Fifth Wheel for Sale! *Updated with Pictures!!!*

Because of our change in ministry, we are selling our Fifth Wheel.

It's a 38', two bedroom, rare Fifth Wheel with 4 slideouts. We lived in it with our family of 7 for 2 years comfortably, and the family before us that had it had 7 family members as well.

We would like to sell it quickly, and we would give a good deal to someone that is in the ministry. We also have a 1 ton Ford pickup for sale with a trailer hitch, if someone wants a packaged deal!

Please share this link with anyone you know that might be interested in a Fifth Wheel.

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/rvs/3017358412.html

My husband's cell number is 405-412-0903, we will entertain any offer!!

Just Keeping Busy

Work is kind of at a stand still right now. Most of the teams are at the job site in Mississippi and there's just a few more weeks worth of work there. The Brays and Cheeks have gone back to Aberdeen, MD to finish up some work there.

We're still here in Mustang, OK waiting for God to give us some direction! It has been really nice to be home and in our church and able to serve. We love traveling and going to different churches, but there's something special about being home.

Caleb's knee is doing much better, he says he thinks it's mostly healed. He was able to go to Texas for a short weekend trip to put in a shower and he said it was just sore at the end of the day, no problems throughout the day.

We've been able to help out in different ministries in the church. I have been playing offertories and working in the nursery. I'm also filling in for a lady in our Kids Program on Wednesday nights. I'm working with the Glimmers group who are 5 years-1st grade.On Sunday Caleb and I taught the Primary Junior Church, although Caleb was done with the lesson, coloring page, and craft by the time I got in there after playing the offertory! He was also able to preach Sunday night.

So even though we're home and in between work sites, we've been trying to keep busy. Please continue to pray that the money will be provided to pay for my oral surgery. I have to have 3 teeth removed that are almost completely rotted out. I have to go to an oral surgeon because one of the teeth is rooted into my jaw nerve. We also have cavities that need filled.

The end of the school year is in sight! We might even finish most of the books! Thanks for your prayers and support. We will keep you updated on our next adventures!

Missions Conference

Our Pastor always says that during a Missions Conference, a church decides how much they want God to bless their church that week. Jesus came to earth to seek and to save those that were lost, and it should be our primary burden as well. And that's what a Missions Conference is for, to remind us what our purpose should be and to help us refocus on that goal!

Our theme this year is "Seeing Things From God's Perspective". Like the song says "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." When we see people how God sees people, we will reach out to tell them about a saving grace and a God who loves them!

The first part of the week we had two foreign missionaries that we already support: the Rogers family to Brazil, and the Allen family to Papua New Guinea with an aviation ministry. We've known the Rogers since college, and Sammy was even in our wedding as a Groomsman. It was great to see them and to hear how things have been going on the field for them.
We enjoyed learning more about the Allen's ministry. With their airplane they can visit villages that would take 5 days to get to by foot, in 15 minutes through the air. He told a story of one village where they've started a church where the village didn't even have a word for God or good. They had words for evil, devil, bad, and multiple ones at that. But no word for God. But they do now, praise the Lord! They are able to reach tribes that nobody else can reach.

This weekend we've had a Home Missions focus. Bro. Dedmon is starting a church in Springfield, MO after turning over the church in Luthor, OK to another Pastor. 20 years ago Springfield had 30+ IFB churches that were preaching the truth, and now he could only find 4. That's a sad statistic!

We also have the Sullivan family who are going to be starting a church in Maine along the coast. He preached a message on seeing Hell from God's Perspective and it was powerful! We had four people saved that night! God was really moving in hearts.

Tonight we will be collecting Faith Promise cards and getting a rough total for support for the year. Last year we pledged $69,000 for the year and we're on track to meet it. God is an amazing God who always provides if we have faith in His promises. We're excited to be able to take on more Missionaries to help spread the Gospel further into the world.

March 2012

After a mostly uneventful two-day trip we finally made it to Mustang, Oklahoma to our home church. We were able to leave Carson, MS at our scheduled time and encountered a rain storm not even 5 minutes after leaving, so we left right on time! It would not have been fun to try to pull the fifth wheel out while it was raining. We stayed the night in Kilgore, TX at a campsite and then we were able to get going early the next morning. We thought we would bypass the Dallas traffic by going around Dallas, but I don't think we bypassed any traffic! It was stop and go, changing speed limits, going through towns, the whole way. But we did make it! We will be home for about a month, depending on where we're going next and when they're ready for us to come. Next week is our Missions Conference and we're pretty excited! Missions Conferences are when a church decides how much they want to be blessed that year. Missions is the life of a church, you can't grow if you're not reaching souls and Missions is the way we can reach people around the world. Our church was also able to buy a brand new baby grand digital piano and I (Laura) was blessed enough to be the first to play it. When we left in December the church started a campaign to raise money for a new piano and it was really exciting to see the campaign finished by the time we got back. What a great testimony to the church for their faithfulness and desire to see the church improve! It looks great on the podium and sounds even better. Please continue to pray for Caleb's knee. We're pretty sure he only sprained it since it didn't swell very badly and it only hurts if he's on it for too long. But it is still giving him problems, probably because he can't seem to stay off of it for very long. Both of us have a lot of doctor appointments, we are definitely getting old! When we left Carson, MS all of the framing in the second half of the building was done with sheet rock on most of them, including insulation. There is a second floor for storage and heat and air. All of the electrical in the second half is done. All of the plumbing is in the walls. Two families are staying behind to get some more work done, the goal is to have all of the sheet rock and walls done, including mudding and taping. This would just leave flooring and finishing to be done by the church. We were also able to help with some demolition on camp buildings. We will let you know where we're going next as soon as we find out!

Pictures from Carson, MS Cherith Baptist Church

Caleb doing mudding in the women's bathroom

In the auditorium facing the classroom/office part of the building.

Murph and Al "working".

Fellowship Hall

Stall in Men's Bathroom

Auditorium half. They are using this half for a garage sale to help raise funds for supplies.

Attic room for supplies or an extra classroom.

Classrooms and Offices. (currently the break area)

From the Fellowship Hall looking at the Upstairs Room.

February Update

Work is slowly progressing here. The walls are all up, including the upstairs portion. Caleb has started running the wiring and setting in the plumbing. Nothing too exciting is going on, just trudging along! It's been very wet, humid, and warm and it's making Caleb's bronchitis flare up. It's also making our allergies act up, but thankfully the mold issue is mostly under control! Thanks for the prayers, and I will try to get some pictures posted!

Rain, Mud and the Great Outdoors

I don't know if I've clearly explained to everyone our situation here or what works needs done. I'm not exactly clear myself, which might be why I can't seem to explain it right. But I'll try to help everyone understand in this post. Bro. Andrews and his family started a Baptist Youth Camp here in Carson, MS in the mid-90's. I'm a little fuzzy on the details from then until now but I know it was a fully functioning camp but I also know he Pastored a church for a while as well. A year or so ago they moved to the camp full-time and started a church here, since there is no church in the immediate area. They have been meeting in the Chow Hall building which has an open fellowship area (which is currently being used for services); a large kitchen; pantry area; and Missions Apartment with a full bath in the back, which is now being used for classroom space. They would like a church building of their own and have been able to put up a steel building and outside walls already. They don't have a lot of money and the work is a pay-as-you-go situation, but the men are able to put up walls and get started on plumbing and electrical. Having somewhere to park our trailer during the Winter months is a high priority when you live in a Fifth Wheel. Even if you have a "Four Seasons" trailer, your pipes can freeze easily and it's dangerous to live somewhere that gets very cold. With the Pastor allowing us to park here we are all able to have a semi-warm place to wait out the Winter and we can pay them back by doing some work as well. We are not expecting any of our usual "suggested requirements" like a meal a day, a love offering to get here, etc because of the situation. We already have 3 NTCP families here; Al and Mickey Bray, Jerry and Sandra Cheek, and ourselves. More should be coming this week; Ray and Susie McCullough, and the Murphy family. We are extremely thankful for this warm place to park, and also for the church's generosity toward us so far! It's a small congregation but the Lord likes to use the little things to do great things. There is a lot of mud here, since the Winter is the rainy season down here. Also please pray for some of the men, the cold humid weather is not easy on their lungs and Al and Jerry have already caught bad colds. We also have several leak situations that are quite frustrating! But all in all, God is good and we are enjoying being in the country.

Ready for an update yet?

This has been a busy month! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and time at home. It was one of the more restful times that we've been home since there wasn't a Revival or Missions Conference going on at the same time! Caleb was able to do some repairs and various jobs at the church that needed done and he was also able to put some siding on our storage building. We got to have dinner with some friends on different nights and really enjoyed being able to enjoy our time at home! We left on Sunday for a 5 day trip to Carson, Mississippi. On Sunday we drove to Dallas, TX and we were able to spend the night at a church there. Then we went to Shreveport, LA on Monday and a church was kind enough to allow us to park there for the night. Then we went to Vicksburg, MS on Tuesday and we found an inexpensive RV Park to park at. It was very nice and a beautiful location. Wednesday morning we went to the Vicksburg National Military Park. It's a drive-thru tour of the Vicksburg battlesite and we viewed a lot of memorials and battle sites. We love going to places like that to learn more about the Civil War. Plus we were able to count it as a school day because it was a field trip! Wednesday afternoon we drove to Jackson, MS and stayed at Flag Chapel Baptist Church. NTCP had helped with some remodels on the parsonage a few years back and they allowed us to park our fifth wheel there for two days. We almost got stuck Friday morning because of the rain and mud, but we were able to use our wheel chucks to make a track for the truck to drive on to get out. Caleb was able to pull the trailer out with little problems and we made it to Carson, MS before it got too dark. We are parked at a Youth Camp and we will be building a church building.

September/October/November Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Church, I don’t know how it happened but its already time for another letter. Our ministry has been doing well and since our last letter Central Baptist church in Anthony, KS has taken us on for support. The pastor there, Bro. David Newkirk told me that since they moved into their new building they have had visitors on every Sunday morning service. What an honor to have been allowed of God to be a part of that, and all of our supporting churches were a part of it too. Praise the Lord for all of the churches that make our ministry possible. We were working in Omaha, Nebraska trying to get that building remodel done when the city decided to come up with a different set of rules for the church to deal with, so we were not able to get it done in the time allotted on our schedule. But I am happy to say I heard from Pastor Doug Robertson of West Omaha Baptist Church that they received their occupancy on the 15th of November and were able to meet there on the 16th for the first time. What a blessing! While we were there we cut holes in the floor, dug trenches, filled them with sewer pipe and covered them up. Then we built the walls, put water and sewer pipe in them, and covered them. And we did everything we could to be a help to the church there. The members and the pastor of the church were a tremendous blessing to us with the help and the work they put in and we also had a few families from NTCP and other builder groups stop in to help and finish up the building. From there we went to Centropolis Baptist Church in Centropolis, KS and started a remodel there. Our friends the Brays, a retired couple that also works full time with NTCP, was there to help us and several church members including the Pastor, Bro. John Nelson. We replaced the cross ventilating windows in the auditorium with some vinyl windows and started remodeling the bathrooms. We turned the existing nursery into a new women’s restroom by ripping out the sheetrock, ceiling, floors and replacing everything. They went from two small stalls and a sink to a fully ADA compatible restroom with four stalls and a double vanity. The women were happy. We then started on the men’s room. We turned the two existing restrooms into one room for the men and did the same things for them that we did for the women. Sadly we had to leave Centropolis before we were completely done but they were left with two fully functioning restrooms. When I called the Pastor he was in good spirits and said they were finishing up the partitions in the men’s room as I was writing this letter. After all of our Doctors appointments are taken care of and Thanksgiving is over we will probably be on our way to Carson, Mississippi to help there for the winter. We pray that everyone has a wonderful holiday season and that you are all richly blessed of the Lord in all of your efforts to serve him. In His Service, Caleb Carter and Family

Recap

We left Centropolis on Thursday and headed to Andover, KS where Caleb fixed the shower for Bro. Dodd and looked at the kitchen drainage issue at the church. We then headed to Anthony, KS where we spent the weekend. Caleb was able to help with some electrical issues and get started on a cabinet that will go in the front entry way. We had a good time at both places and we were excited to learn that Central Baptist Church in Anthony, KS voted to take us on for support! This is not only exciting for us because we gained a new supporting church, but it is a true testimony of the church's growth since the building project has been completed. We were more excited that they have seen such good growth and were able to take on a Missionary, than we were about being that Missionary. But we will take the money still. We are now in Mustang, OK at home for a little bit to enjoy Thanksgiving and get ready for our next job site in Mississippi.

Just thought I would add some photos from the job site here.

These are the bathroom entrances. Men's on the left, Women's on the right.

This is the Women's bathroom all stripped out, getting ready for drywall.

This is the Women's bathroom almost finished, same view. The other toilets need put in, then the partitions.

Caleb putting in a junction box for the light switch. He has learned how to do a lot of electrical the past few jobs!

The old women's bathroom before utter destruction to be turned into a men's bathroom.

Focus On America Conference and Silver Dollar City

We went to Battlefield, MO for the Focus on America Conference at Wilson Creek Baptist Church with Bro. Moody. It's our favorite conference to go to ever! It is so relaxing and enjoyable because the church is willing to serve and do whatever you need. There aren't any "bigwigs" or people who think they need to be impressed. Everyone is on equal terms. We've been to conferences where we felt like we were being brushed into a corner because we weren't important enough; we didn't graduate college, we aren't "real" missionaries, we aren't even starting a church! How dare we think that we should be on the same level as them, or even expect to be talked to during the week. It's sad, but there are people out there that behave that way, even some very prominent men in Baptist circles act that way. But not at this conference! The men that you would think are the "important" men are serving food, refilling drinks, and talking to even the lowly people such as us. We decided not to bring our Fifth Wheel because it would have cost a lot more than just bringing the van, and the church was kind enough to put us in a hotel room for the week! I believe 36 men were able to present their ministry and needs, and around $40,000 was raised to meet those needs. Everyone gave; settled Pastors, new Pastors, Missionaries, and lay people in the church. It's exciting to see needs met and men encouraged. We were also able to go to Silver Dollar City, an Amusement Park near Branson. We were able to get extremely cheap tickets and we had a wonderful time! Noah, Kayla and Lela got to ride a roller coaster for the first time although Lela wasn't as amused as Noah and Kayla. Anna even got to ride a few rides. We enjoyed sharing a funnel cake, giant corn dog, giant pretzel, and an apple dumpling. We were having so much fun we forgot to eat very much! I was very proud of the kids and how they behaved. There were a few moments of disappointment or greed, but those were quickly squelched. We had a nice leisurely drive back to Centropolis and today Caleb is back to work. He is now laying the tile in the new Women's bathroom and should have that done tomorrow, hopefully. He will then set the toilets and get ready for the partitions. Things are really starting to come together! Please pray that they can get the work done quickly and without injuries.

New Job Site

We are now in Centropolis, Kansas. Don't bother looking it up on a map, it won't be there! The town is literally about 20 houses, 3 churches, and 2 soda machines.
We will be here for the month of October and Caleb will be putting in new windows in the auditorium, combining the mens and womens restrooms into one bigger mens bathroom, and putting in a new womens bathroom.
We've been here since Monday and already the church has been a huge blessing, they have been providing two meals a day (Breakfast and Dinner) and have shared many groceries to help with our lunch meal.
Al and Mickey Bray are also here helping, and it's good to see them again. We like being at job sites with them, even when Al turns into a grumpy old man. They're very sweet to our children.
I am very thankful for the early start we got on school! We ended up missing two weeks of school in September because of going home for our church's revival and then we accidentally left Kayla's school there and had to wait for it to be mailed to us. But despite all of that, we should be done with our first quarter by Thanksgiving which is still a lot sooner than last year.
I have to give a shout-out to Bob Jones Press Kindergarten material! Lela is doing so great with it, and can already read 3-letter, short vowel words. She also has about 5 sight words memorized. She's probably about where Kayla was at the beginning of 1st grade last year. I'm so excited for her!
Thanks for the prayers, and for the support! I hope these updates help everyone see the need and benefit of our ministry.

September Update!

The work here in Omaha has been trying to say the least. They have encountered problem after problem, but God is still blessing and the work is progressing.
We went home for our church's 10th Anniversary and Revival and we had a great time! The preaching was wonderful and God really spoke to hearts. Caleb's brother Josh took a Pastorate in Bellingham, WA so that week we also said goodbye to their family. Our church hired the Skinner family to work with the youth, Bro. Skinner is in his 3rd year at Heartland Baptist Bible College and they will fit in nicely with our church.
One of the problems with the project here at WOBC was that the city required them to use metal studs for their walls instead of the wood walls they already had up. The new studs are up, most of the drywall is up, and the walls are textured and painted. Some flooring has been put in also.
Caleb was able to get all of the rough-in plumbing in and the sewer inspection passed but because of some miscommunication about code regulations on copper pipe size, the water lines did not pass.
Please pray that the rest of the work can get done, they have to be out of their building on Sept. 30th and their dedication service in their new building is Oct. 2nd.

July Update

July has been a slow but fast month for us. We arrived at my (Laura's) parent's farm on June 25th and our plan was to stay there for a week or so to rest and then go to Omaha to start working at West Omaha Baptist Church's new location. Unfortunately they are having problems getting plans approved to be able to pull permits to start work, so we ended up staying in Iowa for 3 weeks. It was very nice to be able to rest, relax, and enjoy the country air! The kids had a blast swimming, playing outside, and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.
Eventually though, Caleb got antsy and he wanted to start some work. So on July 22nd we packed up our trailer and we moved out to Omaha. We're in West Omaha (Millard) which is a nice neighborhood, but it's still in the middle of a huge city so it's a lot different than small town Kansas! Please pray for our safety. We are parked behind the shopping center where WOBC has their new rental property.
We're having fun seeing my sister Sarah and her boys and spending time with them. We've also gotten to see some friends we don't get to see very often, people I knew growing up. We were able to visit a few churches and give ministry updates. We wanted to go further up North but because of the flood, most of the highways to go that way are shut down. It would take sometimes 3x as long to go one way. Maybe before we leave the flood will rescind and we can make our way up to Sioux City or Sioux Falls.
It looks like we will be here in Omaha up to September. Our Pastor wants us to come home for our church's revival which is the second week of September so we will probably stay until then.

Jubilee and Open House!

On Friday the 24th Central Baptist Church will be having a Jubilee starting at 6:30, with guest singers and singing groups. Afterward there will be snacks and lemonades served with a chance to view the new building.
The next day, Saturday the 25th, there will be an Open House which is open to the community as well and there will be jumping houses and a petting zoo for the children, and the adults will be able to view the building, ask questions, and meet the church family.
If you are in the area, please consider coming and celebrating the opening of the new building! It's an exciting time to see the Lord work and build His house!

Well, there went May! Not sure how that happened. We went home to Mustang, OK for a week for a few doctors appointments, and then stayed for a Sunday. We didn't take our trailer, we were able to stay with Caleb's parents for the week. The kids had a lot of fun being with Nana and Papa and we enjoyed the much larger space to spread out!
We also got to meet some of our new neices and nephews. Caleb's sister Andrea and her husband Matt are adopting five siblings. The two boys have been living with a foster mom who goes to our church, so we've known them for a few years, but we got to meet two of the girls and we really enjoyed it! Unfortunately we didn't get to meet the youngest girl yet, but we're hoping to next time we're home. It's so exciting to finally see this adopting going through and finalizing. It's been a long, hard process but the Lord has been good to them through it all.
As far as the building goes, it is so close! There are just a few things to button up and get finished. They are hoping to have their first Sunday in the building this Sunday. I think it depends on an inspection and occupancy approval. It was supposed to be done Wednesday.
We are leaving here on the 11th for good. We're going to Omaha, NE to work at West Omaha Baptist Church. Caleb will be helping remodel a rental facility. They're making bathrooms larger and changing some walls to accomodate an auditorium and classrooms. We will be there about a month.
We still have CDs to order! They are ready and available. Just email me at carterntcp@yahoo.com if you're interested in ordering some.

Wow! May is flying by! I can't believe it. The church is really getting close to being finished. Of course, everytime you get something finished you see 5 more things that need done. But they're definitely on the home stretch. Caleb got the bathrooms almost completely done, he's just working on the sink skirting. He got the EXIT signs up in the auditorium (which should make it useable legally now), the tile is going down in the kitchen as I type, and the doors have been painted and rehung. Trim is put down on most of the windows. The modesty panels for the platform have been built and mostly painted. The chandeliers are hung in the auditorium and the foyer. Everything is looking really nice and we can't wait to see it finished!

The CD's have arrived!

Yes, we got the word today that the CD's have arrived in Mustang at our home church.
We are going to now figure out a smooth system for getting them ordered, paid for, and shipped so everyone gets what they ordered.
Because I (Laura) am so OCD and have to have a plan and a system, I really just want to do it all myself. I'm sure some of you will completely understand!
The CD's will be a donation of $10/CD. There are 12 songs; 7 sung by Caleb and 5 sung by The Lighthouse Quartet.
If you just have to get your order(s) in, please email me at carterntcp@yahoo.com, letting me know how many you want. Then I will email you back with info on how to pay for them and I'll work on getting them shipped.
Thank you all for waiting so patiently! This has been a learning experience, for sure.

Things are progressing here in Anthony! The pews are in, lights are being put in, the carpet is being laid, trim is put down, and lot of various other things are being done. But it seems like no matter how much gets done, there's still a lot to do!
The goal right now is to have the first Sunday service in the front half of the building on May 15th, which is the church's Missions Sunday. An Open House will be planned for the middle of June sometime, which is when the entire town will be invited to view the building.
Caleb has been busy bouncing around on a lot of projects. He has gotten the partitions done in the bathrooms, and the toilets have been installed. He's been the main trim guy, in getting that put in. He's also been working on the electricity and making sure everything is connected to the right place.
The Mcculloughs have returned from Arizona and it's nice to have them back! The church has also been doing a lot of work and are really pitching in to get finished in time.
Some news on our family: we are preparing to be semi-done with school for the year when we leave here at the end of May. We will still do a few days here and there over the Summer. Noah and Kayla are both done with Science and Handwriting and they are getting to the end of their other subjects as well. Kayla's reading has been going really well! I'm so proud of her and all she has learned this year.