June Newsletter - Lufkin

​     Only seven more months until the end of the year. Whew! I am already worn out. I praise God that He never wears out.
EMPLOYMENT REPORT:

• New jobs-2
• Still working-2
• Day labour-2

Praise the Lord!

Have you gone through the day and then, at the end of the day, you are tired and THEN you can’t remember what you  did to make you tired? It seems like I have had many of those days lately. Praise God, this is the day that the He has made and I will be glad and do it all over again.

We had a lot of people come through our doors this past month. Some have been here awhile but others came and went quickly.

Busy or not, our guest cooks came to bless us with delicious meals. We enjoyed home cooked, on the grill, hamburgers. Nachos, with or without jalapenos, were served one Sunday evening. A Mexican casserole rounded out the month of guest cooks. We look forward to their visits each month. Thank you, Lord, for faithful servants.

It was on a Sunday morning when Warren got on his bike heading to Corrigan. He got as far as Angelina College when he was hit by a car. Warren went flying over a lane and landed on the ground. All the first responders arrived.

The situation was assessed. All the business end of the accident was over. A good Samaritan drove Warren and his bike (which now can be classified as a piece of modern sculpture) to GODTEL. He offered to drive Warren to Corrigan so that he could continue his plans for the day. He was ready to come home when Martin picked him up that evening.

The next day Warren was quite sore and in extreme pain. He suffered for several days. Christi gave him her back brace. He got a lot of relief from the brace. Every day we suggested he go to the health clinic. Warren said he was ok and didn’t need to go.

Finally, Christi talked Warren into going to the clinic and away they went. The paper work was finished and the clinic saw that Warren had medical care available to him through the VA Clinic. He had gone once to the VA but got so frustrated with the paper work  he walked out. Christi can be very persuasive and so that afternoon they went to the VA Clinic in Lufkin. She offered to help him fill out the paperwork. She had done this before for her dad. Even though they were there all afternoon it was worth the time. An x-ray was taken and he was given medicine to ease the pain.  Praise the Lord.

I share this story because we need to see that God is always there walking with us as we go through the storms of our lives. God had Christi “experienced” in filling out paper upon paper to get through the bureaucracy of medical help. And He had Christi ready to help Warren this month. Warren is now enrolled in health care. He is still moving slow but he is getting through each day with less pain.

Friends of GODTEL and the Bakers had medical tests this past month. One man had a biopsy on the inside of his throat. He is a salesman and shares the gospel at GODTEL and churches and the jails around east Texas. His voice is the main tool in his work. Praise God the biopsy came out clear.

Another friend had a CAT scan. His reading, also, came back clear. Answered prayers. Thank you, Lord.

One of our women residents had gall bladder surgery. She came through it well. We have stairs into the women’s dorm. Climbing stairs is hard on any surgery patient and she was able to find another place to recuperate. She has come to visit us and continues to heal and get stronger. We are thankful for her quick recovery.

Did someone say “Free Sauna”?

It had been almost a year... With the help of the heat treat system and special mattresses we eluded bed bugs for almost a year. Once, again, the little annoying bugs crept into our lives. But we can praise God that we have means to rid us of those nasty bugs. The guys spent four days setting up and treating the men’s dorm. It is a hot job. After getting the room heat to 130-150 degrees it has to be maintained at that temperature for three hours. Needless to say, the bugs are killed and the workers are drained from the extreme heat. Every hour the temperature is checked with a tool looking much like a ray gun, also known as an infrared heat sensor. The hallway gets plenty warm thus the free sauna. Being the month of May you know it was a hot place to be.

Garden report. The tomatoes are on. The zipper, or cream peas, did not make this year. Between the extreme rain and lack of workers not much time has been spent in the garden this year. It won’t be long until green tomatoes are ripe and ready to eat unless there is a fried green tomato treat on our plates soon.

We praise God that we have reaped more than we deserve. Thank you for your support this past month. We are glad that you partner with us, hopefully, yielding souls for the kingdom of God.

Don’t forget Father’s Day this month. Send a card, make a phone call, hug his neck. Let him know how much you love him. If you don’t have a father this side of heaven tell a man you respect as a father figure thank you for his encouragement and support.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit

​Because we serve a living God,
Martin and Mary Baker