A lot has happened since I last took the time to sit here and blog. Week before last, the family took a much needed vacation and spent some time together at a cabin in the mountains above Pigeon Forge, TN. We had a very relaxing week together. For many years we were not able to take vacations because we could not afford to. Now we can, so we do.

This week has been very unusual. I preached Monday evening at Piney Grove Baptist Church here in our county. We had a great service. The Lord moved and several decisions were made. Tuesday morning I received a call from a brokenhearted mother that her 24-year-old son had been killed in a car wreck late Monday night. His name was Mark Garnhum and he was saved and called to preach under our ministry at Gilead Baptist Church in Burke County. Mark was like a son to Joan and me when he was growing up. He was in our home on mnay occasions because he and our son Jesse were best friends. At any rate, we had his funeral Wednesday night in Morganton, NC and the burial was Thursday afternoon in Burnsville, NC. Mark will be missed by his family. Please pray for his widow Kayla, their two children Kassie and Kayden, his mother, his father Frank and his sister Virginia. There are some great spiritual needs in the family so please pray that God will be glorified through the death of this fine young man.

One of our men, Brother Norman Tester, has been in intensive care since Wednesday evening. Brother Norman is a walking miracle. A few years ago he had throat cancer. Docotrs removed his tongue, larynx and interior throat muscles. Norman can’tr swallow, so he has to be fed through a feeding tube. Even without a tongue and a larynx, Norman can still speak and often stands to thank the Lord for saving his soul. Last year Norman had lung cancer and lost his riht lung. Now, he is having siezures. He had been in the hospital for three weeks due to these seizures. Wednesday afternoon Norman had a seizure and aspirated a bunch of the liquid food they feed him. His left lung is full of that material and he is now on a ventilator, with pneumonia and other problems. Please pray for Norman, his wife Earlene, and his daughters Renee and Sherry. They would appreciate it.

I am schedules to be with Pastor Ken Frady and the folks at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Connelly Springs, NC. Please remember the meeting and come if you can.

God bless!

Alan