Friday, October 22, 2010

Hi! from West Texas

Hi Everyone!!

Mark and I experienced a 'whale of a thunderstorm' last night in West Texas! The thunder and lightening were spectacular, but because the cotton farmers are trying their best to get their harvest in…the storm both excited us and made us sad…..the whole experience wasn't too good for them.
We've had some fantastic meetings with really good attendance. We started out this trip at Chapel Hill Baptist Church, Odessa, TX, where the 'Jeffs', pastor one and two, and their wives/congregation treated us like royalty. We stayed the weekend and had a series of concerts and hopefully touched Odessa in a positive way. The church reached out to 1500 homes to invite the neighborhoods to come to the concerts and have a personal relationship with Jesus. There's no telling how long the church will feel the ripple effect from that act of kindness.
We headed up to Lamesa to the Church of the Nazarene Sunday afternoon and the church was full!! Thanks to Pastor Lee and Linda - but especially to long time friends Gary & Judy Jones. We experienced their world right now: COTTON HARVEST! What a blessing these farmers are to the world….It made us appreciate our cotton skivvies. The neighborhood was wondering who in the world these two strangers were in the back yard throwing kettlebells up in the air and doing pushups in the drive way most mornings & afternoons. To see what we do on the road, go to our Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susiemcentire We stayed/ate/played music with Gary and Judy until we pulled up stakes and made our move on up to Quitaque.
The First United Methodist Church in Quitaque, TX rocked that night!! Methodist/Baptists/and what alls came and we even had fellowship afterwards with cake/cookies/sandwiches. Thanks to Pastor John, but ESPECIALLY Wayde Clay who invited us to come. Wayde and hubby Ronald invited us to supper last night and we had a great time visiting with them. She blessed me (Susie) with a quilt that I will always cherish. Thanks to Terry and Robin Boedeker who let us stay in their home this week. We needed internet and a quiet place to rest…mission accomplished!
Ron & Marianne Brunson have been friends of mine for ages…they minister in Plainview, TX at New Covenant and Cowboy Church. What a sweet group of people that showed up that night! Mark and I just sat on the stage and basically talked our "sermon" and had a really good time there.
We are sitting in the cabin this morning with a cup of coffee and fruit……watching thru the window horses grazing in the pasture next to us and wanting the sun to shine so we can hike in the Palo Duro State Park and see some 'stuff'! Mark is studying across the table from me and I am writing to you and learning my new songs off our cd "Passages".
We are excited about going to Clovis, NM tomorrow night….AND all the places after that….Andrews, TX the next morning and a long trek back to Canyon that afternoon….Lots of windshield time!! WHAT keeps us going are the warm welcomes, the look of PEACE when I sing "Someday I Know" and the awareness of TRUTH in the eyes of folks when Mark speaks. Our tour ends in Ft Stockton on October 28 at Pecos County Cowboy Church…we hope to see y'all along the way. Go to: www.susiemcentire.com for the itinerary.
Thanks to all our hosts for sharing your heart, the hard work, meals, hotel rooms, and friendships that last forever!!
Ladies….it's not too late to register for Pamper Me, November 5 & 6, Atoka, OK. www.susiemcentire.com
OH AND TODAY IS NATIONAL 'CAP LOCKS' DAY! CELEBRATE!!!
God bless you,
Susie & Mark