We had a meeting scheduled for this past Sunday, April 7th, but due to a scheduling conflict, we had to postpone that meeting until later in the year. As we discovered on Sunday, God had a plan all along.

Since we no longer had anything scheduled, we decided on a couple of drop-ins. On Sunday morning, we visited with the charming people of Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Mauldin, SC. Though the congregation was small, there was a lot of love poured out to us. The church has been without a pianist and a song leader for some time now, so they were thrilled to discover that I (Dana) would play for the service. I admit, it was a bit nerve-wracking for me to play for those who don’t understand my limitations on the piano, but after hearing one of the men mention in prayer what a blessing it was to hear the sweet music of the piano again, I realized I had nothing to worry about. And what a joy it was to play such a beautiful instrument in a time of worship! I also had the privilege to sing during the morning service.

The best part of all is how God worked things out for the preaching. The pastor, who is currently battling many health issues, was having a tough morning. When he found out we were missionaries, he invited Jason to present our burden and also to bring the morning message. This was an unexpected blessing for us, but as the pastor later told us, it was a blessing for him as well, considering the circumstances. Isn’t that just like God to direct us to the right church at the right time!

Please keep this church and Pastor Mabery in your prayers. He needs physical healing, and the church is in need of both a pianist and song leader. I know they would greatly appreciate your prayers on their behalf.

Sunday evening, we dropped in on Solid Rock Baptist Church here in Greenville. Before the service even began, I knew we were in a church much like our home church. The people were beyond friendly and made us feel very welcomed. The church was going through a difficult time because a couple in their fold had just lost their one-year-old baby. I can’t imagine the heartbreak, and as you can imagine, the congregation was in deep mourning. Please lift up in prayer the Cooper family, who buried their sweet baby yesterday. They need to feel the comforting arms of our Savior like never before.

Pastor Wise was kind enough to allow Jason some time to present our burden for Wales. We had a precious time of fellowship with these good people. And both churches gave generous love offerings, which is an extra special blessing when the meeting is unplanned.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! On a personal note, the devil sought to discourage us last week with a myriad of difficulties. One of the biggest frustrations was that our computer and monitor decided they were no longer going to play well together. The computer worked fine. The monitor worked fine. But together, they would not work at all, so we had to replace the monitor. Fortunately, the Lord allowed us to find a SUPER good deal on a very nice monitor, and now that it’s hooked up, things are working smoothly again.

The most expensive issue was that our vehicle had to go into the shop for the third time in just a few months, each time with a different problem. (I guess that’s only to be expected from an 18-year-old vehicle with nearly 300,000 miles on it.) At the time of this writing, the vehicle is in the shop, and the mechanic has already warned us that the problem could be with the water pump. If that is the case, we’re talking about some expensive repairs, so we would appreciate your prayers about this issue. God knows what’s best, and He knows what we need, so we’re doing our best to leave it in His hands and to keep on keeping on the best we know how.

I apologize for the extra length of this update, but I wanted to share how God leads and provides and also to mention these who need to be lifted up in prayer. Thank you for “listening” and for your faithful love and support. We are blessed beyond measure!