Welcome

I would love to invite you into my home to have a cup of tea with me. We could sit in my sunny kitchen and talk about all the things that are going on in our lives. I could share with you the news I hear from my grown daughters. How my grandkids are growing. We could laugh together over the funny things that they have said. It would be fun to share the ins and outs of our family life, and talk about our latest creative projects. We could share what God has been teaching us, in our personal lives, and encourage each other on this walk of faith. We could pray together, laugh together, and even cry together. Since most of us will never be able to sit down together face to face, I would like to invite you to join me here. So come on in and have a cup of tea with me.

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Joy

Joy

About Me

Crossville, Tennessee, United States
I am a 61 year old, wife, married to my best friend for 40 years. We have been blessed with 6 children, & 13 grandchildren. I love mentoring women in their spritual walk & in the everyday. I have a diverse background, having spent over 30 years living and ministering in a small South American country. Now my family resides in a small town in the lovely state of Tennessee. We have experienced the blessing of adoption, but also the hard of dealing with a child with RAD and other mental health issues. You can live life with the cup half full or half empty the choice is yours. I choose half full.

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hello from sunny Florida!

We have covered many miles since last I posted. The Lord has been so good to us and blessed us with safety and provided everything we have needed. We arrived in central Florida last Friday. We enjoyed spending a day with Tony's Dad and his family, complete with watching Tony's little brother's little league game!

This week we have been in Altamonte Springs enjoying the Missions House at Palm Springs Drive Baptist church. It has been such a blessing to just rest for a few days, and enjoy getting together with many of our friends here. Sunday morning we were at Palm Springs Drive Baptist church. Sunday evening, Tony made the drive over to Melbourn and was at Calvary Baptist Church. Tomorrow we will be driving over to Port Charlotte, and then Thursday - Sunday we will be visiting our good friends, Tim and Debbie Gunter and will be in their church on Sunday morning, and back at Palm Springs Drive Baptist Church on Sunday evening.

From here we head back north, with a quick stop in Tennessee to wash clothes, re-pack and then we will be heading to Springfield, MO to attend Fellowship Week there and Ashley's graduation on Thursday morning, May 15. From there we will be in Fort Worth, TX, Dodge City, KS, and Kansas City, MO, before we head back east.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our ministry. God is blessing. The news from Manta is very good. The church is doing well, and everyone is remaining faithful and fulfilling their responsibilities. Please continue to pray with us that the Lord would provide the money necessasry to get the building program started this summer.

God bless you as you serve Him!
Joy

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

On the road again...

Since last I posted we have visited 3 churches in Michigan, returned back to Tennessee. Tony flew up to Albany and had the opportunity to share with two of our supporting churches in that area. He returned on Monday, April 7th, and we headed to Texas on Tuesday, April 8th!

We enjoyed the opportunity to be in the Missions Conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Gatesville, TX. We knew Pastor and Mrs. Bogan from our days at Bible College and then they had been on deputation going to the field of Germany when we were working on staff at the church in Michigan. It has been years since we have seen them, and it was just a blessing to have a chance to renew our friendship with them! Another special blessing was that the other missionary in the conference was my cousin, Jeremy Gresham from Iceland and my parents were there, as my Dad was the main speaker! :-)

Yesterday morning after sharing breakfast with everyone, we headed up to Kansas, and last night surprised our youngest daughter, Lexi. That was lots of fun! We stopped on the way, to spend a couple hours with Tony's Aunt and Uncle and to see his Grandmother, arriving here about 7:30, just after Lexi had gotten home from work. We are looking forward to having a few days with her, before heading back toward Tennessee on Thursday. Tony will be traveling up to New England on Saturday. He will be at the Heritage Park Baptist Church in Burlington, MA. on Sunday morning and then at Grace Baptist Church in Portland, Maine on Sunday night. He will be flying back to Tennessee on Monday. Then we head toward Florida on Wednesday where we will be visiting churches for a couple weeks.

Thank you so much for your prayers as we travel. God has been so good to us. We have added 1 new church and had 1 church double our support! Many have made promises for our Building Program in Manta. We heard from the architech there a couple weeks ago, and things are progressing. The plans are finished and he is ready to submit them to the planning board for the proper permits! God has supplied the money necessary for everything we have needed to pay up to this point. It is so wonderful that we have a God who does everything right on time!

We continue to hear good reports from the church in Manta. Everyone continues to fulfill their commitments and remain faithful. The attendance as stayed close to the 90 mark, and we are thankful for that. I would ask you to continue to pray for the men who are leading the church during our absence. Pray too, for Darwin Moreira. He has been sick with throat and ear infections. There is a possibility that he will have to have an operation. Pray too, for Jose Gallegos and his family. Mrs. Gallegos passed away last week. She had a long battle with cancer. Thank the Lord that Roberto and Lupe were able to talk with her before she passed away and she accepted Christ!

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry in Manta. God bless you as you serve him this week!

Joy