CHAPTER 7 Missions and Ministries

Chapter 7 Missions and Ministries

From the earliest days the First Baptist Church of Tecumseh has had a progressive outreach. In 1900, Rev. J. A. Scott organized the Orphans' Home in Oklahoma City. Miss Winnie Mitchell from the Tecumseh church was the first matron. She was assisted by Miss Ada Thomas, also of the Tecumseh church.

Although the exact date of the beginning of women's work is not known, women from Tecumseh First Baptist Church have been involved in missions from the early days. Associational records indicate that the Women's Baptist Missionary Society met in conjunction with the associational meeting in 1908. A lady from Tecumseh named Mrs. Thomas was elected as treasurer of the associational WBMS. Two other ladies, Mrs. H. B. McGee from Tecumseh and Mrs. George Southgate from Tecumseh were on a committee describing WBMS work in Oklahoma. The WBMS supported work of the Women' Home Mission Society and Women's Foreign Mission Society of the North and Women's Missionary Union of the South. This reflects the spirit of cooperation between Baptist groups seen in other associational work at the time.

A Ladies Aid Society was begun sometime probably in the late 1890's or early 1900's. This society, though not started as a missions education organization, helped serve as a basis for the beginning of our present WMU organization. The Ladies Aid Society was reorganized in September of 1923 with Sister Rebecca Cable elected as president. Records of officers are sparse since they were chosen by the ladies and not voted on by the church. That early day group would meet for devotional and prayer time and then spend time quilting. The quilts were distributed to needy families or sold to help meet the pastor's salary or other church needs. One of those quilts was purchased by Mr. Jenkins who married Katherine Herrington and that quilt is still a prized possession of hers today. Those enterprising ladies also brought money saved from the sale of butter and eggs to help meet the expenses of a struggling church. At one time, this ladies group raised money to buy chairs for the sanctuary choir loft. During one time when the church was unable to pay a janitor, the Ladies Aid Society cleaned the church. The ladies group raised money to buy chairs for the sanctuary choir loft.

The Ladies Aid Society was merged into the Women's Missionary Society (WMS) in 1924 with the following members: Mrs. R. C. Hurst, Mrs. Rebecca Cable, Mrs. Nina Ward, and Miss Hulda Herrington. The church calendar showed that the WMS met weekly, usually on Tuesday afternoon.

The first recorded vote of a church-wide pledge to mission giving is in the year 1928. Fifty dollars was the pledge recorded by the church clerk.

Earlier church historians note that the WMS had an enrollment of 15 by 1932. In 1934, the association WMS asked Tecumseh WMS ladies to help raise money needed to send Berta K. Spooner to the Baptist World Alliance in Berlin. Each organization was asked to contribute $1.50 toward this cause. By 1935, enrollment had climbed to 35 women. Mrs. Hattie Southgate was elected president of the local Womens Missionary Union (WMU) in 1937, Mrs. Bessie Shepard in 1939 and Joy Braly in 1940. All were very active in WMU for many years.

A WMU Yearbook from 1942 shows the ladies' group continued to be well-organized. Programs, aims, meeting places and other data were listed for an entire year in advance. Mrs. Susie Boyd served as president during this time.

By 1943, there was a membership of forty-five in three circles, the Elizabeth Poole Circle, the JohnsonStover Circle, and the Dorcas Circle. On the first and third Tuesday of each month, the circles met in the

home of some member of the respective circle and had Bible and mission study lessons. On the second and fourth Tuesdays, all circles met at the church for Royal Service study and business meeting respectively.

A note made during 1945 indicated that the apportionment to the Association was $3.50. The enrollment that year was 43. The group was very active during the 40's. Mrs. Carolyn Dawson was chosen as president in 1946, followed by Mrs. Mary Epple in 1947, and Opal James in 1948. She was elected again in 19501951. The RA's were under the WMU organization during that time and often met on the back porch of the home of Opal and Wendell James. An active Business Women's Circle was formed and met in the homes of members. Lois Foster, Johnnie Zimmerman, and Helen Whittall were all leaders in that group.

WMU enrollment in the 1950's varied from 24 to the upper forties. Variations may be due more to inaccurate records than actual variations in enrollment. WMU was allowed $100 in the overa church budget in 1951. 1951 was a record year with 128 total enrolled in all women's mission organizations. Alma Tucker became president in 1952 with 24 members of WMU.

As the 1960's began the WMU began to grow along with the church. The state mission offering for 1960 was $75.00, the Home Mission offering was $80.00 and Lottie Moon Offering was $365.00. WMU enrollment had grown to 54. By 1961 the Annie Armstrong Offering goal was $150.00 and enrollment had grown to 62. Mission projects included a clothing drive for the Sallateeska Indian Mission, collecting food for the OBU food closet, making and distributing sunshine gifts to hospital patients, saving supplies for Vacation Bible School, and collecting food for Falls Creek Baptist Assembly. During 1962-63 there was a special emphasis on the 75th anniversary of WMU. Our church held a special celebration program led by Joy Braly. Records show that there were 47 members in 1963. Dorothy Crow was president at that time. Marelene Epple, Alma Tucker, and Pansy Woods also served as WMU president during the 1960’s. Juanita Patterson was WMU Director from 1964 to 1968. There was an active Sunbeam program with 21 members during these years in addition to a Girls Auxiliary (GA) program. Juanita Patterson and Betty Napier were GA leaders during this time.

The GA group was organized in November 1966. It was called the Anita Christy Junior Girls Auxiliary. The charter members were Susan Dunlop, Cindy Glover, Sharon Craig, Belinda Wood, Rebecca Wood, and Susan Clark. Their counselors were Mrs. Stanley Andrews and Mrs. Bobbie Morris. Gail Hackett and Katherine Jenkins also served in leadership in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

The decade of the 1970's saw an increased missions awareness. Judy Blagg was WMU Director from 1974 to 1976. She was also elected president of the newly formed Baptist Young Women (BYW) in the midseventies. Judy Harrell was successor to Judy Blagg as leader of this group. Judy Blagg became Mission Friends leader during this time. Billie Steele became WMU Director at this time. Sheila Jordan was elected WMU Director in 1977.

The late 1970's and early 1980's were years which showed much mission enthusiasm at Tecumseh First Baptist church. The WMU sponsored Serendipity Days first in 1977. This was a program of craft and learning classes open to the entire community. Classes were given in photography, oil painting, macrame, cake decorating, and electrical repair.

The youth group under the direction of Jack Stegemann, went to Torrington, Wyoming, during the summer of 1978. Twenty-two of our youth and adults traveled by bus and two cars to help home missionary Chester Johnson with the new mission that had just begun in Torrington. The group spent weeks prior to the trip preparing puppet shows, Backyard Bible Club material and special testimonies and music.

The first night was spent at First Baptist Church, Oberlin, Kansas, arriving in Torrington on May 31. Families had been previously contacted, so Backyard Bible Clubs began the next morning. Two or three young people and one sponsor for each group held hour and a half Bible schools for neighborhood children. Some groups had very good numbers in attendance, while others had not one child. At a late evening testimony and reporting session, one young man reported for the second night that his group had not had a single child. Then he quickly added, "But I told the whole Bible story to a dog, and we had two squirrels come by."

Afternoons were spent sightseeing, with a special side trip to Old Ft. Laramie. Each evening a worship service was held in the local park, along with puppet shows and special music.

The group traveled home via Denver, Colorado, where one night was spent in the lovely Applewood Baptist Church. After a second night out in Clayton, New Mexico, they arrived safely back in Tecumseh around midnight on June 7th.

This group was very aware of the prayers of First Baptist Church members for their safety and well-being. Several minor crises with no serious results reminded them that God was certainly protecting. A huge swarm of bees crossed a Kansas highway just behind the bus (loaded with young people and all windows open). Two cars carrying sponsors and provisions were splattered with the insects, but with air conditioning and windows up, no injuries were inflicted. One young lady was taken to the hospital in Torrington with serious abdominal pain. Thankfully, medication and rest took care of a potentially difficult situation far from home. The youngest member of the group, Lance Tate, broke a finger in Oberlin, Kansas. Surprisingly, the doctor on duty was a relative of Tecumseh First Baptist Church members Don and Lavonne Walker. He gave excellent care in a speedy manner that sent the trailing members of the mission party on down the road to catch up with the main group. At the last worship service in the park, a sloppy Joe meal was served to those attending. A group of partially drunken migrant workers invited themselves to the meal, with no intentions of remaining for worship services. Some tense moments followed as they demanded more and more food. All First Baptist Church youth were fed and the last of the food exhausted just as the group of men had eaten their fill. Though no professions of faith were made at that time, the inebriated men received more than physical food. Youth and sponsors were reminded once again that God provides--not always an abundance, as with the five loaves and two fish, but exactly enough! Not one bite was left over.

Those participating in this youth mission trip were; OBU students Mike Brill, Patty Buchanan, and Elizabeth Gastineau. Tecumseh youth were Steve Olmstead, Randy Olmstead (who is currently a foreign missionary), Danny Ledford, Kenny Ledford, Dane Tate, Lance Tate, Susan Ely, Jamie Hackney, Susie Sisney, Kim Wilson, Tamela Moore, Sherri Martin, and Joanie Hertz. Sponsors included Jack and Alice Stegemann, Bill and Louise Olmstead, Janet Tate, and bus driver Tip Vaughan.

The church achieved a record Lottie Moon Offering in 1978. The church voted to match the members giving dollar for dollar. Members gave $10,334.37 which was matched by the church for a total Lottie Moon offering gift of $20,668.74.

Bro. James Wright was very mission minded and led in several mission trips. A mission trip was planned to Costa Rica in 1979, but was changed to Honduras due to a greater need. Rev. James Wright, Mike and Virginia Green, Bob and Malvina Seward, Jim Glover, Danny and Kathy Sparks, Tip Vaughn, David Brown, and John Keely went on that trip to Honduras.

The group landed in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, after a "milk run" flight that landed and took off 11 times between New Orleans and Tegucigalpa. They met Dr. David Harms in Tegucigalpa and were shuttled by a

4-passenger Cessna to Gualcince. The landing strip was carved out of a mountainside and was only 1800 feet long. It looked like they were going to crash into the mountain while landing. When they got out of the airplane, many children appeared out of the jungle, but upon seeing Virginia Green with blonde hair, red overalls, and a frog hand puppet they ran back into the jungle. They found out later that the children had never seen a white woman, much less a frog puppet that said "Ola", which is hello in Spanish. They then proceeded to the village which was 2 miles up the mountain.

They smelled the village long before they saw it, and when they did see it, they were shocked at the poverty that was evident. It was like stepping back in time to the 1800's. The houses were mud huts with thatched roofs. There were no windows or doors, no electricity, no sewer, and only green slimy water from a basin up in the mountains. They were informed by the missionary's son who accompanied them that they must go to the elder's house for a meal as soon as they arrived. To not go to his house would be an insult. They went to the elder's house which had a grave by the front door (because it had been a saloon and they buried a man who had been shot right where he fell). The meal itself was potato soup (complete with maggots) and chicken. There was a pig under the table, parrots roosting above the table, and a thick blanket of flies everywhere. They survived the meal and were welcomed by the village.

After they settled in, they found that they were quite an attraction to both the children and the adults. They would stare at Jim Glover and call him a giant and rub Mike Green's stomach and say "mucho gordo" which means much fat. The people were all about 5 feet tall and were very thin due to their living conditions.

The day after they arrived, they began construction on the medical clinic. Mike Green was an electrician and expected to install wiring in the medical clinic. There was no electricity, so he was designated to haul and sift sand to make concrete blocks by hand, one at a time. Each day 10 of them went down to the bottom of the mountain in an old army truck to load sand. It took ten people because they had to push the truck coming back up the mountain. After the daily trip to the river, they sifted the sand by hand, mixed concrete by hand, made blocks by hand, and dug a septic tank by hand. This was a quite different construction job than all of the men were used to in the United States.

Meanwhile, the women made friends with all of the children and would give puppet shows. Carmelita the Frog, whom they ran from at the airstrip, soon became the star performer for the children. Virginia, Carmelita, Cathy Sparks, and Malvina Seward would lead the children around the village each day singing "Jesus Loves Me" in Spanish and in English.

The people realized that they had come to help even though they could barely communicate due to the language barrier. They welcomed them and soon began to love them. The rich man's wife soon began to notice the parades and Christian songs sung every day. She eventually invited the women and village children into her home. This may not seem like much, but no one had been allowed into her house before, due to the customs of the village. The rich man employed all the men of the village in harvesting coffee beans and other crops. The rich man had an annual income of less than $10,000 from which he paid 125 workers, yet he was considered rich.

The group was in Gualcince 12 days, and during this time they finished the slab, walls, roof, and plumbing for the clinic. This was done in spite of daily rains and nightly monsoons. Everyone came down with dysentery and fever, but all came back with more blessings than they could count. Love and commitment overcame all of the adversities they encountered. They came to build a clinic but left with more love and caring from the people of that small village than they could ever repay.

A year later word was received that the rich man and all of his family became Christians at the Last Hope

Baptist Church that was built with Lottie Moon offerings in that small village in the middle of the jungle in Gualcince, Honduras.

During June of 1980, members from Tecumseh First Baptist Church took part in two mission trips. One group consisting of Rev. James Wright, Terry Carty, Jim Glover, Danny Sparks, Jimmy and Sheila Jordan, Judy Harrell, and Mike and Virginia Green traveled to Los Tegues, Venezuela, to help complete a dormitory building at the seminary.

The group left for Dallas on May 31, 1980, to spend the night at Bro. James Wright's daughter Debi's home. They traveled to DFW airport at 6:00 AM to catch a plane to Miami for the first leg of the trip. Problems developed in Miami when there was a strike against Viasa Airlines, which was to take the group to Venezuela. The group rented a car to be able to see some of the sights in Miami rather than just sit in the airport. After a 12 1/2 hour wait, the labor dispute was settled and the group was able to fly to Caracas at 1:40 AM. The trip took 2 1/2 hours.

When they arrived, they were met by Bill Goff, who helped them get through customs. They traveled to Los Tegues. Jimmy and Sheila Jordan and Judy Harrell stayed with the Bill Goff family; Mike and Virginia Green and Bro. Wright stayed with the Dale Lenstrum family; and Danny Sparks, Jim Glover, and Terry Carty stayed with the Russell Jeffrey family. They were finally able to get to bed at 8:00 AM on Monday morning. They got up at 11:00 AM and had lunch at the Lenstrums. The men began construction work at the seminary. This work which included carpentry, woodworking, pouring sidewalks, electrical work, plumbing, and exterior stucco work. Jimmy Jordan spent most of his time laying tile. The ladies emptied the duffle bags containing material that they had brought from Tecumseh to organize the contents, cut out dresses and began sewing. On Tuesday the ladies helped paint at the dormitory while the men were doing plumbing, masonry work, cabinet making, etc. The men continued with construction activities the following days while the ladies took part in a variety of activities.

On Wednesday the ladies made dresses and had lunch with Emilee Goff. They went to a Ladies' Meeting with Emilee. That evening the group helped in church services which were in Spanish. Virginia Green sang, Sheila Jordan said John 3:16 and Bro. James Wright preached a sermon on prayer with Dale interpreting. After church they went to a mall and had a banana split. The next day the ladies sewed more and then went to El Paseo and did a puppet show for the children and a Bible study. El Paseo was a barrio or slum area of the city.

On Friday the group had a Bible Study and then went to Caracas for sightseeing. While downtown, in the area of the Simon Bolivar Memorial, Virginia Green was scolded by a policeman for carrying a heavy bag in the square. The memorial was very sacred to them and it was against the law to carry heavy burdens or do any work in its vicinity. The group visited the Baptist Building and a glass factory. After sightseeing they returned to the Lenstrums for Venezuelan food.

Saturday morning was spent at church and shopping for food. After lunch the ladies measured children for clothes and sewed dresses. Judy prepared a cake for a children's party at the church. Later they tried clothes on children and sewed more.

Sunday School started at 9:45 the next morning. During church there were 5 decisions. After lunch, there was a puppet show at the church for the children's party, which also featured a pinata. After the party they walked to La Bodia, an apartment complex, to give a puppet show and have a Bible study. They then saw some scenery before going to church that evening. Bro. Wright preached and Virginia Green sang. The church had the Lord's Supper.

Sewing took up the full day on Monday and part of Tuesday. the rest of Tuesday was spent shopping and distributing clothes.

The group prepared to return to the United States early Wednesday morning and left at 9:00 AM. The plane stopped in Maracaibo, Venezuela. There was a problem with the Number 2 engine on the plane, which caused a delay. When the group arrived in Miami, they hurried to get through customs and try to catch the Braniff flight back to Dallas. Mike and Virginia Green and Judy Harrell made that flight, but the rest of the group was left. The others caught a Delta flight 1 hour later which went through Atlanta. Mike, Virginia, and Judy had to gather the luggage for the group and meet the Delta flight which got into Dallas at 11:42. The group eventually arrived back in Tecumseh at 5:00 AM on Thursday.

The other mission group of June 1980 traveled to Costa Rica to finish construction of a church building. Don Moutaw from Tecumseh First Baptist joined Rev. Larry Sparks, Randel Hendricks, Doyle Carpenter and Tom Jones of Blackburn Chapel on this mission project. Don's skill in working with concrete was needed for this project.

The group met at 8:00 AM Saturday morning at Blackburn Chapel and traveled by van to the airport. This group also had travel difficulties. They arrived in Dallas-Ft. Worth at 12 noon and soon found out that their flight from Miami to San Jose had been canceled. The group decided to travel to Miami and hope that Lasca Airlines Pan Am would get the problems corrected. They arrived in Miami at 4:00 PM but were unable to get a direct flight to San Jose. Luckily after 3 1/2 hours they were rerouted through Guatemala to San Jose on Pan Am. It was 9:30 PM before they left and 1:20 AM before they arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. The missionary Clive Buttemere met them and took them to the Amstel hotel in his Volkswagen van. On the way to the hotel at 2 AM, the group was exposed to some of the seamier side of nightlife in a big city. They finally got to bed after 3:00 AM.

On Sunday morning Randel Hendricks and Doyle Carpenter from Blackburn Chapel shared the morning service at the San Rafael Church. The group was surprised by the amount of work which needed to be done on the church. After the morning service they went home with the families that were keeping them. The living conditions were quite poor in the San Raphael community. That night Larry Sparks preached after Tom Jones gave his testimony. The worship service started late and they had much singing. They did not sleep well due to noise, fatigue, bugs, and uncomfortable beds.

Monday was a day of backbreaking labor. They shoveled dirt for five hours, dug ditches for three hours and mixed and poured concrete by hand for five more hours. It rained all afternoon, but that helped cool them off. Hosea Maria was the Costa Rican contractor, and his helper was Henry Rico who was from Jamaica and who was bi-lingual. The weather was hot and humid, and there was no hot water for showers when the long day was over.

Tuesday started at 7:30 AM and everyone was very sore from the long day before. All work was done by hand since the people had no tools. They mixed concrete by hand on the floor and in wheelbarrows and moved more dirt. Don Moutaw worked on the baptistry which was completed that day. They had five locals helping them. They were also able to put up an entire wall that afternoon. It was made of 200 pound slabs of concrete which fit into grooves. They only worked ten hours that day. It began to rain about 4:30. During the winter it rains every day. There were plenty of fruit trees everywhere, so they were able to eat fresh fruit daily. That night after supper and a shower, the group went to the missionary's home and ate ice cream and drank coffee and had a good time sharing and praying before returning to San Raphael.

On Wednesday, they left for work at 7:00, and began work after prayer. There was more mixing concrete by hand and they were able to pour two more rooms that morning. There was a communication problem with Hosea Maria about how the job was to be done. This was straightened out by Bob McCalister, an Englishspeaking missionary from Florida. He also brought fresh fruit for them for their break time. That afternoon they poured around the baptistry and finished early because of prayer meeting that night. Don Moutaw and Doyle Carpenter shared their testimonies that night through an interpreter. The church voted to give the men a fiesta on Saturday. After that they broke into prayer groups. When church was over, the people worked on the church building.

On Thursday work started again at 7:00 after a prayer time. They mixed and poured the 30' X 70' floor by hand. It was a national holiday and many of the locals and language students showed up to help. That evening the missionary and his family and the team went into San Jose to eat an American meal and tour part of the city. At 10:30 they went back and finished the floor of the church and then got home about midnight.

On Friday, they worked on the outside walls, filling in the cracks between the slabs since the floor was still too wet. In the afternoon they worked only a short time and then went to visit souvenir shops and a coffee farm. That night they went to a mountain above San Jose to see the beautiful lights.

Saturday morning the missionary took them to visit a volcano, Irazu, which was 12,000 feet above sea level. The air was very thin and the clouds were very thick. The temperature was 27 degrees and the wind was blowing very hard. It last erupted in 1963. On the trip to the mountain the group visited nearby Cartago and visited a large Catholic church. The people believed there was healing water there, and they observed people washing in it to be healed. On the way down, they observed ox-drawn carts filled with sugar cane. The oxen were also used to plow the ground for potatoes, sugar cane, and coffee. The group ate lunch at the Baptist Center and met other missionaries and the Baptist Book Store operators. Many were retired volunteers who came to serve as aides to the mission. They were presented with a plaque with an ox cart on it, a symbol of Costa Rica. They then went shopping and rested until that evening when they were treated to a fiesta in their honor. They were given food and gifts and were entertained by skits, jokes, and music. After pictures and goodbyes, they returned to the hotel for the night to rest and prepare for the return trip.

Both groups attended Spanish classes taught by Loyda Murrillo, a member of Tecumseh First Baptist Church from Panama in preparation for their mission trips.

The youth were also involved in mission activities. Sixteen young people from Tecumseh First Baptist Church went on a six day choir-puppet tour in eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas in the summer of 1980. The choir group was called "The Future" and the puppet group was "The Lords M & M". The group sang and presented puppet shows to Baptist churches. The tour included stops at Sapulpa, and Jenks in Oklahoma and Smackover, Calion, and Eureka Springs in Arkansas. Other activities on the tour included a visit to Oral Roberts University Campus and the Passion Play at Eureka Springs. A real highlight of the tour was a young man who was won to Christ during the presentation at Smackover, Arkansas. Youth on the tour included Joni Hertz, Dana Wood, Bobbie Rogers, Jennifer Martin, Tamela Moore, John Morgan, Marty Hertz, Dane Tate, Joe Steele, Kellie Carty, Laura Green, Patti Martin, Susan Ely, Sharyl Edmister, Cindy Clark, and Stephanie Oliver. The group was sponsored by Vernon and Debbie Howard and James and Helen Edmister.

1980 Youth Choir

The RA's had a successful basketball team coached by Bob Evans, David Steverson and Jimmy Jordan. Team members were John Morgan, Trent Sisney, Mike Sears, Paul Pope, Bobby Kesler, Kevin O'Shell, and others.

In the summer of 1982, Jimmy and Sheila Jordan along with their children and a group from Everman Baptist church in Texas traveled to Medicine Bow, Wyoming, to help complete the First Baptist Church of Medicine Bow. The group from Everman hauled kitchen cabinets, appliances, and other materials to Wyoming. They arrived at 4:00 PM on Sunday afternoon and began work immediately and worked until time for evening services.

They installed kitchen cabinets and tiled the kitchen floor. The 5000-square-foot church only had subflooring down. The group installed one-half inch particle board on the floor. Pews were already in the building, so they had to be removed before the work on the floor could begin. The church was painted inside and out. This job was eased by one of the men from Everman who had brought an airless sprayer which made short work of the exterior painting. The bathrooms were finished by installing the fixtures and tiling the floors. Light fixtures were hung in the building and other electrical work was completed.

The pastor of the Medicine Bow Church was a bi-vocational pastor whose main job was as a coal miner. There were a total of 10 people in the group. Sheila Jordan cooked and Jimmy Jordan did carpentry work of all kinds. The group worked long hours, usually finishing up at 7 or 8 at night. Everyone was amazed at the amount of work that was completed. The group was able to share Sunday night and Wednesday night services with the church.

On July 16, 1983, Don Moutaw from Tecumseh First Baptist went on a trip to the island of Dominica with a group from Blackburn Chapel. They worked on the construction of a new church building. Earlier groups had completed the first floor and slab for the second floor of the church building. The group spent their time laying concrete blocks for the second floor and getting it ready for another crew which was to put the roof on the church. The mission trip was supposed to last eight days, but travel problems extended the trip for two of

the men. Doyle Carpenter of Blackburn Chapel and Don Moutaw had to remain behind and return home by alternate arrangements. Their trip lasted 11 1/2 days before they were finally able to get home.

In May of 1984, Don Moutaw again went with a large group from Blackburn Chapel consisting of 23 people. They worked on the dilapidated Matomoros Baptist Children's Home named Casa Hogar el Refugio Ninos, 14 miles south of Matamoros, Mexico. The home housed 45 children and staff. Most of the children were abandoned. The home was in very bad shape and the men of the group did carpentry work, electrical work, and concrete work. They also laid blocks and brick, built cabinets, and changed out doors. The group removed the mud floors from the milk barns and poured concrete floors. The women who went sorted a whole trailer load of clothes and ministered to the people there in various ways. The group finished up at noon on Friday and went into Matamoros to sightsee and shop for souvenirs. One of the men, Buck Baker from Blackburn Chapel, collapsed as he and his wife were walking down the street with the group. Despite efforts at CPR by Don Moutaw and Irene Boatright, Mr. Baker died.

Other members participated in different mission activities. As Christian Service Corps Volunteers for the Home Mission Board, Lee and Janet Tate, along with sons Dane and Lance, spent a week in 1984 in the Dover, Ohio, area. Under the direction of home missionary, Terrell Moore, a survey was made in the town of Minerva, Ohio. This town of 4,500 residents had no Baptist church, and no evangelistic congregation of any denomination. Days were spent going from door to door taking a religious survey and explaining to people that the Community Baptist Church in Dover was interested in trying to establish a chapel in Minerva if enough interest was shown. Of the 971 homes contacted, it was discovered that 95 families were prospects--those having Baptist preference or no church affiliation at all.

In addition to the survey work, sightseeing in the beautiful Amish countryside was a special highlight. The quaint village of Sugar Creek with its Swiss architecture and street music was a unique place to visit. This little town was also in need of an evangelistic church. However, a later survey taken in 1988 in which the Tates participated showed such little interest in Baptist work, or any support for a mission, that the effort to establish a church there was abandoned in favor of a more receptive community.

The Minerva survey resulted in Backyard Bible Clubs held in the late summer of 1984, which later produced a nucleus for a mission in that town. First Baptist Church Tecumseh made contributions to that struggling congregation for several months.

As Christian Service Corps volunteers, the Tates have also served under the direction of the Home Mission Board in Roosevelt, Arizona and Noblesville, Indiana. Follow-up visitation, prospect surveys, Bible distribution and personal witnessing were undertaken in those areas.

A reorganized puppet group named Heaven's Little Helpers was formed under the sponsorship of the Baptist Women. Members of the group included Sherry Sparks, Judy Harrell, Jason Motley, Randy Medley, Cheryl Copeland, Helen Edmister, Barbara Hertz, and Mark Hertz. The group did puppet shows at many places such as the McLoud Blackberry Festival, worship services, children's revival services, Backyard Bible Clubs, and special mission programs.

In 1989, the Acteens Director, Sharon McKey, began a clown troupe for Christ. It was begun as a ministry to reach people who normally don't listen to sermons, but might hear what a clown would say. The group tried to have entertainment with a message and show in skits clown characteristics that people could identify in themselves. Studiact requirements were also met by the ministry of the clowns in various ways. The group handed out tracts and candy at the Frontier Days parade. They conducted Wednesday evening services and room visits at the Sunset Estates Nursing Home in Tecumseh. They also did Christmas party

entertainment and room visits at the Sunset Estates Nursing Home in Shawnee with Cindy Clark. The group helped with many events in the church such as GA meetings, skits in mission services, and children's Valentine banquet entertainment.

The clown troupe along with the puppet group, "Heaven's Little Helpers", helped with Backyard Bible Clubs at Gyula Duncan's, Joy Norton's, and Judy Harrell's homes. They served as emcees, organized games, and made balloon animals. Original members of the group included Angela Harrell, Andrea Harrell, Cody Rutledge, Shanin McKey, Tara Fisher, and Leslie Byrum as co-leader with Sharon McKey. Additional members during the three years of activity were April Pope, Heather Townes, Jamie Isenhower, Shyla Motley, Tracy Whitney, and Jennifer Taylor.

In 1992, as part of the Bold Mission Thrust, the church was ranked number 63 in the state in percent giving with 18% giving, and number 80 in amount of giving with $44,380.98

In 1994, Lee and Janet Tate did volunteer work in Indiana doing door to door survey work for a possible church in Williamsport, Indiana. They went to Williamsport again in 1995 and did further survey work as well as distributing VBS flyers and other needed tasks.

The youth group took mission trips to Lake Tenkiller in August of 1995 and July of 1996. Their work involved leading Backyard Bible Clubs with children in the state campgrounds. This required not only much planning but also flexibility. They never knew how many children they would have each day. The afternoons were spent in recreation, often swimming at the lake. In the evenings they returned to the group pavilion in the campgrounds and led worship service for all ages involving music, skits and a devotion. On Sunday each year, we were invited to lead worship service at one of the rural churches in the area.

During 1996 the church became part of a Partnership Agreement along with Shawnee Immanuel and several other churches with the Rosario Baptist Association in Argentina. This was a four year effort called Cosecho 2000 (Harvest 2000) to expand the number of churches and missions in the Rosario Baptist Association. About 40 active churches in the Rosario area were involved. The partnership was coordinated through the IMB and Church Planters Randy and Sandy Whittall from Oklahoma who helped coordinate efforts in Rosario. Argentina was an extremely fertile mission field. Argentina was not very religious even though it

Acteen Clowns: Angela Harrell, Tara Fisher, Andrea Harrell, Cody Rutledge

is a known as a Catholic country. The Catholic Church estimated that only 2 % of Argentines go to any church.

Two members from Tecumseh First participated in the first of seven Argentina trips in January 1997. Team members were: Imanuel Baptist Church, Cheryl Wright, Kathy Jauch, Sheryl Vanderhoeven, Bob Dawson, Andrea Wingo, Mick and Geni Cavanaugh, Kelly Shain, Francine Robinson, Tony Litherland, and Reba Dawson; Tecumseh First Baptist Church, David Nolen and Mike Harrell; Temple Baptist Church, B. J. and Erin Mathis; Boley Antioch, Willie Shannon; Norman First International Baptist Church, Jim and Judy Redmon

On Friday, January 24, 1997, the flight left OKC to Houston; Houston to Miami; Miami to Santiago, Chile; Santiago to Buenos Aires. The group arrived in Buenos Aries about noon on Saturday, January 25, 1997. The group was met by Tony Litherland and Francine Robinson, who had left earlier, as well as several missionaries. The group rode a small bus for a long hot ride to Rosario, arriving in Rosario about 5:00 PM. Mike and David were not staying in a hotel with the rest of the group. They were staying in a private home in Puerto San Lorenzo a city of about 60,000 about 45 minutes from Rosario. After a greeting service and a welcoming reception and Mike and David met Renaldo Bigglia and Rafael Oggero (The two lay pastors of the mother church and the mission who spoke no English) and rode with Renaldo and Rafael to the home where they were staying. Renaldo and Rafael were both lay pastors. Missionary Bill “Guillarmo” Perkins was the translator for them. Bill Perkins was a missionary serving six hours north of Rosario in Reconquista. Mike, David, and Bill stayed in a small apartment behind the home of Renaldo and his wife Santina. Renaldo’s whole extended family lived in their home.

On Sunday, they went to Sunday School (48 in S.S.) at the mother church in San Lorenzo where they were introduced to the congregation. Everyone from the older children on up was in a combined Sunday School. They sang several songs. They asked David and Mike to sing two of the songs that they sang with the group the night before at the reception (Majestad and Padre Te Adoro). David taught the Sunday School lesson and afterward they brought in the smaller children also. We were introduced to them and the children asked questions. After the children left, they observed the Lord’s Supper. They asked David to do it. There were a few surprises. The bread was in one piece when David uncovered it, so David broke it into two pieces to give to the deacons (one was a lady). The wine was not Welch’s grape juice. It was the real thing. It went well though. Sunday lunch was at Rafael’s house. After lunch they were interviewed on a local radio show for the church. David also gave a devotional. A church member, Marisa Ait was the host with Pablo Bigglia helping.

David and Mike alternated preaching at the services that week. Mike preached Sunday night. David and Mike were asked to sing again. They presented the church gifts before the sermon. About 60 people were there.

The schedule was similar most days. The schedule for the week was to visit for the mission church in Puerto General San Martin during the morning and early afternoon, have lunch, preparation for evening services, more visitation, then preaching at evening services at the mission, then late supper. Most nights they did not get into bed before 1:30 to 2:00 AM. Conditions were very poor in most areas of town. Rafael was very aggressive in witnessing and even made the most of an opportunity we went to the wrong house. It was very hot (32° C) and humid during the early part of the week. After the services, Mike and David went to eat at church member’s apartments or homes. Supper didn’t start until 10:00 PM and they fellowshipped until 12:00 or 1:00 and walked home.

On Tuesday, it was really hot (35° C). David preached from John 3 about Nicodemus. The invitation was

very long. First Renaldo gave one then Rafael gave one. They don’t go to the front they just raise their hand. One lady was saved. On Wednesday, there was an early boat ride on the river arranged by Alberto Blasoiy (church treasurer), retired Coast Guard. Morning visitation was much more pleasant since it rained during the night and it was much cooler. A different young lady named Sandra led the music that night. Their music services were very lively. Mike preached on Ephesians 2:8-9. One lady was saved that had been visited the night before. Supper that night was with the youth group. In Argentina, youth are teenagers and unmarried single adults up to age 40. On Thursday, there was an early visit with the Mayor of Puerto General San Martin. He presented a banner of the city. The rest of the morning was filled with visits. Several other visits were made before the evening services. They got to church late but that was no problem since they always started late. David preached that night. There were two professions of faith. We went to Ariel and Sandra’s house for a fellowship. We got back at 12:45.

On Friday, they again made many visits. Rafael recorded a message to our church translated by Bill. We also had Bill tape a message about his work. David and Mike met with the youth at 6:00 before evening services. There were 21 young people in the youth group. This youth group had covenented together not to date until they were 18 in order to be able to spend more time in Bible study and growth. Mike preached Friday night. It was the biggest crowd yet, about 75. There were two rededications. The Church presented gifts at the end of the service. They were appreciative that people would come all the way from North America to help them establish their mission. After the service, the team went to Renaldo’s Uncle Julio’s house for an asado (cookout). They were there until almost 2:00 AM.

Saturday was the day to begin to return home. David and Mike had to be on their way at 7:00 AM in order to get back to Rosario to meet the group for the bus ride back to Buenos Aries. As we came into Buenos Aries., the bus driver took us on a tour. After lunch we went to the hotel to get unloaded and check-in.

On Sunday, there were Sunday morning worship services in a beautiful park near the hotel. A front had gone through during the night and the weather was wonderful, about 70° and a light breeze. Everyone shared high points of their time. The group stood in a circle and prayed and sang. After Sunday lunch everyone went back to the hotel to load up the bus. It took a long time to get through the lines at the airport. They were loading the plane when the group got to the gate. It was a good flight to Santiago. The Andes were awesome. The return trip was also a very long trip. Everyone was glad to be back in Oklahoma on Monday.

In the summer of 1997, Lee and Janet Tate did Vacation Bible School work at Manor Baptist Church in York, Pennsylvania.

Lee and Janet Tate at York, PA VBS 1997

In July, the second mission group went to Argentina. Mark Fletcher, one of our OBU students represented Tecumseh First on this trip.

Three members of FBC Tecumseh; Mike Harrell, Jimmy Jordan, Mary Trahan went on the Argentine Mission Trip Team January, 1999. Other members of the group included: Imanuel Baptist Church; John Burns, Janet Burns, Craig Whitney, Edna Wingo, Francine Robison, Desiree Howard, Elizabeth Finch, David Womack; Southern Hills: Darrell Raney, Brent Parsons; FBC Altus: Virginia Gupton; FBC Morrison: Amy Branscum; Baptist Temple: Gabriel Aranda, Dameon Aranda; Castle Hills NW, San Antonio: Micah Barnum; FBC Blair: Randa Mitchell; FBC Hooker: Karmyn Hedrick, Debra Depuy; Aydelotte; Andrea Kester.

The group left on Friday, Jan. 22. They arrived in Buenos Aires about noon on Saturday and were met by Randy Whittall, Rick Kunz, and David Malone, a new missionary, after we got through customs. We loaded everything up on a bus and headed for Rosario. After almost 5 hours on a bus, the group arrived in Rosario and checked into the Hotel Nuevo Imperio. There was a team meeting at 8 and a meal together with the translators and the missionaries at 8:30. Mike’s translator for the first part of the week at Pto. San Martin was Rick Kunz. Randy Whittall translated for Mike at Ludueña Sur. Rick Kunz translated for Mary Trahan during the last part of the week. Several missionary wives and family member who were going to help for the week were there. Sheryll Malone, Kris Kunz, and Shelly and Claudia Boyd were at the team meeting. We also met Brent White who will serve as Brent Parson’s translator. The rest of the translators were to arrive on Sunday. There was a church service in the hotel led by Randy Whitall at 11 on Sunday. All the team members, translators, and their families were there.

Missionaries and their families assisting the group were: Randy and Sandy Whittall and their children A.J., Caleb, and Abbie from Rosario; Rick and Kris Kunz and their children John, Justin, Rebecca, Olivia, Joanna, and Preston from Rosario; David and Sheryll Malone and their children Katie and Seth from Rosario; Toby and Janet Walker, Shelley and Claudia Boyd, Tim Webb from Parana; Clayton Rock, Buenos Aires; Melanie Maxwell, Journeyman and Brent White.

After the services and lunch, Mike Harrell and Debrah Depuy met Rick Kunz and went by bus to San Lorenzo. They met with the Mission pastor and went over plans for the week and then went visiting before evening services. One of the visits was the Taborda family. Juan Carlos and Diolinda were saved when David and Mike went in 1997. The Sunday evening service was at the mother church. Debra gave her testimony and Mike gave a greeting to the congregation from Oklahoma. Mike preached and Rick interpreted a sermon for the first time. There were about 70 people there. The pastor Enrique Sistero then did the Lord’s Supper. The church had a fellowship after church. Rafael, the mission pastor and his wife, Any drove the team back to Rosario.

On Monday Mike, Debra, and Rick met with Pastor Enrique. Pastor Enrique’s was pastoring two churches and working with an International Crusade group. The rest of the afternoon was visitation. In the church service, Debra gave her testimony and sang two songs. Mike preached from John 3:1-18. There were about 50 people there. The church treasurer Alberto Blaison and his wife Ada took the team back to Rosario.

A big part of the mission team was a musical group called Seis Pasos, made up of OBU students. They performed concerts in many areas and drew large crowds of people who were then able to hear the gospel presented. Mike, Debra, and Rick went to San Lorenzo with Seis Pasos since they were going to perform there in a large open air amphitheater. They met Rafael at Redentor church where they have a Christian radio station. The group was interviewed by Marissa Ait. Several were interviewed and some gave their

testimonies. They played several songs from a tape. After the interviews the team visited in the afternoon for the evening services and also met the music group at a secular radio station that had never before featured anything religious or any religious group. They played a tape of their music and interviewed several of Seis Pasos. Gabriel interviewed without a translator. They were able to get across their reason for being in Argentina. Karmyn Hedrick, a former member of Tecumseh First sang in Castillano (Castillian Spanish) acapella and did a wonderful job. After the interview, several teams went out into the neighborhood to invite people to the concert. It was a great success. There were over 240 people there. One person was saved at the service. They sang some songs in Castillano and in English and gave testimonies. Micah preached a short message at the end. Some drunks were hanging around and trying to interfere. Rafael wound up witnessing to them. The group got back to the hotel after midnight.

Mike, Debra, and Rick rode the bus out to San Lorenzo on Wednesday morning. Half way to San Lorenzo, Rick got an opportunity to share with a man named Luis who had been at one of the services. The team made two visits before lunch. After a little rest, the team went visiting before church and made five or six visits in a housing addition near the mission. The church wasn’t open yet so the team walked up the street to visit with a lady and her mother who ran a pharmacy. In the evening service, Debra gave a short thought and sang and Mike preached a sermon about sin. One of the drunks who had been witnessed to the night before came to the service. After the service the church gave the team gifts. There was a fellowship time and goodbyes after that. One of the church members drove the team back to Rosario. Mike and Debra gave Rick gifts since this was his last night to translate for them.

On Thursday, Mike and Debra met with Randy to go over plans for the work at Luduena Sur Church and prepare for the Josh McDowell study they were to present to the youth. Mike and Debra met Pastor Manuel Capriolo and his wife Ana Marie before the service. Manuel was a retired insurance executive who poured much of his personal finances into the support of the mission church. Seis Pasos was going to do a concert at Luduena Sur that evening. A number of the mission group Edna, Francine, Virginia, and Jimmy Jordan were sick. Karmyn lost her voice so Seis Pasos was without two singers. Karmyn went and played rhythm instruments. They had to redo some harmonies to get all the parts in. Amy sang Karmyn’s solo. The group was a big hit as usual. Randy said that there were about 25 new people. Seven or eight were adults and the rest teenagers. There were about 120 people there. Rick’s wife was there as well as Randy’s kids. This is the church that Randy’s family attends.

Pastor Manuel picked Mike and Debra up at 11 and showed them the neighborhood before lunch. After lunch they prepared for their study at the mission site at Luduena Sur. After opening activities they presented the first part of the introduction to the Josh McDowell study. There were 23 young people from six or seven years old to about 16. A 20 year old young lady named Marcela Metz who is going to be a youth leader was there. There were also a number of older ladies who sat in on the study. The crowded conditions, the older ladies, and the young children kept the study from being as effective as it should be. The team decided to split the group for the next night with Debra and A. J. taking the older youth and Randy and Mike taking the younger group. Mike worked on a plan to use common Bible stories to illustrate the 4 C’s in the study so that younger children could understand.

Randy and Sandy’s son Justin cut his knee on Friday night and had to go to the emergency room and got a couple of stitches in his knee. Francine had to go to the hospital on Saturday morning. Manuel picked Mike and Debra to go to his home for lunch. They gave the Capriolo’s gifts after lunch and went back to the hotel and finished working on the changes to the lesson for the night.

Manuel picked them up at 5:30. It was pretty hot and muggy and only 16 youth showed up. A couple of very small children were there and they were not very interested in the study. Four or five of the older

children kids were very attentive. They responded well and asked good questions. The “little old ladies” went to the group that Debra was teaching. The youth did not share well with them present. The ladies had good hearts. They thought they should be there every time the church was open, but that hampered efforts to get the youth to participate. The Capriolo’s took them to Independence Park to see a light/fountain show. Many debutantes and new brides were there to have their picture made. Cars with bows on them were lined up near the area where the date was spelled out in flowers. They gave them gifts when they took them back to the hotel. The music group got back from their concert about 12 and met some Campus Crusade for Christ students who were doing mission work there also.

On the last Sunday morning, Manuel picked them up at 9:30. The Sunday School all met together for the opening. They sang some songs. The team exchanged gifts with the church. Debra sang and Mike taught a Sunday School lesson from Isaiah 40:31. The group left to return to Oklahoma Sunday afternoon and made it back on Monday evening.

Jimmy Criswell represented Tecumseh First Baptist on the Argentina Mission trip to Rosario on May 28 to June 8, 1999.

In the summer of 1999, Lee and Janet Tate did visitation and distributing information at Bunker Hill Baptist Church in Kokomo, Indiana. The Youth Mission Trip to Kokomo was canceled due to the resignation of the pastor and the need for Tony to be in Tecumseh.

In October, 1999, Bill and Dot Stith were asked by Danny Napier, missionary and business manager of the South Asia region to be the U.S. co-coordinators of a mission trip to Singapore. The mission work was to be different than most mission trips because they were to be caring for the missionary’s children while they attended a training seminar for updating techniques, laws, and dealing with working in countries who did not allow Christian Missionaries. It was also for a full month.

The group of volunteers were Bill and Dot Stith from Tecumseh First where Danny attended from birth and was the son of Dick and Betty Napier; Hazel McDaniel 80 year old retired school teacher from South Rock Creek Baptist Church where Danny first served in his first staff position while attending OBU and the home church of his wife Althea; Sandra from First Baptist Church, Warner where Danny had served as pastor; and Deanna Ward, a former member of Tecumseh First, now living in Euless, Texas.

After a 29½ hour flight, they had 24 hours to recuperate and they met all the missionaries and their children at a reception. They convinced the parents that they considered each child special and were all grandparents. There were 17 children from six months to 17 years of age. There were three babies, three toddlers, five four and five year olds, one seven year old, one nine year old girl who had recently been in a serious wreck and needed extra attention, and four teenage boys.

Each morning they had to be in the hotel lobby by 6:45 am. The parents left by 7:00 and the children were loaded onto a rented bus for the 45 minute drive to the First Baptist Church, Singapore. They had allowed the use of a small nursery room for the babies. They had two hired workers to help them but were responsible for the children on the trip to and from the church and to feed them lunch and care for them during the day. Due to scheduling conflicts at the church, they were unable to use the church facilities on Thursday, so outings were scheduled on each Thursday to the zoo, botanical gardens, a children’s museum, and swimming. The four and five year olds were cared for in one Sunday School room, the seven and nine year old in one room and the teenage boys in another. There was also a room where they could view Veggie-tale videos and other movies rented from a video store.

The original plans had not included the teenage boys but the plan was changed during the last week. That did not seem to be a problem since the anticipated outdoor activities were with the boys but the weather was so hot and humid (102-104 degrees, 90+ % humidity) that outside activities were limited. There was air conditioning at the church. The other thing that did not go as planned was music. Danny had hoped to get volunteers that could play the piano and lead music but none were available. Some effort was made to use tapes but that did not work out.

The first Sunday in Singapore they went to church with Carrel, the journeyman serving with Danny and Althea. She rode the rail to the hotel and led them through the stations to eventually get to the correct tram to get them to the church. It was mostly Chinese members with a Chinese pastor and music leader. They enjoyed worshipping with them very much but attended the First Baptist Church after that since they could get there by tram by themselves. After church, Carrel took them to the Chinese market and to the hawker stands. It was their favorite food while they were in Singapore but they could never find it again on their own.

Singapore is a very large place if you consider it a city but very small when you think of it as a country. It is not a place you would consider going unless you had business there. There were four main attractions with one other small recreation area with a small aquarium. To bring volunteers from the airport they had to rent a van or taxi. They use bicycles for short distances. They rented buses for the large group and they also ride the tram (subway).

Since they were short handed, Danny called a missionary couple from Sri Lanka to come and help with the lunches. David and Bill were able to take the four teenage boys to play lazar tag couple of days due to an anonymous donation to cover the expense since it was very expensive. The cost of living in Singapore was very high.

The team was very proud of Danny even though they didn’t get to see him much because he was busy with the missionaries. Danny and Althea had the volunteers over for a typical dinner from the hawker stands. It was a very nice evening. The hawker stands were actually cheaper than buying and preparing food. Danny’s son, Cody, was in a musical at the school in Singapore which they attended on a Saturday evening. The school had originally been built and run by missionaries until it was acquired by a large corporation. It then became too expensive for missionary’s children to attend. Danny and Althea’s sons went to school in Pakistan where they had previously served.

In 2000, the Tates began an association with the Baptist Hill Camp in Mt. Vernon, Missouri. That year they did yard work, maintenance, cleaning, and secretarial work.

The youth group took a mission trip to League City, Texas, south of Houston June 14-22, 2000. First Baptist Church, League City, sponsored the event which included morning Bible study and orientation for the youth, door-to-door canvassing for the church in the afternoon and revival services each evening. The youth stayed in host homes of the families of FBC, League City. On the final day, the group went to the beach at Galveston in the afternoon and ate at a local seafood restaurant that night.

During 2001, Lee and Janet Tate served in Baptist Hill Camp in Mt. Vernon, Missouri, Mary Trahan participated in a Mission Trip to New Orleans and Jimmy and Sheila Jordan visited Cindi Pace in the Highlands that summer. Jill Evans and Amy Remington served as Summer Missionaries in Wyoming. In the fall of 2001, Jeremy Sutton participated in a Mission Trip to Thailand.

2001 also presented another unusual ministry opportunity for one of our members, Betty Pliler. Betty is a

volunteer worker for the Red Cross. As she watched the second plane fly into the World Trade Center, she knew it wouldn’t be long before she would be called by the American Red Cross to report to New York City. At that time she had been on the Red Cross disaster team for 5 years. She had never been called to a disaster of this magnitude before. They opened a feeding and respite facility which consisted of a hard tent with a concrete floor at a landfill on Staten Island where they were taking all of the debris form the World Trade Center.

The group was assigned to feed approximately 750 firefighters, police, CIA, and FBI officers three meals a day and snacks around the clock. They were sifting through debris looking for body parts and personal items. They sifted through all of it several times. The food was prepared at a large kitchen in another location and brought to the site in Red Cross emergency response vehicles.

Betty worked in the dining room. After they got their food, Betty supplied their drinks and anything else they needed with their meals. Every day she would sit and visit with the officers while they ate. They seemed to have a need to talk about what they had been through. She held many hands, hugged lots of people, and cried many tears as they shared their stories with her. Every evening, she was emotionally exhausted but could hardly wait to get back the next morning.

She had seen a lot of coverage on TV before she went to New York City but there were no words to express her feelings as she stood at the base of the World Trade Center and looked at the twisted rubble. She served three weeks there and after a short break at home during the holidays returned in January 2002 to serve another 3 weeks. She felt that anyone that served on this assignment would never be the same.

Lee and Janet Tate served at Baptist Hill Camp in Mt. Vernon, Missouri in both the spring and fall of 2003. In the summer of 2003, Lee and Janet also were volunteers at Lifeway Ridgecrest Conference Center, at Ridgecrest, North Carolina where they worked in food service and in housekeeping.

Lee and Janet at Ridgecrest 2003

Mexico Team

On Saturday July 5, 2003, the church participated in a mission trip to Mexico City coordinated by missionaries Darrell and Karen Horn. The team members were Gene Crnkovic, Jack and Janette Dewitt, Jimmy and Sheila Jordan, Judy Harrell, Bret Ellard, and Sonya Bellair. After arriving in Mexico City and getting settled in the guest house, the group went to a welcome fiesta at Eliacim. They enjoyed meeting the people of the church, the wonderful food, and group games with the members. Darrell informed Judy that he would like her to give an electrical safety seminar for the children on Monday night, so before she could go to sleep, she had to write out the script so that Darrell could translate.

On Sunday they met at Darrell and Karen’s house and reviewed the use of the Evangelcube before going to church. Church lasted until 2:30 pm and afterward one of the members bought the group ice cream at her ice cream shop. The group then went on a tour of the Catholic Basilica and then returned to the guest house. They prepared dinner and then made preparations for Monday’s activities.

On Monday, Judy went with Gerado a church member and Grace, Darrell and Karen’s daughter to an area called Las Acacias colonia to help with Vacation Bible School. Fifteen children were present and three were presented the plan of salvation using the Evangelcube and all three were saved. That night Judy and Bret went to an area called Hogares colonia to present Judy’s electrical safety seminar for seven children and Bret did a family relation seminar for adults. Sheila Jordan went to the Lomas de San Miguel colonia to do a health seminar. Judy rode back to Eliacim with her host family (Rosa, Adolfo, Bertha, Carolina, and Mauricio Marcias) where she stayed on Monday and Tuesday nights. Bertha and Carolina translated for her.

On Tuesday, they went back to VBS at Las Acacias colonia. God blessed them with 10 or 12 salvations on that morning. That night they went back to Lomas de San Miguel colonia where there was a larger group than the night before. Judy had 17 children that evening. On Wednesday, they returned to Las Acacias for VBS and in addition to other activities helped the children make Power Bands. Jimmy and Sheila Jordan helped at that site that morning. Afterward they went back to church for lunch and stuffed bags for distribution on Thursday in Lomas Lindas. They did seminars at Lomas Lindas on Wednesday night. On Thursday, they passed out materials in Lomas Lindas. Four different groups including church members were involved in this project. Afterward Darrell took the group to Chili’s to eat and they were able to do some shopping and buy groceries. On Friday, they went to downtown Mexico City where they went to see the Palacio del Belles Artes, Latin American Tower, the Mercado, and a mall. That evening they had a cookout at the Horn’s house. After that they had to prepare for the trip home. They arrived home safely on Saturday.

Despite the need to drink bottled water, boil water to wash and rinse dishes, and use bottled water even to brush teeth, God’s living water was shared, souls were saved, and seeds were planted. The group had successfully helped in Bible School, helped in outreach by passing out church information, and encouraged the members of the church there.

The Highlands Team – Ian Glori, Jeremy Sutton, Cindi Pace, Leslie Byrum, and Stephanie Moring

The team began intensive preparation. As the time approached for the trip, the SARS virus broke out and all access to the people group was closed. It was very discouraging. By the middle of July the travel restriction was lifted but the team had to get new visas and airline tickets.

On the morning of August 7th, 2003, Dane Tate took the team to the airport. They flew to Chicago and then boarded a 777 and flew over the North Pole to the Highlands. They arrived in the capital city. Because there were more of us than could fit in one taxi, they hired a driver to get around the large city. Over the days they developed a special relationship with their driver and at one point they had a chance to give him a tract that was in his language. They were able to get his business card to people who were better able to tell him more about the Father. The driver picked them up at the airport and took them to their hotel. It was a great thing they came with low expectations, because with that attitude they felt that this semi clean hotel was heaven. They were there three days to let their bodies adjust to the time to overcome jetlag. The food in the capital was surprisingly good. The chopsticks made it a little challenging, but they all got full. The first morning Jeremy and Ian got up early and went to a McDonalds. It was closed, so they went back to the room and waited. When the McDonalds opened, they ordered by pointing at the menu. All was well, but it did not really taste like home. Their time in the capitol was well spent. They still had one more stop, an overnighter in another major city. When they arrived in this other city they met with a friend and all crammed into a small van. This friend was a small lady with a very beautiful spirit, and she helped them get settled in there. She was a wonderful lady and was very glad to see Cindi and the team. That night they went to a “Western restaurant” called Grandma's Kitchen. The waitresses were very friendly and did a good job of making us feel at “home.” The food was good too. Ian had pizza, and it was very good. On the way home they found out that it is not a good thing to take pictures of the U.S.A. Embassy as Stephanie tried to and got in trouble with the guard. The next morning they were to go to their final destination, the “Roof.” When they arrived on the “Roof”, they were at 13,000 feet above sea level. The air was a lot thinner, and they could feel the difference. The team was finally on the Roof but far from their destination. Cindi told them that after they got their luggage, they should look straight ahead and act as if they knew what they were doing. The idea was not to have a tourist guide try to stop us. They found two taxis and were to split up and head to their final destination. This raised red flags for them. Although the two taxis would travel together, they did not like the idea of being in separate vehicles, but they were in God's hands. So on they went. They were about five minutes into the ride, which was five minutes of “Oh God keep us safe,” (Their driving was kamikaze at best!) when the two taxis pulled over very fast, and the drivers got out and left. When the drivers came back, they wanted more money. The team was paying them a fair twenty-five bucks each to drive us an hour and a half. A van drove up and said he would drive them all together for fifty bucks. Cindi agreed to this. So it ended up they paid the same price they had originally intended, and they all drove to our final destination together. This was one of many times God showed He was there. They finally arrived at their hotel on the Roof, which became their home for a week. The first day, they met with a friend who lives there long-term. She greeted them and they talked about their purpose in being there. “Safe talk” was of the utmost importance. The first rooms they stayed in at the hotel did not have a shower, just a toilet and a sink. For the time they were in these rooms, we would have to take a shower in a “community shower” place. The first full day on the “Roof”, started out by going to a temple and “asking” (which is safe talk for “praying”) for the people they saw

there. The temples were very oppressive and demonic, which was easy to see and feel this. There were times they were able to exult the Father's name in a temple when the monks were chanting for their god who they think is Buddha. They drum up evil spirits. I could feel this while I was praying. As they entered a temple, T- people would typically be in front of the temple prostrating. This involves bowing down and getting flat out on to their faces worshipping. They are doing all this for nothing. Believing a lie!

The people believe in reincarnation — that it is your fate that your life is the way it is because it is based on how you were in your past life. To put it simply, there are beggar children who will grow up to be beggar adults. The “kind, priestly, giving, spiritual monks” despise the beggar people. The monks believe it is their “punishment” from bad merit earned in their past life that has caused them to be beggars in this life. The monks believe this is true for the adults as well as for the children, and they despised them all.

One time we were going into a temple and some T-children who were beggars wanted to go with them. The monk would not let them go in. When asked why not, they told us in so many words and by way of our friend interpreting for us that the children were no good at all, worthless. The team looked at the children and held up their thumbs to them meaning they were great. As they were leaving the children hid by the steps and tried to sneak up to join them, but they were forced to leave. A nun picked up a good-sized rock and threatened to throw it at the children.

One time while at the market, they saw a child about ten years old. He was dressed in a leather smock, and his forehead, nose, and chin was a little scraped. He was prostrating. He would bow down, take a step, and then bow down again. This was how he was gaining merit. The T-people do this because they believe they can earn merit to come back in the next life as something better. The little boy would do this all day if he had to, maybe all over the market. Most people, even the monks, cannot give an answer to explain what they believe and why.

One day Ian got to spend some time with some beggar children. He met up with a Christian worker who invited him to meet some of the children. When he got there she was blowing bubbles with one child. They then went to the large shopping area and met up with a dozen other children. They took them for noodles and yak meat soup, which they gobbled down in a hurry. There were a couple of little girls who were about four years old who were very masterful with chopsticks. It was a lot of fun to watch! They are and were going to remain the underdogs of the sick system of society. They will beg as children and continue to do so until the day they die as beggars; or they would enter into a monastery and be priests or nuns.

Even the young children have jobs; it is to beg for money. When a child does not bring their quota of money home, they are either held back food, or not able to sleep in their bed, or kicked out of the house, or beaten. They saw children with cut faces. They gave them money when they were begging. They also gave them candy and balloons, and they had small, globe key chains they gave to them. They would show them were they lived and then were we lived. Because they receive no education, this was news to them.

Throughout the day as they visited temples, all seemed well with their breathing despite the high altitude. Yet, Ian noticed something that became quite a problem for me. At night he would lay down on his bed (which was a board that was padded but still very hard) and just as he would nod off to sleep, he would wake up and be gasping for air. He could not seem to go to sleep. His body needed more oxygen. He may have gotten about two to three hours of sleep each night while on the “Roof.” One morning he went on the hotel roof for his quiet time. He asked the Father why it seemed He was not helping me to sleep. He turned it over to the Lord in a worshipful moment. He still did not sleep too well, but he would have his own praise and worship times while he was a wake.

There was a time when they were praying for the schools there, specifically the grade schools and the college. The government runs all the grade schools, so the government decides what the children learn. The teachers have to be careful what they say or they could lose their jobs. They looked into a classroom where there were children, and they all laughed at us. The teacher was not there, but we left quickly. There is television, but the team did not watch much and could not understand much. It was their impression that it is communistic and antiAmerican.

As the final days came near, the Christian workers gave us a farewell “banquet.” Two of their friends came with them. They are two beggar children. This was not a new occurrence. Several times when we did things with the Christian workers they had one or two beggar children with them. The parents of these children do not have much concern of their whereabouts. While at the banquet, the two children sat and were very well behaved. They talked with each other. They had more food in front of them then they had probably ever seen at a given time.

The Highlands team composed of Ian Gliori, Stephanie Moring, Leslie Byrum, Jeremy Sutton, and Cindi Pace returned August 21.

In 2004, Lee and Janet Tate had a busy year. They worked at Baptist Hill for seven weeks where Janet substituted for their absent secretary and Lee did maintenance and grounds work. They next returned to Ridgecrest and did laundry and housekeeping. They then volunteered at First Baptist Church, Tahoe City, California doing grounds keeping and helping with the day care. That fall they returned to Baptist Hill to help with maintenance and cleaning.

Three couples, Lee and Janet Tate, Mike and Judy Harrell, and Jimmy and Sheila Jordan, took the training to be able to volunteer with Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief.

In July 2004, Jimmy & Sheila Jordan and Greg Hinkle joined a larger team comprised of members from Eastern Heights Baptist of Muskogee, Forest Park Baptist of Joplin, Mo., and Immanuel Baptist of Miami. The team went to Ribeiro do Cristo, a remote location about 120 miles west of the capitol city of Vitoria, in the state of Espirito Santo. The ten day ministry included construction of an

Lee and Janet Tate at Baptist Hill 2004

1800 sq. ft. worship center, evangelistic teams going on daily door-to-door visitation of the area, and daily Bible School for the local children.

In 2005, Lee and Janet returned to Baptist Hill in the spring and fall and served with Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.

The Youth Summer Mission Trip was to Hamilton, Ohio outside Cincinnati. Nineteen students and six adults participated. The adults were Brian and Tami Everett, David and Terri Williams, Debbie Hulin, and Dee Birdtail from a sister church north of Seminole. The students were Susan and Colter Williams, Tiffany and Kyle Fowler, Ryan and Lauren Hulin, Chris and Jason Mathis, Ethan and Jacob Lively, Clint Moore, Megan Parris, Brooke Hulin (Lauren's cousin), Mike LaPach, Adam Seikel, Dylan Brady, Seth Austin (Colter’s cousin), Matilda Birdtail, and Tara Lee.

Bryan found this contact through the North American Mission Board. It had the need and Director of Missions phone number. After praying about the location and far distance we had to travel, God placed this heavy on his heart to lead our group there. The Baptist Association took over a church building in the association as it had died. It was the office and mission center. That is where we stayed in Hamilton, OH. We partnered with Middle Ground, a new church plant in Hamilton, to do evangelistic sports camp in the morning at a local elementary school and city park right next to it. David Williams led baseball, Bryan led soccer, Tami and Terri led cheerleading, Debbie Hulin led basketball, the pastor of Middle Ground led football. We taught fundamentals and short sports devotions about Christian character and integrity as athletes. Friday night was family night and Middle Ground had many prospects due to the sports camp, several kids were saved as the gospel was presented many times.

Middle Ground fed the team lunch at their facilities which was a warehouse that was converted into two big rooms, one for worship and one for fellowship. The church had existed for only a year. The pastor was bi-vocational and worked as an accountant.

In the evenings, they helped East Hamilton Baptist Church put on VBS. Their church attendance on Sundays was 15. They had one young family that attended. The youth group did everything but provide snacks. The church provided a few helpers. The pastor was bi-vocational and was a commercial salesman at a hardware store. The VBS averaged 25-40 during the week. Debbie Hulin took some

Hamilton, Ohio Mission Team

students to pick up children and saw a need in one home with several children. From that need, Debbie got a connection to the local food bank and we picked up several boxes of food for this family and delivered it. This church was located in a poorer part of town but had many people living around the church facilities.

Lee and Janet Tate returned as volunteers to Baptist Hill and Ridgecrest in 2006.

The church sponsored a Youth Mission Trip to the Elgin, Illinois June 14-24, 2006. Sponsors were Brian and Tami Everett, Jack and Janette Dewitt, Jimmy and Sheila Jordan, Mike and Judy Harrell, David Lee, Debbie Hulin, Cassie Wheeler, and Zack and Hollie Fuller. Youth were Megan Parris, Jamy McMahan, Ryan and Lauren Hulin, Ethan and Jacob Lively, Josh Shelby, Jenna Hayes, Tiffany Fowler, Brooke Keisling, Tara Lee, Chris and Jason Mathis, and Amber Mellinger. Brian Everett took a group of older youth and young adults to Illinois early to lead a Disciple Now session for the Fox Valley Baptist Association at a church in the area. The rest of the group, led by Mike Harrell, was to leave on Friday evening to meet with them on Saturday evening in Elgin. The trip to Illinois was plagued by troubles. David Williams became very sick on Friday morning and was unable to go. That made a shortage of drivers so that required an alternate plan. Jimmy was going to take his truck since some of the work there was to be some construction. Instead they loaded his tools in the trailer and the Jordans went in the vans to help drive. The group left Tecumseh on time but soon had problems with the air conditioner in one of the vans which was a problem since it was over 100 degrees. The caravan then got stuck in traffic near Tulsa for almost two hours. This put them behind schedule and when they reached Springfield, Missouri there was no one at the Grant Avenue Baptist Church which was supposed to provide lodging for the group. They had to find a motel at for the whole group of 26 people at almost 1 a.m. After a very short night, the group got on the road again and tried to find someone to fix the air conditioner. On the fourth or fifth try the Lord provided a bi-vocational pastor in Rolla who opened up his Goodyear store and fixed the AC. He had a small traditional church that sponsored a “biker” ministry. The rest of the trip to Elgin was uneventful until we got to within a few miles of Elgin. The transmission in one of the vans developed a leak and had to be refilled with fluid several times. The transmission quit within a mile or two of the church where they were to meet Bryan. The group contacted Bryan by cell phone to get him to bring a van to help and tow the trailer with all of the luggage. It was also discovered that the tires on the trailer were ruined due to under-inflation for the heavy load. A tow truck came for the van and the whole group finally got to the Larkin Avenue Baptist Church about 9:00.

The group went to church services at Larkin Avenue Baptist Church on Sunday morning and then met Bro. Paul Fretlich on Sunday afternoon to go to Huntley to pass out flyers for the Backyard Bible Clubs that were to begin the next day for Lighthouse Church. It was extremely hot and humid. After supper the groups made final plans for the Backyard Bible Clubs and Vacation Bible School that were to begin on Sunday. There were two separate Backyard Bible Clubs, one at Old Timers Park and one in the pastor’s backyard. There was not a big response the first day, but it was still extremely hot. The group made preparations to go to North Aurora after supper for the Vacation Bible School at Cornerstone Community Baptist Church. The VBS was at the site of the church that had been burned down by a teenaged arsonist. 19 kids showed up for VBS the first night and a number of youth were just “hanging out”. Bryan invited them back the next night for their own youth study. It was a very successful first night. The group barely made it back to Larkin Avenue when a very severe thunderstorm hit the area. The group was in no danger because they were staying in the basement of the church but there was much damage to trees, homes, and power lines. The good thing about the storm was that it brought cool weather for the rest of the week. The response kept getting better as the week went on. In addition to the Backyard Bible Clubs and VBS, the youth did surveying for Lighthouse Church in Huntley getting many favorable responses. The VBS attendance was up to 37 kids and 6-8 youth for most of the week. Several children were saved at both

Backyard Bible Clubs and at the VBS. The youth that was responsible for the loss of the church building was also saved. The many salvations showed why the devil put so many obstacles in the way. In addition to these decisions Jason surrendered to preach and Megan felt that she was being called to be a missionary.

In 2006, Greg Hinkle went on another trip to the city of Vitoria, Brazil. On this trip the construction was to complete Phase 1 of a 3 phase building project to expand the sanctuary of a Church in the Vitoria suburb of Vila Bandeirantes. The Church was a mission project itself in 1991 and has since started four missions with help from partnering Churches in the USA. The ten day ministry included construction, evangelism and Bible School. The church purchased a planer and sent it with Greg to help with the project.

Lee and Janet Tate did brush removal and dorm cleaning at the Sullivant Retreat Center near Norman and also returned as volunteers to Baptist Hill and Ridgecrest in 2007.

In August, 2007, India Mission Team members traveled to India to witness to Muslims in northern India. Charged with reaching Muslims that are contemplating the claims of Christ our team sought to deliver the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of northern India.

Dubbed the "Dream Team" by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, the team from Tecumseh primarily worked with Muslims in Northern India that have dreams about Jesus. While dreams rarely play a role in the decisions of most Americans, research by Missions Frontiers magazine indicates that over one-fourth of converted Muslims said dreams and visions were key in bringing them to Christ and in sustaining their faith in difficult circumstances.

Financial and prayer support for the Tecumseh missions team poured in from all across Oklahoma and Texas from individuals, companies, and churches of varied denominations.

India, called the Republic of India, is a sovereign country in South Asia . It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country, and the heaviest populated democracy in the world.

The FBC Tecumseh mission team served for two weeks and included: Jeff Barros, Ryan Hulin, Russell Hulin, Megan Parris, and Pastor Clark Frailey.

India Dream Team

Pastor Clark shared the following observations: “India proved to be a life-changing experience and as my first time outside of the US it was definitely an eye-opener. To witness the extreme poverty in the urban areas and the chaos of government was humbling mixed with awe over the beauty of the people and the countryside. India has so much going for it in terms of resources, hard-working people, and determination to have a free democratic nation. I left the US for India hoping to bring the love of Christ to people in India and break some strongholds. I left India knowing that my work had just chipped a bit of it away but there was an immeasurable amount of work left. We had the privilege of traveling to a village in northern India where no white people had ever been before. Speaking about my relationship with Christ to a group of Muslims was humbling as I realized my inability to effectively communicate the vastness of what Christ has done for me to a culture so different than my own. When we arrived at the village, one of our team members said, “Pastor you wanted to go to the ends of the earth - well we've arrived!” The village was about 2 hours from any sort of civilization, which is a term used loosely in India. As we spoke with the people through our translator we learned that we were the first white people and first Americans to ever set foot in the village. My message was garbled at best I'm sure because of my ineffectiveness as a cross-cultural communicator. But I realized that my message didn't need to be perfect. The hope that I brought was not hope from the US, or hope from me personally, I brought the hope of Christ.” In October of 2007, a mission team traveled to New York City. Working alongside Southern Baptist missionaries involved in research and missions to the hundreds of unreached people groups in New York

City, the FBC team took to the streets of NYC prayer-walking, interviewing, and taking photographs to help uncover un-reached areas of the city.

The team engaged in ethnographic research to pave the way for future church planting. Similar to Lewis & Clark's exploration of our country in the 1800s, FBC's team explored areas and people groups in New York City that were not charted thus far. The team spent time surveying Chinatown to develop information for a possible Mandarin church plant. New York was a great experience for the missions team as they worked in two Chinatown areas of one of the most diverse cities in the world.

New York City is the heaviest populated city in the United States and is one of the premiere global economic centers, with its business, financial, legal, and media organizations having worldwide influence. As the home of the United Nations, the city is a hub for international diplomacy.

The FBC Tecumseh NYC mission team included: Jamy McMahan, Michael LaPach, Tim Kelly, Rebecca Kelly, Susan Moring, Cassie Wheeler, Wendy Frailey, and Pastor Clark Frailey.

The missiologists in New York are hopeful that foreign-born people in New York will accept Christ and take the Gospel message back to their country as they return. One of the most surprising aspects of our trip was how nice the native New Yorkers were to us dumb, lost Oklahomans.

Megan Parris and Jamy McMahan were on mission in New York City May 28th-August 2

nd. Megan and Jamy lived with and worked alongside one other girl from Texas. Jamy studied 5 people groups/countries: Uruguay, Ghana, Brazil, Portugal, and The Phillipines. Megan studied India, Japan, and Poland. Their finished product was a profile about the people group that would be put in a data base to help missionaries better understand the cultures in the area they wanted to serve. They would complete these profiles by doing online research, using census data, formal interviews with community leaders, and interacting with people they met in shops or other areas they lived in. The missionary they worked with was Chris Clayman. They stayed in an apartment on the Upper West Side, but their work ranged out all over all 5 boroughs (several groups lived in Queens) as well as areas north of NYC, New Jersey, and the remainder of the tri state area. The church participated in a London Bridges Mission trip in July, 2008. Pastor Clark shared some of his impressions of the trip from London. “After a slower night of distributing, things turned ugly on the streets of London tonight. Wendy has been feeling ill the last couple of days but was able to go out tonight. We were assigned to prayer-walk over the areas and streets where Bibles and JESUS film DVDs were to be distributed. On our prayer-walk two physical confrontations occurred right in front of us - they had nothing to do with us - but they were unsettling. As we returned to a corner where we have felt a very dark presence all week - I felt compelled to stay and pray longer than normal. As it turns out it was God preparing us for what was to come. Wendy and myself were very nearly caught up in the mob as it quickly got out of hand and grew to about 50 people pushing and kicking each other.

We decided to follow the principle of living to share another day and were all allowed to escape unharmed in a Luke 4:30 moment.

Tomorrow we have a debriefing and then we will begin making preparations to come home. Many good things have happened during our time here. Please continue to pray for the lost that wander the streets of London.

Tonight a friend from South Africa and I had an engaging conversation with a Muslim man about the similarities in our faiths and the one key difference beginning with sacrifice Abraham made in place of his own son. Please pray that this man will follow through and watch the JESUS DVD that we gave him.

We have all faced varying degrees of physical and verbal persecution during this time in London but tonight seemed to be some of the most intense. Our team is shaken but resilient and eager to return home to you and let you know about all of the good things God is accomplishing here among Gulf-State Arabs.”

In late winter 2008, Lee and Janet Tate again returned to Baptist Hill.

During 2009, the Youth participated in Mission Arlington during spring break.

In 2009, the church participated in a mission trip to Harlem in New York City helping a missionary named Chris Clayman minister to West African Muslims in a portion of Harlem called “Little Africa”. The group consisted of Clark and Wendy Frailey, Adam and Khylie Forgety, and Mike and Judy Harrell. The group left after the morning service on August 2. They arrived in New York City at 10:30 pm and went to the Milford Plaza Hotel in downtown NYC. The group traveled by subway to Harlem met with the missionary and his summer intern Josh for orientation. The plan for the first day was to divide into three groups. Two of the groups would man street-side tables to distribute Bibles, CDs and DVDs to West Africans while the other group would prayer walk the area from 116th Street to 125th Street. The Bibles were in west African languages or French, the CDs were Bible stories in different West African languages, and the DVDs were the Jesus film in many different West African languages and in French and English and a DVD about dreams about Jesus. One of the first needs was to obtain West African clothing since the missionary recommended that the group would be better received if they were in West African dress. Tables were set up along 116th Street, which was the main street through “Little Africa”. The groups were well received by the West Africans and a lot of material was distributed. On the second day, one table was set up on 116th Street and one on 125th Street. The table on 125th Street was right next to a Muslim street vendor who was very interested in Christianity and had been attending Bible studies with Chris. The area along 125th street was more culturally diverse than 116th with a blend African-American, West African, and Hispanic since it was close to Spanish Harlem. However, the response there was just as good as 116th Street. There were only a few that we encountered in either area that were hostile. On Wednesday, the groups went to areas that Chris had not been able to survey yet to find additional West African businesses and distribute the “Jesus” DVD to them. On Wednesday night the group went to church at Marble Collegiate Church. Tables were set up on the street again on Thursday. The table on 125th Street was set up next to a West African who was a close friend to Chris and was also going to Bible study with Chris. He was a very nice man and seemed to be very close to accepting Christ. Our schedule each day was very similar. The group would get up early, have breakfast and get in a little sightseeing and then take the subway to Harlem. They would work until about 6:30 and then take the subway back to our hotel. They did have time on Friday to do some sightseeing and went to a Broadway play on Friday night before heading back on Saturday.

Over the next few years, several members of Tecumseh First Baptist Church participated in individual

mission activities including Lee and Janet Tate to Ridgecrest and Baptist Hill in Missouri and Kay Jordan on medical missions to Central America

On July 5, 2013, a 16 person Mission Team left Oklahoma City for a mission trip to Kodiak, Alaska to lead a Vacation Bible School for the children at the Coast Guard base on Kodiak Island. A request had come on November 9, 2012 from Lt. David Bradley, U. S. Navy Chaplain assigned to the Kodiak Coast Guard Base. David and his wife Cindy (the former Cindy Clark who grew up in Tecumseh First Baptist) are former IMB missionaries now serving as a NAMB endorsed chaplain. The team was Tony Peak, Alicia Peak, Tracie Niblett (Alicia’s sister), Mike Harrell, Judy Harrell, Angela Harrell Atkins, Jennifer Koeninger (Angela’s cousin), David Williams, Terri Williams, Colter Williams, Emily Yates, Francine Robinson, Brenda Goode, John Jordan, Bill Stith, and Dot Stith. The team went from Oklahoma City to Houston, Houston to Anchorage, and Anchorage to Kodiak. The trip was smooth and the group arrived in Kodiak at 11:00 pm. The team was met by David and Cindy Bradley who had brought a pickup with a trailer for luggage. After picking up the rental vehicles, the team traveled to the Russian River Roadhouse which was the team’s lodging for the week.

On Saturday morning July 6, David and Cindy met us the team to give an orientation and take the group to get groceries. The team went to the Coast Guard base security to get permits for access to the base. The base at Kodiak is the largest coast guard base in the world. After obtaining permits, the team went by the Coast Guard Star of the Sea Chapel. The Protestant congregation of the chapel had sent Tecumseh First a $3,200 Love offering to help with trip expenses. David and Cindy took the group into Kodiak to eat lunch, get groceries, and set up the rooms at the Peterson Elementary School on the base where the Vacation Bible School was to be held. All of the team had worked in Tecumseh First Vacation Bible School using the “Colossal Coaster World” curriculum materials which were shipped to Kodiak. All were teaching the same age groups in Kodiak as in Tecumseh. This with God’s help really made the VBS go very smoothly. After supper, the team returned to the Roadhouse to discuss plans for Sunday Services. Many of the group

Coast Guard Star of the Sea Chapel, Kodiak Alaska The Bradleys

planned to attend the Catholic Mass which was the first worship service at the chapel on Sunday morning to invite children to VBS. The Catholic chaplain, Lt. John Monahan, had expressed concern if the Catholic children would be welcome at the VBS, so every effort was made to assure him and his congregation that they were.

Sunday morning July 7, most of the team went to Mass at 9:00 am to promote VBS to the Catholic congregation. Several more children showed interest that morning. The Protestant service began at 11:00 so some of the group helped David prepare for the service and some set up a table to promote and sign up children for VBS. After lunch the group had free time. Some of the group went with Richard Waddell, one of David’s church members to a shooting range. The rest of the group went on a nature walk and visited a World War II museum. After that, a few went back to the school to finish off room preparations. The team met at David and Cindy’s house for pizza and then prayer walked and drove around base housing. Following that they returned to the Roadhouse and met to iron out details for Monday morning.

Monday morning the team left for the school to begin VBS. It went great. There were 60 children there for the first morning. It appeared that about half of the children were from the Protestant congregation and half from the Catholic congregation. The priest who was the Catholic Chaplain came by VBS that morning and each succeeding morning to visit and encourage. Our teaching responsibilities were over at noon each day, so that left the afternoon for Alaskan activities. The afternoons are extremely long since the sun did not set until about 11:00 pm so it allowed plenty of time for interesting activities. After lunch, part of the group went salmon fishing on the Buskin River keeping a sharp eye out for brown bears. A Coast Guardsman, Adam Smude ,from David’s congregation and Michele Skinner, the chaplains’ office assistant acted as guides and bear bodyguards for that group. The rest went with Cindy to Fossil Beach. After supper at the Coast guard base the team went to the shores of a beautiful lake for a bonfire. Some rode ATVs on the beach and everyone ate Smores while battling hordes of mosquitoes. After returning the team met discussed the day and finalized plans for Tuesday.

Recreation Music

Tuesday morning VBS again went extremely well with some additional children attending. After the morning session the team was divided into 3 groups. There were 3 rotating activities: a flight-seeing tour on an Island Air float plane, lunch at a sandwich shop run by volunteers from the Russian Orthodox Church, and an aquatic museum. Up to this point the weather had been cool and cloudy with occasional showers but at noon the sky cleared and the weather was great for flying. The scenery was spectacular and everyone saw whales and herds of mountain goats but no brown bears. The pilot, Mike was very young but a very good pilot. The weather remained clear and very nice for the rest of the mission trip to Kodiak. Cindy had a special treat in store for the team for supper. She had prepared six different salmon dishes and six different halibut dishes for the whole team. The team wound up the day with a planning meeting for Wednesday

which was the day with the emphasis on the A B C’s of becoming a Christian.

U. S. Coast Guard C-130 Crafts

On Wednesday, God really helped us because again the VBS went very smoothly. Even a few of the children who had not cooperated very well behaved better and paid close attention to the message of the lesson. Some of the Coast Guard children had some emotional problems due to just moving to Kodiak, several of the Coast Guard ships had sailed out for an extended time resulting in children who were lonesome for their parent, and many other children’s parents had very dangerous jobs doing air-sea rescues (shown in the TV show “Coast Guard Alaska”) as well as a couple of suicides among Coast Guard families. The VBS theme of “Facing Fear, Trusting God” really met a need in their lives. After the parents picked up the children, the team changed clothes and ate a quick lunch in order to meet David, Michele Skinner (David’s office assistant), and David Olsen a retired member of Frontier Baptist Church who used to be a charter captain for a sea fishing trip for halibut. They took out three boats. The weather was wonderful and although no halibut were caught a few sculpin were caught. However, numerous whales were sighted, as well as sea otters, puffins, and eagles. The number of eagles spotted on the trip was too numerous to count. The team had been invited to a cookout with members of the Frontier Baptist Church and the volunteers from Texas that were about to begin a VBS at that church. It was held at the Buskin River Beach House overlooking the Buskin River as it ran toward the sea. It was great to visit with other Baptists in the area and other volunteers preparing to begin a different VBS in the area.

Thursday, July 11 the last day of VBS was a very good day also. The number of children had increased some during the week but it still appeared that about half of the children were from the Protestant congregation and half from the Catholic congregation. At lunch the team made final plans for family night. The groups split up and visited museums, sightseeing, and shopping. The Family Night began at 6:00 pm and was very well attended by parents. Many expressed that the theme of the VBS was especially good for the circumstances of many of the children. The children overall were very well-behaved and many from both congregations exhibited good Bible knowledge. Following the Family Night program the team cleaned up the rooms, packed up materials for David, and cleaned up the school in general. After cleanup was done the team went to eat, some at a Mexican restaurant and some at a Thai restaurant next door. After returning to the Roadhouse, all of the team went on a short hike to an area called the Hammock Forest. Fishing nets had been strung at multiple levels in the trees as well as an impressive rope swing. It was almost 11:00 pm by the time the team got back to the Roadhouse. It was almost dark.

Brenda Goode, Judy Harrell, Mike Harrell, Francine Robinson, Bill Stith, Tony Peak Angela Atkins, Terri Williams, Tracie Niblett, Alicia Peak David Williams, Coulter Williams, Jennifer Koeninger, Emily Yates, Dot Stith, John Jordan

Parents Night Refreshments

The return flight on Friday was to leave Kodiak at 5:30 pm so the team was able to sleep in a little in the morning. It was another beautiful day. Friday morning was spent doing last minute souvenir shopping and after lunch the team loaded the luggage in David’s pickup and trailer and checked out of the roadhouse. The rental cars were returned to the airport at mid-afternoon and the team went through airport security. The Catholic Chaplain, Lt. Monahan, showed up at the airport to thank us for our efforts and wish us well. The plane got off right at 5:30 pm in beautiful weather. We later learned from Cindy that fog rolled in 30

minutes after the plane left and the airport was closed for more than 2 days. God’s hand was in that also. The overnight flights back to Oklahoma City were uneventful and the group arrived back at Oklahoma City Saturday morning.

David Bradley reported later that the chapel had several new visitors whose children had attended VBS. Cindy reported that several children in children’s church had been saved and wanted to be baptized. Michele Skinner commented that it was one of the smoothest run events that the chaplain office had sponsored and that the team worked well together.

The church did a Colorado Mission Trip July11-18, 2015 to Oak Creek Southern Baptist Church in Rockvale, Colorado, south of Canon City Colorado. The group did Vacation Bible School for the church which ministers to three small mining communities in the area (Rockvale, Williamsburg, and Coal Creek) in addition to parts of Florence. In addition to the Bible School, the group on Tuesday did repair and cleaning at FBC Penrose. Adult team members were Tony and Alicia Peak, David and Terri Williams, Mike and Judy Harrell, Jimmy and Sheila Jordan, Coulter and Emily Williams, Robbie Bernhardt, Robert and Candy Akehurst, Nathan and Kim Elliott. Youth team members were Ariel and Sarah Kim, Alicia Mathis, Kylee Akehurst and Hallie Gordon, Sawyer Spurgin, Brianna Sumwalt, Damon Stagner, Tyler Countess, and Destiny Williams.

The group left at 6 AM Saturday morning to travel to Colorado and arrived13 hours later. The team attended church at Oak Creek Sunday morning and then set up classrooms for VBS on Sunday afternoon after lunch. On Monday morning the team returned to the church to complete set up and to pass out church literature in Rockvale. VBS began on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning the team went to the Penrose Church and worked there until mid-afternoon cleaning and repairing the church before beginning the second night of VBS at Oak Creek. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings the group did sightseeing and picnicking trips to Red Canyon and a state park area near the area Tony used to serve as pastor before doing VBS in the evening. Thursday night was the last night of Vacation Bible School with Family Night on Friday night. Friday morning team members went river rafting through the Royal Gorge, took a scenic train ride through Royal Gorge, or made a trip to the Colorado Springs Zoo. The family night was well attended and the Bible School appeared to be a success with several children accepting Christ. After the Family Night the team took down the VBS materials and returned the church building to normal. The team left early on Saturday morning to return to Tecumseh.

Seth Huebert and Ashley Cuchiara, OBU students, participated in a mission trip to Santa Maria, Raan, Nicarauga from July 25 - August 1, 2016. It was a medical mission trip in which they used the treatment physical needs as a way to meet their spiritual needs.

Several of our OBU student members participated in mission trips during January 2018. Karsten Ladner, Emily Moore, and Moriah Lamb participated in a mission trip to North Africa January 5-26, 2018. They spent much of their time with locals who could speak English and shared the gospel with them. They taught English several times to middle school students, drank dozens of cups of tea, ate loads of local food, and asked even more questions. Most of the time, they were building friendships over food and sharing the gospel with one or two people at a time. They described it as unforgettable.

Luke Cusack went on a mission trip to El Valle, Panama January 2, 2018. The team spent their first week canvasing the neighborhood, inviting people to Bible school, praying for the lost, and sharing the Gospel. The second week they held health clinics in the morning and Bible club in the afternoon at the local park. They also did work on the church. They did VBS during the third week. Over 100 people came, and several of them gave their lives to Christ.