The Sanctuary

The Messiah's Mansion made quite a splash the week it was here.

According to statistics, this exhibition was the third largest ever. 

They had 13,000 visitors in Atlanta, during the General Conference Session. 

They showed it to 10,000 people in Chattanooga a couple of years ago, and now in Loveland, Colorado, they had the privilege of teaching approximately 6,500 people. 

We are thrilled. 

Shari Waggoner organized the event and it went off like a charm. 

We are very proud of her. 

Eden Valley hosted the students from Oklahoma Academy and fed therm. Other churches, four of them as far as I know, participated in raising money to bring them here and help with logistics and such.

Now, after our annual convention (our 50th, by the way--all invited to come and celebrate with us) we plan to do an evangelistic effort based on the Sanctuary. We started two prayer meetings daily. One at 5:30 AM, the early bird special, and one at 6:30 PM. So far, not many are attending, but the numbers will increase as we let people know what we are doing. 

I am so dependent on the Lord in this venture. I've done three evangelistic efforts in the past. All in foreign countries. But frankly, if I can be frankly, I have never been comfortable doing them. I am not organized, nor do I have the proper sermon materials. (At EVI I have a team of organizers, par excellence.) Be that as it may, I will do it with what God gives me. If you have a minute, please pray the Lord will work a miracle.

Unconfirmed News: My lover sent me a text message at 3:30 AM this morning. She felt it was news worthy of waking me up. Fortunately, I've got so much to do, I get up at that time. Anyway, she says they (they being the hydro electric co. who want her land to build a dam) they will  not be building the dam, after all . . . maybe. 

I called her later in the day, and she still needs to verify this "good news" with the officials. If everything she is hearing is true, it appears the defense she put up at a local town meeting convinced the town fathers to back off. Do the town fathers have that much power? It remains to be seen. I hope so.

We have a lady in our lifestyle center who has suffered through a slow kidney and bladder cancer for years. If I am not mistaken, she has had nine surgeries. Lately, she woke up to blood everywhere. The doctor, whether at the hospital of in an office, I don't know, told her she needed to go to Eden Valley. So she made plans to come. When she visited the doctor's office again, and told the doctor who was there about coming to Eden Valley, he knew nothing about it. As a matter of fact, there was no doctor in his office by the name she gave who apparently directed her to come to us. It appears an angel intercepted her and gave her directions to EVI. How do you suppose that makes us feel? Can we expect a miracle? We'll see.

Brazil Adventure

This last weekend was exciting. I left for Brazil last Wednesday, and as usual I wished that I didn't have to go, but in the end, I enjoyed it very much. Ted Wilson, and his wife, Nancy were on the same plane I was on flying into Sao Paulo. We arrived in Brazil around noon and spent the whole day together. I must say, they are very down to earth people. Ted is quiet and Nancy has obviously never met a stranger. She is super sweet. Ted was scheduled to speak five times over the weekend. He attempted to give me one of his spots, but the organizers wouldn't hear of it. It isn't often that I don't get to preach on a trip. Consequently, it made for an easy assignment.

At 4:30 PM, we flew in to a place called Fortaleza, Brazil--right on the ocean. They put us up in a five star resort where the convention of the FE Brazil was held. FE means ASI for all intents and purposes. The organizers were elated. This is the first time that they had the GC President, the ASI President, the OCI President, the Brazil Division President, and 10 of the 12 Union presidents, plus a flock of pastors attending. (They weren't all there to see me, either.)

The weekend was relaxing and easy. I didn't have to preach. Being interviewed twice was productive but not stressful. Steven Grabiner, Brad Mills and I had a very good meeting with the FE leadership. They genuinely want a closer connection with ASI America.

Get this: The convention started with a meeting Thursday night at 7:00 PM. It ended around 11:00 PM. They don't hold to any schedule in that place. Oh the formality. It is enough to drive you nuts. The next morning they had a devotional half hour. Then there was no meeting until 7:00 at night. Steven and I had all day to hang out. We swam in the biggest waves I've ever tackled in my life. That was great fun. The food was scrumptious. I ate more papaya in this last week than I've eaten in the last ten years or  more.

Besides that, I'm home again. The Messiah's Mansion people are here. They project that this showing will be their biggest this year. People are flooding the place. We are so grateful. After the Messiah's Mansion we will celebrate Eden Valley's 50th anniversary during our convention, Sept. 28-30. All are invited. Then I am to do an evangelistic series based on the Sanctuary truth. There is always more to do than we can surround. Praise God.