This was quite a weekend! We were on an emotional roller coaster from the news I shared in Odie's post Saturday, but there was preaching to be done, people to be helped, miles to be driven and problems to be solved. The Lord blessed and helped as we expected Him to do. Hallelujah!
My parents surprised us by driving down from Ohio for service Thursday night in London. Wow! What a thrill. There were some pictures of them in the Revival In Pictures post on Friday.
They wanted to get home before dark Friday, but they stayed long enough to eat lunch at Sonny's in Corbin and visit with us. We absolutely loved having them.
Pastor Lester Carpenter stopped to see us Friday afternoon. We love this man! He had a great influence for good and for God when I was young and helped us through some tough times. I do not forget that.
The final night of revival was amazingly blessed with visitors, a good crowd of home folks and the sweet presence of the Lord throughout the service. It was so good and we enjoyed every moment of it. Kelly Jo, Odie and I needed His touch as much as anyone there and He came to us. Praise God!
Two other families that have had huge impacts on our lives visited Friday night.
Bro. John and Sis. Ann Gabbard
Bro. David and Sis. Karen Noe
We sure appreciate friends from home and from the London area for coming to see us in revival. It is an amazing boost when they come.
And we appreciate Pastor Vernon Jarvis and his people for receiving us and loving us. We really loved being there. We always love it! They have always treated us with tremendous kindness and respect. May God bless our dear friends at First Pentecostal.
Several men helped tear down the sound equipment and load it up in the BoggsMobile. I do not think I touched one thing and I know I could get used to that. Thank you, brothers.
By the time we rolled up cords and hoses, attached the Jeep, cranked the bus and prepared to ride, it was about 9:10 Saturday morning. The GPS said it was 147 miles (As a crowbar flies, IF you could throw it that far) to the church in Gruetli Laager, Tennessee, but it took considerably longer to work our way around and get up on top of the mountain.
You have heard the phrase, You can't get there from here, well that is nearly applicable to Gruetli Laager when it comes to a bus, for sure.😊 It was 256 miles and took us five hours.
The last 65 miles or so were not interstate, but 111 south of Cookville, Tennessee was a good road with one steep climb south of Sparta. Once we turned on 399 it was slow going with only two lanes and no shoulder. After several miles I had a long train of cars and trucks behind me so I pulled next to the road to let them pass.
This church sign was directly in front of us.
I love the message. And I love to lauff at chuch sings. Kneal in Prayer.
The last mile was the same as the previous 13 miles but much narrower. Thankfully, we arrived at the church before the road ran out completely.😎
It had been raining for a couple of hours and was raining as we unhooked the Jeep, parked, leveled and hooked up utilities. I had a problem with one of my electrical cords, which required an extra couple of hours to diagnose and remedy. I first thought it was the bus as I always do.
When we were finally finished, we rolled our equipment across the road, set up and got a sound check. Four hours after arriving, we went inside the bus.
My supper was prepared by the bus chef!
I was in bed by 8:00 PM Saturday and slept pretty good. We had two wonderful services Sunday and we look forward to the next three nights. This is our first time being here so we are meeting new friends. We always enjoy that.
Also, we actually do know people here. We have seen them at camp meetings in other places, but we did not know where they lived. It is always cool when it works like that.😊
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That wraps up our weekend. Thank you for joining us.
Davy
