February 2007                                                               (view current photo album)

Dear Family and Friends

YES, it is that time of year again and we are blessed to participate in the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering along with each of you. This offering supports the many missionaries who serve throughout the United States and North America and are appointed by the North American Mission Board. At times people fail to recognize them as missionaries because they are not serving on foreign fields but their responsibilities are great whether it be as church planters, resort missionaries, campus ministers, military chaplains, ministry evangelists, DOMs, etc. These are the people who reach out in areas where there aren't churches on every corner and not every child grew up going to VBS. Some will hear of it for the first time from one of these missionaries you support with your gift. We encourage you to give what you can that others may know Jesus through you, a PARTNER with the missionaries who serve.

A beautiful sunrise on the lake

Sunset At Gulf Shores

Our time here at Gulf Shores has been a little different than our summer ministry. During the winter months we are serving as chaplains/park ministers at the State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama and Butch is preaching every Sunday either here or at Luxury RV Park. We served there two years ago when this area had been destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. It has taken until this year to get all of the sites opened again. There are still problems that are being worked on daily, and some have finally been partially resolved. We finally were allowed into one end of the activities building on Super Bowl Sunday to conduct our worship services and that is definitely an answer to prayer. We had been using the game room and, although it did give us protection from the weather, it is extremely small and connected to the laundry room. We were really pushing it to get 50-75 people in there and it could get very noisy with the machines running next door and some people were not concerned about the worship service. We can now seat over 100 people and hopefully when the other end of the building is completed it will be closer to 150-200. Most of the people here are “snowbirds” who have been coming to this area for several years and enjoy being able to walk and ride bicycles as well as fish in this area. Many are closely connected to Jeff Ford, the resort missionary who has been here since 1999. Jeff and Butch have been alternating Sundays but Jeff is going to be kept very busy for the rest of this winter preaching at other churches about missions and being featured as one of the missionaries from AL highlighted during the Week of Prayer for Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. We are blessed to work with him but have actually seen little of him this winter. He is a friend too of Brad Lartigue, the Resort Missionary we will be serving with during the summer in West Yellowstone, Montana. It turns out to be a small world when you are a missionary and serving God wherever He leads.

SuperBowl Sunday in Activities Building

Service outside

One of our missions this winter has been to visit some of the local churches and speak to the ladies of the WMU. This has been a real blessing to us since the WMU was so instrumental in our becoming involved in missions. Way back in 1987 an article in a Royal Services Magazine (now Missions Mosaic) had an article in it about the Christian Service Corps and the Mission Service Corps. Until reading that article Butch and I had not been able to get any answers as to how we could serve as full-time volunteers in missions. Even then no one on the local or state level seemed to have any answers but after sending in an application through that magazine to the Home Mission Board (now North American Mission Board) and being screened and having references approved we were accepted for assignment as Missionaries. That's all ancient history now and we have been serving ever since. As MSC missionaries we are self-funded and receive no funds from the cooperative program but we do want to thank our church, Westwood Baptist, Alabaster, AL for the $ 100.00 a month the missions committee voted to send us over this past year. It has certainly helped with the travel since our ministries have been from the southeast coast to the northwest . Our assignment in the summer is especially difficult since all supplies require a trip of 200 miles roundtrip and that is usually at least every other week and everything we do with the students in the park is usually at least 75 miles round trip. It is not as difficult in the winter so that helps. We thank others who have helped out as they could and just want you all to remember that you are a big part of everything we do. Without your prayerful support we could not do the things we do and there are so many times we feel your prayers lifting us when we are down. God bless each of you for caring.

WMU Eastern Shore

WMU Fairhope

Now for an update on our family: We are closer to George, Juli, Carly, and Lily Grace than we have been since Lily Grace was born. We have seen her a few times and of course enjoyed every moment of those. George came over and preached here one Sunday for Jeff and we made it back from the other park in time to hear our son preach for the very first time. Maybe it's a mother's pride but we really felt that he did a great job and that God certainly had His hands on him. He was scheduled to preach here twice in March but God has other plans. He has been called as the Minister of Youth at Seven Hills Baptist Church in Mobile , AL pending a yes vote by the church body after he speaks on the 25th. This position is bi-vocational but could become full-time staff as the youth grow if he is the man God has chosen for that position. Please lift he and Juli in prayer as he also seeks a secular job to provide for the family. This will be a tremendous change for them as a family. They have been very active members of FBC Tilman Corners for many years where Carly has grown from the nursery to the youth program. They have a new little one to begin in the nursery and Daddy will be very busy with the youth program with Mommy at his side, I am sure. Cassie and Anthony are still in Alabaster and he is really growing into quite a young man. Hard for us to believe how fast he is growing up. He is doing well in the band and really likes skateboarding, even after his skull fracture when he scared all of us so badly. Lily Grace decided at Christmas time that she liked having an Uncle Anthony. This is one of the hardest parts of being missionaries, knowing that our time with the grandchildren and children is so limited but we are thankful they have good church families.

Getting to Listen to George Preaching



Lily Grace, Juli, and Carli Worship Outside too

Cassie and Anthony During a Loving Moment

Cassie and Anthony Waiting for Santa

Happy Lily Grace

Lily Grace and Carly

Our time here will be over at the end of March. We have Mardi Gras parades coming up this next week right out here on the Beach road and then we are going to make a quick trip to Titus, AL to see some of our family that we haven't seen in many years. That is a long story and maybe for another time but just know it is one that is bringing joy to my heart and peace to my soul. That says more than anything else I could explain. God bless each of you and know that we love you and miss you. Continue praying for us and know we pray for you and yours.

Serving our Lord in His Name,

Vi and Butch

As Mother Teresa liked to say, “We cannot all do great things, but we can each do small things with great love.”