Thursday

“O You who hear prayer,

to You all flesh will come.”

~Psalm 65:2~

ONESTORY: WEST AFRICA. Judy Miller, the West Africa OneStory Team leader, reports: “Recently one of my tasks has been to prepare for our newest team arriving soon, which is assigned to the Konyanke people of Guinea. Brittany and Amanda will be arriving in October, and it’s been fun researching and exploring their assignment area. They will be located in one of the remaining forest areas in West Africa. It’s our most remote assignment to date, with some of the roughest roads I have traveled. While only 400 miles away, it’s a 14-hour drive over the course of two days. My four-wheel driving skills have increased drastically. One week the road was so bad–with so many tractor trailers in the ditch and blocking the road–that we had to turn around with only half of our objectives completed. Pray for Brittany and Amanda as they prepare to commit two to three years of their lives to the salvation of the Konyanke people of Guinea.”

LUGBARA OF N.W. UGANDA, N.E. CONGO AND SOUTHERN SUDAN (loog-BAR-ah). J is an older man who was saved in 2006. Recently he shared his concerns about his wife’s health. She has a headache and chest pain, and she is feverish. He said this is because she was poisoned in 1979. This may have been though some witchcraft or through an actual chemical poisoning. Every 1-3 years, these same symptoms return. J says that he cannot seek medical attention for her since the poison will react to treatment and she will die. The fear and confusion is obvious on his face. For J, the obvious answer is to use traditional healing methods, which are bathing in motor oil, cutting the skin with a razor blade, and rubbing the body with certain herbs. Cursing, poisoning, and spiritual powers are daily concerns for the Lugbara. Please pray for the spiritual breakthrough needed to apply the truth of God’s Word to these situations. Give thanks to the Lord that J is open to sharing these struggles and seeing how the Word of God applies. Pray for discussions on these issues to continue.

NAIROBI, KENYA (ny-ROH-bee). In the Kariadudu slum of Nairobi, six male tailors eke out a living working together in a room approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. These men do not know Christ as their personal Savior, but they are interested and want to hear the Word of God. They want to know about Jesus so they can be saved. Pray that their hearts will be open to the Good News they will hear each week, and pray that they will readily accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

MISSIONARY PERSONAL NEEDS. Please pray for the “West Africa Medical Manual” to be finished soon. This is needed for our missionary personnel in West Africa who live in villages and other remote areas where there is no medical care available. Pray that they can have a helpful manual with correct medical treatments, dosages and recommendations.

MUSLIMS: PRAYING BEYOND THE WALL. Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic located in the Caucasus Mountain region on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. After more than 40 years of communist rule, the more than 6 million Azeri Muslims hunger to know truth. Pray for the Holy Spirit to soften Azeri hearts to His Word and His servants. Pray that they will recognize and believe the truth when they hear it. http://btw.imb.org/

Nathan D. Hyde
(January 4, 1945 – October 6, 2008)

Nathan D. Hyde was born on January 4, 1945 and passed away at 10:13PM, Monday, October 6, 2008 at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. He was 63, a native of Chesbrough, LA. and a resident of Duson, LA. Nathan was the son of the late Isaac & Lillian Spears Hyde.

He is survived by his wife, Peggy R. Hyde, Duson, LA; 2 daughters, Wanda Smith & husband, Aubrey “Scooter”, Chesbrough, LA. and Stacey Hollier & husband Shayne, Scott, LA.; 2 sons, Nathan Daniel Hyde, II, Lafayette, LA. & Dewayne Hyde, Amite, LA.; a sister, Lillian Brumfield, Chesbrough, LA.; a brother, Ernie Hyde, Amite, LA.; 5 grandchildren, Michael D. Smith, Meghan D. Smith, Dylon J. Hollier, Hanna R. Hollier, & Savanna G. Hollier.

Preceded in death also by a son, John “Clay” Hyde; 4 brothers; Joe, Fernie, Marvin & Jerry Hyde.

Nathan was a graduate of Southeastern LA University, a Vietnam War Veteran Hero and was portrayed as the character “Nate” in the book Hamburger Hill.

He also was an avid hunter, golfer, pool shooter & loved traveling, but most of all enjoyed spending time with his family and grandchildren.

Visitation will be at the McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, on Friday, October 10, 2008 from 9:00AM until Religious Services at the Funeral Home Chapel at 2:00PM with the Rev. Kirk Comeaux, officiating. Interment in the Hyde Cemetery, Chesbrough with military honors.

An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I-55N & Hwy 16W next to Coggins-Gentry Ford.

SIN WILL TAKE YOU FURTHER

The following “urban legend” has been around since 1999:

A Vermont native, Ronald Demuth, found himself in a difficult position. While touring the Eagle’s Rock African Safari (Zoo) with a group from Russia, Mr. Demuth went overboard to show them one of America’s many marvels. He demonstrated the effectiveness of “Crazy Glue”… the hard way.

Apparently, Mr. Demuth wanted to demonstrate just how good the adhesive was, so he put about 3 ounces of the adhesive in the palms of his hands, and jokingly placed them on the buttocks of a passing rhino. The rhino, a resident of the zoo for thirteen years, was not initially startled. However, once it became aware of being stuck to Mr. Demuth, it began to panic and ran around the petting area wildly making Mr. Demuth an unintended passenger.

“Sally [the rhino] hasn’t been feeling well lately. She had been very constipated. We had just given her a laxative and some depressants to relax her bowels, when Mr. Demuth played his juvenile prank,” said James Douglass, caretaker. During Sally’s tirade two fences were destroyed, a shed wall was gored, and a number of small animals escaped. Also, during the stampede, three pygmy goats and one duck were stomped to death.

As for Demuth, it took a team of medics and zoo caretakers’ to remove his hands from her buttocks. First, the animal had to be captured and calmed down. However, during this process the laxatives began to take hold and Mr. Demuth was repeatedly showered with over 30 gallons of rhino diarrhea. “It was tricky. We had to calm her down, while at the same time shield our faces from being pelted with rhino dung. I guess you could say that Mr. Demuth was into it up to his neck.

Once she was under control, we had three people with shovels working to keep an air passage open for Mr. Demuth. We were able to tranquilize her and apply a solvent to remove his hands from her rear,” said Douglass. “I don’t think he’ll be playing with Crazy Glue for a while.”

The first time I heard this story (and thought it was true), I remember thinking, “What in the world was Mr. Demuth thinking????” Lest I be too harsh and critical, though, I have to remember all the times in my life when I have “attached” myself to something sinful. The results were just as disastrous, and I have often found myself wondering, “What was I thinking?” The truth is, I really wasn’t thinking at all.

That’s the very nature of sin. We “attach” ourselves, thinking we can always quit whenever we want to. We don’t even consider what the consequences will be. I appreciate this quote by an unknown author: “Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.”

I almost didn’t use the story above because of it being so disgusting. But then I realized that it is nothing compared to the disgusting things that sin leads us to do in our own lives. Perhaps we need to be reminded every now and then of just how disgusting the results of sin can be.

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)

To what (or whom) have you attached yourself?

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Have a terrific Thursday!

Anna Lee