My wife Theresa learned to make bread while on a 3 month mission trip to Canada when she was 17.  Cinnamon bread is her specialty.  She hadn’t made it for a while but decided to make some last week.  Theresa enjoys her time in the kitchen when we are not on the road, and I enjoy the good “stuff” she comes up with.  She took one of these loaves to Pastor Strachen at our church last Wednesday night.  He is from Canada, (we’ll excuse him for that) but he knows good bread when he sees it.  She is a wonderful cook.  Have you met my wife at my concerts or talked with her on the phone while booking a date?  Everyone loves Theresa!

My good friend, Emmanuel Ndolimana sent me this picture of a Baptizing he conducted on Christmas Day!  He Baptized 16 people that day.  He is standing on the rock to the left with a bible in his hands.  I thought you all would enjoy this picture taken in the beautiful country of Rwanda, Africa.  Emmanuel survived the genecide in 1994 as a fifteen year old boy.  When I was in Rwanda, I asked Emmanuel why he thought God allowed him to survive when 1,000,000 people were killed in 90 days.  He answered without hesitation and said “BECAUSE GOD HAD A PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE.”  Emmanuel was our interpreter when we ministered in the prisons, schools, and orphanages in February, 2008.  He has found his purpose and is truly fulfilling it as he goes about the countries of Burundi and Rwanda preaching in the prisons, schools, and where ever God leads him.  Pray for Emmanuel as he has a hard job with many hinderances awaiting him.  If any of you would like to help Emmanuel financially, email me and I will get your donation to him.  God will bless you for it!

We met a special lady last year in Greenville South Carolina.  Theresa and I were at Harmony Fellowship Church when Diane Personett heard me talk about singing in the prisons, schools and orphanages in Africa and Ukraine.  She came to me after the service and said “I like to sew and is there anything that I can do to help with the orphans you were talking about?”  I thought a minute and said Yes, Why don’t you make us some hats for the kids in the orphanages in Ukraine since they live in such a cold climate.  Three weeks ago she came to see us again and brought us 200 hats, 50 scarfs, and 100 small blankets for babies.  She bought the blankets, but hand made everything else.  Here is a picture of Diane and I taken at the Enoree Baptist Church in Travelers Rest, SC.  Theresa and I will take these items to Ukraine in June of 2009.  We will visit some orphanages and hand deliver these to the children there.  God will surely bless Diane for the hard work she has put into this project.  Thank you Diane!

While in Ukraine, I will also be making two music videos in downtown Kiev.  As you know, Ukrainian recording artists Roma Vashchuck and Lena Gorianska recorded two songs with me on my new CD “Fresh Awakening”.  You can look forward to seeing these videos in late 2009.

October had been a busy month for Theresa and I.  A lot of traveling, working on our schedule for 2009, ect.  We also taped another video for the song Life’s Highway last weekend in Greer, S.C. with our friends Phil and Wanda Ellenburg.  This video features me singing with their ‘57 blue Chevy.  What a beautiful car. Today I put new wires on my Dearstone mandolin in preparation for tonight’s concert that I did in Theresa’s home town, Lucas, Ohio.  We had a good time.