Dear friends and family,
As we are writing this, we are on our 6th week of our "Across the USA Adventure", towing our house behind us. At every step of the way, we are constantly reminded of the awesome power and love and mercy that God has and continues to shower upon His creation. We have seen many wonderful sights that we have never seen before. We took the northern route, I-90 across the USA. Then in Sioux Falls, SD, we went south to the I-80 until we arrived at Clarks Summit University (Baptist Bible College) where we attended Bible college. The president of CSU, Dr. Jim Lyle and his wife Diane, were neighbors in the trailer park where we all lived during college days and they gave us the "red carpet treatment". We actually parked on the campus for the week we were there. Just walking the beautiful campus brought back such fond memories. From CSU we went south along the coast, stopping at many historical places of the early days of our country, as well as Civil War locations. We went south all the way to Beaufort, South Carolina.
But the most exciting part of this trip has been reconnecting with friends and many "long lost" friends. The first three days of the trip was spent in Yakima, Washington for the NICE 60th Anniversary Regional Conference. There we saw many friends and met some new ones. In Montana we stayed with our good friends from LAPD and Grace Community church, Dave and Lisa Roward. In Indiana we spent time with Dean and Pat Shroud that we met while serving in Lake Havasu, AZ. And then came the long-lost friends! We reconnected with Cappy and Herb Parsons, friends from our Coast Guard days when we were first married (1971--that was 47 years ago). One couple that we last saw in 1979 when stationed at Air Station Cape May, NJ, was Dan and Debbie Scoggins. Dan got me started playing guitar and was also one of the few Coast Guard couples who were believers. We also saw many friends from Bible college days, Dar and Jim Sikorsky, Evelyn Davis, and Jim and Diane Lytle. In Beaufort, SC we parked in the drive way of our Bible college neighbors, John and Janie Chitester. It was only 29 years since we last saw them. With all of these dear friends, it is very encouraging to see their faith and how the Lord continues to work in the lives of His children.
After Beaufort we then turned west, officially marking the beginning of the return leg of our trip. In a few days, I am very excited to be seeing my best friend and next-door neighbor while growing up and his family in Tipton, Missouri. As I write this letter, we are at Big Bone Lick State Park in Union, Kentucky because it is right between the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter, which we will see in the next two days.
When we return to Port Angeles around December 1st, we will begin a new ministry at Sequim Bible Church. For the past 2½ years we have been on a leave of absence from "active duty" with NICE while our son, Jason, was completing his Coast Guard career at a unit on the other side of the state. We were there, at first, to take care of the family and things around the house. Well, now he is retired from the US Coast Guard which freed us up to return to active service with NICE. But there is just one little problem. We absolutely love being there with the kids and we made their home our home. We still live in our 40 foot 5th wheel trailer, which we park under a huge carport. I also built an office/music room on the property.
During the past 2 ½ years we were serving in two different local churches. In the last church I was preaching regularly for over a year, but now that they have a new pastor it was time for us to return to NICE. It just so happens that Sequim Bible Church (SBC) is in desperate need of help. SBC is just 25 miles from our house so we will not have to leave the kids. The church recently went through a major internal problem with an elder and because the church leadership did what was Biblically right, a large number of people left the church. This created a huge financial shortfall and the senior pastor decided to retire six months early. The church, then, wisely asked the assistant pastor to be the new senior pastor. The new senior pastor, Shane McCrossen, has asked us to come onboard and we are excited to do so. Pastor Shane has asked me to head up a men’s discipleship ministry, teach a theology class and also lead a home bible study. Dayle will be involved in women’s ministry and discipleship. We also talked about starting a Biblical counseling ministry and other things. Obviously, this will be a long-term ministry.
Because of the church’s financial situation, they will not be able to cover our expenses, which will primarily be office and travel expenses. My mission agency, (N.I.C.E.) has approved this ministry and has required that we raise some financial support as well as prayer support. SBC cannot afford to offer financial assistance at this time. But serving in churches that need help and can’t pay for it has been our ministry for these past 8 years.
We do believe that the Lord will provide all our needs and we also know that He uses us to accomplish His will. Therefore, if you feel the leading of the Lord to partner with us in prayer support and/or financial, we would be very grateful. Any support sent through NICE is tax deductible and when sending to NICE be sure note our name on your check.
Northwest Independent Church Extension
P.O. Box 2225, Sumner WA 98390
Phone (253) 826-7881
Our permanent mailing address is:
300 Dan Kelly Rd
Port Angeles, WA 98363
Cell phones: Shelley (541) 218-9717
Dayle (541) 450-5576
Prayer Requests:
1. For continued safety and vehicle health as we travel
2. Pastor Shane McCrossen and Sequim Bible Church
3. For our future ministry at Sequim Bible Church
Sincerely in Christ,
Shelley and Dayle Gale
Special Missionaries
Friday, November 9, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Our Son Retired for the U.S. Coast Guard
We have been in Port Angeles for over two years now. We first came here at the request of Jason and Shelli. For the last year Jason was stationed in Ilwaco, Washington which was a 4.5 hour drive away. He came home every other weekend and we were here to help out in his absence. While here we got involved in several ministries which included teaching a home bible study, teaching in the home school cooperative, teaching and preaching in church, and made some very good friends.
But three weeks ago, Jason left his Coast Guard unit for the last time. After 25 years of service to our country he has retired. So what does that mean for us? We are free! We are free to resume ministry with N.I.C.E. However, we have several things that we need to accomplish this Summer first. We just got back from a week in Pinon Hills, CA and attended my nephew's high school graduation. The weather was sunny and very warm which we greatly miss. Aside from the graduation the highlight was that my sister convinced my Dayle to ride one of her horses. Dayle has not been on a horse since a scary horseback ride shortly after we got married in 1971.
[Click on pictures to enlarge]
On Sunday June 10th Dayle leaves for Mexico City to be with her sister (Ellen Parker) in Mexico City. She will be there for three long weeks. During that time they will be going to Cancun where both Ellen and Dayle will be speaking at a women's conference.
While my Dayle is away I will be quite busy working with Jason as we run water, electricity, and Ethernet cable for an RV pad in the back of the property. This will be for Jason's RV which will be used as a guest house especially for Shelli's parents. They will be here in July and we are all looking forward to their arrival.
This Summer we hope to spend some time with Stephen and Neeley in Sacramento. Then in September we hope to begin a cross country trip with our 5th wheel trailer and then hopefully in January we will return to "active" duty with N.I.C.E. But, of course, everything is tentative. We don't know how much longer we will be needed to fill the pulpit in our church, and there is another nearby church that keeps asking me to come on board and serve with them in an assistant pastoral capacity.
Now that Jason has retired he began to work as a handyman/small job contractor. He is quite a talented craftsman and has already received several jobs. He is not a fan of doing drywall. So the deal is that he puts up the drywall and I will do the taping, mudding, and finishing. We have completed one job together and it was so much fun working with my son. I think we make a pretty good team. So this too is something we need to consider when it comes to our future long-term plans.
So as you can see we have much going on and even though we have plans everything is dependent upon family needs and ministry needs.
As for our health we are both now on Medicare and are in near perfect health. We still have the normal aches and pains but we refuse to let any of that stop us.
Please pray for Jason and Shelli as they enter married life for the first time while not being in the Coast Guard. Also pray for clear direction in our future ministry.
But three weeks ago, Jason left his Coast Guard unit for the last time. After 25 years of service to our country he has retired. So what does that mean for us? We are free! We are free to resume ministry with N.I.C.E. However, we have several things that we need to accomplish this Summer first. We just got back from a week in Pinon Hills, CA and attended my nephew's high school graduation. The weather was sunny and very warm which we greatly miss. Aside from the graduation the highlight was that my sister convinced my Dayle to ride one of her horses. Dayle has not been on a horse since a scary horseback ride shortly after we got married in 1971.
[Click on pictures to enlarge]
On Sunday June 10th Dayle leaves for Mexico City to be with her sister (Ellen Parker) in Mexico City. She will be there for three long weeks. During that time they will be going to Cancun where both Ellen and Dayle will be speaking at a women's conference.
While my Dayle is away I will be quite busy working with Jason as we run water, electricity, and Ethernet cable for an RV pad in the back of the property. This will be for Jason's RV which will be used as a guest house especially for Shelli's parents. They will be here in July and we are all looking forward to their arrival.
This Summer we hope to spend some time with Stephen and Neeley in Sacramento. Then in September we hope to begin a cross country trip with our 5th wheel trailer and then hopefully in January we will return to "active" duty with N.I.C.E. But, of course, everything is tentative. We don't know how much longer we will be needed to fill the pulpit in our church, and there is another nearby church that keeps asking me to come on board and serve with them in an assistant pastoral capacity.
Now that Jason has retired he began to work as a handyman/small job contractor. He is quite a talented craftsman and has already received several jobs. He is not a fan of doing drywall. So the deal is that he puts up the drywall and I will do the taping, mudding, and finishing. We have completed one job together and it was so much fun working with my son. I think we make a pretty good team. So this too is something we need to consider when it comes to our future long-term plans.
So as you can see we have much going on and even though we have plans everything is dependent upon family needs and ministry needs.
As for our health we are both now on Medicare and are in near perfect health. We still have the normal aches and pains but we refuse to let any of that stop us.
Please pray for Jason and Shelli as they enter married life for the first time while not being in the Coast Guard. Also pray for clear direction in our future ministry.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Life and Ministry Continues
Since our last post in April, there has been so much happening that it will be difficult to list it all so I will summarize.
I have been preaching regularly at Peninsula Bible Church. This church lost its pastor and had several struggles since then. We have gotten to know many of the members and we have decided to make PBC our new home church. There is much opportunity to serve at PBC and we a looking forward to continued fellowship and service.
Both Dayle and I are teaching a Bible class at Alethia, the home school co-op on Wednesday mornings. And I am teaching a Friday night home Bible study. Dayle desciples two ladies every week. So, we are keeping pretty busy.
Right now we are in Sacramento for Christmas with Stephen, Neeley and the grandkids. We will be returning home the first week of January.
I have been preaching regularly at Peninsula Bible Church. This church lost its pastor and had several struggles since then. We have gotten to know many of the members and we have decided to make PBC our new home church. There is much opportunity to serve at PBC and we a looking forward to continued fellowship and service.
Both Dayle and I are teaching a Bible class at Alethia, the home school co-op on Wednesday mornings. And I am teaching a Friday night home Bible study. Dayle desciples two ladies every week. So, we are keeping pretty busy.
Right now we are in Sacramento for Christmas with Stephen, Neeley and the grandkids. We will be returning home the first week of January.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Another Chapter
Since our last posting several things have changed. Last year we joined Strait View Baptist Church and had hoped to be an asset to the pastor as well as be involved teaching and assistant pastoral ministry. As time went on it became quite obvious that we were not really needed there. I contacted our mission director and asked him to put us back on the "active duty" list. Then almost immediately two opportunities came our way. A local church here in Port Angeles (Peninsula Bible Church) has asked me to help out with some pulpit fill until they get a new pastor. And another church in Sequim has asked me to come and head up their men's discipleship and training ministry. I will be meeting with the pastor soon to discuss this further. I am scheduled to preach at PBC on April 30th.
So, just before we took a short two week vacation to be with Stephen, Neeley and the kids in Sacramento, we said our farewells to Strait View Baptist as we embark on yet another new ministry.
We both continue to teach Bible classes in Alethia, (the home school coop run by our daughter-in-law, Shelli and her close friend Kerry). I also teach a home bible study every Friday night at the home of one of our friend's in town. Dayle continues to disciple two young moms from Strait View Baptist church.
We both also now volunteer at My Choices, Pregnancy Resources Center which is the local crisis pregnancy center. Dayle is training to be an advocate or counselor for clients. I am their handyman and I am now the Director of Community Development Public Relations. I will be going throughout the communities which we serve and educating the public concerning what we do. We both have committed to one day a week and other days and times as needed.
Jason finally got his transfer orders to Ilwaco, Washington. Ilwaco is the extreme south west corner of the state and is a 4 1/2 hour drive from Port Angeles. So Jason will be living in a camp trailer in an RV park and will come home on weekends. He plans on doing this until he retires in 2018. We are all very thankful that he didn't get transferred any further. This will still be a strain on Shelli and the kids but we will be here to help out.
Softball season is starting again and Asher and I are once again on the US Coast Guard team. I am the assistant coach. Speaking of Asher. Yesterday was a very special day. Asher was baptized. He stood up in front of everyone and gave his personal testimony on his journey to true faith in Christ. Please keep him in your prayers and he grows in the Lord.
So, just before we took a short two week vacation to be with Stephen, Neeley and the kids in Sacramento, we said our farewells to Strait View Baptist as we embark on yet another new ministry.
We both continue to teach Bible classes in Alethia, (the home school coop run by our daughter-in-law, Shelli and her close friend Kerry). I also teach a home bible study every Friday night at the home of one of our friend's in town. Dayle continues to disciple two young moms from Strait View Baptist church.
We both also now volunteer at My Choices, Pregnancy Resources Center which is the local crisis pregnancy center. Dayle is training to be an advocate or counselor for clients. I am their handyman and I am now the Director of Community Development Public Relations. I will be going throughout the communities which we serve and educating the public concerning what we do. We both have committed to one day a week and other days and times as needed.
Jason finally got his transfer orders to Ilwaco, Washington. Ilwaco is the extreme south west corner of the state and is a 4 1/2 hour drive from Port Angeles. So Jason will be living in a camp trailer in an RV park and will come home on weekends. He plans on doing this until he retires in 2018. We are all very thankful that he didn't get transferred any further. This will still be a strain on Shelli and the kids but we will be here to help out.
Softball season is starting again and Asher and I are once again on the US Coast Guard team. I am the assistant coach. Speaking of Asher. Yesterday was a very special day. Asher was baptized. He stood up in front of everyone and gave his personal testimony on his journey to true faith in Christ. Please keep him in your prayers and he grows in the Lord.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Merry Christmas!
A while back I said that we are going to "semi-retire." Well as I have always said there is no such thing as retirement in the Bible and that has proven to be true in our lives. When I said that we were going to semi-retire I meant that we were not going to be actively seeking a place of ministry away from our new home in Port Angeles. We found a wonderful little church, Strait View Baptist Church, here in Port Angeles and are involved in ministry. I am teaching the adult Sunday school class and Dayle is active in the women's Bible study and we have volunteered to clean the church on a weekly basis. I have had the opportunity to fill the pulpit once already. The church is a GARBC church and I graduated from the GARBC flagship Bible college. So I am quite familiar with their doctrine. Pastor Tim Kluver, is a missionary pastor with CBM (Continental Baptist Missions) and he and I are of one mind doctrinally. Pastor Tim has had some medical issues this past year and we feel it is such a privilege to be able to come along side of he and his family and give them love, support and to be a back-up for him as needed. We have already developed a close bond with the Kluver family as well as the entire church family.
Both Dayle and I are teaching Bible classes at Aletheia, which is a one day a week home school co-op led by our Daughter-in-law Shelli and another mom. I am teaching the junior and senior high grades and Dayle is teaching the younger grades. Dayle will begin discipling two young moms next week. She also disciples a mom from our previous church in Orovada, NV via phone calls. In addition, she has an interview with our local Crisis Pregnancy Center to hopefully volunteer on a weekly basis. We also hope to begin a young married Bible study next month.
It is such a joy to be able to serve our great God and Savior in these ways!
All of our kids are doing quite well. We drove down to Sacramento over Thanksgiving and spent almost a week with Stephen and Neeley and the kids. We also stopped in Grants Pass and spent a couple of evenings with Mel, Annie and the boys.
Please pray for our son, Jason. As you know he is a Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard and he is due for transfer in June 2017. He is retiring early 2018 and a transfer far away will create a huge burden on the family especially since they plan to stay in Port Angeles. We are praying that he will be allowed to stay in the Port Angeles area.
Let us know if you might have any prayer requests.........With much love in Christ, Shelley and Dayle
Both Dayle and I are teaching Bible classes at Aletheia, which is a one day a week home school co-op led by our Daughter-in-law Shelli and another mom. I am teaching the junior and senior high grades and Dayle is teaching the younger grades. Dayle will begin discipling two young moms next week. She also disciples a mom from our previous church in Orovada, NV via phone calls. In addition, she has an interview with our local Crisis Pregnancy Center to hopefully volunteer on a weekly basis. We also hope to begin a young married Bible study next month.
It is such a joy to be able to serve our great God and Savior in these ways!
All of our kids are doing quite well. We drove down to Sacramento over Thanksgiving and spent almost a week with Stephen and Neeley and the kids. We also stopped in Grants Pass and spent a couple of evenings with Mel, Annie and the boys.
Please pray for our son, Jason. As you know he is a Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard and he is due for transfer in June 2017. He is retiring early 2018 and a transfer far away will create a huge burden on the family especially since they plan to stay in Port Angeles. We are praying that he will be allowed to stay in the Port Angeles area.
Let us know if you might have any prayer requests.........With much love in Christ, Shelley and Dayle
Sunday, August 21, 2016
All Settled In and Getting Very Busy
Our dear family and friends,
We have officially been Washington residents for four months now. So much has happened. We had a shed build on the property to house all the rest of our stuff and all of our bicycles. We also had a huge carport built that covers our trailer.
The first week here I contacted the City recreation director to get on a softball team. He gave me all the team captain's phone numbers and the first captain that I called was the captain of the Coast Guard team and he was happy to have me. Both my grandson Asher and myself joined the team. We had a great time and our team took second place for the whole season.
I began teaching Autumn how to play the guitar and with the help of You Tube she is becoming quite the guitar player.
I also was able to find and train a mountain bicycle riding partner--Aiden, my 13 year old grandson. He is a natural bike rider. We are already up to riding the entire Olympic Discovery Adventure Trail. The ODAT is 25.5 miles of a single track mountain trail which is quite challenging and affords many breath taking views of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Canada.
Perhaps the most exciting thing was that we found a church that we really love and feel at home in. Strait View Baptist Church is a fairly new church plant (4 years old) and is going through some growing pains. We love the pastor and his family as well as all the people there. As time goes on we hope to be able to teach, disciple, and maybe even pulpit fill once in a while.
We have been asked to teach in the Home School CoOp called "Aletheia." I will be teaching the Bible class for the junior and senior high students and Dayle will be teaching Bible to the younger students. This will start the end of September. I am really excited to be teaching once again. I truly miss the regular preaching and teaching and this will help with that.
Four weeks ago we drove down to Grants Pass to spend a couple of days with Mel, Annie and the boys and to retrieve the rest of our storage unit. We took Aiden with us so he could spend some time with his cousins. We all had a great time and we even took a rafting trip down the Rogue River. Upon returning to Port Angeles we unloaded the truck and went through the remainder of our stuff. A few weeks ago we had a yard sale and got rid of the rest of it. So now all we have left in our shed is memorabilia including pictures and a few things that are of a family historical nature.
All in all we are really enjoying living here on the property with Jason, Shelli and the kids. We have missed so much of their lives and now we are with them every day. What a blessing!
On August 29th we will be driving south to Grants Pass to take Annie and Mel out to dinner to celebrate Annie's 36th birthday and then on Sacramento to spend some time with Stephen, Neeley and the kids. Stephen and Neeley will be going away for a few days and then Neeley will be having surgery and will need her mommy to take care of her and the kids for 5 weeks. I will be driving back towards the end of September, Dayle will stay a couple of weeks longer until Neeley is back to normal.
So now you know what has been going on in our lives as we have settled down a bit. We still look forward to attending the NICE conferences and we remain available for short term pulpit supply.
Please pray that the Lord will continue to use us here in Port Angeles. We don't to ever want to retire from the Lord's work.
Love to all......Shelley and Dayle
We have officially been Washington residents for four months now. So much has happened. We had a shed build on the property to house all the rest of our stuff and all of our bicycles. We also had a huge carport built that covers our trailer.
The first week here I contacted the City recreation director to get on a softball team. He gave me all the team captain's phone numbers and the first captain that I called was the captain of the Coast Guard team and he was happy to have me. Both my grandson Asher and myself joined the team. We had a great time and our team took second place for the whole season.
I began teaching Autumn how to play the guitar and with the help of You Tube she is becoming quite the guitar player.
I also was able to find and train a mountain bicycle riding partner--Aiden, my 13 year old grandson. He is a natural bike rider. We are already up to riding the entire Olympic Discovery Adventure Trail. The ODAT is 25.5 miles of a single track mountain trail which is quite challenging and affords many breath taking views of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Canada.
Perhaps the most exciting thing was that we found a church that we really love and feel at home in. Strait View Baptist Church is a fairly new church plant (4 years old) and is going through some growing pains. We love the pastor and his family as well as all the people there. As time goes on we hope to be able to teach, disciple, and maybe even pulpit fill once in a while.
We have been asked to teach in the Home School CoOp called "Aletheia." I will be teaching the Bible class for the junior and senior high students and Dayle will be teaching Bible to the younger students. This will start the end of September. I am really excited to be teaching once again. I truly miss the regular preaching and teaching and this will help with that.
Four weeks ago we drove down to Grants Pass to spend a couple of days with Mel, Annie and the boys and to retrieve the rest of our storage unit. We took Aiden with us so he could spend some time with his cousins. We all had a great time and we even took a rafting trip down the Rogue River. Upon returning to Port Angeles we unloaded the truck and went through the remainder of our stuff. A few weeks ago we had a yard sale and got rid of the rest of it. So now all we have left in our shed is memorabilia including pictures and a few things that are of a family historical nature.
All in all we are really enjoying living here on the property with Jason, Shelli and the kids. We have missed so much of their lives and now we are with them every day. What a blessing!
On August 29th we will be driving south to Grants Pass to take Annie and Mel out to dinner to celebrate Annie's 36th birthday and then on Sacramento to spend some time with Stephen, Neeley and the kids. Stephen and Neeley will be going away for a few days and then Neeley will be having surgery and will need her mommy to take care of her and the kids for 5 weeks. I will be driving back towards the end of September, Dayle will stay a couple of weeks longer until Neeley is back to normal.
So now you know what has been going on in our lives as we have settled down a bit. We still look forward to attending the NICE conferences and we remain available for short term pulpit supply.
Please pray that the Lord will continue to use us here in Port Angeles. We don't to ever want to retire from the Lord's work.
Love to all......Shelley and Dayle
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Settling Down and semi-Retiring!
The past five years have been a wonderful blessing to travel the west and serve at so many different places and meet so many wonderful people. We have absolutely loved living in a 5th wheel trailer and being so mobile going wherever we were needed. However, after much prayer and heart searching we have decided to semi-retire. So as of May 1st, we are "semi" retired.
The Bible does not speak of retirement but we are going to slow down a bit and be more stationary.
We will still be available to the NICE mission for any pulpit supply or even a short term pastoral interim. And we will serve in our local church. My desire is to be able to regularly teach, lead music, and pulpit fill when asked.
We have decided to make Port Angeles, Washington our home and live in our 5th wheel trailer on our son's property. Jason and Shelli are going through some trials and they really would like for us to stay. So, we are going to stay with them and minister to them. Our first grandson, Asher, turns 18 today and now we realize that we have missed much of his life as well as all of the grand children.
We have ordered a shed to store what is left of our stuff that we want to keep. We have also ordered a huge carport to totally cover our trailer to keep the rain off of it. I have also joined the city softball league and I am on the US Coast Guard team.
We will probably head south for the winter and make some short trips to visit our kids and families in Grants Pass, Oregon and Sacramento, California.
So to all of our faithful financial supporters we ask that you now give to other ministries. Thank you for all your prayer support and financial support over the past five years.
Please continue to pray for Jason and Shelli and they are going through these trials. Also pray that we will have opportunities to serve here in Port Angeles.
The Bible does not speak of retirement but we are going to slow down a bit and be more stationary.
We will still be available to the NICE mission for any pulpit supply or even a short term pastoral interim. And we will serve in our local church. My desire is to be able to regularly teach, lead music, and pulpit fill when asked.
We have decided to make Port Angeles, Washington our home and live in our 5th wheel trailer on our son's property. Jason and Shelli are going through some trials and they really would like for us to stay. So, we are going to stay with them and minister to them. Our first grandson, Asher, turns 18 today and now we realize that we have missed much of his life as well as all of the grand children.
We have ordered a shed to store what is left of our stuff that we want to keep. We have also ordered a huge carport to totally cover our trailer to keep the rain off of it. I have also joined the city softball league and I am on the US Coast Guard team.
We will probably head south for the winter and make some short trips to visit our kids and families in Grants Pass, Oregon and Sacramento, California.
So to all of our faithful financial supporters we ask that you now give to other ministries. Thank you for all your prayer support and financial support over the past five years.
Please continue to pray for Jason and Shelli and they are going through these trials. Also pray that we will have opportunities to serve here in Port Angeles.
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| Our New Place of Residence! |
Monday, April 11, 2016
Mom's Funeral, and Now Heading North
We left Orovada permanently on March 15th and arrived at my sister's
house in Pinon Hills, CA that evening. We parked the trailer on her
property and then in the morning moved into my brother's house in West
Hills, to help care for my mom. Her condition was still terminal and
was getting weaker everyday. Then on Saturday, March 16th, at 10 a.m.
she quietly entered eternity with my brother and my niece, Melissa at
her side. (We had just left his house to attend my other niece's horse
show but we didn't make it to the show.) We were told that her breathing became very labored, then she opened her eyes wide, looked at Melissa, smiled, and closed her eyes.
After she died we cleaned her up a bit, sat with her until the mortuary picked her up a few hours later. What a joy it is to know my mom, like the thief on the cross, is now with the Lord. I admit that I never thought my mother would ever accept the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. She was so set against Jesus Christ and anything Christian her whole life. It just goes to show that no one is beyond the reach of God!
The following Thursday we had the funeral at the Mt. Sinai Jewish Cemetery in Simi Valley. This was a totally Christian service speaking of the hope of Jesus Christ, and we even sang Amazing Grace. It felt really strange for me as I conducted the funeral, preached Jesus Christ, and led the singing in this Jewish chapel. After the service our yamaka wearing funeral director told me that it was a wonderful service. Then he told me that his wife was was a Christian and that he fully understands where we were coming from. My brother, conducted the graveside portion of the service and did an excellent job. We had about 50 people at the funeral and most were friends of Bob from his church and from the homeless shelter where Bob and mom prepared meals.
We had hoped to go to Lake Havasu for a few days before we headed north to Grants Pass to attend the celebration of our Son-in-law, Mel, passing his Professional Engineer exams and certification. However, both Dayle and I got really sick with some flu virus and were incapacitated for two weeks. We are still coughing and our energy is slowly returning. Needless to say we didn't make it to Lake Havasu. We were able to make the drive up to Grants Pass and attend the party. This past Saturday we had a yard sale at Mel and Annie's house and sold EVERYTHING that was left in our storage unit. The only things left are all my tools which Jason wants, and family memorabilia. It's amazing how God has given us such a peace about letting go of all our earthly accumulation of material stuff.
As of this writing we are still in Grants Pass and we plan on leaving tomorrow (April 12th) and head north. We will stop in Portland, Oregon to spend a night next to Duane and Cora Tucker's house, then off to Port Angeles where we will be until the Lord sends us somewhere else.
We are so very much looking forward to spending time with Jason, Shelli, and the grand kids. This past year and a half has been very stressful and lots of work in the various ministries in which we have served and we need a break and rest. Our daughter-in-law Shelli has always told us that our grandchildren are a ministry too and she is right.
Pray:
Safe travels
Ministry opportunities in Port Angeles
That God would open up opportunities to share Christ along the way
After she died we cleaned her up a bit, sat with her until the mortuary picked her up a few hours later. What a joy it is to know my mom, like the thief on the cross, is now with the Lord. I admit that I never thought my mother would ever accept the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. She was so set against Jesus Christ and anything Christian her whole life. It just goes to show that no one is beyond the reach of God!
The following Thursday we had the funeral at the Mt. Sinai Jewish Cemetery in Simi Valley. This was a totally Christian service speaking of the hope of Jesus Christ, and we even sang Amazing Grace. It felt really strange for me as I conducted the funeral, preached Jesus Christ, and led the singing in this Jewish chapel. After the service our yamaka wearing funeral director told me that it was a wonderful service. Then he told me that his wife was was a Christian and that he fully understands where we were coming from. My brother, conducted the graveside portion of the service and did an excellent job. We had about 50 people at the funeral and most were friends of Bob from his church and from the homeless shelter where Bob and mom prepared meals.
We had hoped to go to Lake Havasu for a few days before we headed north to Grants Pass to attend the celebration of our Son-in-law, Mel, passing his Professional Engineer exams and certification. However, both Dayle and I got really sick with some flu virus and were incapacitated for two weeks. We are still coughing and our energy is slowly returning. Needless to say we didn't make it to Lake Havasu. We were able to make the drive up to Grants Pass and attend the party. This past Saturday we had a yard sale at Mel and Annie's house and sold EVERYTHING that was left in our storage unit. The only things left are all my tools which Jason wants, and family memorabilia. It's amazing how God has given us such a peace about letting go of all our earthly accumulation of material stuff.
As of this writing we are still in Grants Pass and we plan on leaving tomorrow (April 12th) and head north. We will stop in Portland, Oregon to spend a night next to Duane and Cora Tucker's house, then off to Port Angeles where we will be until the Lord sends us somewhere else.
We are so very much looking forward to spending time with Jason, Shelli, and the grand kids. This past year and a half has been very stressful and lots of work in the various ministries in which we have served and we need a break and rest. Our daughter-in-law Shelli has always told us that our grandchildren are a ministry too and she is right.
Pray:
Safe travels
Ministry opportunities in Port Angeles
That God would open up opportunities to share Christ along the way
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Update on Shelley's Mother
Hi everyone,
I have an update for you regarding my mother. The doctors said that they consider her a hospice patient and she can have another stroke at any time. They told us that she will never walk again, will never use her right arm again, and cannot swallow. Mom suffered a severe stroke and there is major brain damage. She also has a large blood clot in her heart. She is still somewhat cognizant of what is going on and is able to communicate (barely) and she wanted to go with a feeding tube. A nasal feeding tube was inserted this evening and we will see if she regains any strength and abilities. Once the feeding begins she will be place in a nursing facility. She will require around the clock care from now on. So we have to figure out which one with the help of a case manager tomorrow. We will be staying here a few more days and we have canceled our long time planned family vacation at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.
We hope to return to Orovada by the middle of next week. Please continue to pray.
I have an update for you regarding my mother. The doctors said that they consider her a hospice patient and she can have another stroke at any time. They told us that she will never walk again, will never use her right arm again, and cannot swallow. Mom suffered a severe stroke and there is major brain damage. She also has a large blood clot in her heart. She is still somewhat cognizant of what is going on and is able to communicate (barely) and she wanted to go with a feeding tube. A nasal feeding tube was inserted this evening and we will see if she regains any strength and abilities. Once the feeding begins she will be place in a nursing facility. She will require around the clock care from now on. So we have to figure out which one with the help of a case manager tomorrow. We will be staying here a few more days and we have canceled our long time planned family vacation at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.
We hope to return to Orovada by the middle of next week. Please continue to pray.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
PRAYER REQUESTS
This email update is really a request for prayer.
The new pastor arrived on February 11th and has begun to settle in quite nicely. This last Saturday he had to take his wife (Flora) to the emergency room in Winnemucca. She was admitted and then transferred to Reno, NV with several issues one of which was kidneys not functioning properly. She is on the mend, but we do ask for your prayers for her recovery. We had planned on departing for Lake Havasu City on March 14th but that is now in question.
Yesterday I got a call from my brother informing us that my mother had a stroke. As of right now she is in Intensive Care. Her entire right side is paralyzed. I did briefly speak with her on the phone and she could barely speak. The prognosis is not good. But the good news is that my brother was able to lead her to the Lord last night. My mother actually made a profession of faith! My brother said, "If it took a stroke to get her to see the light, then so be it!" Amen to that! After she prayed, she fell asleep and was resting peacefully.
As of this writing, there are some other medical complications and we all need to get together to discuss some things. So we will be driving to Los Angeles leaving quite early in the morning (Wednesday). It is a ten hour drive and we will be staying at my brother’s house which is near the hospital. We covet your prayers through all of this.
We also have a Gale Family Vacation planned for next week at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington beginning on Monday. We have not yet canceled the reservations as we are hoping for the best. We will have to decide within the next couple of days.
Thank you for your prayers!
Shelley
for the both of us!
The new pastor arrived on February 11th and has begun to settle in quite nicely. This last Saturday he had to take his wife (Flora) to the emergency room in Winnemucca. She was admitted and then transferred to Reno, NV with several issues one of which was kidneys not functioning properly. She is on the mend, but we do ask for your prayers for her recovery. We had planned on departing for Lake Havasu City on March 14th but that is now in question.
Yesterday I got a call from my brother informing us that my mother had a stroke. As of right now she is in Intensive Care. Her entire right side is paralyzed. I did briefly speak with her on the phone and she could barely speak. The prognosis is not good. But the good news is that my brother was able to lead her to the Lord last night. My mother actually made a profession of faith! My brother said, "If it took a stroke to get her to see the light, then so be it!" Amen to that! After she prayed, she fell asleep and was resting peacefully.
As of this writing, there are some other medical complications and we all need to get together to discuss some things. So we will be driving to Los Angeles leaving quite early in the morning (Wednesday). It is a ten hour drive and we will be staying at my brother’s house which is near the hospital. We covet your prayers through all of this.
We also have a Gale Family Vacation planned for next week at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington beginning on Monday. We have not yet canceled the reservations as we are hoping for the best. We will have to decide within the next couple of days.
Thank you for your prayers!
Shelley
for the both of us!
Sunday, January 24, 2016
We Worked Ourselves Out of Another Job!
We have some very exciting news. After over five years Orovada Community Church will once again have a full-time live-in pastor. After much searching and reading resumes and discounting most of them we have found the man that we believe has been sent by God to pastor Orovada Community Church. Pastor Bob Burns and his wife Flora are coming from Amarillo, Texas and will be here before the end of February. I will be taking him to the Shepherd's Conference. We will have the official installation service on March 13th and then we will depart Orovada on the 14th. We plan on heading south to Lake Havasu City for a few weeks to thaw out. We are looking forward to returning to Bethany Bible Church, where this ministry began for us. We will also spend a week or so with my sister in Pinon Hills. She has another "brother do" list for me. One of those items is to replace the floor in one of the bedrooms.
In the mean time we have much work yet to be done here to make the parsonage ready, and to make a smooth transition. We are so very excited for this church. However we will greatly miss these dear people as well as the area. But that really is nothing new for us. Where ever we have served we have developed some wonderful friendships all because we all love and serve the Lord, Jesus Christ!
Please pray for Orovada Community Church as they have called the new pastor "on faith" because finances are very tight. But there is so much potential here in Orovada and we have seen much fruit in just the few months that we have been here.
Please pray for Bob and Flora as they transition to Nevada from Texas!
In the mean time we have much work yet to be done here to make the parsonage ready, and to make a smooth transition. We are so very excited for this church. However we will greatly miss these dear people as well as the area. But that really is nothing new for us. Where ever we have served we have developed some wonderful friendships all because we all love and serve the Lord, Jesus Christ!
Please pray for Orovada Community Church as they have called the new pastor "on faith" because finances are very tight. But there is so much potential here in Orovada and we have seen much fruit in just the few months that we have been here.
Please pray for Bob and Flora as they transition to Nevada from Texas!
Monday, January 11, 2016
Happy New Year!
Hello everyone, the ministry continues here in Orovada. The past two months have been quite busy for us. Our Awana has increased to 13 children, and we even had a visit from the Awana Missionary. Church attendance still averages at around 16. For the month of December I have been preaching a series on the Preparation for Christmas. We even had a church Christmas party. We invited all the Awana children and their families and one actually showed up. All in all it was a pretty good turn out.
The weather has turned very cold but we are doing well. It's been snowing off and on and the trailer is very comfortable and my Dayle is doing just fine.
We drove to Port Angeles for Christmas and spent 2 1/2 weeks with our son and family. The trip to Port Angeles while pulling the trailer was quite exciting. The first day we only went 200 miles due to snow packed roads. Our average speed was only about 30 mph. It took us three days to go the 750 miles. Stephen, Neeley, and the kids flew in and we all had a great time. Well most of us did. Stephen is also a bike rider so on Christmas eve we decided to go for a bike ride on my favorite mountain trail. Asher, my 17 year old grandson came along. The first part of the trail is a 1 1/2 mile moderate down hill run. One can get going quite fast. Asher is a novice bike rider and got going at a pretty good pace. When approaching a turn he couldn't slow enough, he hit the brakes and wiped out doing a pretty good flip and roll. The only problem was that he broke his collar bone in two places. We had to walk up hill for almost a mile then he spent four hours in the emergency room. They gave him a sling and sent him home. So much for all the fun activities that I had planned with him. He had a great attitude and was even joking about the whole ordeal. God had His own plans for him.
We did have a great time with all the kids. Annie, Mel and the boys were not able to make the trip and they were greatly missed. But we will be seeing them at the end of February at our family vacation at the Grey Wolf Lodge.
While we were in Washington we became Washington residents. We use Jason and Shelli's address as our permanent and legal address. I obtained a Washington driver's license and transferred the truck and trailer to Washington. All we have to do now is register the car and get Dayle a driver's license which we will do during our family vacation. Why change our residency to Washington, you ask? Since we do not have a permanent place of residence we can establish residency almost anywhere. And since we are on a fixed and limited income it was wise to establish residency in a state with no income tax. Oregon takes 10% of our income and now I will not have to be burdened with that tax debt.
Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Jason and Shelli as they have been caring for two foster children ages 2 and 4. They want to adopt these two adorable children if God opens that opportunity. The courts have to decide after inquiring if any other family members of the children are interested and qualify to adopt them.
2. Please continue to pray for a full-time pastor for Orovada Community Church
3. Pray for us as we visit those who attend the church and those who once attended but have stayed home due to no pastor for 5 years.
4. Pray that we would be faithful in using our time wisely making the most of every opportunity.
Praise:
1. We praise the Lord that our son-in-law, Mel, Annie's husband, has passed his Professional Engineer exam. This now makes him an actual full fledged Professional Civil Engineer. Now he has to jump through a few Oregon state hoops and it will be done.
2. Praise for the protection that the Lord gave us while traveling.
3. Praise for our AWANA program and the faithful workers God has provided.
4. Praise that Shelley's back is doing great.
5. Praise for wonderful children and grandchildren
The weather has turned very cold but we are doing well. It's been snowing off and on and the trailer is very comfortable and my Dayle is doing just fine.
We drove to Port Angeles for Christmas and spent 2 1/2 weeks with our son and family. The trip to Port Angeles while pulling the trailer was quite exciting. The first day we only went 200 miles due to snow packed roads. Our average speed was only about 30 mph. It took us three days to go the 750 miles. Stephen, Neeley, and the kids flew in and we all had a great time. Well most of us did. Stephen is also a bike rider so on Christmas eve we decided to go for a bike ride on my favorite mountain trail. Asher, my 17 year old grandson came along. The first part of the trail is a 1 1/2 mile moderate down hill run. One can get going quite fast. Asher is a novice bike rider and got going at a pretty good pace. When approaching a turn he couldn't slow enough, he hit the brakes and wiped out doing a pretty good flip and roll. The only problem was that he broke his collar bone in two places. We had to walk up hill for almost a mile then he spent four hours in the emergency room. They gave him a sling and sent him home. So much for all the fun activities that I had planned with him. He had a great attitude and was even joking about the whole ordeal. God had His own plans for him.
We did have a great time with all the kids. Annie, Mel and the boys were not able to make the trip and they were greatly missed. But we will be seeing them at the end of February at our family vacation at the Grey Wolf Lodge.
While we were in Washington we became Washington residents. We use Jason and Shelli's address as our permanent and legal address. I obtained a Washington driver's license and transferred the truck and trailer to Washington. All we have to do now is register the car and get Dayle a driver's license which we will do during our family vacation. Why change our residency to Washington, you ask? Since we do not have a permanent place of residence we can establish residency almost anywhere. And since we are on a fixed and limited income it was wise to establish residency in a state with no income tax. Oregon takes 10% of our income and now I will not have to be burdened with that tax debt.
Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Jason and Shelli as they have been caring for two foster children ages 2 and 4. They want to adopt these two adorable children if God opens that opportunity. The courts have to decide after inquiring if any other family members of the children are interested and qualify to adopt them.
2. Please continue to pray for a full-time pastor for Orovada Community Church
3. Pray for us as we visit those who attend the church and those who once attended but have stayed home due to no pastor for 5 years.
4. Pray that we would be faithful in using our time wisely making the most of every opportunity.
Praise:
1. We praise the Lord that our son-in-law, Mel, Annie's husband, has passed his Professional Engineer exam. This now makes him an actual full fledged Professional Civil Engineer. Now he has to jump through a few Oregon state hoops and it will be done.
2. Praise for the protection that the Lord gave us while traveling.
3. Praise for our AWANA program and the faithful workers God has provided.
4. Praise that Shelley's back is doing great.
5. Praise for wonderful children and grandchildren
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Pastor Search has Begun
Since my last update we have begun to actively search for a new pastor. I have contacted several people and schools. We are looking for someone who either has some retirement income or someone who is willing to be bi-vocational. So here is the big hurdle. Most people want to be fully supported. We are even looking for someone right out of Bible school. In anyone knows of someone who might be interested in the pastorate here, please give me their phone number or have them call me. Please be in prayer for God to send us the right man to lead this precious flock.
We started an AWANA program a couple of weeks ago with seven kids and now we are up to ten kids. The kids seem to love it. We discovered a couple of boxes of old Awana materials and we were able to obtain additional material on Ebay and Amazon.
It is my prayer that the Lord will send us a pastor sooner rather than later. The weather has turned cold. The mountains all around us are covered with snow. The outside temperatures are in the 30's or lower. The wind seems to blow constantly creating an even lower wind chill factor. At this present moment there are snow flurries. We have have pulled out all or our winter clothing. We put extra insulation on the trailer windows n times past we loved the cold weather and snow. But these days Dayle has much difficulty with the cold. As you may know, she has osteoarthritis in her fingers and the colder it gets the more her hands hurt. Fortunately, our new 5th wheel trailer is very well insulated and Dayle is very warm and cozy inside. So Dayle will be remaining indoors most of the time until Spring or until we can get to a warmer climate such as Lake Havasu where right now it is 70 degrees and sunny. Me? I'm looking forward to the snow. I love to go hiking and tracking and traipsing through the mountains in the snow. So, I will enjoy the great outdoors regardless.
Currently, I am preaching through First Peter and I will finish up chapter one this week. Our average attendance has increased to about 16 and we are continuing to make contacts in the community. Our pianist has been gone for the last three weeks so I have been doing all the music on my guitar. Dayle is teaching a junior church for the younger children. We have also been busy taking care of the grounds as well as the building. Along with Awana, sermon preparation, music planning, and making weekly bulletins. It's all a lot of work, but we love it!
On November 19th we will be driving 7 hours to Grants Pass where Dayle will receive her third infusion treatment for her osteoporosis. We will also spend two nights with Mel and Annie and celebrate and early Thanksgiving. If weather permits we will also drive to Sacramento to spend Thanksgiving with Stephen and Neeley.
Prayer requests:
1. For a pastor for Orovada Community Church
2. For Dayle's physical comfort is this cold weather
3. For safety as we travel to Grants pass
4. For these Boniva infusions to cure my Dayle of her Osteoporosis
To view more photos click here.
We started an AWANA program a couple of weeks ago with seven kids and now we are up to ten kids. The kids seem to love it. We discovered a couple of boxes of old Awana materials and we were able to obtain additional material on Ebay and Amazon.
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| Our first AWANA kids |
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| The mountains directly west of us |
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| The mountains southwest of us. |
Currently, I am preaching through First Peter and I will finish up chapter one this week. Our average attendance has increased to about 16 and we are continuing to make contacts in the community. Our pianist has been gone for the last three weeks so I have been doing all the music on my guitar. Dayle is teaching a junior church for the younger children. We have also been busy taking care of the grounds as well as the building. Along with Awana, sermon preparation, music planning, and making weekly bulletins. It's all a lot of work, but we love it!
On November 19th we will be driving 7 hours to Grants Pass where Dayle will receive her third infusion treatment for her osteoporosis. We will also spend two nights with Mel and Annie and celebrate and early Thanksgiving. If weather permits we will also drive to Sacramento to spend Thanksgiving with Stephen and Neeley.
Prayer requests:
1. For a pastor for Orovada Community Church
2. For Dayle's physical comfort is this cold weather
3. For safety as we travel to Grants pass
4. For these Boniva infusions to cure my Dayle of her Osteoporosis
To view more photos click here.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Orovada for a Month
We have been in Orovada for a little over a month and the work continues. A couple of the young moms approached us about starting up Awana again. So, a modified Awana program will begin this week. We still have only one church service a week which is on Sunday mornings at 10:30. I hope to add an evening service or a mid-week prayer meeting soon. A women's Bible study began this past week and a men's Bible study will begin the first week of November.
We are getting quite the education about farmers. Oh my goodness do they work a lot and long hours. The harvest is over but they are still working from sun up to sun down six days a week. But now the days are getting shorter and their work is slowing down. I am looking forward to being able to spend some time with them. Their work load decreases as the days get shorter and the weather turns.
The week before last we took a couple of days and went to Stephen and Neeley in Sacramento. We had a great time with them and the grand kids. It's only a 5 hour drive so whenever we start getting withdrawals form not seeing the kids we just hop in the car and take a drive. We only wish that the other kids were closer. We are so looking forward to spending more time with them all. I am told that the older we get the more we want to be with the kids. When we first became "empty nesters" at age 45 we were so excited. Now, 18 years later, we want to be with the kids. Go figure!
One of the men of the church took us on on a driving tour of the mountains to the east of us. We got quite a thorough education and saw some great sights. This is sure a beautiful area even though we are 42 miles from the nearest grocery store. Here are a few pictures.
This week the burn ban was lifted (not that there really is one here) and we burned up all the piles of cuttings that we have been accumulating over the past month.
On Sunday mornings I am now preaching through First Peter. It sure is good to be preaching regularly again. Attendance has been from a high of 28 to a low of 8.
Prayer requests:
1. For us as we minister here in Orovada
2. For the Lord to grow His church here in Orovada.
3. For our Awana which starts Wednesday (10/14)
Here is the link to our photo page on Flickr. We have many more pictures there. Click here for more photos.
We are getting quite the education about farmers. Oh my goodness do they work a lot and long hours. The harvest is over but they are still working from sun up to sun down six days a week. But now the days are getting shorter and their work is slowing down. I am looking forward to being able to spend some time with them. Their work load decreases as the days get shorter and the weather turns.
The week before last we took a couple of days and went to Stephen and Neeley in Sacramento. We had a great time with them and the grand kids. It's only a 5 hour drive so whenever we start getting withdrawals form not seeing the kids we just hop in the car and take a drive. We only wish that the other kids were closer. We are so looking forward to spending more time with them all. I am told that the older we get the more we want to be with the kids. When we first became "empty nesters" at age 45 we were so excited. Now, 18 years later, we want to be with the kids. Go figure!
One of the men of the church took us on on a driving tour of the mountains to the east of us. We got quite a thorough education and saw some great sights. This is sure a beautiful area even though we are 42 miles from the nearest grocery store. Here are a few pictures.
 |
| Here is a privately owned cabin open to anyone at anytime. |
This week the burn ban was lifted (not that there really is one here) and we burned up all the piles of cuttings that we have been accumulating over the past month.
 |
| So this is what a selfie is. |
On Sunday mornings I am now preaching through First Peter. It sure is good to be preaching regularly again. Attendance has been from a high of 28 to a low of 8.
Prayer requests:
1. For us as we minister here in Orovada
2. For the Lord to grow His church here in Orovada.
3. For our Awana which starts Wednesday (10/14)
Here is the link to our photo page on Flickr. We have many more pictures there. Click here for more photos.
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