Praises:
Deputation is winding down!
Prayer Requests:
Safety, health, homeschooling, visas, and a couple more churches to get us to 100%.
Tennessee!
All 6 meetings and the missions conference we had in August were in Tennessee. I have enjoyed watching my Western culture family get a dose of both the city and country culture of the South, having lived there as a teenager myself. Gospel music playing in stores besides Hobby Lobby, tracts that OTHER people put out laying around to be picked up, Bible verses on business signs, and a Baptist church on every corner. As my kids would say: “It’s a vibe.”
Our first meeting was in Seymore at Bible Baptist; we had a wonderful time sharing connections with the church there which was so funny because Pastor Jeffers was so kind in having us in without having met us before. The windy road to Johnson Baptist in Philadelphia (not PA) was an experience that we are unaccustomed to! But it was great getting to know Pastor Cronan and his family who were also missionaries themselves in Wales for 3 years.
We were pleased to visit Pastor Ron Ralph’s church, Cornerstone Baptist, in Carthage. He said that out of all the missionaries he’s ever had we were the ones he’s known the least about, and then the church took us on for support! The boys of the church made sure to eat every single mint on the table, which was pretty funny. Also, it was good to see people from my old church in Georgia at Cornerstone – I had no idea. It’s neat how things like that happen on deputation!
In Soddy-Daisey, at New Grace Baptist, we enjoyed the people and learning about the old feud between what used to be Soddy, TN and Daisey, TN. Glad things are better between those two towns. Harmony Baptist in Chattanooga had us in for a missions conference. We enjoyed spending time with the pastor and the church, and it was good to hear brother Scott Caudill preach again. His love for world missions is very evident.
Next we headed to Pigeon Forge. I was not prepared. Orlando and Las Vegas had a baby that was Southern and that is Pigeon Forge, where Dollywood also just so happens to be. Dolly Parton also died two days after we left. There were over 20,000 wildly decorated Jeeps driving through the city. A bear invaded our RV park. I expected none of this. But the church was sweet! We enjoyed meeting and spending time with them.
Our last meeting of August was in Memphis. Everyone told us to be careful, including the internet, which said Memphis is the most dangerous city in the US. We would have never known, because the church was in a nice area. We had a great time at church that Wednesday night. It was a split session with lessons that are very needed for men and women. I was glad to have my boys there as the teacher spoke the need for brotherhood and solid friendships among men. I know it spoke to both of their hearts, especially Colton. Afterwards the boys and I helped the the other men unload 750 boxes of Bibles off a truck and into a container headed to a missionary. We had a great time!
Looking Forward
August marked the second full year of deputation for us. We’ve been to or through 46 states and have churches that support us in 19 states. This is our last big month, and while there are many things we like about deputation we are happy to be moving forward. We have 4 meetings, a missions conference, and then the teens are headed to the Heirloom Seed Summit, a wonderful camp for ministry kids. Thank you so much for your prayers and kindness.
In Christ,
Rick Schworer
