Your Vote Counts!

We all remember the very first time we ever went to vote, don't we? A little nervous.....a little unsure of ourselves.....maybe even a little scared? Checking over our ballot about ten times before we leave the booth.....watching the machine suck it into its deep, dark insides along with the thousands of others.....then.....Whew! The number changed! Of course you can't forget the I Voted Early sticker that you can take to Chick-fil-a on Election Day and get a free chicken sandwich then to Krispy Kreme and get a free doughnut. Now that's getting rewarded for your efforts! : ) Amid all this, the very last thing that you need is for something to go wrong.

This year the ones who hadn't registered to vote yet were allowed to do so at the early voting stations, and Sara was one of those. So today, off to vote we went. We were armed with our lists of who we were going to vote for, and Sara was armed with all of her identification. To make a very long story short, Sara didn't have the identification they thought she needed (although they were listed as acceptable forms) and had to fill out a lot of paperwork.

Two hours after arriving, she was able to fill out a provisional ballot and cast her very first vote.

But it WILL count!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 89:1

When we returned from Florida, the Lord had a wonderful surprise waiting for us......our land in Bladen County had been surveyed!!!! We have been waiting for so long that it hardly seems possible. : ) Thank you to all who have been so faithful to pray for us and this need.

The Lord is faithful to supply each and every need that we have and blesses us in overabundance! He knows what we have need of even before we ask it......even before we know that we need it. The surveyer told us that we had a beautiful piece of property, and we all agree whole-heartedly! : )

When we found out that the land was surveyed, we immediately planned a trip to begin clearing the lines. Faith Baptist Church in Wilmington was so gracious to allow us to use their prophet's chambers for the six days that we were there. Saturday, we met with the surveyer to get a feel for where the lines were, then the work began.

It almost looks like we had some aliens from outer space coming for a visit. : ) We found that we don't have a single mosquito out there in Bladen County.......they're all married and have LARGE families. : ) And LARGE can be referring to the quantity and the size! As Ray Sr. described them, they looked like B-52 bombers. These mosquito nets came in handy until a mosquito got trapped inside. Ooooops!

This is after being back there for only about a half an hour. : O

Not only has the Lord blessed us with the land, but the back half is full of large hardwoods...not to mention the beautiful Cypress trees. Everything comes into

perspective when you put Ray Jr. up against it! : )

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While staying at Faith, we had the opportunity to minister in their Sunday services. Then on Wednesday morning we went to Claire Bridge, an Alzheimer's senior community, and ministered to the dear people there. We had a wonderful time!

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We are looking forward with great anticipation to the day that we will finally be able to move out to Bladen County and start the church there! We know that the Lord is leading us step by step, and He has been so faithful to strengthen us and to provide for us all the way. It is such a blessing to be able to step back and watch the Lord work all the details out in His perfect timing!

There have been preparations in progress for the hunting season. Maybe the Lord will provide us with some fresh meat as well....... : )

There's nothing like setting up a tree stand in the front yard in the middle of the city!

The Emerald Coast

Sept. 21st through the 29th we had the privilege of going to Fort Walton Beach, FL for meetings in three different churches. We met some of the sweetest people! The whole trip was a great encouragement to our family. Just to be able to glean from these pastors' lives and ministries has been a great blessing!

We stayed in the prophet's chambers at Westwood Baptist Church throughout the week and were able to spend all day Sunday, Wednesday evening, and Saturday evening with these dear people. The next Sunday morning, we were at Faith Baptist Church in Milton, FL, and Sunday night found us back in Fort Walton Beach at Central Baptist Church for the evening service. During the week, the Lord also blessed us with some much needed family time at the Emerald Coast.

Can you see the emerald strip of water (hence the nickname)? The water is actually crystal clear!

We had a great time playing in the edge of the ocean as well as catching some small sand crabs....

....but BEWARE OF THE JELLYFISH!!! They were washing up on shore everywhere we turned. It was a little unnerving when they would come aimlessly floating through the water only inches from our legs. A little too close for comfort!

Here is a man-of-war that decided to join his jelly friends.

Fishing off of a local pier was a highlight.....especially when Ray hit a school of blue fish. There were also some rather interesting specimens caught such as this one. It sucks to the bigger fish such as sharks.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

Psalm 19:1-6

Another Day Older...

When we travel, there are times when we go without internet...and when we don't have internet, we can't blog...and when we can't blog........WE MISS BIRTHDAYS!!! Ooooops! Christina found out the other week when we were in a church in Milton, FL what happens when you don't fess up to your birthday. You get embarrassed. : ) But not too bad. You only have to stand up in front of the church all by yourself and get sung to in the church service instead of Sunday School. : )

Christina got to spend her birthday (Sept. 25th) in Fort Walton Beach, FL. The Cold Stone Creamery just so happened to be having some free icecream that day...... : ) Can you guess where we went?

Sara's birthday (Oct. 3rd) was a beautiful day topped with a trip to Bass Pro Shops as we passed through on our way to a church in Wilmington, NC.

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Another year older???? Just think of it as getting older one day at a time! : )

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Happy Birthday, Christina and Sara!!!!