We’re home!

We left Ray’s Mom’s house on Thursday morning–a day early because more snow was coming!

We did have a chance to drop in and visit with Ray’s 91-year-old Great Aunt on Wednesday, though. It was such a blessing to spend time with her!

Jamie thought her walker was the coolest “cycle” he’d ever seen.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement on our trip. God was with us every step of the way. We really enjoyed being able to share with you, too!

We had a bit more snow today,

and, sadly, had to cancel our lunch meeting with our supporters in eastern Tennessee. We’re wrapping things up here now and planning to head toward home on Thursday morning. Please pray for safe travel!

I’ll leave you with some more pictures of fun in the snow.

Things are going well here! We were blessed to have dinner and fellowship time last night with the Smith family here in Bluefield,

and we came home to snow!

We shared at First Christian Church Disciples of Christ this morning.

And, we played in the snow this afternoon.

We had a lovely dinner with the Adult Sunday School class from Bannertown Baptist in Mt. Airy last night.  Ray updated them on our work at GFA and offered a question and answer time, as well.

Thanks for praying! We’re back in Bluefield tonight and will update again tomorrow.

On Sunday afternoon after lunch we headed out of Mt. Airy and up into the mountains toward West Virginia and Ray’s mom’s home.

We drove up and down . . . and when that got boring, we drove through a couple of times, too . . .


It’s beautiful up here . . . and COLD!

The kids have had lots of fun playing on the hill that MawMaw’s house sits on. Samantha rolled down the hill . . .

. . . and Allen rolled down the hill . . .

. . . and Jamie wanted to roll down the hill, too. He needed a bit of help, though.

My friend, Amy, of Prajna Mama knit hats for each of the kids before we left on our trip, and they love them!

What’s the best snack after playing outside in the cold all day? Why, ice cream, of course!

And one last picture, just to prove that I’m really here, too!

Tomorrow, we head back down to North Carolina for a dinner with the Adult Sunday school class from Bannertown Baptist Church in Mt. Airy. We’d like to hop over to Eastern Tennessee to visit with a supporter who lives there on Friday, but we’re still working out the details. We’ll be back here in Bluefield, WV, this weekend to speak at First Christian Church on Sunday.

Please pray for continued good health and safe travel (the forecast is calling for rain all day tomorrow). Please pray that those with whom we share will be open to what God has for them to hear. Please pray that we’ll be open to the Spirit’s leading. Oh, and the kids would appreciate prayer that we might have a little bit of snow here early next week, so they can play.

We all enjoyed spending time with Ray’s aunt and uncle, Velda and Tom (Meme and Papa to the kids), on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, Samantha spent the day with MeMe watching her cousins, Danielle and Savannah, play basketball.

Ray and I took the boys to downtown “Mayberry” for a famous pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch. There was a bit of a wait.

They are good sandwiches: a battered and deep fried pork chop on a bun with chili, cole slaw, tomatoes, onions and mustard. Doesn’t that sound yummy . . . and healthy?

We stopped to take a picture of the boys in front of Floyd’s Barber Shop. Maybe we should have gone in?

Then we found a great local park to run around in before heading home for a nap.

Sunday morning, Ray shared with the church, Remnant, in Mt. Airy about GFA and our work there.

After church, we went back to Velda and Tom’s home for an amazing lunch before driving up to Bluefield, WV to spend a few days with Ray’s mom.

Thanks so much for your prayers! We arrived safely in Mt. Airy, NC yesterday just before dinner time.

This was our view most of the day yesterday:

The rain was travelling with us, so it felt like it would rain forever.

God took care of us, though, and brought us safely through. When the rain cleared, we could see the mountains in the distance.

We spent most of the day in Tennessee, then crossed the narrow western part of Virginia . . .

. . . and arrived in our first destination, North Carolina.

We’re staying with Ray’s aunt and uncle, Velda and Tom. Samantha’s off with Velda today to watch some of her cousins play basketball, and the rest of us are planning a bit of sight-seeing. (Mt. Airy is the childhood home of Andy Griffith and was the basis for the town of Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show.)

Prayer needs:
We’ll be sharing with Remnant in Mt. Airy during their morning service tomorrow. Please pray for us as we prepare.

Please pray that we’ll have some last minute opportunities to share fall into place.
Our other confirmed appointments are on Thursday evening with Bannertown Baptist’s Adult Sunday School Class in Mt. Airy and next Sunday at First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Bluefield, WV.

Please pray for safe travel. We’ll be here in Mt. Airy until Sunday evening, then we’ll travel up to Bluefield. We’ll be back down here on Thursday, then back to Bluefield on Friday.

Please pray that we can be be a blessing to those that cross our path on this trip.

Please pray for Sean and Morgan who are back in Texas while we’re travelling.

Ray and I left early yesterday morning from Dallas with Samantha, Allen and Jamie to travel to North Carolina and West Virginia.  As full-time staff with GFA, we are supported by family and friends, through prayers and finances.  We’re travelling to visit with family and friends who have supported us over the last several years and, prayerfully, to add new supporters to our team. 

Yesterday we mostly drove.

We drove from Texas into Arkansas.

Mmmm . . . breakfast and a movie.

We stopped for brunch at a Cracker Barrell, and Jamie was so excited by the “cycle” hanging from the ceiling.

We crossed Arkansas and drove into Tennessee.

. . . and spent the night in Jackson.

We’re back on the road now west of Nashville in rain and heavy traffic, so prayers for safe travel would be greatly appreciated!

Last Saturday, November 1st, we hosted the GFA IT party at our house. When we were planning the menu a few weeks earlier it had started getting cooler, and we thought soups and stews would be appropriate.

The temperature that day, though, was a bit warm.

We all had fun anyway . . . and we enjoyed some great soups, bread, salads and desserts.

When the sun went down, we all pulled our chairs around to the back of the house and watched a movie under the stars.

Jamie had the front row all to himself!