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.