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The first two days we spent with Sylvia’s aunt and uncle near Toronto. This enabled us to recover from jet-lag. On the Wednesday Ron Moore, who used to be the Canadian agent for the Open Bible Trust, picked us up and we stayed with him for the next three nights.
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Ron Moore & Mike Penny |
Mike & Sylvia Penny, Ron Moore Valerie & Rowland Priddle |
On the evening of Wednesday September 23rd we had our first meeting when Mike spoke at Safe Havens Worship Centre in Pickering, an independent evangelical church, and the next night he gave two studies in one evening at Bendale Bible Chapel, a Brethren place of worship. This meeting was arranged by Lloyd Allen, the current OBT agent for Canada. We were joined by Al Ames, who runs a Saturday Morning Christian programme on one of the local radio stations in Ontario, during which he regularly broadcasts some of the Bible Study CDs made by the Open Bible Trust. We were also joined by Roland and Valerie Priddle from Ottawa, friends we met first some 34 years ago.
On the Friday we visited the Salvation Army in Oshawa and on Saturday Ron Moore drove us to Burlington where we stayed with Dan and Eleanor Thompson. On the Sunday Mike took the morning and evening meetings at the Salvation Army there.
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Dan & Eleanor Thompson with Mike and Sylvia |
Niagara, The Horseshoe Fall |
Burlington is less than an hour from Niagara Falls, so on the Monday morning we drove there. It was stormy with strong winds so we went up the Skylon Tower and looked down upon the mighty river with its two falls, the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. Mike always find this quite a ‘spiritual’ experience, for the vast amounts of water pouring and gushing continually over the falls always brings to mind:
Grace and love, two mighty rivers,
Flow incessant from above.
These are words from the old Welsh hymn, Here is love, vast as the ocean.
It is less that a two hour drive from Niagara to Toronto airport where we said good-bye to Ron Moore and boarded a plane to Milwaukee, an area we lived in for nearly nine years when Mike was pastor of Grace Church in New Berlin, Wisconsin. We were met by Becky Kumar and stayed with her and her husband Sharad and twin girls for the first two nights. We then moved on to stay with Lynn and Dale Mrotek for nine days. Dale is the treasurer of Bible Search Publications, the agents for the OBT in the USA, the organisation which underwrote the cost of the tour.
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Bert Hallman, Dale Mrotek, Mike Penny |
Jim & Mary Ayers & Mike Penny |
When in Wisconsin we spent much time in good Christian fellowship, visiting old friends, reminiscing over past times, and eating too much fine food. However, we took two Wednesday evening studies for the Open Bible Fellowship in Brookfield, which is run by Bert and Jeanette Hallman. There we saw Laura Kestley who has written a number of articles for Search and provided some material for the OBT website. We also attended a Board meeting of Bible Search Publications Inc., in Oakfield, and took a study there organised by Mary and Jim Ayers, who are also on the Board of Trustees of Bible Search Publications Inc.
At the weekend these two groups combined to put on a two day conference in Pewaukee. Jerry Katon took two of the studies and Mike took six. On the Monday evening following we attended a Bible discussion meeting in Richfield, ably chaired by Andy Brown.
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Jerry Katon |
Jeanette Hallman and Jean Bulhuis |
The state of Illinois is just south of Wisconsin, and Indiana is to the east of Illinois. On Friday evening Bert and Jeanette Hallman drove us from the Milwaukee area to just south of Chicago for a day-long Saturday conference sponsored by the Bible Fellowship Church of South Holland, where we met friends we have known for 30 years, Bud and Jean Bulhuis. Mike took three studies and Sylvia one.
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Bud Bulhuis & Bert Hallman |
Jay and Nancy McKinley |
After the conference we were driven to Logansport, Indiana, by Jay and Nancy McKinley. Jay is pastor of Grace Fellowship Church there and we first visited this church in 1980. Sunday was a busy day. Mike took four studies and Sylvia two. We rested up a little during the day on Monday before Mike took another study on Monday evening.
When at Logansport we were joined by Anton Kloppers and his mother, Trien, whom we met first in South Africa in 1981. She still lives there, but Anton now resides in Canada. They had both flown down from Canada to join us at Logansport.
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Mike Penny, Trien & Amor Kloppers |
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We were up at 5.00 a.m. on Tuesday morning to catch a flight to Tampa Bay, Florida, an area we had never visited before. There we were met by Bob Wendell. We took six studies over three evening in Clearwater, a city just west of Tampa Bay and located on the Gulf of Mexico. One morning we visited the famous Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, just south of Clearwater, which has one of the largest collections of his works in the world. Another day we visited and walked along the famous Clearwater Beach, with its warm Gulf of Mexico water. On the Friday morning Linda and Allen Rooks returned us to the airport where we flew west to Oklahoma City.
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Allen and Linda Roks with Mike Penny |
Bob Wendel with daughter Sandi Weikel & grandson David Nerge with Mike Penny |
After spending a night in Oklahoma City with old friends Derek and Sherry McCammon we drove four hours to Mineral Wells. On the Saturday evening we enjoyed a fellowship meal with the folks at Midpoint Chapel in Millsap, where Bill Hudson is the pastor. After this Mike gave a Bible Study and on the Sunday he preached at the morning service at 11th Avenue Church in Mineral Wells, and also took two Bible Studies. Charles Mays is the pastor there and we enjoyed a Texas steak lunch with Charles and Tamra Mays and their family. We were joined by Pastor R B Shiflet, the retired pastor of 11th Avenue Church whom we had met some 15 or more years ago on our first visit to Texas.
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Charles Mays, Mike Penny and R B Shiflet |
Jim and Joan Roberts |
On Monday morning we drove to Lawton in Oklahoma State and enjoyed lunch and an afternoon’s walk in the beautiful Wichita Mountains with Jim and Joan Roberts. He is the associate pastor at Peace Church in Indiahoma where his father, James, is the pastor. Pastor James has been a regular reader of Search magazine for many years, but this was to be the first time we had met him.
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James Roberts & Mike Penny |
The Witchita Mountains |
On Monday evening Mike took a study at Liberty Heights Chapel in Lawton, where Wayne Schooner is Pastor, and on the Tuesday evening another study was taken at Peace Church, some 15-20 miles away.
We were up early on Wednesday morning to drive back to Oklahoma City to do a live discussion morning broadcast on South West Radio Bible Church. After lunch Mike was interviewed by Dr Noah Hutchins for a pre-recorded half hour programme to be aired the following week. Mike had first met Dr. Hutchins and made some programmes for South West Radio Bible Church in 1986.
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Derek and Sherry McCammon and their dog Griffey |
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That evening, and on Thursday and Friday, Mike did two studies each evening at Northside Bible Church where Derek McCammon is pastor. There we renewed fellowship with Bill Champion who is the webmaster of www.rightdivision.com and who has given much good advice in helping us improve the OBT website (www.obt.org.uk ). Mike first met him and his wife Kathy and the rest of the friends at Northside Bible Church in 1986.
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Bill Champion and Michael Penny |
Dr Noah Hutchins & Mike Penny |
On Friday Mike had lunch with the principal of Christian Heritage Academy, a large Christian High School near Oklahoma City. After that he spoke to a group of 100 students aged 16-18, sharing with them the state of Christianity in Britain and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a state church, which Britain has and America does not.
On Saturday morning we were up early to catch the Heartland Flyer, one of the few trains in this part of the USA. It took us from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth in Texas. There we were met by Bill and Jennie Millett, email contacts for some time but whom we had never met face to face. They took us for another superb Texan steak lunch before dropping us off at the home of Gregg and Kimberly Bing. Also joining us in Fort Worth was Glen Burch and his son Jeff. Glen is a very old friend whom we had not seen for 23 years or so. He had come all the way from Virginia on the east coast, and it was good to see him. He has written a number of booklets for the Open Bible Trust and has made valuable editorial comments on others.
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Kimberly, James and Gregg Bing |
Glen and Jeff Burch, Bill and Jennie Millet |
Gregg Bing is pastor at Grace Bible Church in Fort Worth and Mike preached at the morning service and before that took a study for the adult Sunday School. Lunch was in the home of Gretchen Schwab who managed to feed fourteen of us with a fantastic feast! This was followed by an afternoon of informal Bible discussion with us all sitting in a big circle and discussing various topics from Genesis to Revelation for well over two hours. After that we returned to the church for the Sunday evening service and Mike’s last study.
On Monday morning we were up early to catch the plane from Dallas / Fort Worth airport at the end of five weeks of ministry during which we gave over 50 studies. It was so good meeting old friends again and making many new ones. We sincerely hope that it will not be too long before we return.
We would very much like to thank all the ministers and pastors who welcomed us into their churches and gave us the opportunity to share the Word of God with their congregation. We pray that many were helped and encouraged.
We would also like to thank all those who provided hospitality and transport.
And lastly we would like to thank the Lord for safe journeys over thousands of miles, and for His enabling strength.
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