Today I spoke to a missionary I know in London.  God is already doing great things there and there are still greater things to come.  I get excited about getting there everytime I think about what God is doing.  It appears that God is assembling a team of missionaries there to support on another in planting local, New Testament, Bible preaching churches.  I look forward to seeing the great things God has planned for the future of the United Kingdom.

Booked our tickets today for BIMI candidate school December 6-8 in Chattanooga.  It was much cheaper to actually fly to Birmingham and then drive to Chattanooga, even when you include renting a car.  Time is flying these days and there always seems to be more and more to do.

Reading a great book right now called Key to the Missionary Problem by Andrew Murray.  It was written probably more than 100 years ago, but the truth contained in it still applies today.  The problem of evangelizing the world is not a lack of resources.  The problem is getting people and churches to commit those resources to the cause of worldwide evangelization.

We made it back from Texas yesterday evening.  I was in my brother's wedding on Saturday evening; all three of us brothers are now married.  My brother has been relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Barbados for the last couple days now with his bride.

We had a great time in Texas.  We loved spending time with my parents and seeing them have an opportunity to spend time and develop relationships with our children.  It was also good to see members of our extended family.  While we were home my mind kept thinking about the day when I'll be able to spend time with my grandfathers and other family members that have gone on before us.  I look forward to seeing them all again.

We also had a wonderful time visiting our old church back home.  We had not been back since we left in spring 2005 and it was great to reconnect with old friends and renew friendships.  I look forward to visiting there again soon. 

Finally, I was able to book another meeting this evening with a church in Northern California.  It will be for the end of next summer.  Little by little our calendar is starting to fill up and take shape.  Pray for us that we will continue to have success in booking meetings.

Today we received confirmation from BIMI that we are invited to attend candidate school in early December!  This is great news for us.  We now have to book our airline tickets and make travel arrangements, so pray that we can find cheap tickets.  Also pray for us as we'll be taking doctrines tests and will meet with a committee that will vote on our approval with the mission board.  We thank the Lord for His provision and direction through this application process.

We fly out tomorrow morning at 8:30 on our way to Texas for my brother's wedding.  My wonderful wife spent the day packing and I was at the office tryingto catch up on stuff from last week.   Looking forward to spending a week with my parents in Texas and seeing them play with the grandkids.  Hopefully the plane ride and all the driving will be uneventful.

Just finished a missions conference at Shadow Mountain Baptist Church in Morgan Hill, CA.  It truly was a great conference: from hearing Dr. Calvert preach, to gettting to know Pastor Haynes, to fellowshipping with the congregation.  Our hosts were very gracious and kind; they took care of our every need.  It was our first conference away from home and we were truly spoiled.  A highlight was when Pastor Haynes took us clay pigeon shooting on Friday.  I didn't start off well, but once Pastor Haynes showed me what to do, I was tearing it up!!  Had a great time. 

Dr. Calvert has a passion for church planting and challenged everyone to give our all for Christ.  He also reminded us that the heartbeat of the New Testament church is supposed to be starting new churches.  As someone who is preparing to go to the foreign field, the messages were very convicting and challenging. 

The highlight of the entire conference though was at lunch after church on Sunday.  I had the privilege to be present while another missionary led a young man to the Lord!  At a conference where the focus is world evangelism, it is a wonderful thing to see someone pass from death unto life. 

Thank you Shadow Mountain Baptist Church for a great conference and for a welcoming us with open arms.  Thank you for taking us on for support!!  We look forward to seeing everyone again in the future.