Dear Landmark Church Family -
The meetings are going well. I am enjoying the time spent with Randy Taylor and the tent revival crew. We are in Pennsylvania now, and the scenery around here is gorgeous; they have rolling hills covered with thick forests all over the place. There's also some rivers nearby, but the water isn't as clear as what we have in Michigan.
We set up the tent this week in a parking lot. There was about six inches of gravel and loose dirt and after that it was rock. The rock bed was some kind of slate rock, so we could drive through it, but it was hard. Our regular sledgehammers weren't doing so well driving the tent stakes into the ground, so one of the men of the church brought out his 20-pound sledge. What was really a blessing, though, was when they brought out a jackjammer! :) I accidentally hit someone else in the leg with a sledgehammer. You probably know him because he worked at the camp this summer; his name is Brandon something-or-other. He did a good job at not swearing. :)
We also had to do a good job storm-proofing the tent because some tropical storms or hurricanes or something like that were supposed to come through this are. We just caught a bit of one yesterday, with heavy winds and rains. I am running the P. A. system for the meetings, and last night was unlike anything I've ever done. Humidity is difficult to deal with when doing sound, but last night most of my cords were under water! I actually had my feet in a little river that ran right down the middle of the tent, and I know it passed right under the main electrical board too!
Your prayers for safety are much appreciated. :)
Speaking of safety, our meetings for the next two weeks are swapped; we will be going to Baltimore next week (the 16th) and then on to Virginia the following week. Please keep us in your prayers; we are told Baltimore is a high crime area, and the Taylors are already preparing extra security.
The Lord has been giving me some more direction on things to do when I get back to Landmark. When I first gave up all my own plans on how I was going to serve Him, I was scared that I would end up without anything to do. But He keeps me busier than I was expecting!
I'm staying with the Johnson's this week (Daydra's family). Mr. Johnson works in logistics research for experimental weapons with the army. He's got a bronze star for his Desert Shield / Desert Storm action, and tonight we stayed up until midnight talking about his current work. He's working on a gun that shoots 25mm rounds without sandbags, weighs 40-something pounds and has an advanced targeting system. This system will determine distance to target with a laser, and then will take into account wind and weather conditions using sensors. It can also use visual recognition to account for target movement automatically. Also, the rounds it fires each contain an embedded computer that can be programmed to detonate the round in the air, so it is possible to hit targets hiding behind walls or around corners. It's already in field testing; they're being used in Iraq right now. I could write much more about the autonomous vehicles they're developing with DARPA, but that would be boring to most people...
We got a great blessing at last week's revival: the founding pastor had passed away a few years ago, and wanted his library to be sold cheaply to preachers and preacher boys. I restrained myself and only bought 33 books. :) I've started reading "Lessons in the School of Prayer" by Arthur Pierson and am enjoying it thoroughly.
I do miss you and am praying for you constantly.
This week we were all assigned to bus routes; it's good to be working with the children again! Tonight on the bus I preached "Father of the Fatherless," which is my personal favorite sermon. Yesterday out soulwinning, the assistant pastor, Mr. Stidham, backed the van into a ditch and we had to be pulled out - he also is the driver for our bus route! Your prayers for safety are much appreciated. :) So far, all is going well. Must get going; I'll get less than 6 hrs sleep as it is!
Thank you for your prayers. Love you all -
-Stephen Cleary