Recap of 2010 for the BNCF and ME

I was sitting here thinking over how God had blessed us and the Brian Noble Children's Foundation in 2010 and all the exciting things that have happened.  As any evangelist/missionary can tell you the months from December to March are always pretty thin for booking meetings. Churches have all of their "holiday" season programs and special services during these times. So we are blessed in being able to spend a little time with our family. Mostly I feel like a hobo going from family member to family member! Some of you are marked as a "I Will Return"!

Anyway, back to 2010... The month of January was spent in the Philippines passing out Christmas bags and shoes to almost 1600 kids. It was a thrill to see the joy on these children's faces as they opened up their bags and saw all of the goodies they got. In all we saw over 800 souls come to Christ through this program.

The first part of February we spent in Saginaw, Texas with the Trinity Baptist Temple where the great and wonderful pastor is Dr. James Godbey, better known as Woody. We were so thankful that we got to participate in the churches 25th Church Anniversary and Pastor Woody and Regina's 40th Wedding Anniversary!  What a time we had! It even snowed while we were there! There was almost 2 foot of snow in Fort Worth, Texas in February!!! What a time the kids had with that. We then flew out to Viet Nam to visit with our Pastor friend there. It was a great trip and we had some great adventures. On Sunday morning we got ready to go to church and were meeting the pastor outside of the hotel when up drives him and his son, Wen, on 2 motorbikes! Okay, there's no problem with that except I'm in a straight skirt and my ever present high heels!! Now, I'm not one to just give up so I told Wen to hang on and I hopped up on that bike side-saddle! So down the road we went flying with me trying to not fall off, not drop my purse (which is the size of a small suitcase) or loose one of my high heels! Now who said life is boring? We made it back to the states with no problems and too many stories to tell right now.

In March we did meetings in the states. Our first meeting was with the Sharon Baptist Church of Hampton Virginia where Brother Bill Geouge is the pastor. Then on to the trinity Baptist Church in Chesapeake, VA where Brother Neil Poleski is now pastoring.  Then to end up the month of March we were in Randleman, NC at the Grace Baptist Church with Pastor Marvin Patterson and a wonderful Sunday service at the Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA. with Pastor Richard Smith.

April was at our home church for Easter and Revival at the El Bethel Baptist Church in Avon, IN where "Dad", Rev. Don Noble pastors. We then drove up to Creston, IL to hold a revival for Bro. Al Roose at the New Beginnings Baptist Church and then back to Pittsboro, IN for a Sunday service with the Pittsboro Baptist Church where we had the privilege to meet their new pastor, Bro. Brock Evans. The month of April was ended at the annual "Run For The Rose" Camp Meeting held at the Maryville Baptist Church where Brother Jack Roberts has pastored for over 30 years.

In May we flew back to the Philippines to get things ready for our 2nd Annual Youth Camp. We usually have camp on the second week of May but the Philippines were having their national Elections and we had to move it to the 3rd week.  After all the planning, working, moving and prayers our camp began with a bang! We had planned on about 300 youth and we had 348 plus about 30 workers. Each service was a blessing with just the right message and you could feel the Holy Spirit working on these "kids". By thursday morning you could tell something was about to happen. Well, we set up for service that night and in the middle of the song service the electric went out. This happens all the time so no one was worries. A couple of men who worked as maintenance men on the school property brought out 2 large gas lanterns that we set up on the platform. The music was so special and each sermon right on target. Harrell preached last, closing the camp and when he gave the alter call all but about 10 people came to the alter. The call was to surrender your life to full service to Jesus Christ. We had 20 young people who surrendered to go to college and begin training in the work for the Lord.  What a thrill it was to see these new soldiers for out Lord!

June found us back in the states holding revivals in Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana. The first revival was at the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Independence, LA. They are without a pastor but we had a great time any way! It was the first place we have ever been that Harrell lead the singing, took up his own offering, preached and did the alter call!!!
We then headed up/over to North Carolina to the Samaritan Baptist Church. We love going there. Pastor Danny Smith has been a dear friend to our family for more years than we care to count. He has such an uplifting spirit that you can't help but feel good when around him. Then on to the Chesterton Baptist Church in Chesterton, IN where Bro. Rick Henderson is the pastor.  Back to Louisiana for the Camp meeting held at Fundamental Baptist Church where Pastor Rusty Silvertooth keeps the church fired up.

In July we took a crew of 9 men from the Trinity Baptist Temple Church in Saginaw, Texas to Honduras to work on putting up a church building in one of the areas we have a feeding center in.  It was a wonderful trip and these guys worked so hard. All of these men worked out in the hot, harsh sun mixing cement and laying block. The hardest thing they did was move plies of dirt with broken down wheelbarrows and poor excuses for shovels!!! But they did it with such joy.  I was blessed with being able to spend my birthday with my grand children also.

August was in Marion, Indiana at the Lydia Baptist Church where Pastor Bruce Koontz is doing a great job there. It was the churches 25th anniversary service with great preaching, singing and food! We then drove back to Texas where I was blessed to speak at the first annual Ladies Retreat at trinity Baptist Temple.  At the end of the month we drove back to our house in Indiana to see if it was still standing.

September we were at the Liberty Baptist Church in Greensboro, IN where Brother James Wood is the pastor. We never thought that this would be the very last time we would see Brother Woods this side of Heaven.  Brother Woods went home to be with the Lord in October after dying on the operating table. It was a sad time for his family and friends but a time of rejoicing for him as he is finally HOME!!

October was spent in Indiana, Ohio in revivals and then on to the Philippines with our daughter Leslee. This was her first mission trip and she was a great help to me. This trip was a finalization trip on getting everything together for the Christmas Project for this year. We purchased over 2000 pairs of shoes plus a toy, candy, apple and a few little things for each child.  We came back with a heart excited about what GOD is going to do though this program.

November was a thin month for us. We had a 4 day revival with the Jones Run Baptist Church in Lumberport, WV and then drove  to Fairland Indiana to hold revival with Pastor Tracy Gross and the Calvary Baptist Church.  we flew to La Ceiba, Honduras to have the first of the BNCF Christmas Projects. It was a joyous trip but we were faced with some sad decisions also. We found that the area where we had started building a church was so dangerous that our national pastor was too afraid to go there. Since July there had been over 10 murders. This area turned out to be in the middle of a drug cartel  that was a stop off place between South America and Mexico!!!! God is still able to save and what area would need the Gospel more than this? We have put this project on hold for right now, waiting for God's direction. After all of this excitement we went to Lynchburg to spend Thanksgiving with Leslee.  We then drove to Gainesville, Florida to celebrate our grandson, Jacob's, 6th birthday. What a joy for us also when we found out that he had accepted the Lord as his Savior.

So December was spent with family and then back to the Philippines to give out over 1200 gifts for the first part of the Christmas Gift Giving Program of 2010. We went to Binalbegan, Negros at the Berean Bible Baptist Church where Pastor Janel Nemeo is leading the cause of Christ. God blessed us with over 300 adults saved in the Saturday services with 143 first time visitors on Sunday morning and another 78 saved that morning!!  Thus concludes another year of service with the BNCF, the national workers, my husband, family and friends for our Lord and Savior.

Holiday Heart Burn!!!

Well, We made it through all of the holiday activities from Thanksgiving and Christmas to the beginning of another New Year. It's been a strange time for me because in the past I was to one doing the cooking and making sure everything was all set for the "festivities" and this year I made 1 Pecan pie for Thanksgiving and our yummy Sweet Potato cassarole for Christmas!!!  I guess this is a sign of the "changing of the guard" that happens in families from generation to generation! My daughter-by-love, Lena, did a great job on the Christmas dinner and my daughter Leslee was the one who whipped up a delish Thanksgiving dinner for 3! No way am I able to cook for only 3 people!! No matter how hard I try it always ends up being enough to feed an army!!!  Part of me really enjoyed that "not having to cook cause "we'll" do it Mom", yet another part sees it as my time to let the young uns take over.

That brings me to the title of this blog of, "Holiday Heart Burn". My heart burns with regrets that I'm not cooking like I used to do and with great joy that my "girls" can and have stepped up to the plate (no pun intended!) as some really great cooks in their own rights.

All my memories of the holidays are centered around a table laden with food surrounded by family and friends. Memories of my mom cooking all day long and then people coming in the house with arms loaded down with more home cooked delights. It was never a "Norman Rockwell" holiday cause there were just too many accidents and mess ups for that! Just a great big family holiday that focused on Jesus Christ and family.

I will always love the holidays and all the fun, food, friends and family that go along with it. So weather I am sitting on the couch or in the floor playing with my grand kids while the other cooks work in a hot kitchen or I am asked to whip up a single dish the family loves my heart burns with the love and gratitude that comes during all the Holiday seasons.

I pray that you will focus on the things that make your life most precious to you in 2011 and forget about the things you can't do anything about. Enjoy and Embrace all God sends your way today.