Dolly's Diary A Bible Doctrines to Live By Publication Ministry update for September and October, 2011

Dear Friends and Family...

Thursday, September 1st, Lee and I arrived at home in Grand Rapids, Michigan just briefly, but long enough to get some blueberries and corn in the freezer, defrost the freezer, and the regular household duties - laundry, cooking, cleaning, as well as some much needed yard work. Lee worked on his studies in the morning and then in the afternoon on projects around home. There was a lot of yard work to be done and cleaning and organizing the garage and then he and our son, Steve, resurfaced the driveway. That was a major job it looked good when they got done.

Tuesday, September 12^th, we packed our car and headed to Osceola, Wisconsin for my Carlson Family Reunion. We, my brothers and sisters, came from different directions and amazingly enough all arrived at about the same time. We had a wonderful time of visiting and catching up on all the family news. Twice, my brother, Bud, cooked our dinner in the park. One night he provided a fish fry - fish he had caught camping in Canada and then one night he fixed "garbage can stew." It was all delicious and enjoyed by all. There were 17 of us there and we all stayed in the River View Inn and Suites in Osceola. These folks have hosted our reunion for the past three years and we have come to know and appreciate Barb and Jesse and their family. It was so good to get together with my siblings and their spouses. There were four nieces there too that had driven their parents to the reunion. I don't get to see my family often enough nor does Lee. That is one great disadvantage to living in another area than family. But, the Lord knows and then we appreciate what time we do have even more.

Giovanni, Chloe and Lee

Our reunion ended Friday morning and after saying our farewells we were on our way. Since we had a couple days before our scheduled meetings in Evansville, Indiana, we drove to Des Moines, Iowa and visited with Frank and Cari Fasano (our daughter and son-in-law)and of course we took the opportunity to spoil and play with Giovanni and Chloe. What great fun grandchildren are. It was hard to leave them again but the calendar and time doesn't stop for any one.

On Monday September 19^th, we left Des Moines and drove to Evansville, Indiana. We arrived at the headquarters for Tri-State Youth for Christ late in the afternoon. We then went to the mission house where we would be staying for the duration of the Youth Evangelism Association Youth Leadership Conference. We had waited at Triple T for Pastor Neil Schnaath from Livonia, Missouri, to join us before going to the mission house. It was a nice two bedroom home owned by North Haven Baptist Church and provided us good lodging while we were there. We really appreciated the hospitality afforded to us and were very comfortable.

On Tuesday Morning September 21^st, the conference started and our days were full and most enjoyable. Both Lee and I were able to participate. I taught a seminar on "Women in Ministry" on Tuesday afternoon and Lee spoke Tuesday afternoon and again on Thursday on "Back to Bible Basics." There were 22 college students and several adults from different ministries participating in this conference. It was a joy and a blessing to be a part and to encourage young people to serve the Lord in the area of youth ministry. There certainly is a need for youth workers today and an open door for them to minister. Our country is in need of revival and a renewal of recognition of God and His Word. Let us commit to pray for our country and these young people training to serve Him in that capacity.

Tami Dooms is the current president of "Youth Evangelism Association - YEA" and she did a terrific job of organizing and putting together this conference. It was indeed a wonderful time and a blessing as well as challenging and informative. We also greatly enjoyed the blessing of fellowship and ministering with Bob and Bernie Bland, founder and director, of "Teen Missions"of Merritt Island, Florida. Bob graduated from Arizona Bible Institute in the same class as Lee and I. So, it was so good to see them and visit with them also.

On the morning of Friday September 23^rd, we left Evansville and headed back to Grand Rapids. We would leave again on Saturday but wanted to change cars and pick up a trailer. Our travel trailer is being repaired by our son, Steve. It needed a new seal put in on the slide-out but when he came to do that he discovered there had been a great deal of water damage done to it and so he had to remove the front and the back and one whole side. He rebuilt all the frame work and replaced all the wood that had been damaged by water but it wasn't done yet for us to take so his "boss" Steve Austin, of "Happy Camper Repairs" offered to loan us a trailer for our next trip out. It is a nice trailer, 20 foot long but appears to be in real good shape. How, we appreciate his generosity and willingness to help us out. We have enjoyed this camp trailer and have been very comfortable in it. We got home Friday evening, picked up a Pizza for dinner, and unpacked the car. Then, I did a couple loads of laundry and repacked the suitcase so that we would be ready in the morning.

Saturday Morning, September 24^th, I went to a "Ladies Tea" at Grace Life Bible Church. It was an English Tea and was a very refreshing time. As soon as I got home, Lee said get in the car we have to leave. We had promised some friends we would visit them at their cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and be there in time for Church on Sunday morning. Well, needless to say there was a lot of stuff I forgot in my haste. At noon, we left in the trailer with no supplies for cooking, eating, or anything. Fun! But we were soon on our way. On the way there our Suburban decided to be ornery. We stopped for a hamburger and when we tried to start the car it wouldn't start. Lee found someone and asked for a "jump." It started right up so on we went. Then, I remembered I had forgot to bring any tennis shoes for hiking so we stopped at a Wal-Mart so I could get some shoes and a few grocery items, paper plates, cups, etc. I did my shopping and while in there Lee called me to say he had turned the car off and it wouldn't start again. So, we decided it must be the battery and since we were at Wal-Mart we would replace it; that we did and then were on our way again.

These delays didn't help us any in getting to our destination on time. Anyway all went well until we stopped to get gas and then the car wouldn't start again. Now, we knew it was not the battery but again Lee found someone to give us a "jump" and got it started. It has started ever since so who know what was wrong with it? It was just one of those mysterious things that happen to delay us and get our mind off of our ministry and the purpose for our trip. Satan likes to do that quite often.

Because we had promised to be there in time for church we kept on going. Until it got dark we had marveled at the beautiful fall colors. The trees had all turned and they were beautiful, the colors were so vivid - reds, oranges, browns and yellows. It was a beautiful drive. We kept on going until we got to Mass City, Michigan where Dick and Sandy Strong have their cabin. We took a nap in the car and waited until morning to call them and get directions to their cabin. We thought that was safer rather than trying to find them in the dark.

On Sunday Morning, September 26^th, we arrived at the cabin, we parked the car and trailer and got cleaned up for church and then went with Dick and Sandy for breakfast on our way to church. It was a small restaurant in Mass City

and we had a "Finnish Pancake" - very good but different. Then, we went on to the Assembly of God Church in Ontonagon. It was a good service, again a little different than normal because it was the pastor's last Sunday there - he is moving on. In the afternoon we relaxed at Dick and Sandy's sitting out by the fire pit, visiting and rejoicing in the things of the Lord. Christian fellowship is so wonderful.

On Monday and Tuesday, September 26 &28^th, Dick and Sandy took us sightseeing. Oh, what beautiful scenery and the historical spots were so interesting. We saw not only beautiful colors, but Jacob's Water Falls. We drove to the northernmost part of Michigan, Copper Harbor, on Lake Superior. We stopped at several scenic spots along the way, took lots of pictures and appreciated God's handiwork in creation as we drove along. We stopped at a gift shop called the "Jam Pot" which was run by the Byzantine Monks. That was interesting. I bought some lemon marmalade. The only other place I had seen or had it was when we were in England. We had a great time with Dick and Sandy Strong and enjoyed their hospitality very much. Their testimonies and love for the Lord were also a great encouragement and blessing to us. We had many discussions around the Word and that too was a blessing.

Thursday Morning, September 29^th, we left and were on our way to Green Lake, Wisconsin for the "Grace Revival for Evangelism." This was the ninth Grace Revival sponsored by Bible Doctrines to Live By, Inc. and we look forward to that Conference every other year. It is a lot of work to put it all together but worth it in the end.

We found a State Park and decided we would spend the night there. It was called the High Cliff State Park. We just stayed there Wednesday night and then moved on. I got on the internet and found several camp grounds near Green Lake and we finally decided on a KOA camp ground just out of Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin. We had made reservations for the dogs, Daisy, Sassy and Fiona to be boarded at a kennel in Fond Du Lac for their stay during the Conference. We stayed until Monday morning when we needed to be at the Conference Grounds in Green Lake.

This short stay has been a time of much needed rest, study and just getting caught up on some things. We really camped! I had bought a skillet in Wal-Mart so everything I cooked had to be with nothing but a skillet. Anyway it was better than the old pioneers crossing the country in wagon trains had it. We were warm, dry and our tummies were full. Praise the Lord it was a good break in our schedule. We also, had a good time getting to know the camp hosts and shared some literature and Gospel tracts with them.

Monday Morning, October 3^rd, We left the KOA campground Monday morning and drove to Fond Du Lac where we put the dogs in a kennel to stay during the conference and then on to the "Christian Conference Center" at Green Lake, Wisconsin. What can I say about the 9^th Grace Revival for Evangelism except that it was wonderful. Everything went on schedule. Joel and the office staff, Jan, Carolyn and Bev, had done a wonderful job in scheduling and organizing.

Lee spoke for the Thursday Evening Bible Hour on "Back to the Basics." The speakers were all good, challenging, inspiring and right on the subject. I especially enjoyed Bible teacher, Paul Sadler as he spoke on the "Drama of Redemption" at the morning Bible Hour. We need to be reminded often of the wonderful plan of redemption provided to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. So often we take our salvation for granted and become complacent and satisfied not thinking about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. Each and every speaker challenged us. We left motivated and excited about what the Lord is doing and what He can and will do through us if we just let Him use us to share the Gospel with others. As they say at Triple T Youth for Christ - "Christ through YOU can change the world." If there was a disappointment to me it was in the number of people involved. Our attendance was way down but what tremendous fellowship we had with all those in attendance. Another concern is the lack of young people, young pastors and youth ministers. The question I asked myself was "is it really the economy or is it apathy and a lack of compassion for winning the lost." Then, I see the large numbers attending and involved in sports activities and have to wonder if the economy is or is not affecting those things. Oh, that we could all be challenged and work together as a team in sharing the Gospel.

The afternoon "Ladies Tea" was a joy and time of good fellowship with each other and a challenge from the Word by Kathy Hanson. It was great!

On Sunday the 9^th of October, we decided to stop in Madison, Wisconsin and sit in on the "Berean Bible Fellowship Fall Bible Conference". This, we also enjoyed as six different speakers spoke on "What Grace Enables Us to Do." We were challenged and enjoyed each one. I especially enjoyed Pastor Floyd Baker from Evansville, Indiana as he spoke on the subject of "Love." He did a great job and was a real blessing. He is in his late 80's and still going strong; a great example of faithfulness and endurance in the Gospel. Pastor Baker is the pastor of the Berean Bible Church in Evansville where Lee and I ministered as pastors in the 1970s for five years.

On Monday the 10^th of October,we left the Conference and drove over to Fond du Lac and picked up the dogs and then started south to Livonia, Missouri where we would be helping Neil and Diana Schnaath winterize their apartment and the camp facilities at "Camp Victory." Somewhere on the way, we noticed we had a problem with the muffler on the Suburban. Our Suburban has 300,000 miles on it so it is just a matter of time before we start having some real problems. We drove on towards Livonia, stopping at a Wal-Mart to park for the evening. Lee looked under the Suburban to check it out and see what parts we needed and so then Tuesday we began looking for the parts to fix the muffler. We arrived in Kirksville, Missouri; a little south of where we turned off to Livonia and began searching for the parts. In the meantime, Lee had crawled under the Suburban again and decided it was a little more involved than he had first thought. So, after being unsuccessful in finding the parts we took it in to a Muffler Repair Shop and they were short-handed and couldn't help us but told us to take it to a place called Tires and Tailpipes. This we did and they were able to fix it right away. So, we unhooked the trailer and it was soon up on the hoist being repaired. We took out our lawn chairs and books and sat down expecting a long wait. In about 45 minute they drove the Suburban out of the garage and it sounded wonderful. Then, we went in to pay for the repairs. We were pleasantly surprised when they said the bill was $60.00. We went on our way rejoicing in the Lord and thanking Him for taking care of us once again.

We arrived at Victory Lane Grace Bible Church in Livonia, where Neil and Diana Schnaath are ministering, late in the afternoon. After we got the trailer parked, had a wonderful dinner and time of fellowship with Neil and Diana before retiring for the evening.

Tuesday the 11^th, Lee and Neil spent the day in the garage working on a tractor. Neil finally got it running in the afternoon. I helped Diana take some shirts, that were hanging in the chapel, down to fold them and pack them away for storage. It was a job that she had wanted done. Then in the afternoon Lee and Neil had started working on cutting up a tree that had fallen down during a wind storm so they could use it for fire wood this winter. So Diana and I went out and helped pick up some of the branches and pile some of the wood on the trailer to haul back up to the camp. Just about the time we finished and we had gone in to prepare dinner, Pastor Dick and Ruth Ware from Sheridan, Arkansas arrived and joined us for dinner. After dinner we toured some of the facilities at the camp and had a great time of fellowship.

Wednesday, after breakfast the Wares left and were on their way back to Arkansas. We drove into Kirksville so that Lee and Neil could get the items needed to put in a chimney for their wood burning stove. While they shopped for that Diana and I went to the Dollar Tree and to Wal-Mart to do some shopping. We met for lunch and then back to camp. In the afternoon, Lee and Neil began working on the chimney and got a good start on getting it put in. Diana and I went to the camp kitchen and I helped her clean out the refrigerators so they would be ready for use next summer. She had already started working on them so we just needed to wash them down and open them up to dry out. There were only 5 refrigerators to do; that done, we went to their "basement" apartment and had dinner and relaxed for the evening.

Thursday and Friday, Neil and Lee worked on putting in a chimney from their wood stove in the kitchen up through the ceiling; last winter they had improvised and run the chimney out the little kitchen window (the only window in their apartment). By Friday evening they had the chimney up and would be ready to test it on Monday.

Then, in the evening we went with Neil to the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys Business Meeting. The discussion was centered on plans for next year's Rodeo Bible Camp. Lee was a part of this past summer which he explains was one of the great highlights of our years ministry and is excited to have been invited to be a part next year, June 13-16, 2012.

On Saturday, October 15^th, we got in Neil's car and headed for their house in

e stoppedin Washington, Missouri to visit for an hour or so with Neil's mother, Virginia Schnaath. Virginia is 89 years old. It was a joy to visit with her and to know she still has a good sense of humor. Leaving Washington we went to Marthasville and got settled in for a night's rest.

Sunday Morning, October the 16^th,we drive in to St Louis for the "Centennial Celebration" of the St. Louis Bible Fellowship Church. It was a special day and we enjoyed a Gospel Concert presented by the Lester Family, a good message from Pastor Rick Owsley followed by a wonderful lunch of soup and salad and a great time of fellowship.

On the way back to Livonia we stopped in Columbia for dinner. Everyone was longing for some seafood and found a Red Lobster and enjoyed our meal and visit there.

Monday, it was back to work. Lee and Neil finished working on the chimney to discover it worked well and then began to run a heat duct over to the bedroom. That turned out to be a bigger job than anticipated but by Tuesday evening they had some heat in the bedroom.

Tuesday, October the 18^th, they got out the tractor and loaded a lot (over 4000 lbs.) of scrap metal on a trailer to take in for resale and recycling. That was a major job. In his spare time, Lee worked on gathering up some black walnuts (by the time we left he had four 50# dog food bags full).

While they were doing that, Diana put me to work unpacking and sorting through her collection of sewing and craft items and getting them set up in her new "craft room." We unloaded 12 pink 18 gallon plastic containers of things. It was fun and at least now she can see what she has and find them easier. She makes a lot of Afghans, and other crocheted and embroidered items for use around the camp. Diana also works as a nurse in a local small hospital three days a week. So, she is one busy lady! But, we got it all done.

Wednesday Morning the 19^th, Neil and Lee took the truck and load of metal in to town. Then in the late afternoon we drove to Bethany, Missouri to the "Toot Toot" Restaurant where we met Dan and Carolyn Heyle. There used to be a Grace Church in Bethany and Dan and Carolyn were part of that fellowship. Lee wanted Neil and Diana to meet these dear folks and since they are about an hour and a half away perhaps they could have some good fellowship in the future.

Thursday the 20^th, Diana and I went into Kirksville, Missouri to do some shopping and Lee and Neil took the starter off the tractor and into a shop in Unionville to get it repaired. Believe or not we got back from shopping before they got back! In the afternoon, we finished our unpacking project and Neil put the starter on the tractor and then he and Lee went to the camp kitchen and closed off a window that was open (it was where the exhaust fan in the kitchen was and didn't quite fit the window right); that done, we had dinner and a good evening of fellowship.

On Friday, Lee and Neil went to Unionville where they would help Tom Rowland prepare a trail and get ready for a "Trail Ride" sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys on Saturday. Diana had to get some sleep as she would work all night and Friday night usually presented a challenge at work what with emergencies, etc. So, I took advantage of a quiet day to do some reading and get caught up on writing this diary.

Saturday Morning, Lee and Neil saddled up the mules and loaded them into the trailer and by 11:00 was off to the "Fellowship of Christian Cowboys Trail Ride." Since Diana had worked Friday night and would be working again Saturday night, she went to bed to get some sleep. Again, I spent a quiet day, reading and doing some work on my computer as well as walking the dogs (all five of them - Daisy, Sassy, Fiona, Clementine and Jethro). They loved to walk to the pond and Jethro (Neil's dog and Fiona, our son Steve's dog) would jump in and swim for awhile). It was fun to watch them have a good time and gave me some good exercise. When Diana got up and was ready to go to work we had supper together and then I sat down to watch the news and wait for the trail riders to get back. They only have two channels. Well, there was football on one and duck hunting on the other so I went over to our trailer and got my book. That was way more interesting. The men came home and reported a good day and that there had been 40 plus riders. Lee had been given the privilege to speak to the group before they had their chili supper. He was able to share the Gospel with them by using his cowboy ropes and whips. Praise the Lord for another opportunity to speak out for Christ.

Sunday Morning, October 23^rd, we got up early, packed up and after a cup of coffee with Neil we were on our way. We did take the "long way" home by going to Des Moines and there was able to visit with Frank and Cari and get hugs from Giovanni and Chloe before heading for Grand Rapids after breakfast on Monday morning.

We got back into Grand Rapids about 9:30 Monday Night. I have to admit it was good to be home and to be able to sleep in our own bed. The next two days we spent unloading the trailer. We always wonder how we got so much stuff packed into such a small area. Then there was laundry and just getting things put away and back where it all belongs. On Saturday morning, we had a Board Meeting at Bible Doctrines to Live By Office. So, we were soon back in the saddle at home and the office. Now, we will be in Grand Rapids for awhile and have a list of projects we want to get done during the winter months.

We thank you so much for your interest and support and especially for your prayers as are now headed into winter. We will continue to focus on the call of God on our lives during the winter months. We will do so by seasons of prayer, study, writing and scheduling Crossroad Crusades and Cowboy Camps for 2012. Our BDTLB Board has graced us by appointing us to be their "Ambassadors At Large." Thus, like Paul the Apostle, we feel urged in our spirit to "go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do" (Acts 15:36).We look forward to seeing you during the 2012 Roundup! We promise to pray for you and ask that you continue to pray for us as we now begin the scheduling for 2012. May the Lord bless you all and trust you will have a happy Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas and prosperous New Year!

Winning, working and waiting!

Darlene "Dolly" Homoki

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