Comments:
I have been in full-time ministry since 1964. I went to college in Missouri and met my wife there. We were married in October, 1964. We have two sons and four grandsons. They are all living in Texas. We spent several years in a travelling ministry when our sons were small.
We pastored churches in Michigan, Missouri, Florida and Texas. We were at our last church for ten years. This was in Wills Point, Texas.
We retired from our last pastorate in 2008 and returned to our home in Neosho, Missouri. We had purchased this during our tenure at Abundant Life Assembly of God in Neosho. Therefore, it was ready for us when we retired.
Since retirement, we have purchased a small mobile Locksmith business. (Now named Phil's Lock Shop.) This is keeping Phil out of trouble and about as busy as he wants to be.
We do some volunteer work for our church organization as RV Volunteers. This helps to build churches and maintain Camp Grounds, etc. It is quite rewarding. This group of volunteers helped us build the last church we pastored and we feel like this is pay back for all the wonderful help they were to us.
JANUARY 21, 11
Time goes too fast! It doesn't seem possible it's over 4 months since the reunion! Things are going well for us. We were able to go to Texas and be with both boys and their families for Thanksgiving. Our part time locksmithing business is doing well and helps so much to feel more of a part of the city we reside in. We are now working on making original keys and/or duplicating transponder keys, which have chips in them(most late model cars have them) Quite a challengle but it's coming.
August, 2011
Neosho is only 17 miles or so away from Joplin, where the tremendous tornado hit on
Sunday, May 22, killing 160 people and leaving great devastation of homes, businesses, the high school and a large hospital. I am sure you saw the national news pictures but people who have seen the actual sites usually say that the pictures did not do justice to how bad it really was. But, God has done grerat work and people from all over responded to help in so many ways. Yesterday, Aug. 17, the school opened on time, the high school in completly different buildings. We went to church in Joplin that Sunday morning and was in Joplin less than 6 hours before it struck. We ate at a piza place which was one that was destroyed along with many businesses, including a Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Chruches were destroyed but the one we were at was on the outskirts and was spared damage but the pastor's house was destroyed as it was right in the milddle of the storm. In all the "badness" of the storm, there were the good things and the sad things: the high school had their graduation that afternoon but held it at a college instead of the high school, which was destroyed. Had the graduation been therre so many more would have been killed or injured. One of the graduates was with his father in a car with a sun roof when the tornato struck. It sucked the son out of the sunroof with the father, failing to hold unto him, while the sun was quoting the Word of God while he left. All in all, it was a very sad situation but one could also see the love of God flow through so many people in so many ways. As for us, things are going well with us and I am learning much more about the locksmithing business!
