Well this Sunday we attended Benson Baptist. Pastor Paul Marine did not preach instead we had a presentation from a missionary. Becky Mann presented information on the current state of her and her husband Mike's work in Thailand. I have met Mike before and heard him speak of their work in Thailand. They have done marvelous things there with Becky working with handicapped children and Mike working on acquiring reliable water sources and helping the farmers to establish coffee plantations. She reported that they are now up to producing 200 tons annually on the farms they have helped establish. They not only work with establishing the water and farms they also work to find markets for the coffee. Currently Starbucks is their largest customer however they are selling their coffee to many other countries as well as here in the USA.
I've always been impressed with the Mann's and what they've accomplished and when the day finally comes that God figures out where he wants to utilize me I fully intend to urge our congregation to support the Mann's. (if they aren't already that is)
Mann's Missionary work in Thailand.
Please read about Mike and his wife and if you're so inclined please send them some support. Their mission has been fruitful but still has much to do and needs all our support.
I'm scheduled to preach at the Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Council Bluffs on May 5th and I'm really looking forward to visiting them. They are a small congregation but from what I have been told they are a very tightly knit and devoted group. That is the weekend for our May ELM class so on the 3rd & 4th I'll be in Hastings. I'll use the evening of the 3rd to practice my sermon in the motel room.
My brother Merrill and his wife Karen will be visiting us that weekend as they are planning to attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Stockholder Meeting here in Omaha that weekend. Since I'll be out of town Maddie and Gail will get to go with Merrill and Karen as their guests to take in the festivities at the meeting. This will be the second time Gail has been able to go with them and unfortunately I will once again not be able to experience this event. I'm a bit jealous but there is no way I can afford to miss an ELM class at this stage of the game.
We had two different handy-men stop by to give us estimates on replacing the carpet upstairs with flooring. We purchased all the materials a while back when they were on sale at Menard's. Hoping to have that project finished before Maddie's graduation party June 1st.
Maddie has decided on attending UNL and will be majoring in Psychology. She is extremely excited about going to college and has been working very hard both in school and at her two jobs. She's a very good worker and both Gail and I are extremely proud of her.
I spent most of the rest of the day reading and meditating in preparation for the sermon I will give on May 5th. After Maddie came home from work she and I went to the gym together and caught a workout. It was a leg night for me and I've drastically dropped the amount of weight I'm using but also drastically upped the number of reps I'm doing. I've also upped the number of reps I'm doing for my lower back and abdomen.
With all the craziness going on in Boston this past week I would encourage you all to remember to continue to pray for all those affected. It was stunning to see the entire city basically shut down while they pursued the one young terrorist. Sadly they now know that it was a larger group and that some of the members are still at large. Please also pray that the authorities will catch all those involved before there is any more killing and destruction. It is hard for most of us to wrap our brains around the amount of hatred that is required to place a bomb literally at the feet of an eight year old boy, I think we should all praise God that we cannot relate to this...
May you all be well, blessed and safe in the Lord!
In His constant care & absolute grace,
Roy
