February in Florida

We kicked off February by participating in the Bill Rice Ranch Florida Day of Champions, a regional one-day youth rally hosted at First Baptist Church, Land O' Lakes, FL.  We had a wonderful day with youth groups from Central FL as they participated in volleyball and basketball tournaments and enjoyed exciting group activities.  Bro. Troy Carlson, director of West Branch of the Bill Rice Ranch, preached for the event.

Following the rally, we immediately headed to Faith Baptist Church, Silver Springs, where we began a Sunday-Friday meeting for revival.  We have been to this church in "the forest" many times and are always grateful for the opportunity to minister to this faithful congregation.  Pastor Roger Walton is continuing his fight with cancer but seemed to be in better health during this visit for which we thank the Lord.  

From Silver Springs, we traveled to Ocoee for a Friend Day Sunday with Pastor Brad Phillips and the people of Victory Baptist Church.  This was our first time to be with this congregation, and we look forward to being with them again, Lord-willing, for a week of meetings in 2019.   

On the following Thursday, we traveled to Marathon (the Keys) for meetings with Pastor Nick Wielander and Marathon Baptist Church.  Because of sickness in our family and mechanical problems with our trailer, we unfortunately missed our Thursday evening service with the congregation.  On Friday and Saturday evenings, we met for food, fellowship, and preaching at members' homes with Saturday being especially designed for the youth.  Sunday services are always exciting at Marathon Baptist because of the unique blend of vacationers, "snowbirds", and faithful members.  This church is actively reaching out to the community and seeking to share the gospel at every opportunity.  We look forward to hearing how the Lord continues to bless this congregation.

We traveled to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday to begin meetings with Pastor Ryan Price and the folks of Fort Lauderdale Baptist Church on Thursday evening.  It is always a great privilege to serve with Pastor Price and his precious wife Melissa who have labored faithfully to reach this area with the gospel.  This meeting is underway now, and we are thrilled for the Lord's working already in services.  On Friday evening, several young people received counsel for victory over sin after hearing from Jonah 2 that "they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercies".  

On Saturday, the church hosted a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for local young people.  Sixteen teens showed up for the tournament, free lunch, and gospel message.  When the invitation was given, six teens met with counselors and made decisions to put their trust in Christ alone for salvation; one received assurance of salvation.  The revival meeting continues through this coming Wednesday, and we highly anticipate the Lord doing a special work in the services.  Please do pray for lost folks to be in the services and to be convinced of their desperate need to trust Christ and for members to faithfully attend the services.

New Year, New Adventures

On this Saturday morning, we are traveling back from a brief visit with Brit's parents in Georgia and are now back in the "Sunshine State" of Florida.  We are traveling to our RV in Starke, packing up our things, and moving south to Silver Springs for services in central Florida. During the month of January, we have the privilege to travel and minister in churches with Dr. Bill Rice and his wife Mary in order to promote the deaf ministry of the Bill Rice Ranch and to raise funds for this needy cause. Since its beginning in 1953, the Bill Rice Ranch has provided a FREE week of camp for deaf campers ages 8-19.   The most recent promotional DVD for the deaf ministry gives countless testimonies from young campers to seasoned preachers who "heard" the gospel in their own  language and trusted Christ. Check out the DVD on www.billriceranch.org and consider sponsoring a deaf camper or two for this summer.

In February and the first part of March, our family  will continue in Florida with several revival meetings. We look forward to reporting of the Lord's goodness and working in these endeavors.

Traveling Home for the Holidays

To have been posted December 13, 2016:

We certainly are rejoicing in all the Lord has done during our travels out West!  From meeting specific mechanical needs on both our truck and RV to providing extra opportunities for us to minister churches, it would take too much of your time to recount everything the Lord has done for us; but suffice it to say, God has been so faithful!  As of our last update, we had been to two new-to-us churches in Texas and Oklahoma and had wonderful response in the services.  Since then, we've had Sundays at Bible Baptist Church (Stillwater, OK-Pastor Wayne Hardy),  Arden Road Baptist Church (Amarillo, TX-Pastor Aaron Denson), and Westbrook Baptist Church (Clovis, NM-Pastor Furgus Tunnell) along wth a Wednesday evening service at Bethany Baptist Church (Lubbock, TX-Pastor Dan Preston).

Western Travels

 For almost 2 weeks now, we have been in the Oklahom/Texas region. We are extremely grateful to Pastor Wayne Hardy and the people of Bible Baptist Church (Stillwater, OK) for allowing us to park our RV at the church property and travel to our meetings from there.  They have been beyond gracious to our family!

It was a pleasure to meet Pastor and Mrs. Jerry Remington and the people at Bible Baptist of (Owasso, OK) on the 6th.  We had a blessed Sunday getting to know the people and ministering through music and preaching.

This past weekend, we arrived to Weatherford, TX, to preach a family emphasis Sunday for Pastor Josh Merrell and the folks of South Side Baptist Church.  The people were very receptive to the Sunday school, morning, and evening sessions.  What a privilege and blessing it always is to see what God's Word says regarding our homes and seeing how we can practically apply those truths to those God has entrusted to us.

 We just arrived at Eastland Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma,  where Tim will preach to the youth tonight. We look forward to getting back to our western base at Bible Baptist Church (Stillwater, OK) tomorrow.

Canadian Times

Hello from Ajax, Ontario, where we are in our last day of revival meetings at Faithway Baptist Church and College of Canada.  We have had a wonderful week with the people of Faithway!   Tim has preached daily in college, high school, and elementary chapels and to the church folks in the evening.  What a tremendous attendance of around 350 we've seen each night, as folks hurry from their jobs in the city of Toronto to catch the bus just in time for the 7 o'clock evening service.  The "city life" of Toronto is fascinating to observe, but the people of the city are even more of a fascination with so many ethnic backgrounds, stories of their coming to Canada and the conversations about loved ones and memories that remain still in their homelands.  It has been a humbling experience, once again, to become reacquainted and to minister with this precious church family and to meet newcomers since our last time here 4 years ago.

We are praying for a strong ending to tonight's meeting, that the unsaved (most, who are hearing the gospel in their second language, English) would clearly understand the truths of Scripture and see their need for Christ and that believers would continually be drawn to a closer walk with the Lord.  We wish we could teleport you, our friends, to this place.  We love the people of Faithway, and we know that you would fall in love with them just the same!

We leave Canada tomorrow and travel to Virginia where we will begin another week of meetings this coming Sunday in Rice, VA.  Thank you so much for keeping up with our clan and for praying for the Lord's hand on our lives and ministry.

"Friend Days" and Days with Friends

We are just now picking up our blog again since the busy summer camp schedule and will do our best to keep you informed on our whereabouts and happenings in travels.  On August 14, we arrived to Kings Mills Baptist Church to host a Choir Clinic and Friend Day for the weekend.  The two-hour clinic was well attended, and all seemed to enjoy the concentrated time of music practice and instruction.  Sunday morning service was the highlight of the weekend, since members had been purposefully seeking out folks who needed Christ for the last several months in order to invite them for this special day.  Praise the Lord for a father and son who realized their need and both trusted Christ that day!   After the service, members headed over to the local park to host a "block party" for the surrounding neighbors.  A shaved ice truck, an inflatable, and free hot dogs were just some of the highlights of this time for KMBC members to reach out to their community.  Despite intermittent rain, it was a great time of fellowship with friends and neighbors.

The next weekend, we arrived at Harvest Baptist Church of Louisville, KY, where friends Dusty and Hope Brian have just celebrated their first year of ministry there.  We met Bro. Dusty at Bethany Baptist of Lubbock, TX, where he had served as assistant pastor, so it was truly an honor to be with them in this new church for the weekend endeavor.   Again, the choir clinic was very well attended, and members worked diligently to prepare music for the special "Friend Day" service.  Many guests arrived for the special day, and at least seven indicated that they had prayed to receive Christ!  We praise the Lord for the wonderful response!  After a delicious lunch, Tim preached an afternoon service to conclude our Friend Day at Harvest.

We just arrived back to southeast Georgia (where Brittany hails from) after a super Sunday with Harvest Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL.  Pastor Bryan Samms asked if our family could come while he was out of town preaching, so the Thompson crew provided special music while Tim preached both the morning and evening services.  We are eager to see what the Lord will do in and through Harvest of Jax as Pastor Samms has just assumed the pastorate there and is tenaciously seeking to lead his people to win their community.  Stay tuned!

And as for friends....we are so grateful for the opportunities that the Lord gave us to spend time with special friends.  Whether in their home or at their church, we were refreshed and encouraged to spend time, enjoy fellowship, and share our hearts with dear friends from Ohio, Kentucky, and Florida.  Truly, godly friendships are a gift from the Lord!

As I mentioned above, we'll be in touch more often now that we're back on the road.  Keep in touch, and thanks so much for your prayers for our family and the ministry to which He has called us.

May the Lord find us faithful,
Tim and Brittany

Homeward Bound

It's a beautiful day as we bound down I-71 south towards HOME!!!  This year's travel schedule has kept us on the road longer than years before, but we woudn' t trade the opportunities God gave us for anything!  From SC to OH, we have benefited from fellowship with dear friends, have enjoyed making new friends, have experienced spiritual growth in our own lives and seen it taking shape in the lives of believers around the country.  God is at work!

This morning, we left First Baptist Church of Milford, OH, home of Bearing Precious Seed and Master's Club ministries.  We are beyond grateful for our friendship with Pastor and Mrs. Bill Duttry and the growing friendships we've made with the people there.  We arrived to the church's gorgeous property on Tuesday evening and enjoyed a trip to the Creation Museum, getting some much needed work accomplished, and our boys took advantage of the spacious play area and fishing in the church's well-stocked pond.  It was a little boy's paradise!  Our 3-year-old Samuel even learned to ride his bicycle (no training wheels) this week.  Churches around the country hold many special memories for us regarding our boy's growth and development, because we park our RV home on the property for the week of meetings.  FBC Milford will now be remembered, among other things, as the place where Samuel learned to ride his bike! :)

We had a fantastic Sunday with Pastor Duttry and his people!  Tim preached to the youth group for Sunday School regarding the importance of their deciding NOW to live by faith from Colossians 2:6-10 and to the congregation from Psalm 46 in the evening service.  Praise the Lord for HIS working in hearts and meeting needs during the preaching. Our time together ended with the observance of the Lord's Supper.  What a blessed time it was!

In the next few weeks, we would greatly appreciate your prayers as we prepare to make a new family recording, settle back into our house, and begin music prep for summer camp.  Tim and I are squeezing in a 3-day getaway to St. Simon's Island, GA, for our 15th wedding anniversary as well.  It's exciting times, for sure!

May the Lord richly bless you and use you in your Jerusalem today!