I have been hearing from a few of you each day wondering how my body and mind are handling our first revival on the road since the brainstem stroke at the end of December. I do not blame you for your curiosity, I am a little curious too.
Actually, I am a lot curious. As I have explained before, this whole thing is about getting into our regular routine for a couple of months and discovering the result.
With that said, it is too early to tell the final result, but this is some interesting initial information. Week by week we aim to assess our progress and look for clues. I am not sure whether I am Sherlock or Shaggy, but I am looking for clues at the scene of the crime.
Number one, the long trip here took a toll on me, as we knew it probably would. We drove it over three days and I am sure that helped. I am very thankful we did not begin revival the next morning. Sometimes I get things right.
We will continue to plan shorter travel days and a day or more of rest after travel. Hopefully and prayerfully I will improve in that aspect.
Next, is my endurance preaching several services strung together and being social and taking care of the bus and my family. Thankfully, the services have been great and the bus has required little attention so I have been able to enjoy the preaching without much strain of daytime activity.
Not all weeks will be like that, so I am going to enjoy every week that is. By God’s grace, we will continue to expect great revivals, low levels of trouble and time to rest.
I have been spent physically at the end of each night and that is what we expected. I surmise that will also improve some along the way. We will continue to build in rest until we get there.
I have experienced trouble in one area that we did not foresee. All three of us have fall allergies that normally come on strong in late August and this year they came with a vengeance. However, my voice responded in a way it never has before.
Normally, during even horrible allergy season, I will have some weakness in my voice but I can warm it up during the day and be very close to full strength each night. This week, my voice has been rough enough to be unpleasant to the ear.
Perhaps my vocal cords being partially numb on the right side has caused this. It may be that my voice will respond to allergies in a completely different way than they have in the past because of this. I will run that by my speech therapists when we return home.
Thankfully, my voice was stronger during the preaching the final night. Praise God! Three days without singing and preaching should help it.
We are purposely resting Thursday and Friday, traveling less than 90 minutes Saturday and then taking part in an outdoor camp meeting all next week. I am supposed to preach on Sunday night but only help with singing and worship the rest of the nights.
Kelly Jo has taken so much on her plate to help me to be able to do this. I could not do it without her. We also had help getting sound equipment in place and back into the bus and that is a huge relief to both of us.
Thank you very much for praying for us during this adventure in revivals. As I said, it remains to be seen what the final results will bring, but the way the Lord has helped people this week really makes every effort worthwhile. That is most certainly Interesting Initial Information.
May God bless you, friends.
Davy
