yoder made some Oregon connections this time–Sam’s father grew up in Albany, Oregon, and Sam’s in-laws are in McMinnville, OR. About 10 years ago on his way up to Alaska, Sam and his wife stopped in Sheridan, OR (Renita’s home town) and parked their trailer in the church parking lot while visiting friends in town.
We let the children play outside after the meal, while the guys sang. There are cattle to visit, chickens to feed, and toads to catch. We all really enjoyed our time there. Sam and Anna are great hosts!
Gospel Express was invited to come do a tent crusade on the grounds of Teen Challenge, Rehresburg, PA, and Garment of Praise was invited to open up one night. Dale Weaver from Myerstown was the moderator, and Dave Miller brought the message, “It’s All About Jesus”. He spoke from Hebrews 2:1-3 about not neglecting your salvation.
Before the message, Dave’s family also shared a small drama regarding the spiritual gifts–funny and challenging! Nelson put in an enthusiastic word here and there, and ran the sound system (with son-in-law, Rendall Hostetler). This is a dynamic ministry and we pray God’s blessings upon them.
Garment of Praise was received enthusiastically by the Teen Challenge guys, and Nelson requested one more song after they were returning to their seats. They sang “Heaven’s Joy Awaits” and got the group clapping along (this is sometimes scary–since clapping along with GOP’s timing can confuse these guys 🙂 ). After the song they got a standing ovation, and after the service, testimonies of the songs blessing them. May God receive the glory!
Our families were at the program on Sunday night, except for Brian’s eldest, Carissa. The children enjoy being at this program, because there are places to run and play before, after, and, if they get lucky…. during the service!
