Tennessee Travels and Blogger Bonanza (w/ Must-See Pics)

Thanks to all of you for your prayers during our travels – as I will explain, the providence of God was quite evident. I had originally planned to speak Sunday morning and Monday morning, but plans changed. Upon our arrival in Tennessee on Saturday evening, I received an email from the Pastor Steve Weaver explaining that he had been considering supporting us but didn’t know how that would work without the church meeting us. He happened to check my blog and saw that I would be 30 minutes away from his church! Is that not a display of the providence of God?!

Sunday morning I spoke at Calvary Community Church, pastored by Ted and Rick Steen (see Picture 1). I knew both of these men at The Master’s Seminary and so was thrilled to be invited to their church. After the service we went to Pastor Ted Steen’s home where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and fellowship with the church until 4pm!

We then traveled to Lenoir City to preach at West Broadway Baptist Church (pastored by Steve Weaver). The people were very friendly and generous to us. I was surprised to discover that several blog buddies arrived for the service. Check out Picture 2 to see a joint shot of Steve Weaver of Pastor Steve Weaver’s Blog, Jeremy Weaver of Doxoblogy fame, John Rush from Anvil and Fire, and D. J. Cimino of That’s Life. We had a wonderful time of fellowship at Shoney’s and would have stayed until midnight if left to ourselves. You will find Jeremy Weaver’s son, David, in Picture 3. Mom and Dad had a fun time talking with him. He is a smart fella and quite the dinosaur expert. Jeremy's other son, Daniel, was unable to be with us because he was under the weather, but you can see a pic of him on Jeremy’s profile page.

Monday morning I spoke at a men’s breakfast at Grace Community Church. Chris Riser is the pastor and was a friend at The Master’s Seminary. The men were very kind, interested in Samara, and asked great questions on the ministry. I forgot to take a picture of the group or it would be included here.

As you can tell, we had an absolutely wonderful trip. God blessed us with good ministry in the Word, wonderful fellowship, and safe travel. Thank you again for your prayers.