We arrived back on our beautiful little island yesterday at about noon, totally tuckered out, but with all our suitcases, which is always a pleasant surprise. Sandi, our manager’s wife, was waiting at the airport with our freshly repainted truck. She caught us up on some of the local news on the way home from the airport. I need to take the truck back to the shop Monday, though, for several reasons. They missed a couple spots, they didn’t connect something that the radio needs connected in order to function, and the freon leaked out of the air conditioner where they reconnected it after re-installing the radiator.

We started to get back into the “routine” a little bit today. Thursday is our regular day off, so that worked out well with unpacking. It also gave us a chance to go to for lunch and go to the grocery store which are regular Thursday events. As you can imagine, it cost quite a bit more than usual to get out the door this time as we stocked up again. But we still had a good time there. We bumped into at least six friends who happened to be shopping at the same time. After I took Mildred home I went back to town for the truck’s weekly wash, vacuum, and wax. Then I went to the body shop to schedule a time to take the truck back in so they can fix the stuff I mentioned above.

Tomorrow morning I hit the ground running, or maybe more like stumbling, as I head up to the station at 5:30 AM to get ready for Sunrise Serenade. A live program for my first stint in a studio in 2-1/2 months. Nothing like jumping right back into it. But, as I tell people who are nervous about studio work, “You can’t get hurt doing this stuff.” I’ve lost blood doing lots of other stuff, but never yet while talking to a microphone.

We are glad we had the time up in the States and sure had an amazing time visiting with loved ones from coast to coast. (OOH! Side story here. Before we left the island in March, our island doctor said he wished he could come along. He’d always wanted to see the places we planned to visit but was afraid to drive in the States even though he’s been there several times. Mildred said, “Really? I’m afraid to drive here.” I often thought of Dr. Raymond as we traveled and wondered what he’d have thought of the places we were seeing, what he’d have thought of our friends all over the country, and what they’d have thought of him. I suspect it would have been love at first sight for everyone. OK, side story over.) As wonderful as our time up there was, it’s sure nice to be back in our own home doing what God has called us to do. I hope you know the joy of knowing you’re doing what He wants in the place He wants you.

I’ll end with a prayer request. Our mission president, Evan Drake, is on his way today to Siguatepeque which is in the mountains of central Honduras. He is having some meetings there with BBI missionaries to see what vision God has for the pastoral mentoring program going on there. On Saturday he and David Guevara will be traveling by car and ferry to Roatán to lead a conference on the Biblical family. While he is here Evan will have a very critical meeting with the leadership of the Baptist Ministries here. We operate at their invitation, on their property, and under their radio license. So it’s essential that we maintain good relationships with those leaders, most of whom are good personal friends to the Silseths and us. Please pray for smooth travel and for godly wisdom all around in all those meetings.

We’re still on a trip so to speak. It’s also known as life. Friday I will have been on this trip for 60 years. I’ve never been 60 years old before, so I’ve been plying my friends who are a few weeks or months farther along on their journey with questions. Those who are more than a couple years farther along just roll their eyes. Perhaps people get less philosophical after about age 62.

Speaking of travel, we should be back in Roatán a week from today. They have been having quite a time down there. We are deeply grateful for the willingness and availability of Ken and Karen Anderson. Had they not been able to cover for us, we could not have come back to the States to see our supporters and seek new ministry partners. We are already praying that someone will be able to come down in the fall so Peter and Sandi Silseth can have their home assignment. I would love to see God raise up one or two more couples who are free to travel for two to three months at a time and would enjoy “getting their hands dirty” learning new things and diving into another culture, people with servants’ hearts who will go anywhere God sends them and do whatever He tells them.

In fact, Ken and Karen are staying at the radio station a few extra days. Our manager, Peter got word last week that his sister went to heaven and the funeral is today. He will only be in the States a couple days so Ken and Karen will be able to get home in time for their grandson’s graduation.

I feel like we’ve been up here in the States forever. I guess maybe that’s because so much has happened. As much as I’m enjoying the electricity, phones, hi-speed internet, smooth roads, and the sweet, sweet times with family and friends, I’m becoming increasingly eager to get back to dodging sleeping dogs and huge craters in the road and to sharing God’s love with our listeners. The itch to troubleshoot and fix is stronger every day, too.

So far? Well it’s been one highlight after another. New supporters in Tampa for our ministry, and some new supporters along the way, are obvious highlights. We are deeply grateful for them as well as our faithful long time team members who make it possible for us to serve the Lord at Radio HRGS. We have visited several of those supporters along the way and have several more yet to see in this coming week. If you think that Radio HRGS and our ministry is a good investment, please get in touch with us through this blog or by email and I’ll tell you how to join the team.

Other highlights have been time with family in Texas, California, and Iowa; visiting friends who used to live in Roatán and some who used to live in Tampa; seeing Joshua Tree and Grand Canyon National Parks plus Scotts Bluff National Monument; fighting 60-80 mph headwinds across the Arizona and California deserts; driving through the snowy, dusty, but still gorgeous San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado; making it intact from Delta to Broomfield, Colorado in a Rocky Mountain snowstorm that closed the highway in several places (while I was battling what I would later discover to be pneumonia); pushing the van up an icy slope in a high altitude traffic jam with the help of several Good Samaritans (while battling the previously mentioned pneumonia); reconnecting with a college classmate I hadn’t seen in 40 years; changing out a shredded right rear tire on a busy Interstate highway near Omaha; and having Mildred by my side the whole way. Pretty neat stuff!

We’re due back in Tampa on May 3 and then back to Roatán on May 22.

Here are some of the hundreds of pictures along the way.

But, of course, Mildred and I have to eat, pay the electric bill, and so on. As a result, part of our job is to look for the people God is leading to become financial and prayer partners in our ministry with Radio HRGS. That is what leads us to be in the U.S. on this Good Friday as we prepare for our big tour to visit supporters and see who else God might bring into this amazing work. And that brings me back to my title with the extra letter. “Thank Goodness it’s Good Friday!” On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished!” The word finished also means complete and it means perfect. When God declares that He is finished, we can be confident that what He has finished, He has done with perfection. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith.

In God’s perfect timing, Bible Basics held an extremely encouraging and informative seminar last week. One of our first topics was how we feel about raising support. Most Americans are raised to not ask for help and to just get it done without owing anything to anyone. And I think that is generally a wise course. The Bible makes it quite clear that we should do our best to avoid indebtedness. But we need to be careful that we don’t rob people of the blessing they get out of helping. You see, I was brought up to help, but not to ask for help.

If I had seen the chart above 10 years ago, I would have checked a box near the left end. I hated asking because it felt like begging. Over the years, I have come to realize that God is doing powerful things in the lives of thousands of people who are listening to Radio HRGS. If I don’t make people aware that there is an opportunity to become personally involved in what God is doing through HRGS and even help expand it’s influence, I do a disservice to the listeners as well as to those who would want to help support our work if they knew about it. Even worse, I am letting my pride get in God’s way. In fact, it’s more accurate to think of support raising as offering than as asking. These days, I think of raising support in a much more positive light. I still don’t like the fact that it draws me away from the work I do at HRGS, but I love that if gives me the privilege of presenting to people the amazing opportunity that God invites us to participate in His great plan of salvation. That is encouraging to think about as Mildred and I launch into our driving trip on Monday to do exactly that — give people the chance to be a part of transforming lives for Christ.

As a friend of mine recently said on his blog, “Let us spend each dollar with eternity in mind!”

Early Morning at the Prophet’s Chamber

Well, the short story is that I’ve just been kind of busy and preoccupied. And we’ve been traveling. Mildred and I have been in the States now for a little over a week as we launch into our annual two-month home assignment. We are staying near Tampa in Jim and Beth Reed’s “Prophets’ Chamber” until we hit the road on April 1. The Prophets’ Chamber is a wonderfully peaceful place to rest up after the hard work in Honduras and get ready for the big road trip ahead.

While in Tampa, we are trying to see as many supporters as possible, spend some time with Jesse and Kristin, get our teeth fixed up and our health checked out. (The health checks are done now, by the way, and we’re happy to report that our doctor is happy.) We have the wonderful privilege of having Mildred’s mom visit us for ten days from Ohio also. The other important goal of this trip is to have opportunities to present our ministry with Radio HRGS to people who might want to come alongside us in financial or prayer support. As time goes on, support tends to fall as people age or run into financial difficulties. So we’re praying that God would bring in fresh supporters so we can continue serving in Honduras. In fact, we will be attending a special seminar this week at our mission’s home office that is focused on what we like to call “friend raising.”

Our Approximate Route

On April 1 we plan to begin our western adventure. We’ll be seeing supporters and a few friends and family members along the way between Tampa and San Diego. After a short stay in the San Diego area, we plan to take a more central route back to Tampa, by way of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. We have supporters scattered all over this great country, don’t we? If not for their generosity and faithfulness, we could not be part of the amazing ministry that is Radio HRGS. We appreciate your prayers for us as we travel.