Ministry date in Gobles, Mi.

This past Sunday was Father's Day, and I think that it was one of the best meeting that Josh and I have ever done. We went down to a little town called Gobles, Mi. To give you an idea of how small this town was, think back to the last time you saw the Andy Griffith Show. Remember how they always talked about how small,and quiet Mayberry, NC was? Well, Gobles would make Mayberry look like Dodge City on Saturday night!
We went to a little Baptist church called Calvary Baptist Church. We had met the pastor through two of his Daughters, whom we had become friends with at Midwestern Baptist College, and he invited us to come out to his church for Sunday school and the morning and evening services. They were gearing up for their Vacation Bible School (with a western cowboy/Indian theme) and had half of the church decorated for the coming week. Since this meeting was about three hours away, we asked the pastor to arrange for a place for us to stay the night so that we could come down there on Saturday afternoon and set up, instead of getting up before a sensible rooster would dare to attempt and drive down there VERY early to set up for three services. He agreed, and arranged a place for us to stay.
All was well until Saturday morning when we ran into a slight hitch: a tornado swept through the town the night before and knocked out power in most of the town, including in the church and the cabin that we were supposed to stay at! The Pastor's wife called me and said that they had made new arrangements for us to stay in a motel that had power, and we could still come down to set up our stuff and do a sound check the next day when the power came back on. We did.... but the power did not come back on the next morning! Fortunately, a church member there loaned us his generator to restore enough power for lights and sound (but unfortunately, not enough for A/C) and we did the Sunday school and morning service. Power finally was restored that afternoon, and the evening service went very well.
The people were wonderful. They seemed to appreciate everything that we did. We did our kid's show with magic, puppets, clowns, etc. for Sunday school, and everyone was totally into it, including the adults! The other services went just as well. We did music and comedy for the morning service and I preached. For the evening service, we did more music and Josh presented a message through a sort-of object lesson. The people responded well to it all, bought CDs, and were very encouraging. The Pastor's wife and girls cooked exceptional meals for us on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and they went out of their way to treat us like royalty.
Sometimes it seems like the small meetings are better than the large ones (which can be pretty seldom with us, sometimes). I feel this way because in smaller settings, we get a better chance to be personable with the people, and they can do the same with us. It also seems like smaller churches are often more appreciative of our service to them and the Lord.
Whatever the case may have been, I just want to say thanks to Pastor Doug Yoder and family for making our stay pleasurable, they meals delectable, the services spiritual and comfortable, and our whole experience together memorable!


-Stephen