“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” -Matthew 2:1-2
Dear Friends and Family,
It was a very late evening and it had been a whirlwind week. Earlier in the week I had driven down to Tennessee on Tuesday for two days of recording sessions for the new CD. The Lord tremendously blessed those times and it was good to see a few friends and supporters. I had driven back to KY on Friday and our Fall Dental Clinic started that Saturday and ran through Monday. It was my pleasure and honor to bring the devotions for the volunteers each morning and to do a concert for them Sunday night.
Now, it was Monday evening, and I had just walked a couple of friends back to where they were staying for the night and I was ready to go home. However, one of the things that is so crucial in ministry and in life in general, is to seek to be attentive to the Lord’s guidance. “I need to go check over at the campfire one more time to see who is there, before I go home,” I thought. As I strolled up to the fire, I found two friends of mine. One I have known for years, and the other one I had just met. He had come with the volunteers from VA. We got to talking. “Look, Man,” the new guy said, “I’m just going to be straight up with you. I’m not a Christian. I mean, I know it, I believe it, but I haven’t accepted it for myself.” And so we started talking, and talked and talked and talked. I was seeking to depend on the Lord, to know when to be lovingly tender and when to be lovingly tough. As I left camp at about 1:15 a.m., my new friend still hadn’t made a decision, but he had been very open and honest in our conversation. I continued to pray for him. You can imagine my elation when later that week, another friend, Tim Stevic, who leads the dental clinic, texted me to say that my new friend from the camp fire had accepted the Lord, been baptized that Sunday, and felt called into ministry!
As I shared this tremendous news with the missionary men at our Monday morning prayer meeting, I found once again, that I am part of a team. Pastor Mark Coburn and Pastor Scott Brandenburg had also had opportunities throughout the dental clinic weekend to talk some with our new friend. Ministry is team work, and that leads me once again to you who are reading this letter! Thank you for your prayers and support, which the Lord uses to make this ministry possible! The wise men followed the leading of the Lord through the star and were led to Jesus. As you and I follow the Lord’s leading in our lives, we also get to see Him for who He is and see Him in action. Thank you for following the Lord’s lead in your life to pray and give to this ministry. I wanted to be sure to share with you some of what He has done through your prayers and gifts, so that you may see how faithful He is, and give Him praise!
The past few months have been filled with many great opportunities. In September I spoke at Warren’s Chapel, recorded a week’s worth of devotions to be aired on WTBK, a Clay County Radio station, spoke at the Jr. Bowling League, recorded, and led music for Oneida Baptist Institute’s “Spiritual Emphasis Week.” In October, we had the dental clinic mentioned above, I sang at the funeral of a dear friend’s mother, sang and spoke to the CRU group at Morehead University, my cousin, Jacquelyn and I sang at two breast cancer awareness events, I preached and sang at Flemingsburg Baptist Church, and we had a teen lock-in at the Rec Center. In November, we had a work week at camp with the Sophomore class of Calvary Christian School, a camp Jr. Staff get-together hike, Jacquelyn and I sang at a community Hospice fund raiser, I had a wonderful visit with my cousins Tom and Linda from California, sang at the funeral for one of our dear members of New Prospect Baptist Church, spoke at the Jr. Bowling League, and went to TX to officiate the wedding of my youngest brother, Ben, and his wife, Kristin! All of this, of course, is in addition to the weekly work of praying, studying, counseling, preparing messages and music, and working on the new chapel.
As I close, I want to say, “thank you,” again. I am deeply grateful for each one of you and so moved by your prayers and gifts. Recording for the new album seems to be complete, unless there are any late minute additions. Thank you so much to those of you who have prayed and given to make this project possible. I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers for the Lord’s guidance and provision as I seek to find the best way to package, manufacture and distribute it. I appreciate your prayers so much as I seek to faithfully follow His leading in ministry!
In Christ,
Sam
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