From Sea to Shining Sea…and halfway back

Hello everyone and Happy February! I wanted to write a quick update to let you know what is going on with the Heaths.

After celebrating Christmas with my family in Oregon we set off for our winter/spring deputation trip where we will promote worldwide missions, encourage the churches and share our ministry plans for the coming years. It took us five days to drive from Grants Pass, Oregon, to Tampa, Florida, and the only problem we had was freezing fog in Texas. We were so warm and comfortable in the car that we didn’t realize the temperature was cold enough to freeze the fog to the windshield. We pulled off at the next exit, which was in the middle of nowhere, I stepped out of the car in my shorts and sandals and was about blown over by the arctic blast. Fortunately a semi was parked there and the driver suggested I turn the defrost on and the “crisis” was averted.

While in Tampa we were able to spend time with both of Tegwen’s sisters, Vernon’s cousins and have dinner with my cousin and her fiancé. During our two weeks in Florida we visited Grace Bible Fellowship in Inverness, Grace Bible Church in Palm Bay, and Grace Bible Fellowship in Nokomis. We had such a great time getting to know these wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord! Thank you all for your kindness to us and may God bless you as you continue to serve Him. At one of the churches we met a lovely woman who knew three of our four grandparents very well; it was so cool to hear the stories.

We began traveling back west on the 18th to attend mission conferences in Mobile, AL and Phoenix, AZ. Four churches in Mobile participated in the missions conference and we were at a different church every night to present our ministry. I was born and raised on the west coast and this was my first time in the south. I quickly fell in love with the south with their hospitality and love for the Lord! Also, nothing quite beats shrimp creole and gumbo at a church potluck!

We had the privilege of attending the missions conference at the Phoenix Grace Bible Church on their 2nd service in their new building. It is truly wonderful to see God being glorified in their ministry. A couple from the church attended last year’s TCM “Africa Safari” which was in South Africa and it was great to talk to them about the ministry in South Africa. They said they really enjoyed the trip and loved the people and the opportunities to share the Gospel. Our visit to Phoenix was far too short as Tegwen’s grandma Kinkead lives there along with most of the Kinkead side of the family. We had a Sunday lunch all together as a family and it was a crowd with 13 kids and 14 adults! 

Just as I was getting acclimated to the 70° weather of Phoenix we began our journey to the frozen tundra of the far north… We are now in St. Louis with Tegwen’s Aunt Hope and will be traveling to Olney, IL, tomorrow to speak at Faith Bible Church. We will be in Michigan for February and March and will be at a different church every week. I will update the calendar on the webpage here so you can check on our schedule. 

Thanks for reading,