Flopping Around in Foley, Alabama

I hope you were able to read yesterday's important post about our up coming trip to Nigeria. HERE it is just in case you missed it.

We have enjoyed our four days off this week. We have been completely lazy.

OK, so maybe we went to Lambert's Cafe one more time while we were in Foley... Odie treated us to dinner Wednesday. She is pretty generous to her old Dad and knows that food keeps me smiling. I raised a wise little lady.

The rest of the week we did as little of nothing as we could. Kelly Jo and Odie walked around the huge outlet mall here and I spent my time reading and preparing sermons for revivals and Nigeria. I really enjoyed the extra time to read and study without the pressure of being ready to preach every night and I know the girls enjoyed their evenings free.

I intended to sleep late and take lots of afternoon naps but that did not work out so well. I did rest a little Thursday afternoon. Believe me, Odie more than made up for my lack of sleep every single day!

We also drove down to the coast one day and looked around at the white sand beaches, restaurants, hotels and houses. It was beautiful and the crowds were light. It must be the off season. It is probably less than 10 miles down there but we only went that one time. Normally we love going and putting our toes in the sand on a deserted beach but we wanted rest this trip. I did not even walk in the sand.

We had something interesting happen while we were down by the Gulf Shores area. We had heard that Gulf Shores State Park has a great campground with plenty of big spots for us to park. I wanted to look it over to see if we could actually get the BoggsMobile in just in case we were down this way again sometime.

The campground is about a 2 minute drive and a 5-10 minute walk from the beaches on the gulf and the longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico. It had the potential to be a great place to park IF the spots would accommodate the bus.

We pulled in the entrance and an employee came outside to greet us and ask how he could help. I told him we were camping near Foley and wanted to look over the park to see if we could stay there in the future. He told me, "I can allow that but I am going to have to charge you a dollar to drive around." He proceeded to tell me that he was sure I understood why but honestly I did not comprehend what he was saying at all.

I was thinking about me being a potential paying customer willing to pay $30-40 per night and they were worried about a dollar! I suppose we looked to much like white trash to him cruising around in our little Green Machine scouting out our next place to party...

I wonder if they would have charged me a dollar if I had pulled up in the BoggsMobile and told them I was scouting their park for a future stay in the area..



It is hard to say for sure but I doubt they would have charged me a dollar. They probably would have fallen over themselves to show me a nice spot and that is just not right. I am the same person whether I am driving the bus, the late Mr. Cheap Jeep, the General or the Green Machine. We often judge by what a person drives or the quality of their clothing but the judgement is Often incorrect. I am not richer, better or more dignified when I am driving a 17 year old but nice looking bus!

I thanked him politely for his time and turned that buggy around. Yes, I had the dollar to spare but I had pretty much decided that state park campground was not for me and my family so why bother.

Maybe.... Maybe I am judging the motives and actions of the employee on too little information...Maybe. But I do know this old adage is true.

People will forget what you said...
People will forget what you did...
But people will never forget how you made them feel.

And he made me feel like I did not belong there and I guess I agree with him.

The day definitely improved though. We went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries Thursday evening. It was closer to us than Lambert's so we felt like we would be disloyal and uncaring if we ignored it all together. Kelly Jo and Odie can do pretty good on their diet at Lambert's but NOT at Five Guys! They decided this would be a splurge. You should have seen Odie devouring those french fries! I wanted to snap a picture but it was over too fast.

Today (Friday) we will load up and head over to Richton, Mississippi. The GPS says it is about 124 miles and about 2 1/2 hours by car.. It will take us considerably longer with the bus and trailer since I will have several miles of stop and go traffic both here and on the west side of Mobile.

We will be going straight to the city park in Richton where the tent revival will be. We plan to park the BoggsMobile right on site as we did last year. Once we are parked and wired in I will take my time and lay out the stake line for the tent. We will be setting the whole 48x70 tent and I hope to have everything ready to go when the men arrive on Saturday morning.

We had a great tent revival last year with Bro. Scott Morris and his folks and we are expecting even better this year. We plan to run the meeting through next Friday, take the tent down on Saturday and stay over and preach Homecoming for them on Sunday the 30th.

Although we hope to travel to Bond, KY on the following Monday and Tuesday, it will be nice to stay in one place over two weekends. We are looking forward to spending lots of time with Bro. Scott and his family and church.

May God bless you this weekend.

Davy


Some Pictures from the pier.

Eat Mor Chikin Scion xB

I KNEW I liked Chick-fil-A! We saw this Scion xB wrapped as an "Eat Mor Chikin" Chick-fil-A Cow and it was so cool!

We just had to get a picture of it and the Green Machine together!

There was a Krispy Kreme next door. I wonder if they would be willing to wrap the Green Machine like a Krispy Kreme store? Or better yet they could wrap the BoggsMobile. That would be really cool! I wouldn't charge too much, I Promise....

Davy

Update on Plans For Nigeria Trip

We have some good news on our Nigeria trip! We had to have our Visas in hand before we could make airline reservations and the Visas arrived from the Nigerian Embassy in Waynesville on Tuesday. Praise God!

I have been watching the prices for the flights and they have been all over the map. I wanted to buy while they were low. When I checked Tuesday afternoon they were the cheapest I had ever seen them so I jumped right on it.

We are flying from Dayton to Atlanta and then an overnight flight straight into Lagos for $1073 each. Over $700 of each ticket is taxes and fees so they are not going much lower than that. Even $2146 is more than we are prepared to spend right now but it could jump by $3-600 each the next hour so I booked them at that price. 

The Visas from Nigera are much higher this year and have also been reduced from one year duration to 3 months. That change in itself makes them four times as expensive. I guess they get the money where they can. Some countries pay $2 for Nigerian Visas and several counties are free. Trust me, they do not let Americans in for free or any where near it.

Our total spent so far is around $2800. We will spend about $1000 more for malaria medicine and a few vaccinations that may have to be renewed this year and about $1500 for our expenses in Nigeria. Odie is not going on this trip so that lowers the Visa fees, vaccines and malaria medicne and airfare expenses by one third.

We would like to take several thousand more for projects and special needs in Nigeria. In 2009 we were able to give $3000 to put a roof on Landmark Christ Mission. Bro. Kuye is the Pastor of this church in Ibadan, Oyo State.




We hope to go back to Ibadan and preach for Bro. Kuye on this trip if all goes as planned.





We were able to give over $7000 total during that trip. We have also been able to help provide support for schools, Bibles, preachers and help build other churches since then. We save diligently for this but much of our giving was possible because of individuals and churches in America having a burden to help other Christians spread the Gospel.

As I mentioned in the last Nigeria Update we have been so preoccupied with the extra expenses of tent revivals this year that we are not as prepared financially as we would like to be for this trip. We are not asking for money for our own expenses but if you would like to contribute to the needs of the churches in Nigeria you are welcome to do so.

Many have ask about giving to specific projects and that is great too. These are just a few ideas that I have shared with folks that ask.

1. You could send an offering toward the new branch church Bro. Shobanke is building in Abeokuta.
2. You could help support a staff member at their Christian school.
3. You could send money for musical instruments for their churches.
4. You could help support a Pastor or Evangelist.
5. You could send money for Bibles.
6. You could help sponsor the Minister's Conference or the Gospel Crusade.

And the possibilities go on and on... If you chose to send an offering send it to Boggs Family Ministries and make sure you mark its purpose clearly or send us a note telling us where you would like for it to be applied. We will do our best to honor that. Keep in mind that Boggs Family Ministries is a 501c3 and all of your gifts should be tax deductible.

It is very difficult for us to take physical items to Nigeria. Luggage space is at a premium so sending things or objects with us is nearly impossible. It is almost always better to take money and buy the item there if it is available.

With plane tickets and Visas in hand, we can feel the excitement building. I am also working each day on sermon preparation for all of the different services there. I fully expect that God will meet us in those services and that lives will be changed and touched. I can not wait to see it and to be a part of God helping His people.

We are not missionaries in the classic sense of the word. We are called to be evangelists. If that work of evangelism takes us to other nations that are considered mission fields then we are glad to go. Our goal is to see men and women radically changed by the power of Christ in their lives. Whether I find those men and women under a tent in Mississippi, Montana or Indiana or in a Gospel Crusade in Abeokuta, Nigeria it matters not one ounce to me. I want to go where they are as God opens the doors.

Will you please continue to pray for us?

Davy

Boggs Family Ministries

P.O. Box 28

Waynesville, OH 45068

Doctored Reuben

We have not been back to any restaurants this week but that does not mean we have been starving. We have been craving some sauerkraut so Kelly Jo fixed Reuben Casserole yesterday! Wow! It was Delicious!

I had one more bag of Herr's Horseradish and Cheddar chips that I had been saving for this occasion. You can see the sandwiches below with the chips on top...

The verdict? It was very good like this but the chips do not deliver enough horseradish punch. I prefer some chopped horseradish mixed in the Reuben and the Herr's Horseradish chips on the side.

I had a great day reading and doing sermon prep for Tent Revivals and Nigeria. I did not even step out of the bus yesterday. Throw in the awesome Reuben and I would rate that day as almost perfect!

Davy

Bond Campmeeting - October 2-5 - Bond, Kentucky

A recent comment on another post reminded me that Bond Campmeeting is just around the corner. This year is flying by and October is nearly upon us. Bond is October 2-5 and we plan to be there by the grace of God.

We missed Bond last year for the first time in many years and boy did we miss it. We were preaching tent revival last year that week and although we had a wonderful revival we knew they were having great services and hearing great preaching at Bond. We are so thankful that it seems we will be able to attend this year.

The first time we walked into Bond in 1988 Pastor John Gabbard and his folks captured our hearts. I remember saying out loud, "These are our kind of people." We have loved every minute of fellowship that we have had with them in the years since. The spiritual worship, the awesome preaching, the wonderful food and the lasting friendships have had a huge impact on our lives.

Many of our best and closest friendships were formed right there in Bond, Kentucky. Many of the life changing sermons that we have heard, we heard them right there. Many of the greatest blessings we have received we received them right there. Many of the best meals we have ever eaten we have eaten them right there!

Our Pastor, Bro. Bennie Sutherland will be preaching the night services again this year. We are looking forward to hearing him at the meeting. I know he will give us a Word from the Lord and we are anxious to hear it. I do not know who will be preaching the day services but I am sure it will be good.

I hope you can make plans to attend. You will be glad you did.

Davy

Sunday September 16, 2012

Saturday when we left Elba we drove about 170 miles to the Foley, Alabama area. It was mostly non interstate driving so it took us nearly 4 hours. I try never to get in a hurry when I am pulling the tent trailer with the BoggsMobile especially when I am not on the interstate. We had a good trip although it did rain on us some.

We arrived just before dark and set up. I was washing the love bugs off the front of the bus when the sun starting fading. I changed into dry clothes the 3rd time that day and after a few minutes rest we headed over to Lambert's Cafe. Yes, there is a Lambert's in Foley and it is just a few minutes away.

Can you imagine the chances of that? A Lambert's Cafe close enough that an employee with a good arm could almost hit the BoggsMobile with a throwed roll...

It was good food and fun as usual. I crashed shortly after we were home and slept pretty good until daylight. Once the tent is down and packed away and I am in the next place, the strain of tent revival catches up with me and I sleep like a log. I hope to sleep considerably past daylight a few days. Oh, for the days of youth when sleep came easy...

One of the reasons we have tried to space things out a little bit this year during tent revivals is to try to lessen the over all wear and tear physically and emotionally. The truth is that we are just not as young and strong as we once were and it shows up more in tent revivals than it does any where else.

I am already itching to get started Friday on the tent set up in Richton, Mississippi so I should be in good shape by then....

Sunday we drove about 70 miles to be in service with Pastor Donnie Williamson and the great folks at Tanner Williams Holiness Church. Regular readers know that these are some of our favorite folks in the world and we wanted to surprise them by dropping in for a service.

A couple of the members are pretty clever though. They had noticed in Odie's Newsletter the Sunday with nothing scheduled. They knew we would be passing by the area and they wondered aloud if we would stop in, but for the most part we surprised them. We had a wonderful time enjoying the blessings of God and the fellowship with good friends.

While near Mobile we HAD to stop at the Boiling Pot for a Shrimp PoBoy! Wonderful as usual!

Here are some pictures from the day. I hope you all had a great Sunday too. God bless you all....

Davy

The Apostle Donald C. Williamson

Taking the Tent Down In Elba, Alabama

Make sure you see This Post with Pictures of the Tent Revival.

The tent came down without a hitch on Saturday. I would have liked to have taken it down Friday night but it was wet with dew. I had to wait until noon to give the sun time to dry it out.

While I was waiting I organized the trailer and strapped everything down. Kelly Jo and Odie were preparing things in the BoggsMobile to ride.

Bro. Isaacs and his folks came and worked hard and in a little while it was all packed away. They also helped move the trailer into position to hook up to the bus and helped load the Green Machine.

Then came one of the hardest parts of any good revival, saying goodbye and driving away. I hated to leave Pastor Jon Isaacs and his family and church.

I know that folks tease us evangelists about preaching a few nights and then running to our next revival without a backward glance. But I love seeing people find Jesus and watching the change he makes in their lives. I love it when a church is so in love with Christ that they can not help but tell it.

When that happens I want to fall in next to that Pastor and see what the Lord is going to do. But I am called to be an evangelist so I must say goodbye and drive on.

If that sounds a little dramatic so be it. I have always been over the edge emotionally. Maybe I am getting worse as I grow older. Lol

Anyway, here are some pictures. I will try to catch you up on our current location tomorrow.

Davy