Des Moines, IA Flooding and Old Time Baptist Church

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."

II Corinthians 1:3-4

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Here are the long promised pictures of the flooding in Des Moines, IA. As always, the pictures don't do it justice! Thankfully, we were staying on just a tad higher elevation.

The trailer park

There's gonna be no traveling on this road for a few hours...

The river had overflowed its banks by a long shot!

A business parking lot

Des Moines has been flooding for a while. We arrived during a torrential rain, and the above pictures were taken the next morning. The waters had receded somewhat by afternoon, but it still had a long way to go. There was one fatality that morning. A commuter was trying to cross the river while the road was under water.

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Sunday, August 15th we had the joy of ministering with Pastor and Mrs. Ludwick at Old Time Baptist Church in Clarksburg, WV.

We could tell we were in a WV town! Houses one right after another, and the streets not wide enough for cars to park along the side of the road and still have room for a two-way street. We were playing "dodge-a-car" as we made our way to the church. : )

We enjoyed the fellowship.

Everywhere we go, we meet such sweet people!


After church, Pastor Ludwick took us out to Ryans for lunch. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with him and a family from the church.

Just as a warning..... It is DANGEROUS to go out to eat anywhere near your birthday! Soon after we had gotten there, we could hear the waitresses singing their birthday song. Hmmmm....I wonder who we could get them to sing to.... A mischievous grin stole across Valerie's face, but was quickly replaced by a look of alarm. Oh, no!

Sure enough, when she returned, Allison was talking to Keisha in an animated fashion and a playfully pleading tone.

As we were finishing the meal, the waitresses made their way to our table singing their birthday song VERY loudly and making one individual blush VERY deeply. : )

Happy Birthday, Valerie!

I forgive you, Allison........I think

That evening after the service, the church family had a special time of prayer for Allison and her health needs. That meant so much to us!! We are so blessed by such an act of compassion!

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It is sooooo good to be back in the mountains! The West was beautiful with its "amber waves of grain" and fields, its openness and low humidity, but there's no place like home! "Home" meaning mountains, of course. It may sound ridiculous to those who have never had the utmost joy of living here, but the mountains provide a sense of security that you just can't find on the wide open prairie. : )