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By Ruth Gadberry
Haven’t we had fabulous weather this past week? Absolutely wonderful. Cool; some air conditioners were even turned off part of the time. Good weather to be out and about or to just sit on the front porch and watch the hummingbirds getting ready for their flight South. If you were in the hay field or mowing the yard or pasture you probably found it much more comfortable than it has been lately. Just a taste of fall and now we want more and more of this kind of weather. Did you take time to tell Almighty God how much you appreciate the beautiful weather?
Sunday School, Sunday School; that’s the place to go. Folks did go back to Sunday School at Stringtown First Baptist Church for the first time since the middle of March or something like that. Most folks were ready to take another step back to where we were before Covid-l9 appeared on the scene.
At least one teacher wasn’t there but it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be. Patsy Miller teaches one of the ladies classes but she won’t be able to be back with them until the virus thing goes away. Patsy has some medical problems and her immune system just doesn’t work well so she still has herself pretty much under house arrest. One of these days though and she’ll be back. Until then they will carry on without you Patsy but will miss you much.
By the way Patsy, there were six ladies in your class Sunday morning. Beth was visiting her sister’s church – Blue River Fellowship near Caddo. Jan needed some items for her Sunday School/Children’s Church so Beth and Ray took them to her and attended services with the Barfield Bunch.
Michelle was back. She had been missing for awhile, even before Covid-l9. Cindy was there for the first time and they are going to lock the door so she can’t get away. Cindy, it was great having you and they look forward to seeing you in class every Sunday. Then there were Kathy, Helen, Sherry and Ruth. Yes, you were missed.
There was a good attendance Sunday morning even though several folks were out of town. It was a bit confusing since they hadn’t been to Sunday School for some time. You know, getting their Sunday School books and all that sort of thing. By the way Emily, Patsy’s class needs some more Sunday School books. Can you handle it? Or Chris? We knew you could.
Sunday was also special because it was Oh Yeah Missions Day. Preacher Joey got a day off. Brad, Brandy, and the missions kids took care of everything. Some of the kids gave testimonies of what they are learning and doing as missionaries. Brad, Brandy and the kids had a big missions trip planned for this summer but the Covid-l9 thing took care of that. No matter, they’ve been busy anyway. There is plenty of mission work to be done at home and in their own communities. Just one of their projects was helping Feed Atoka and they learned a lot from that. But that isn’t the only thing. Find a kid wearing an Oh Yeah missions shirt and ask him or her about their missions. Well, lots of other people are wearing Oh Yeah shirts too, to support the kids and they might not know much about their ministry. But ask them anyway and if they can’t give you an answer at least they can direct you to a Missionary Kid.
By the way, did you know that the Tushka Tigers Bible Club is in full operation? It meets at noon at school and is led by students. The attendance is great, by the way. If that’s not super great, then what is?
If you haven’t been around this area long, you might wonder just what the Oh Yeah Missions is all about. Well, it was started a couple of years ago. Brock Tisdale, a high school student at Tushka, went to Youth Camp at Falls Creek with his church group at Stringtown First Baptist Church. It was an exciting week for Brock and he was still excited when he came home. He had listened to, and answered God’s call to him to be a missionary. He had responded by accepting God’s call to missions for his life. Brock started his preparation as a missionary by studying his Bible, learning everything he could about missions, talking to classmates about God, and looking forward to serving the Lord anywhere and everywhere.
Then tragedy struck, and struck hard. Brock’s life was taken in an instant in a tragic accident. His family was devastated. There is probably nothing harder to face for parents than losing a child. Brad and Brandy had what they considered their perfect family; a daughter, Brayden, in college and a son, Brock. Now Brock was gone. After he had just committed his life to Almighty God as a missionary. Why did God call him and then take him away? Well, you’ll have to ask God about that.
Out of their depths of despair and heartbreak, sorrow, and even anger. Brock’s grieving parents. Brad and Brandy, decided to step in and see what they could do to carry on Brock’s mission. Now there are dozens of kids, in Stringtown, Tushka, and all over the Atoka/Coal Baptist Association anxious to be missionaries anywhere God chooses for them to serve. They are learning, doing, and preparing, just as Brock was doing.
Brad admitted that he doesn’t really know what he is doing. He is just letting God lead and doing his best to follow and be there to learn with the missions kids and to be there for them at all times. Brandy is right there beside him.
We don’t understand God’s ways but of one thing we can be sure God doesn’t make mistakes! Brock was a missionary. Brock is still a missionary!
You may wonder where the ‘Oh Yeah’ name came from. It seems that ‘Oh Yeah’ was Brock’s favorite expression. So….
Lots of folks are still on the prayer list. Both Gary and Shirley Hunt have more problems than you can count. Do pray for both of them.
David Layton went back to the doctor for another MRI and other tests; a follow-up from the surgery he had about a year and a half ago. Everything checked out great and he was instructed to come back in another year and a half. Wonderful!
Don’t forget to pray for Loyd and Rickie.
Joe Hayes is in the VA Hospital at Muskogee. They are keeping him comfortable and he sleeps most of the time. It seems that he is just waiting for God to send His angels to carry him home to Heaven. As you pray for Joe, don’t forget to pray for his wife, Kathryn. The list goes on and on.
Maxine, it was great to see you back in Sunday School and church Sunday morning. You’ve been away from home far too long. Are you back home for a while now?
There is a new kid in town! Her parents are John and Sabra Smith and she made her first appearance on Friday of last week. Their little princess is Lydia Gene Smith.
Her Smith grandparents, David and Cindy, have three sons and some grandsons. But until last Friday they didn’t have any granddaughters. Not a one. No little girls.
And now – a girl in the family! Imagine that! Ruffled dresses. Buttons and bows. Ribbons and lace. Dancing shoes. Curls or a bouncing ponytail.
But, Mommy and Grandma, don’t be surprised if things don’t happen just like you’ve planned it. Will Lydia Gene really be a girly-girl? Or will she be a tomboy and prefer blue jeans and sneakers to ruffled dresses and dancing shoes? She might rather have pigtails than curls or a bouncy ponytail. After all, curls could get tangled up in a branch of the tree she loves to climb. She might rather catch grasshoppers and dig warms for fishing than go to ballet lessons.
But she is still your little Princess and she will be loved, whatever her favorite activities and clothing choices are. Congratulations to all of you!
Cooie and Taylor are waiting. Everybody else is having babies and isn’t it their turn yet? ‘When, Cooie?’ ‘Soon. Very soon I hope!’ Maybe we’ll have another baby to tell you about next week.
Have you seen that old car that was out in JC’s pasture? Out by that old barn that used to be there but has long since fallen down? Well, it isn’t there anymore. The car, as well as the barn. It went home with Zack last Saturday.
One of the kids in Zack’s Ag class said he, his Dad, Granddad, and someone else, Uncle, wasn’t it? Anyway, they needed a project to work on and they loved to work on motors. Any kind of motors. Did Zack have any suggestions? Zack said he had a 1942 Chevrolet car and they jumped at the chance to work on its motor.
Zack, don’t you have any students in your class who like to do body work? Or upholstery work? Or….
JC, Roy, and Zack think the car body is in good condition. No dings or dints or anything. Ruth thinks it looks like a rusted pile of junk. But what does she know about antique cars? Absolutely nothing!
Anyway, it will be a long process but they have dreams and Amber already has the color picked out for the paint.
The old car was given to JC many years ago by the man who bought it new, back about the time World War II started. He also has the original title to it. Somewhere.
Carter bounced into his great-grandparents home Saturday afternoon, wanting to make butter for his Great-granddad. His pre-K class at school had churned butter and he wanted to make some for JC.
Zack got a pint jar, poured in the cream, put the lid on and gave it to Carter. He shook it about a half dozen times and proclaimed it ‘finished’. And he was off to play, leaving Grandma to finish the job.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
