Post by Richard McFarland on Oct 17, 2007 1:39:46 GMT -5
I was not born into the truth but I got here as fast as I could!
This seems to be about the best way to put my experience. When I was still a stroller rider my folks would take me for walks in the evenings and on occasion passed by a home with a meeting in the yard. They walked on.
By the time I was two years old my folks had moved from Austin to Houston and this is where my middle brother was born. My folks sought a church and found a Church of Christ which mom loved but gave my dad reason to read further than the preacher seemed to wish to allow when giving his sermons. My dad found hollow places.
By the time I was around 4 years old my mom was talking to her sister who lived in north Texas and she told her sister that she had found a church and it was "a lot like yours." My aunt and uncle were professing people.
It wasn't long before my parents got a visit from two homeless ministers who brought the Spirit and Word of Christ to them and could answer fully my dad's questions.
These men were named Roy Jennings and Alfred Waterfield and my folks soon professed and had to move back to Austin because of my dad's union job.
We had a small house in town and went to Sunday Meeting at Roy Sansom's and soon my folks rented his parents original home on Sansom Road (of course) where we walked to meeting and my brothers and I (now we were 3) fished in Roy's lake and hosted some of the now departed Workers; Jim McLeod (who shot my BB gun in the house not realizing a kid of 9 had a toy like that, but he missed any glass!), Eva Thompson and more and some who have had to leave the Work because of health such as James Walden. (and now he is near again!)
I was not born in the truth but I was raised in it and had the great pleasure of hosting some men workers to fishing in the lake. These men and women were like family to me and Roy Sansom our elder was like another grandpa. He even saw me and my brother using his boat (with permission) and I was paddling and Roger was bailing! The next day the old wooden boat was gone from his mooring and in its place was a shiny new aluminum one!
As time progressed and Roy too frail to continue Meetings they moved Meeting up the road a bit to his son's home and until two weeks ago we worshiped there and shared fellowship with our Lord and friends.
I professed at 13 in convention in Austin but consider Lecil Sullivan as the one who helped me decide to make my choice. He was in Austin with Harry KcKelvy for two seasons and they were instrumental in Spiritual strength as well as emotional strength because during that time my middle brother nearly died during open heart surgery at 9 years old and lost everything and had to start over as a babe. I was 11 then.
I have professed for 37 years. I've made mistakes and I've deliberately disobeyed. I am weak but He is strong. There is no other place I would rather be on this earth than sharing fellowship with the Lord's people.
Georgetown Convention begins tomorrow and I will be there, as they say, the Lord willing. I'm not sure if I would know anyone from the list or board if I saw them but if you see this short but devastatingly handsome 51 year old daddy with a goatee and a very cute redheaded 6 year old hanging on to him, that will probably be me. Goatee, yeah, I'm a rebel!
Oh, one more thing. I usually wear Hawaiian shirts except for Sunday! ...and maybe on Sundays if I can find a tie to go with the shirt!
With Love and Peace to each,
Richard
This seems to be about the best way to put my experience. When I was still a stroller rider my folks would take me for walks in the evenings and on occasion passed by a home with a meeting in the yard. They walked on.
By the time I was two years old my folks had moved from Austin to Houston and this is where my middle brother was born. My folks sought a church and found a Church of Christ which mom loved but gave my dad reason to read further than the preacher seemed to wish to allow when giving his sermons. My dad found hollow places.
By the time I was around 4 years old my mom was talking to her sister who lived in north Texas and she told her sister that she had found a church and it was "a lot like yours." My aunt and uncle were professing people.
It wasn't long before my parents got a visit from two homeless ministers who brought the Spirit and Word of Christ to them and could answer fully my dad's questions.
These men were named Roy Jennings and Alfred Waterfield and my folks soon professed and had to move back to Austin because of my dad's union job.
We had a small house in town and went to Sunday Meeting at Roy Sansom's and soon my folks rented his parents original home on Sansom Road (of course) where we walked to meeting and my brothers and I (now we were 3) fished in Roy's lake and hosted some of the now departed Workers; Jim McLeod (who shot my BB gun in the house not realizing a kid of 9 had a toy like that, but he missed any glass!), Eva Thompson and more and some who have had to leave the Work because of health such as James Walden. (and now he is near again!)
I was not born in the truth but I was raised in it and had the great pleasure of hosting some men workers to fishing in the lake. These men and women were like family to me and Roy Sansom our elder was like another grandpa. He even saw me and my brother using his boat (with permission) and I was paddling and Roger was bailing! The next day the old wooden boat was gone from his mooring and in its place was a shiny new aluminum one!
As time progressed and Roy too frail to continue Meetings they moved Meeting up the road a bit to his son's home and until two weeks ago we worshiped there and shared fellowship with our Lord and friends.
I professed at 13 in convention in Austin but consider Lecil Sullivan as the one who helped me decide to make my choice. He was in Austin with Harry KcKelvy for two seasons and they were instrumental in Spiritual strength as well as emotional strength because during that time my middle brother nearly died during open heart surgery at 9 years old and lost everything and had to start over as a babe. I was 11 then.
I have professed for 37 years. I've made mistakes and I've deliberately disobeyed. I am weak but He is strong. There is no other place I would rather be on this earth than sharing fellowship with the Lord's people.
Georgetown Convention begins tomorrow and I will be there, as they say, the Lord willing. I'm not sure if I would know anyone from the list or board if I saw them but if you see this short but devastatingly handsome 51 year old daddy with a goatee and a very cute redheaded 6 year old hanging on to him, that will probably be me. Goatee, yeah, I'm a rebel!
Oh, one more thing. I usually wear Hawaiian shirts except for Sunday! ...and maybe on Sundays if I can find a tie to go with the shirt!
With Love and Peace to each,
Richard
