July Newsletter - Lufkin

​A wedding, a celebration of life, a birthday and Father’s Day.

EMPLOYMENT REPORT:

• New jobs-5
• Still working-9
• Angelina College-1

Praise the Lord!

Backing up to the month before...Martin’s mother lives with us. She has been in our house for several years. One evening, our daughter called us from Spring. She told us that grandma had fallen. Mom, sure enough, had fallen, again. She was able to reach for her cell phone and called the first name on her call list (our daughter whose name begins with “A”). We got up immediately and headed to her room. Mom was on the floor.

We called the ambulance. To be on the safe side, mom was taken to the hospital. At first, there did not look to be any broken bones. She was admitted to the hospital for the night. The next morning, after the MRI, there was a broken bone. Surgery was scheduled that day. And now, mom has matching legs. She has titanium rods in her upper right and upper left legs.

Surgery went well. And rehab came next. Mom moved to the rehab wing at a local nursing home. While mom was there, Martin made changes that would help mom get around better on her walker. Two small doors were replaced with wider doors allowing better access for mom and her walker (or wheelchair). He, also, modified her shower/tub into a walk in. A shower hose and shower chair now welcome her for a good bathing experience.

Mom is home. She is getting around pretty good for a 90 year old. In fact, mom celebrated her 90th birthday in the hospital. Homemade cupcakes, requested by mom, were brought in to her room (with permission) and ice cream. Of course, the celebration had to include the birthday song. The nurses and Martin and his sister, Susan, joined their voices in birthday wishes.

As stated earlier, mom is home. She is having physical therapy and going to follow up medical visits. I write all this, so you will know that your local missionaries have the same family issues as you. In all this-we know the Lord has sustained us. Nothing was put on hold. People were still housed and fed spiritually and physically. Clothes were washed and life went on as usual. So, thank you for your prayers-even when you did not know specific prayer needs. God did, does and will know.

“So, what did go on?” you ask. Our guest cooks came. They planned, prepared and served very delicious meals. We ate grilled chicken, pizza, and homemade Chinese food. Salad is usually served with these tasty meals. Mike, who comes on the second Sunday of the month, is known near and far for his “award winning” salads. There are several colorful veggies in the salad. Bacon bits, croutons, ranch style salad dressing and seasoned tortilla strips top off this mouth watering side dish.

On pizza night another salad is served. There is plenty of green and red in the big serving bowl, also, with salad dressing, usually ranch style.

Did I tell you that the Chinese dinner from Believers Bible Church was homemade? The rice was cooked and the vegetables were cut and cooked. The egg rolls were bought but were cooked just right and  very delicious. Ice cream bars were for dessert, just perfect for a summer evening.

The wedding. Christi’s son, Rick married Dustie. They spoke their vows of love and commitment in a marriage ceremony in Kingwood, Texas, at the end of the month. Christi was nervous and excited. She was ready. Even though she was not the focus of attention, she wanted to look and feel her best. She came back with pictures and stories to share. We will be praying for this newlywed couple. May God bless them.

Congratulations, Rick and Dustie!

Whether you have a father, dad daddy or papa we hope you let them know how you feel and appreciate the love, time and sacrifices he made for you through the years. Even if you did not have the perfect dad on earth remember your Heavenly Father. He IS the perfect Father.

We honor a friend, a brother in Christ and father of two sons. Danny Powell departed for glory in June. We met and knew him and his family at Fredonia Baptist Church in Nacogdoches in 1973. He and his wife, Carolyn, were encouragers. Danny was an encourager to Bro. June in the early days of GODTEL Ministries. Not only that, he was the contractor of the Lufkin GODTEL buildings and the Nacogdoches new location buildings. Nancy has more about Danny Powell and his life and love of the Lord in her article on our website: godtel.org.

Our daughter and her two daughters came up for a visit. Granddaughter Emily informed us that four year olds (age of her sister) should not play Twister. And I might add, neither should 60 plus year olds. We enjoyed outside trips for Milo (the dog). We played a short game of soccer. I am not sure who won but we were tired and hot after the game. And the grand slam of meals-tacos! The visit was too short, but then anytime with grandchildren is too short for us.

Thank you for partnering with us in sharing the gospel of Jesus one more month.

Because we serve a Living God,
Martin and Mary Baker