Driven to Minister

I'm back. It's been so long that I could hardly get myself back to it. Life can be so busy. Let me try to give you a thumbnail sketch of what our last month was like. 

Firstly, Janet and I went to the OCI Retreat in Uchee Pines, Alabama. The retreat was held in their new lifestyle center, a beautiful, very modern building. I guess there were more than 200 people assembled. The messages were good and the mission reports were great. It is amazing to see what the Lord is doing, especially with the youth. The Spirit of Prophecy says that with an army of youth rightly trained the work would be finished in no time. I was strongly impressed that this prophecy is being fulfilled right now. I wish I could transport you back to the meetings so you could listen in. (They will be on the OCI Website eventually.) There are three or four youth groups mobilizing hundreds, perhaps thousands of young people to enter nearly every enterable place on the globe. These young people are solid, conservative, energetic missionaries. I was blown away. 

Janet and I were also given the opportunity to share what God is doing in our respective institutions. Besides that I had the privilege of preaching at the eleven o'clock service Sabbath morning.  I preached a sermon that I had shared with my people at Eden Valley a week or two prior to the OCI Retreat. It had been okay at EVI, but I was not impressed that it would be good enough for the assembled missionaries at Uchee. I agonized over the message I was to give. I prayed and tweaked and prayed some more. The sermon came forth with great power, teaching me again the value of prayer and what the Holy Spirit can do when He is called upon. Oh, I wish I always felt so needy, and was always so prayerful. 

From the OCI Retreat we returned to EVI for one day and left by car for Washington State the next day. In Cashmere, WA, (Angie's church) I did a week-of-prayer on "True Success." (The series may be downloaded from the Cashmere Church website.) I had, and I trust others had, a great time. Vanessa (little Ange) took me up to the top of a different mountain every day but one. On that day Steve and I worked on their mud room grinding the floors getting them ready for tiling. We returned from WA through storm of sleet and snow and wind and 250 miles extension to our trip to circumvent the greater parts of the storms. 

All is well at EVI. We start a Gardening Seminar in two days. Steve Meyers and Widmar McConell have teamed up to give us five days of intensive teachings. This seminar also marks the beginning of a three month course on agriculture for maybe six or more students. (We expect approximately 50 students for the seminar.) The weather heading into it is horrible. We've had three snow storms in the last two weeks and it is still storming. I pray the Lord overrules the Devil's intentions. 

At the same time, we are starting a new Lifestyle Session with 18 guests. (We can only handle 16, but the demand is great since having so much 3ABN exposure.) On top of all that, a 3ABN film crew will come and film our whole healing process for the purpose of showing EVI's approach to natural remedies on television. We are busy, happy and blessed.  

Soon, I'll attempt to post the highlights of the sermon I preached at the retreat.