Is anyone else wandering where January went to? I guess one positive thing about February being here already, is that we are one month closer to spring!Can I get an AMEN??

The month of January kept our family very busy.  As we look back over the last month, we rejoice in the safety, rest and health He provided and stand amazed at the things He has done. Despite trying to keep up with jobs here at home, we have sung in 20 concerts / services and traveled close to 8,000 miles. Of course, we are thrilled to say that 12 of those services were in the warm climates of Texas, Florida and the Carribean! :) On Thursday evening Jan. 22, the bus headed towards Atlanta, GA for our Friday evening concert. It has been a blessing to get to know Tere Ayers the last 3 or 4 years. This lady loves Southern Gospel Music! We have sung for her family in NY and this was our 2nd time to be at her church, Campbellton United Methodist in Fairburn, GA. Tere has been blessed with a tremendous voice and we were thrilled to have her sing several songs before our family sang. Although the crowd was small, we had a wonderful time! Afterwards, the ladies of the church had prepared dinner and it was delicious!

On Saturday evening, we were back at Grace World Outreach in Brooksville, FL. We joined forces with all the other groups of Magnify Ministries to shoot a DVD. All the groups involved in the evening did a fantastic job! It was an extra blessing to have Worship Leader Bryan Warren and the Grace World choir join us on the program. We believe the Lord touched many lives that night, including ours. It was a very special night.

Sunday morning marked our 3rd time to be at Beach United Methodist Church in Ft. Myers Beach, FL. Unfortunately Pastor Jeannie Davis was gone attending a conference. She is a real hoot and we really missed not seeing her and her husband. We sang for both morning worship services and it was amazing to see so many of our friends from IL that showed up. Folks, you have always heard the saying it's a small world.........It really is!!  It was great to see the Smiths, the Fouts, the Kinsers, and many more but the most special thing for us, was to see Mrs. JoAnn Eaten.  JoAnn recently underwent hip replacement and she had told us a couple weeks ahead of time that she would not be able to attend. What a joy to see her smiling face on the front row next to her wonderful husband Stan. Stan had provided a delicious chicken casserole and salad for lunch. Thanks Stan, you took directions from your wife very well and the meal was delicious! Ha Ha! It was a great morning and we so appreciate Beach UMC for inviting our family once again.

Sunday evening took us back to the east side of the state to 1st UMC in Coral Springs. Pastor and Mrs. Gaylord Buss used to Pastor in Pekin, IL and we sang for them several years ago. They are now retired and enjoying life in the beautiful community of Coral Springs. We were thrilled when we received the invitation to come be with them! The Lord is doing great things at 1st United Methodist Church. We had a blast that night! The crowd was energetic and ready to worship the Lord. We so appreciate Bro. Keith Miller and all his hard work in preparing for the evening. Thank you to each and every one who attended that night and welcoming us with open arms! Needless to say, we can't wait to go back to Coral Springs!

 It was great to have our friends the Wanda Mountain Boys attend our concert Sunday night. They are apart of Magnify ministries and were on the cruise with us. They had Sunday evening off so they came to join us. We love them guys like family!(Please prayfor Rod Hannis's family. Rod received word last Sunday morning on our way home that his brother Royalhad passed away suddenly.)

 Monday-Saturday we were on board the beautiful Carnival Destiny which left out of Miami on Monday afternoon. Our ports of call were Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk. (we won't lie, every single one of us wish we could have stayed on the beach in Half Moon Cay! ha) We had wonderful services on the ship each night. We were joined on board with the Wanda Mountain Boys, Tim Lovelace, Colonial City Qt, 2nd Generation, John Darin Rowsey, Bill Schell and Young Song. The messages were brought by Pastor David Garcia. Pastor Garcia is a tremendous Pastor and preached some very challenging messages. Several people were saved throughout the week and we praise the Lord for working in those lives!

We love you all and hope to see you soon!
Blessings!
The Chosen Ones