Saturday Evening, March 26
One of the ladies who was overseeing the banquet at Yoder’s Restaurant was pleased to find this photo to direct people to the banquet hall.
We arrived three hours early (3 PM). The waitresses were busy setting up for our banquet.
A few hours later (6 PM) the room was filled with 653 people – enjoying a delicious meal prepared and served by Yoder’s staff.
I didn’t think about taking a photo when our cart contained full serving dishes of ham balls, chicken, buttered noodles, mashed potatoes and vegetables.
We started with fruit and a fresh salad. Dessert was pie and ice cream.
Following the meal, the program began with a half-hour program by The Jonathans from Bremen, Georgia.
During our half-hour TFC ministry update, this businessman shared how the positive influence of Transport For Christ staff impacted his business.
Bunny, TFC’s Director of Pastoral Care for Chaplains, shared a letter from a policeman who told about the good influence of a chapel in an Ohio truck stop, and shared some ministry information.
Martha Martin introduced her four girls before sharing a bit about her journey of grace through grief.
Martha’s first husband, Dwayne, and two sons, Chadwin and Derrick, were killed in a truck accident in August 2008. Their second daughter was born a short time after the accident.
Her marriage to Conrad Martin.
She did a fabulous job of sharing her journey of grief and their journey of establishing a new family with her two girls and now their two girls.
Gene Gehman was the MC for the evening, and invited the trucker’s wives to stand and be recognized for their faithfulness to the men who move our nation’s economy.
He then asked me to pray for them.
Cerwin also did a short update before the offering. (I always forget to take a picture of him.) 🙂
The Jonathans closed the program with another half-hour program. They have fabulous voices and challenged our hearts.
Thanks also to Cleason Martin for providing a sound system for the evening. The Jonathans flew into the area due to Easter being the next day. Parker needed to be back in Georgia to preach on Sunday morning. Consequently they did not bring their own sound system.
Chaplain Jim and Cindy Smalley needed a new prayer card photo and asked me to take one following the concert. We found a pretty “tree” in the corner of the room for an interesting background.
Some of you may remember that we were having a silent auction of this beautifully crafted four-foot chapel. The highest bid was $1,500.00, which will be used in chapel construction.
My goodness, what a lot of people! Does $1,500 convert one truck to a chapel?
No, we need about $20,000.00 – and that is with the usual donations of many of the supplies.