2014 In the Rear View Mirror

2014 has been a fun ride as usual and this post hits some of the highlights of the year. I added some links along the way through this post like I do in a lot of our blog posts. If you see a bold highlighted word or phrase like THIS, you can click on it and the link should open in a new tab! I hope you enjoy seeing our 2014 in the rear view mirror.

We started 2014 in Claremore, Oklahoma. We were supposed to be in Central City, Kentucky that week in revival with Pastor Alan Harris and the saints at Trinity. Instead we were in Claremore with our dear friends the Millikins mourning the passing of Bro. Marty from earth to glory. His funeral was on December 31st and we stayed a few days to visit with Bro. Jimmy and Sis. Shauna and elder Bro. and Sis. Millikin.

It almost unbelievable that a year has slipped through our fingers since those painful days. Marty made it, no doubt about it, but his leaving left a huge empty place in the hearts of bunches of friends but especially his immediate family. One year has done little to change any of that. We still miss you, Marty.

We started 2014 preaching that Wednesday night for Pastor Darrell Meadow at Claremore and then we spent the next seven weeks in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas trying to have revival in spite of the blistering cold, snow and ice. I am not sure if we had one complete week of revival without a night off for bad weather or not. We had some great services but the weather was miserable.

In fact it was enough to drive me away. We spent the first several weeks of the year preaching revivals in that area for 12 years in a row. Other years had tested me. Other years had tempted me. But the winter of 2014 tortured me. Yes, I am a wimp but at least I am an honest wimp. I gave up on Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma in January and February, at least for now!

By the third week in February we were headed south to Mississippi. Even though the south had a severe winter too, we were glad to be going the right direction for warmth. We spent the next several weeks in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia thawing out and enjoying the blessings of God.

By the first part of April we were in Tennessee for PFYC and revivals in Kentucky before heading back west to Texas, Oklahoma and beyond. The first day of revival in Salem Kentucky with Pastor Philip Sanders and Faith Church Odie woke up completely blind in her left eye.

We immediately sent out calls for prayer and took Odie to a eye specialist in Paducah. He could find nothing wrong with the eye itself. On his recommendation we canceled the next few weeks and begin to navigate the arduous process of doctors hospitals and the Extremely Un-affordable Care Act!

After nine days God began to restore the vision in Odie's left eye. You can read some of the praise reports Here and Here and at the end of this post Here. The devil did not die and he has been back around since then and will continue to attack the saints but praise God for the miracle God gave us concerning Odie's sight! To God be all the glory!

After a few weeks preaching close to home while all that was going on we left for a big loop to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Indiana. We had four great revivals before heading back home for some revivals and follow up doctor appointments in Ohio. We had a refreshing revival at our home church, a great tent revival in Goshen, Ohio as well as other revivals in our home area.

Then we started a loop that included several churches in eastern, Kentucky, time with family and friends at Carter Caves State Park, and revivals in Illinois, western Kentucky and Tennessee.

We dropped the bus at home and took the Green Machine on an epic trip to all of the north eastern states. Our main objective was tent revival in Vermont but along the way we saw New York City, the 9/11 Museum, Boston, Maine, Niagara Falls and enjoyed many other sights and special friends too. It was a quick trip with memories that will last a life time.

We returned home for Homecoming at Dodds and the annual Indoor Fellowship Meeting at our home church on Dryden Rd. Then loaded up in the BoggsMobile, hooked up to the tent trailer and left for our longest tour of the year. The first four stops were great tent revivals in Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi. 

We left the tent trailer in Mississippi and pointed the bus toward the west. The next several weeks we had revival in Arizona and California. We had a wonderful time seeing California, seeing friends and having revival. It was a great trip.

One of the highlights of the California trip was taking part in the church dedication at Amazing Grace Holiness Church in Atwater, California. It was awesome to see pastor Jared Burris and the saints rejoice in their new location. It was one of the greatest moments of the year for our family. Praise God for His faithfulness. 

We finished the long California tour with a revival in Texas, a weekend in Oklahoma and a City Reach vision and planning service in Wichita, Kansas. Speaking of City Reach, we announced in May our burden to hold tent revivals in larger cities during 2016. We had been dreaming and planning for two years and now we are in hyper planning mode. God is placing the burden on churches and individuals to help with the logistics and expenses and we are very thankful for that.

We arrived at the Ranch on December 11th and pulled into the barn for the first time. It was good to be home but it was too good to last. After a revival, open heart surgery for Kelly Jo's Dad and a great big Christmas it was time to hit the road again. We are now in revival in Kilgore, Texas and we are ready to crank up 2015!

That pretty much covers 2014. Well, that pretty much covers it except for visits with friends. things learned, things remembered, and lots and lots and lots  and lots and lots of bus fun. Wow! We have had such a fun year, maybe we ought to start a blog.

Thank you for joining us for the ride in 2014. We rolled the BoggsMobile 15,421 miles and we took you all with us every mile of the way. Meet me right here tomorrow and we will start on 2015 together.

May God bless you with a great New Year!

Davy

Fast Forward From Christmas

We have had a lot of activity since Christmas but I will condense it all down to this post to get caught up. Thank you for tuning in everyday to see what is going on in our lives and ministry. We appreciate you reading.

Friday

Most of the preparation to leave The Ranch had already been completed so it was not all that hard to get ready to depart Friday morning. In a couple of hours the BoggsMobile was cranked and pulled out of the barn. I appreciate my brother Steve coming to help and Dad and Mom bringing Odie and seeing us off.

It is great that the barn is right there handy where friends and family can keep and eye on it every day. In fact, my brother Steve was over there working on Saturday. The little patch of woods behind the barn is full of years of discarded junk and trash. Thanks, Bubba.

Acapulco

Since we were running about 30 minutes ahead of schedule AND since Acapulco is right on the way, we decided that one last meal was in order. We parked the BoggsMobile and the Green Machine in their huge parking lot and enjoyed some salsa!

It was terrific as usual!

The 300+ mile drive to Prevost on the north side of Nashville was smooth and uneventful just like we like it. We had a small construction traffic jam just south of Louisville but it was not too long. We pulled into Prevost about sunset and snagged the last spot with electric. I guess there is nobody touring between Christmas and New Year so the parking lot was full!



Saturday

The predicted rain came early and we drove in it all day. I did get a welcomed break from the rain south of Little Rock, Arkansas. The break only lasted 40-50 miles but I was very thankful for it. The rest of the day was pretty miserable for driving.

We stopped in Jackson, Tennessee for diesel. It was 3.11 at Love's.

Wow! At that price I want to pump some on the ground!

These two pictures will give you an idea of how fun it was to drive Saturday.

Crossing the Mighty Mississippi.

We parked at an RV park next to the Flying J in Texarkana, Arkansas. We have stayed overnight at this Flying J before and we would have again if we were only stopping for 5-6 hours. But 10-12 hours of running the generator (And it was cold enough for the generator) starts to be more expensive than an RV park. Since this park was wide open, easy to get into, right next to the interstate and cheap, it was a no brainer.

That finished off a 494 mile day of driving in the rain.

Sunday and Monday

Here is the BoggsMobile and the Green Machine at the RV Park in Texarkana Sunday morning.

And a picture after we had arrived at Old Paths Tabernacle in Kilgore, Texas Sunday afternoon.

It as another very rainy driving day but it had one very good redeemer factor. The drive was only about 120 miles long. After a 300 mile day on Friday and a rainy 500 mile day on Saturday I can almost do 120 miles standing on my head!

We finished the drive to Kilgore, Texas Sunday morning so we could be in place to start revival Sunday night. We have had two good services and we are expecting two more. We have had friends visiting both nights. That has been a great blessing. Odie has been taking pictures so we will post some of our friends and all the church folks that are becoming friends too.

That pretty much brings you up to date. Thanks for dropping in.

Davy

Sunday Night in Kilgore, Texas

We arrived in Kilgore, Texas a few minutes after 2:00 PM on Sunday. Pastor Snow was busy at the hospital when we arrived so he had Bro. Stewart meet us and help us get parked. He jumped right in and we were parked and had our sound equipment carried in just a few minutes.

I really enjoyed visiting with Bro. Stewart. He was telling me that he was raised at Fouke, Arkansas at the Fairland Church. He had walked away from the Lord for nearly 40 years before coming back to God when his wife became critically ill a few years ago. I stood there and cried when he told me about the working of God's amazing grace in his life.

It is absolutely amazing what God will do to bring men and women to Him. I love to hear the stories and I love to watch Him do it. That is one of the things that keeps us going on the road. We know what God can and will do for people that need Him and we love trying to spread the news.

This is our first visit here and we had a great first service. We have known Pastor Samuel Snow and his wife for many years and we appreciate Bro. Snow's invitation to be with them for a few nights. If last night's service is any indication then we are in for a great few nights.

I hope you had a great Sunday. We have a few pictures from the church posted below. I am sure we will have more by the end of the week.

Davy

View Out The Front Window December 28, 2014

Odie's Saturday Post

A Very Bogglioni Christmas

A Very Morgan Christmas 2014

Progress On Barn Projects

Eye Balls and Round Bails

A Terrific Weekend

This morning we are in an RV park behind the Flying J in Texarkana, Arkansas. Our view has changed twice since Friday morning and should change again today.

We arrived at Prevost Nashville about sundown Friday evening. The view out the front window had all kinds of reflection from the lights inside.

Here it is zoomed in some.

And here it is Saturday morning.

This is the door out the front door Saturday morning. You can see the reflection of the BoggsMobile in the bus parked next to us.

This is the view out the front window Saturday evening when we parked here in Texarkana. It has reflection too. If I can remember I will take another when the sun comes up and add it in here.

I hope you have a great Sunday.

Davy

Here is the RV Park Sunday morning.

The 3 Stooges Together Again Lisa, Odie and Deidre

Happy Saturday friends!  It is Odie coming to you from the road. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We had a great Christmas with the Morgan's the 24th and with the Bogglioni's on Christmas Day  I am anxiously looking forward to a great New Year. 

It has been a crazy, hectic but superb couple weeks at home in Ohio. I was grateful to be with all my family once again. Now it is time to get rolling again so we can see our road family.

This past Saturday I spent the evening with two of my favorites, Lisa Isaacs and Deidre Boggs. It is always fun to have a girls night with these two around. Lots of laughter is always involved. Some how we usually end up shopping and eating somewhere in the mix. I was happy Deidre was finally home from Bible school on Christmas break. We did miss our fourth stooge, Lauren Osborne.

We ate a fantastic meal at Piada. It is an Italian street food restaurant that I have been wanting to try for a while. I was not disappointed at all. It was very good!  I had a create your own pasta bowl. Deidre describes Piada as an Itailian Chipotle. That is a pretty good description. 

Deidre left some selfies for me to post for y'all

The 3 stooges 

Lisa taking a break in Santa's chair at Kroger. 

Lisa had her 50th birthday in November. Both Deidre and I were gone on Lisa's birthday. We promised her that  we would celebrate when we got home. So we had a celebration with Hershey pie, Dr. Pepper and Yoohoo. 

Monday night we met up again. The girls helped me finish up my shopping for Christmas. We had to make a stop at Skyline Chili.

And that is a wrap on our girl time until spring. I hope you have a grand weekend!

Odie