Greetings from Denton, Texas!

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Mel and Patty Sumrall at the elders luncheon.  Mel is the founding pastor of Denton Bible Church.  He's a refreshingly humble man whose ministry has touched tens of thousands of lives.  He and Patty have been married 66 years, and he still takes great care of his sweetheart.

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,
      As I write this, we are almost half way through our trip west.  We arrived in Denton, TX on Wednesday evening.  We were blessed to participate in two conferences led by Paul David Tripp this past weekend.  For the first conference, we learned about our Dangerous Calling and some of the unique difficulties of life in ministry.  He challenged us to consider life in terms of a glory war between indwelling sin and our Creator who deserves all the glory.  He challenged us to consider whether or not awe of our Lord is our driving motivation for everything.  It was a humbling and refreshing time to be reminded of who we are in light of who God is.
    We were also blessed to attend his "What Did You Expect?" marriage conference.  His presentation of God's truth for marriage was humbling and challenging.  We'll go home with plenty to process through, but from the outset, we would recommend the material to anyone desiring to understand and deepen their marriage.  You can find more information about available resources here.

Paul Tripp teaching about marriage.

On Saturday evening we had dinner with all the other missionaries.  There are 51 missionary families represented this week from all over the globe.  It was fun catching up with friends and hearing their stories about serving King Jesus all over the globe.  Sunday after church we had lunch with the other missionaries and the Denton Bible Church elders.  At lunch we got to visit with Mel and Patty Sumrall, the founding pastor of DBC, and his wife, which is always a privilege and a joy. 

Our friends Dennis and Allison Omondi and their daughter Anjela are Serve missionaries in Kenya.  Their son BJ is still in Kenya because the adoption process has been slow.

Today Charlie and I met with Pat Smith of SERVE Denton to learn about ways they're increasing the gospel influence in their benevolence ministries.  We gleaned some ideas about how we might be able to improve what we do at the Storehouse day to day.  The rest of this week is filled with teaching times where we'll be nourished from the Word, and meetings where we'll plan and strategize for the upcoming year.  We are excited about this time of planning and encouragement.   

Things you can be Praying for this week:

1.  This week is filled with meetings and teaching times where we'll have the chance to be fed and nourished by the Word.  Please pray our hearts will be soft and the week will be fruitful. 

2.  We left miss Lily in Tennessee with her grandmother for this trip.  We miss her greatly and the separation is difficult, so pray that the time would pass quickly.  Also, please pray for "Meme" as she takes care of Lily this week.
3.  The DBC missions conference is Friday night and Saturday.  Please pray that the Lord would use the conference mightily in the lives of all of those who are able to attend.
4.  Next Sunday night we'll start the trek home, and finish the drive next Monday.  Please pray the Lord would keep us safe on the road.  

Charlie and Earlene at the What Did You Expect? marriage conference.  Even after 51 years I think there were still some elbows being nudged during the conference!

Missionaries at dinner!

Team TN with Pastor Mel.

At the elders luncheon, there were more missionaries sent out by the church present than there were members when the church opened its doors.  It's amazing what the Lord has done.