Praises:
We are now deep in the heart of Texas!
Prayer Requests:
Safety, health, homeschooling, and resilience.
Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia
We started the month of October off with a meeting in Massillon, OH at Anchor Baptist Church. Pastor Rice and his wife went to Massillon Baptist College with Melissa, so she had a great time catching up with them. It was good to present in the church and I enjoyed getting to know Pastor Rice as well.
After that we turned the motorhome around and headed back south to Granite Falls, NC. Solid Rock Baptist Church is the only church that took us on for support, shortly after starting deputation, without us actually visiting them! What a blessing it was to be able to see them and thank them, to meet the pastor, and visit with the Lane family.
After that we headed to Brunswick, GA and Bible Baptist Church. We arrived on a Monday, and so I was able to slip in the back and sit in on a couple of their Institute classes. The pastor mistook me for someone else and so that led to a funny interaction. On Tuesday we were able to go out and visit the town and see Saint Simon’s Island, and wandered into a library. Silas and Colton found an odd children’s book that they both felt perfectly described the other, the title being “Punga, the Goddess of Ugly.” Spending time with the Millers and getting to know the church was a real blessing.
Kiera and Jeremiah Now in Pensacola!
As you may know, our oldest daughter Kiera was married in Idaho back in May, and we naturally drove to the wedding. Then she and her husband moved to Pottstown, PA, and by chance we were able to see them in July. When school started back up for Jeremiah, they moved to Pensacola and as God would have it we were able to see them a third time!
Texas Trip Begins
The next day we drove from Pensacola to Houston and had a great conference at Shady Acres Baptist Church. It was a blessing for me to see brother Danny Farley and Bobby Cox again, as I remember them coming to my church in Georgia when I was a kid. It was good to meet Pastor Brad Whitmore and see how he is leading a great church forward after brother Farley resigned. I was moved by the heart of the people as they raised money on the spot for major projects, and how thoughtful they were in having a birthday party for all the missionary kids!
Next stop was East River Baptist Church. What a great group of people! They spoiled us while we were there, and the Jason Church family had us over for what was essentially a massive Thanksgiving feast a month early! For the second conference in a row we were able to spend time with Ted and Lyn Mullins, retired missionaries to Papua New Guinea.
After spending nine out of eleven days in church, it was good to spend a week at Charity Baptist Church in Amarillo. The church is a kind and a sweet church, which is no surprise when you get to know the Hickam families. We were thankful that Pastor Hickam was very understanding and gave us the space we needed to do homeschooling and recover from being road-weary. Being on deputation is a different kind of struggle, because my heart and mind is on the mission field, but for the time being God has us here, there, and everywhere other than where we’re actually trying to go. I believe the key is always being mindful of the fact that God has us here for a reason now, just like He will have us there for a reason later on. Please pray for us to have resilience, be a blessing wherever we go, get support, and learn what He wants us to.
Thank you for your kindness and prayers,
Rick Schworer
