July 29-30, 2010

During an idle moment while awaiting the day's attendees to arrive, I snapped a candid photo of Don Petty (maybe readying himself for the day's activities — reverting to his second childhood)!

The Annual World Evangelism Team Meeting began with a breakfast of pancakes and sausage at 8:30 a.m. Bonnie and Joe Ruiz arrived about 8:00 a.m. on their way back home, in time for breakfast. Leaving (a little late) for an appointment in Greenwood, they picked up Spanish books for their ongoing work stateside and in Peru.

Others in attendance throughout the day included Wayne and Janet Barrier, Joey Barrier, Don and Sylvia Petty, George and Gertrude Archad, Byron and Gaye Nichols, Betty Choate, Paula and Jerry Bates, Craig and Teresa Phillips and their daughter Anna, Don Poesy and his son, and of course, Bonnie and me.

Reports were made to include literature, Spanish work in the States and abroad, Global Harvest, The Voice of Truth International, the next session of the J.C. School of Missions, radio and TV evangelism abroad, and overseas campaigns in Asia, Africa and South America. Fellowship and eating together rounded out the two days of activities. Mutual encouragement was in large supply.

The delight of everyone present at the two-day meeting was Anna, the daughter of Teresa and Craig Phillips. One of the cutest moments was when this precious and precocious little lass perused nearly every book on the book racks that she could reach; she would thumb through a title and put it back neatly where it belonged before selecting another title. She did this over and over.

July 26-28, 2010

Monday through Wednesday, I primarily worked on the online catalog for J.C. Choate Publications/World Evangelism. Several books were added to the line up, and other minor improvements were made as well. Several orders for biblical literature arrive via this venue. Especially Bonnie and Paula Bates made preparations and cleaned for the upcoming Annual World Evangelism Team Meeting in Winona. In the evenings, I worked on some hollow, interior doors at the house; they are in bad shape, but though I may be unable to make them look like new, I believe that I can repair them and make them look presentable.

Tuesday morning, Gene Hill, his son and daughter-in-law, grandchild, along with Gene and Madolyn Gibson, arrived to tour the World Evangelism facilities. Brother Hill's son and daughter-in-law work with China Now and are home on furlough. They all stayed with us through lunch.

They had not more than left and we were visited by Joe and Bonnie Ruiz, passing through on an appointment in Jackson, MS; they reside in Olive Branch, MS, but labor stateside with a Spanish ministry under the oversight of the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS. They toured the warehouse part of the World Evangelism facilities and picked up some books before heading for their appointment.

Bonnie said that it seems that she spent all day Wednesday chopping vegetables in preparation for the Annual World Evangelism Team Meeting meals. The early birds, for whom Betty Choate prepared an evening meal, did not arrive in time. Therefore, the Bates, the Rushmores, Betty Choate and her mother, Theola Burton, had a nice meal together without our guests. After supper, we attended Bible class at the Winona Church of Christ, whereupon Jerry Bates taught the lesson. Some of our attendees for the upcoming annual meeting arrived at the meetinghouse for class.

Our house guests, Don and Sylvia Petty, arrived at our home following Bible class. He would have been in time for class, though late for supper, had he not driven past the church building without noticing it. We always enjoy having these septuagenarians in our midst. Don had let it slip that it was his birthday, and Bonnie made him a birthday cake. Several of us helped him celebrate his birthday with cake and ice cream (any excuse will do).

July 25, 2010

Sunday morning, not having an appointment to acquaint a congregation about our mission work, we visited the Southside Church of Christ in Grenada, MS. After worship, we traveled to Batesville for a little shopping, but as it turned out, it was mostly the proverbial window shopping.

July 19-24, 2010

Monday, Bonnie had an appointment in Grenada for part of her annual physical. Thursday and Friday, I was involved in a routine medical check up as well. Happily, both tests came back favorable.

Wednesday during the day, Bonnie and I, Betty Choate and her brother-in-law, Clayton, unloaded a shipment of incoming books and the newest Spanish Edition of The Voice of Truth International magazine. There were only 245 boxes (large boxes) on three pallets, comprising nearly 4,000 pounds. We made short work in the super heated daylight of the three book titles and the magazine. I perspire a lot on an ordinary day, and we all were nearly like soup in our clothes from intense perspiration.

Too late to help us unload the truck, Kathy Segars from the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood, MS brought a Nigerian preacher, Obadiah Doka, by the warehouse/office. We sent with him upon his departure a box of books to take back to his home in Nigeria.

Wednesday evening, Bonnie and I, along with Theola Burton and Betty Choate, attended the Gospel meeting being hosted by the Old Union Church of Christ. It is one of the oldest congregations in Mississippi and is nestled deep in the countryside, accessible down a long, Carroll County dirt road. Last year due to rain, the muddy, clay road was as slippery as a slush slick road typical of northern winters. Al Franks, Editor of the Magnolia Messenger magazine was the speaker, and he presented a polished, well-organized Bible lesson, which unlike some sermons and their presenters, never once tempted me to check the time on my watch for a likely and hoped-for conclusion.

Friday we had the electronic door lock on the driver's side replaced (for the second time in three years, the first time being when the car was new and on the lot before we picked it up). The half hour job for about $50 took over two hours and actually cost about $200. I guess that is slightly better than the repair I once had done on another car, estimated at $50 and actually costing around $3,000 — being left nevertheless with a largely inoperable family car. I feel about cars much the same way I feel about computers and technology in general — I have a love/hate relationship with computers, cars, etc.

I have seen some dirty garages before, and this one wasn't the dirtiest, but it most certainly is the buggiest! We had gotten the oil changed at this authorized, Chrysler dealership the week before, and now like then, the place was crawling with bugs, to the extent that in both instances I had to shake them off me and do a tap dance on their heads!

Everything in due time, I finally got around to working on updating the online book store catalog for Gospel Gazette Online/World Evangelism/J.C. Choate Publications. I'll be working on it through the first several days of the upcoming week.

July 18, 2010

It was our delight to worship with brethren on the south side of Huntsville in the morning and to worship with good brethren in the evening on the east side of Huntsville. I presented to both congregations my PowerPoint lesson about Bible Archaeology. In the morning, I also presented Because of the Center Cross, about our mission trip to India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar last fall. Because of Bonnie's doctor appointment on Monday in Grenada, MS, we did not spend the night in Huntsville, though we had offers of lodging with brethren we have come to love dearly. Instead, we traveled as it turned out about three hours before bedding down for the night in Columbus, MS. I have got to stop pinching pennies so hard and spring for a better motel in the future; sometimes I'm embarrassed at the accommodations Bonnie must endure because I think that a night's lodging shouldn't be so expensive. After all, we just want a clean room in reasonably good repair!

July 14-17, 2010

Having accomplished two hours the day before of our five hour trek to Benton, KY, we leisurely made our way still further north. We were the beneficiaries of a fabulous, home cooked catfish and hush puppy dinner in the home of Kim and Johnny Hunt. Our host and hostess also kept us overnight due to the late hour of when Bible class concluded and considering the five hour trip that was ahead of us in our return to Winona, MS.

One of the most amusing instances of our Benton, KY visit with the Lord's people there was the six-year-old to whom I had given a fake million dollar bill (with our contact and missionary information on the reverse side) attempted to spend it to buy a Bible class book from us! I let him keep his million dollars, and I gave him a free copy of my book, Bible Geography.

Rebecca, returning from a mission VBS in the vicinity of Jackson, MS, preceded us to our home in Winona. We arrived later in the day, coming back from Benton, KY. Rebecca remained with us through Saturday morning.

Throughout the week when in Winona, I printed tracts and we worked on finalizing the next issue of The Voice of Truth International before sending it off to the printing company. This involved some late nights.

Saturday afternoon, we pointed the car once more toward an appointment, this time to Huntsville, AL for two Sunday appointments. Per usual we were the fortunate guests of very hospitable brethren who not only fed us well and exhibited pleasant fellowship with us, but also graciously lodged us in their home. Bob and Gina Werka, in whose home we stayed, have turned their backyard into a beautiful garden, attended by a covered patio, complete with its own ceiling fan.

July 13, 2010

Therman Hodge spent the morning and early afternoon with us as he and we made plans for about a six-week missionary trip to various cities in India and Myanmar (Burma); we will be abroad together in October and November of this year.

Among the chores of the day was to help load hundreds of boxes, mostly copies of The Voice of Truth International magazine plus miscellaneous other books, on a tractor trailer bound initially for the east coast; upon arriving there, they will be loaded on a ship headed for various overseas points. Therman Hodge lifted each box to the back of the truck as others of us who reside in and labor in Winona performed the other related tasks.

Now that we were all sweaty, Bonnie and I finished preparing for our Wednesday appointment by packing our car with books, displays and luggage. We left town about 4:00 p.m. for a nice meal at Texas Roadhouse in Horn Lake, MS, and for northeast Memphis where we planned to pause for the night in a comfortable motel — all of this in measured notice of our 37th anniversary on Wednesday and as we moved in a northward direction toward our Wednesday evening appointment with a congregation in Benton, KY.

July 12, 2010

Very early Monday morning, Betty Choate winged her way to Alaska, accompanying her daughter, Sheila, home and to spend a few days with her there. Later in the morning, Bonnie and I finally braved the heat to mow the grass that had escaped our attention for various reasons (e.g., being abroad two weeks, rain upon our return and reluctance). We welcomed our humble lot back into civilization as we beat back mother nature just a little!

Monday about noon, the Strickland Church of Christ from Glen, MS brought a group of young people and adults to Winona to help around the facilities. Betty's newsletter was prepared for mailing on Tuesday, and much work was invested also in preparation of the Rushmore newsletter, which was mailed Friday. Boxes in the warehouse were rearranged to accommodate an incoming shipment next week. The Strickland group labeled hundreds of boxes for shipment on Tuesday to foreign recipients. Help with folding and packaging tracts that were printed the day before, cleaning and weeding rounded out the activities in their four-hour foray with us.

Monday evening, we seized some time to attend a Gospel meeting about 45 minutes away. Jerry and Paula Bates accompanied us in that little jaunt.

July 10, 2010

Saturday, I had planned to mow the grass. However, a light rain and wet grass dissuaded me (it didn't take much) from lawn work. It's been three weeks now since we mowed grass, etc., and we're really going to have to find some time to attend to it. Instead, I did a little (that means not much) tidying of my woodshop; it has been a drop site since we painted and otherwise repaired the house last winter. I need to bring it under control so I can find things and have a base from which to continue working on the house, etc.

The afternoon through early evening, Bonnie and I helped (with dozens of others as well) Madolyn and Gene Gibson celebrate the renewal of their wedding vows on their 50th anniversary. Ceremony and reception were held in the West President Church of Christ's building in Greenwood, MS. Upon returning to Winona, we headed to the office / warehouse / print shop. There Bonnie continued to print Betty's newsletter. Upstairs, I sent monthly notifications for the new issue of Gospel Gazette Online to 1,011 subscribers. Downstairs, I printed the final side of The One True Church of the Bible tract for a church, personalized with its contact information. I also printed another pass of ink on Bonnie and my newsletter (two passes of black ink, one pass of red ink, one pass of blue ink; 1,000 copies; a 11 X 17 sheet and an 8.5 X 11 insert, for six pages).

Bonnie and I closed out the day with me catching up the blog between last Saturday and this Saturday, and watching a romance movie on the Hallmark channel.

July 6-9, 2010

Tuesday morning, I had an appointment with a medical specialist in Grenada, MS, just 21 miles north of Winona. Next, it was imperative to buy groceries, which we did at the Super Wal-Mart, since the cupboards at the house were empty. We made it into the office, though dragging yet a little I'm sure.

Wednesday evening, Bonnie and I visited the Euphora, MS congregation and enjoyed Bible study with these brethren. We were received very hospitably, and we left copies of The Voice of Truth International and Global Harvest magazines. I also left my million dollar bill business card and personalized pens with young and older alike.

Thursday morning, Bonnie had a medical appointment in Winona. We have a couple more routine appointments pending. We are simply getting annual physicals, which we have missed for several years. So far, we have discovered that I have high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels, necessitating me taking medicine for both. Bonnie found that she has high cholesterol. We have been eating more responsibly and taking a little medicine, and we lost a little weight while overseas, plus a few more pounds lost upon our return.

Especially Bonnie has been working feverishly on getting volume 65 of The Voice of Truth International magazine ready to send to the printing company. I have been working as diligently trying to get the July issue of Gospel Gazette Online ready for publishing to the Internet. In addition, we have been working on our newsletter.

Friday, we continued working on all of the above and Bonnie added working on Betty's newsletter, too. Further, I printed a personalized tract for a congregation in Mississippi. My tract, The One True Church of the Bible, is very popular in the States as well as overseas. Recently, I added a few more tracts to our offerings; Choate Publications is about to print 60 full-color tracts, mostly written by the late J.C. Choate.

July 4-5, 2010

Too tired to travel home yesterday, we stayed over at Rebecca's and worshipped with the Collierville Church of Christ on the Lord's Day. It is always a pleasure, and there is no place that feels more like a church home to us than here. Monday, we returned to Winona.

Reflecting on our trip to Yangon, we gave hundreds of dollars to various brethren to enable them to print thousands of tracts in several languages. We do this each time we visit Myanmar, and Bonnie and I have determined, with the help of several churches of Christ and individual Christians, to provide up to $5,000 annually for Bibles, books and tracts for Myanmar and border areas of neighboring nations. Brother Jay Ahti, for instance, prints a minimum of 2,000 tracts for two language groups each time I have the opportunity to pass funds to him for that purpose. His whole family — wife and two children — involve themselves in preparing tracts for distribution to lost souls. I thank God for brother Ahti and others like him in Myanmar and elsewhere.

July 2-3, 2010

These were two very long days as we essentially flew back in time on our way from Myanmar to the United States; we crammed three days worth of hours into two calendar days, leaving Myanmar on Friday morning and arriving in Memphis, TN on Saturday morning. The longest we were airborne headed back to the States was the 12 hour or so flight from Taipei, Taiwan to Los Angeles, CA. It was only in Los Angeles that we discovered that we almost left Rebecca behind in Taipei; when she attempted to board, she was told that according to the boarding pass scanner, she had already boarded. She said she was thinking to herself, but did not utter, "I'm standing right here in front of you; I assure you that I have not boarded yet." To his credit, Randy, who was to sit with her, opted not to board until the snafu was corrected and Rebecca was permitted to board. We were seated about 30 rows further back in the plane, and had boarded before the other two, so we had no idea of any problems.

When the gentleman on the aisle of our three seats volunteered to let us out in case we wanted to use the restroom, we nearly hopped out of our seats; we had not wanted to wake him as he had been sleeping earlier, as had most of the planeload of folks. Walking around or just standing when on a flight of such long duration is a pleasure hardly realized under virtually any other circumstance. The proverbial sardine in the can probably had more room than did we on this flight. We felt like bovine on a cattle truck!

Bonnie and I have never had a delayed flight, and we have never lost any luggage. Everything has always worked for us in international air travel just like it was scheduled to occur. (Only decades ago when I was flying military standby did I miss a connection due to inclement winter weather. On that occasion, I had to sit for 12 hours in an airport without even a bench on which to lie waiting for the next plane to fly in my direction of travel.) Our overseas jaunt this time was no exception to the good fortune Bonnie and I have enjoyed to date.

Our flight to Memphis arrived 30 minutes early, but brother Robertson from the Collierville Church of Christ still happened to drive by the very door nearest our baggage claim carousel as soon as we crossed the threshold to the outside. We could not have planned that any better. We are thankful for all brethren who in one way or another make it possible for Bonnie and me to take the Gospel of Christ to foreign fields.

We showered and changed clothes, having worn the same clothes and developed, I'm sure, an odor about us from non-stop travel these past days. Next, we went to Cracker Barrel restaurant for their famous pancakes, cheesy potato casserole, crisp bacon and chocolate milk. It was a wonder I didn't fall face first into my pancakes and syrup as tired as I became all of a sudden. We all took a nap back at Rebecca's home —too long of a nap that contributed to the jet lag problem of being unable to sleep later through the night; Myanmar and Memphis, TN are about 12 time zones apart!

However, we did rise and shine (somewhat) in early evening to join with members of the Collierville congregation to have a fellowship meal together, before watching from the church parking lot the Collierville Fourth of July Fireworks. It had been many years since I enjoyed fireworks, but I thoroughly enjoyed them on this day.

July 1, 2010

After the day's activities at the school, we had a devotional in Yangon at the home of Winsome and Sheila. Members of several congregations came to be with us in that gathering.

Thursday evening, two Burmese evangelists treated our party to supper at the Million Coin. These brethren became quick and enduring friends from the time we first met them two years ago. Fine dining in an international restaurant with close friends and brethren exceeds comparison with anyone, any place and anywhere else.

P.R. Swamy
Newsletter/Blog