Harmonies Jan-April

God's been Good! 02-14&15-2009   We left Bethel about 8am on Saturday morning and headed to House Springs, MO! We were so excited about seeing some Tri-State graduates, Bro. Matt and Mrs. Stephanie Dudley (who are both former college singers). On our way we stopped for breakfast at a McDonald's, there a lady who was cleaning the restroom, Mrs. Rosalynn, bowed her head and trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour! Praise Him! When we arrived, Bro. Matt took us to see his "old building" where Grace Baptist Church met before they OUTGREW the building. How it thrilled our hearts to see the Lord working in his life and in his church. The Harmonies stayed with Carl and Jaelynn Strosnider (who also attended TSBC)- what a BLESSING they were, we felt right at home. Everyone was so giving and accomodating to our needs! Saturday night Bro. Sexton preached at their adult valentine's banquet and the Harmonies babysat for the dudley's- those boys are a ball of energy and we loved every minute of it (especially the Cecil Whitaker's pizza!) Sunday morning was AMAZING! The Grace Baptist Church is on FIRE for the Lord! Bro. Matt preached on "God's love Language" God SO loved us, AMEN! Sunday afternoon we went to a local mexican restaurant, and the Harmonies invited a table of ladies seated nearby to the services for Sunday night. PRAISE THE LORD they came! Bro. Sexton preached on "Come Clean" and many hearts were touched, the altars were filled! The Harmonies sang in both services and the teen church which met on Sunday afternoon. Monday morning we (sadly) left and headed back home. The Lord used this trip to show us that He's alive and still working in people's lives! We may face tough times but through it all- God's been good! The Lord gave us travelling mercies again, and we arrived safely home about 1pm on Monday.

Friends, Food and Fellowship 02-22-2009  The Harmonies loaded up and headed about an hour and a half away from Tri-State to the Hurricane Baptist Church, pastored by Bro. Philip Brock (a TSBC graduate)in Hurricane, MS.  The church has been there for almost three quarters of a century, but they have a new buliding - which they PRAISE the Lord for! The facilities are first class, and so are the people. We sang several songs and Bro. Sexton preached. The church family got together and hosted a pot-luck style dinner for us in the fellowhip hall. The food was great and the friendliness was overwhelming. We enjoyed our short time with the people there. The Harmonies, having grown up at the Bethel Baptist Church of Walls, MS, have met several college students, some of which are out in the ministry today. Such is the case of Bro. Philip and Perry Brock. Their precious example of waiting on God's timing to bring them together for His use has been an encouragement to the Harmonies. It was good to see familiar faces, but even better to see the Lord working through them. We arrived safely home around 10:30 on Sunday night.

When the youth meeting's for YOU 3-14-2009  We set out for Fulton,MS about 2:30pm on Saturday. We enjoyed out last meeting with Bro. Strawn and were looking forward to being with that dear man of God again. We arrived right on time for the meeting to start and did not slip in unnoticed! We were greeted by several familiar faces, and warm hugs from the teens of Lighthouse Baptist Church. The service started with some fun games and a round of Bible triva from the Gospels (we didn't know quite as much as we thought we did, lol). The church prepared a WONDERFUL meal for all the teens that came to the meeting- AND US! We had a good time of fellowship before returning to the sanctuary for PREACHIN! Bro. Sexton preached a message with points that pierced the heart- No Reserves! No Retreats! No Regrets! it was a reminder to the Harmonies that even though you may be facing a trial in your life- God's good! We went to a meeting centered for youth- but the message was definitely for US! Praise the Lord that we have a Man of God that prayerfully prepares His sermons, not only for the meeting- but for us. Sometimes you get so used to traveling with people that you forget who 'they are'. We love Bro. David and Mrs. Heather Sexton and words could never express how thankful we are for them, week after week they pack up their family and take us to meetings. What a blessing this couple is to the Harmonies! We arrived safely back home around 9pm Saturday.

Back to the Basics 3-15-2009  We left at 1pm on Sunday- WHEW! what a whirlwind of a morning! Between our bus routes and Sunday school classes, the Harmonies welcomed a four hour trip in what is lovingly now referred to as "Hotel Van". We headed to the Cherith Baptist Church in Carson, MS. We had never been to this church or even met the Pastor and were very excited about a new experience such as this one. We were NOT let down when we arrived at the church. A building tucked away down a gravel road in the midst of what reminded us of our teen camp days awaited us.  We unloaded and went into the church. The scene was more than we could imagine, cabins in view from the buliding, massive trees surrounding the property; it was AMAZING! Bro. Jack Andrews and his granddaughter, Miley, greeted us and helped us feel right at home. There was no sound system in the church but the acoustics were great! We practiced a new song entitled "I have been Blessed". When we sang the song during the service, it was hard to keep composure as we thought about all the ways we had been blessed. Bro. Sexton preached "But God". We may be in an economic crisis- BUT GOD! He is in control of every situation we face. We loved the people at the Cherith Baptist Church, they treated us as though we had been best friends forever! After church we tried a local restaurant called Ward's…the food was good, but the most memorable part is when Bro. David had us sing for the crew working there! He stood snickering in the corner as we belted out "Let it Shine" as the workers crowded behind the counter. What a night! We drove back in the pouring rain and returned home after midnight. The Lord BLESSED us with safety and alertness on the road.

Honored! 3-29-2009 We packed up and headed to the Gulfport,MS area about 10am Saturday. We were privileged to stay in the B.E.A.M.S. boarding facilities. What a blessing it was to have spacious rooms and a scenic area in which to study. The ladies, however, spent most of their "senic study time" at the Edgewater (I think that's the name) Mall in Gulfport. Ü Sunday morning we were with the Berean Baptist Church in Wiggins, MS, led by Pastor Leonard Smith. The family feeling in that church was a 'warming' experience depsite the chilly weather outside. The Pastor and his wonderful wife encouraged our hearts as they told us that they drove over an hour ONE WAY to church. It was "no big deal" to them; they were just serving Jesus! Bro. Sexton preached "Thanks for Calvary- but it's just not enough" a sermon geared towards not only the lost sinner but to the backslidden Christian. It was a blessing to see the group that came out that morning, the area around there had been flooded due to a recent rain. The church provided a wonderful meal for us afterwards, for which we were more than grateful! Sunday night we were with the Faith Baptist Church in Gulfport, MS, led by Dr. Dan Carr, Sr. It was a treat for us to be there because it almost felt like home away from home. Bro. Dan Carr, Jr. (the youth pastor at Faith) is a Tri-State graduate. We were invited to go soulwinning with the teen group. We saw two souls trust Jesus! Praise the Lord! We were fired up and ready for church that night. Bro. Dan Carr, Sr. preached "Some reasons why people fall out". Boy, was it good. He layed his heart out for his people that night. He knows logically that not everyone will stay in church their whole lives, but his 'want to' for that to happen is so evident. We sang several songs and at the end of the service Bro. Carr had us come back and sing "I have been Blessed" again. A sweet family in the church took us out after church to Cracker Barrel. This family has been a blessing to us everytime we have been at this church, one time they provided housing for the Harmonies (among many other things such as a goodie basket and wonderful meals after services). They have  such a servant's heart and we are honored to have met them. The Lord protected us on our long trip home- we arrived about 3:30am that morning. It was a 'good tired'- that kind that is worth it because you know you have been doing what God wants you to do! There is no empty feeling in the Lord's work! What an honor it is  to serve the Lord!

Reasonable Service 04-19-2009 When you stop and think about your life, all that you do day in and day out, the places you go and the people you see; what is 16.8 hours? The obvious answer is 1,008 minutes. But the real answer is this- reasonable service! How so? You see, 16.8 hours is a tithe of our time each week. The tithe is 10% of the first fruit of your increase. Someone may automatically think that just means monetary increase, but I would call another day to breathe free air increase! The tithe is given back to the Lord. So, of our week we need to give back to the Lord 16 hours and 48 minutes. This 16.8 hours could include our Bible reading, prayer time, soulwinning, ministering to others, studying for a Sunday School lesson, working on a bus route and much more. The Bible says in Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." I would say that in comparison to what our Lord has done for us, 16.8 hours would indeed be a reasonable service to Him. With that being said, the Harmonies and the Sexton family loaded up for a 'reasonable service' trip to Hope, AR, which is about 4 hours away from Tri-State Baptist College. We were with the Grace Baptist Church Pastored by Bro. Terry Basham II. His loving wife, Mrs. Valerie, was a blessing with her uplifting spirit! The people there were very receptive to the singing and preaching. The Lord is too good to use people like us to serve Him. The Lord protected our travels and we arrived safely home about 12:30am. Praise the Lord for another chance to serve. **Please continue to pray for the Harmonies and the Sexton family as our travels increase through the summer. Our #1 goal is to please the Lord in all that we do! When praying for our group please do not forget our other travelling group, that travel with the Fletcher family. Together these groups hope to spread the knowledge that there is still a college looking for people with a heart to serve the Lord!   Mr. Joyful 4-26-09 We were in Russellville, AL this past weekend with Pastor Jimmy Lumpkin and the people of Grace Baptist Church. Bro. Sexton made the comment before we even got there that "Bro. Lumpkin is one of the nicest men you'll ever meet". That statement proved true time and time again as the night progressed. His loving spirit and jovial attitude was a joy to experience. The congregation was just as kind as their Preacher was, they enjoyed the singing and were very receptive to the preaching. One man, Carlos, commented "I've never heard angels sing, but I believe these girls are close". Obviously, we don't think that about how we sound, but it was a blessing to hear his words of encouragement. Bro. Sexton preached about being distracted in our Christian lives, it was 'real good'! After service the Preacher took us out and we enjoyed just listening to his stories about the ministry. It was a privlege to have met this dear man of God. We arrived safely home around 11:30pm. **Three Harmonies (Ashley, Kim and Tracy) will be graduating from Tri-State this weekend. Commencement services will start at 6pm on Sunday night, May 3, 2009.