March 15, 2012
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My First Ukrainian Haircut… in the USA!!!
We arrived Friday in Fort Worth where we stayed one night with Chuck and Vickie Watson. The Watsons have the spiritual gift of hospitality and love to host people in their home. They are good friends of ours as well, so their home feels like home to us. The Watson’s home is actually a small farm… horses, chickens, and a pond. The girls LOVE it. They have a third floor apartment that they call “the Haven” where we stayed. It has an outside door so we can come and go and never feel that we are “intruding” on their lives. Over the next two and a half weeks, we will be in and out of their home as we speak in churches in this area.
Saturday, we drove from Fort Worth to Lubbock where I spoke on Sunday morning at Lubbock First Church. Pastor Bob Huffaker, former pastor of Grove City (Ohio) Nazarene, has been the interim pastor of Lubbock First for 9 months. I have heard much about Pastor Huffaker through the years. It was very nice to meet him personally. He was very welcoming and loving to our family.
Lubbock First has just secured their new pastor who will be coming on Easter Sunday, so the church was very excited. We had a great morning and truly enjoyed the people there. They blessed us in every way! In our short visit, we were able to have dinner on Saturday night with good friends, Dick and Donna Walls, wonderful evangelists in the Church of the Nazarene. We also enjoyed a great Sunday lunch with Doug and Cheryl Karr (Cheryl is the NMI president at Lubbock First). By the end of the lunch our girls were calling the Karrs grandpa and grandma and sitting on their laps
.Sunday evening we were at Big Spring (Texas) Nazarene. Pastor Calvary Callender had made the service a zone service so there were a number of churches who brought members. We had a wonderful service with these good folk. We love God’s church. Everywhere we go, we immediately sense the presence of God among His people. Dr. David and Susan Downs, District Superintendent of the West Texas District, came to the service too. We love David and Susan and their family. It was great to see them again before we head for the CIS.
Monday was back to Fort Worth and the Watsons. I must share one thing that happened on Tuesday in Fort Worth. For the past nine years, Jenni and I have gone to one barber in Houston, Rosa Bucio. Over the nine years we grew to love Rosa and her husband, Salvador. We shared many times, away from the barber shop, with them both. They were with us through the birth of our two girls and really became a part of our family in many ways. It is amazing how much you get to know a barber when you spend an hour once a month over so many years. Anyway, one barber in nine years!
Well, we needed a haircut in Fort Worth. So, we picked a Sport Clips place near the Watson’s home. And would you know it, the lady who cut our hair was named Maryna. She had an accent. When I sat down to get my hair cut, she asked, “Where do you live?” I said, “Well, that is an interesting question right now in our lives. In about one month we will be living in Kiev, Ukraine.” You should have seen her jaw drop! She said, “I am from Ukraine!” God is so good!!! We had a very nice conversation, and we were able to share God’s love with her. Please pray with me for Maryna who does not know Jesus personally.
On Wednesday, we journeyed to Vian, Oklahoma, where we will call home for 7 nights! We are staying in the home of Richard and Tammy Volz, members of Houston’s Living Word Nazarene and good friends. This is going to be a fun week for us and feel like a vacation in many ways. Today, I believe we are going fishing, playing duck bowling, and watching the Indiana Hoosiers (hopefully) win their first game of the NCAA basketball tourney!!!
Sunday, we preach at Broken Arrow First Nazarene and Sapulpa Nazarene! Only 25 more days until we fly for Kiev, Ukraine. Let the journey begin!!! Thank you for praying for us. God is so, so good, and we are blessed to be following Him. We wouldn’t change a thing if we could!!!
