Flood Watch

I don't know if the Georgia drought is officially over yet, but it has certainly been wet enough for me. One morning last week the rain had been falling steadily for several hours when our morning alarm went off, so we viewed our back yard with concern. But everything seemed to be fine so we trudged off the 16 miles to work in Duluth.

Two hours later Jimmie buzzed me in my office to tell me that there were flood warnings in Dacula. Apparently there was a flood watch across a wide area of north Georgia, but our concern was a vacant lot behind our home. You may recall that last July it had funneled massive amounts of water down on us that had then flooded the house. Jimmie had worked hard to make what changes he could to our yard to allow incoming water to escape, but this was the first major storm since for us know if those measures were going to be enough. And it was a given that there would be incoming water because so far nothing has been done to keep it from rushing at us again. The city declared it was the fault of a county-owned drainage culvert, and the county has apparently just ignored the whole thing. But the "new" had not yet worn off the flooring we had recently installed so we were definitely not in the mood for a case of dejavu. After a few minutes of debating the necessity we heard that even heavier rains were on the way so Jimmie and I made a mad rush back home.

The now familiar river was running through our backyard once more. The measures Jimmie had taken were helping to channel the water out so our backyard was only partially submerged. But water was also traveling in an unexpected direction and pooling by a rock wall Jimmie had built to hide from view another county culvert beside our yard. He promptly started moving the slabs of granite so the water could escape. It was then that help arrived. Katrece Howard and her three kids had rushed over to lend a hand if needed, so Seth and Nathan quickly moved the remaining rocks. By the time we got inside we were all very wet and cold.

But the water stayed outside this time around!

- Linda

"REDEEMING THE TIME IN 2009?"

Dear brethren:

In Ephesians 5:16, the apostle Paul wrote, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." This is a very interesting verse. Redeeming is from a Greek word that means "to make a wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good." Time is from the Greek and means "an opportune or seasonable time." The idea of the entire phrase is the idea of taking advantage of opportunities that open themselves to us. This goes along very well with the idea of "Redeeming the time." No matter what the economy does, we are still to make use of every advantage that comes our way for doing something good. When we couple this with what our Lord stated in Matthew 6:33 ("But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."), then it can be said that the time we spend is not spent in vain.

The year 2008 was a year of many lost opportunities for me in my work for the Lord. Because of a silent stroke, thyroid cancer, and several other physical calamities, I did not travel overseas and did very little traveling in the States. I am truly thankful to be blessed and have so many wonderful brethren. Many prayers were made for me and Linda, and our family. The financial help was overwhelming. May our God bless each of you. However, in 2009, I must be "Redeeming the time" that was lost in 2008. In 2009, I have opportunity to go into Australia, Ghana, and Malawi and preach and teach the Gospel of Christ.

In Australia, I have been invited to speak on a lectureship. I have never been to Australia and this will be an opportunity to teach the brethren there and meet with brothers Chris Herd, Gary Young and Brett Rutherford in Tasmania. Truth for the World has many teachers and students in Australia and this will provide an opportunity to perhaps meet some of them. The New Hope Road Church of Christ also supports Brett Rutherford and this will be a good time for an elder to visit with a missionary on the field. Brother William Howard and I are scheduled to make this trip of two weeks in May of 2009.

In Ghana, I am planning to return to Nkoranza and visit the brethren there. I have not been there since the year 2000 and the brethren have been asking for my return. I will be conducting nightly Gospel meetings, doing daily teaching in the outer villages, and street preaching in the open-air markets and lory stations. It will be good to see the brethren there once again and edify and encourage them in the faith. Brother Osei, a schoolteacher and administrator, newly retired, has been working faithfully in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana in teaching and preaching the Gospel. It will be good to see him once again. I will be traveling to Ghana with brother Yaw Boateng. Brother Boateng is a native of Ghana but has been in the States for over twenty years. However, he goes to Ghana every year (or sometimes every other year as his work permits) and is very dedicated to the Gospel of Christ in that area. He also serves as one of the elders of the Kingsbury Road Church of Christ in Sumter, South Carolina which sponsors the Central Carolina School of Preaching. This trip is scheduled for two weeks in July of 2009.

Then, hopefully, I can return to Malawi, Central Africa for the month of August to teach in the fourth year of the Mobile Bible School and work with brother and sister Ed and Lina Crookshank. This fourth year is important because it will have been four years since the program was started and will yield the first graduating class from MBS. There has been an average of 500 students that have faithfully attended this school and will see the end of their time invested in the study of God’s Holy Word. It will be good to see their dedication rewarded with a certificate of completion from the Mobile Bible School. Many of these students are preachers and teachers of the Gospel in their respective villages but many are farmers, factory workers, housewives, etc., who are interested in learning more the Bible and how to teach it to others. Many teachers have given their time and effort to this school and brother Ed Crookshank has done well in its organization. May each be richly blessed for all they have done.

Linda and I are also scheduled to travel to St. Charles, Missouri in March of 2009 to reacquaint the Westside Church of Christ with the work of Truth for the World and especially the Bible Correspondence Course portion of the work. Brother Richard Notgrass, one of Truth for the World’s most reliable and busiest teachers (both Postal and Internet) has extended the invitation of the elders of the congregation for Linda and I to come. The brother of Brett Rutherford (Australia), Kevin Rutherford is the preacher for church there. We truly look forward to being with these brethren at that time.

Well, so far, that is part of the work that I have planned for 2009. Of course, if you would like us to come and visit your congregation and update you on the work of Truth for the World, please let us know and we will be happy to work it out.

In the latter part of Ephesians 5:16, Paul wrote, "because the days are evil." There is much evil present today that brings toils, annoyances, and peril to many brethren. To overcome this evil and make the time count for good, we must be "redeeming the time" by teaching the world the Gospel of Christ. I know these plans for 2009 are aggressive but no more aggressive than the cancer and its treatment were in 2008. These efforts will costs about $10,000.00 and I do not have any of these funds, to date. Will you help me to "Redeem the time in 2009?"

Thank you all for your continued support. Because of increases in monthly health insurance costs and losing support due to the economy, I find I am $1,100.00 down in my monthly support. I am diligently trying to restore this portion of my monthly support and solicit your prayers and help. However, I know, "Jehovahjireh" (the Lord will provide).

May our God bless you richly in 2009.

In Christ Who Saves,

Jimmie B. Hill

* * * * *

Greetings from Georgia!

I apologize for the delay in our newsletter, but this fall became an incredibly hectic time both at home and the office. Jimmie had his radiation treatment and 7 days of isolation in September, right after Ellen Mills (the other full-time secretary) fell in my office and broke her arm. She was unable to work for more than 2 months following her surgery so I’m not sure how I would have survived if it had not been for the help of Kristen Underwood and Katrece Howard. Both Ellen and Jimmie are recovering very well now and are back at work. The doctor reports that Jimmie is not cancer-free yet, but he is close. Unfortunately, due to the level of medication Jimmie is on to continue fighting the cancer, he will probably not feel much better for the next year so please keep him in your prayers. There is so much he wants to do for the Lord and he is anxious to be full steam ahead once more.

We had a visitor at the office during the first week of November. Charlotte Archer is a longtime BCC teacher with the program and a schoolteacher in Alabama, so we were thrilled when she told us she was coming to volunteer during her fall school break. She had done that several years ago and it was wonderful to see her again. Charlotte helped us in a variety of ways, one of them being with M-bags. Together she and another volunteer, Emma Evans, shipped more than 1,000 pounds of Gospel literature overseas. It was exciting to see so much going out the door. And Charlotte makes a mean pot of soup, too!

Our 15th Truth for the World Mission Forum went without a hitch November 14-16. I am heavily involved with this event starting in July when I begin tracking down brochure paper to order until the last lecture is done. Usually by then I am so worn down there isn’t even a frazzle left, but this one was easier because of the wonderful help I received. Kristen, Katrece, and Elisha Richardson, our broadcaster’s wife, voluntarily took on much of Saturday’s work and were wonderful blessings. But my absolute angels were Carol Lollar and Glenda Sams. I called Carol to ask for decorating suggestions since she does such an outstanding job of that at the Duluth congregation, and she immediately volunteered for her and Glenda to handle the whole thing for me. I was very grateful to all of these beautiful sisters.

On the home front I am pleased to report that the house is going back together. We had to wait quite a while for Jimmie to recover from surgery and treatments before we even started shopping for replacement flooring. Then we had to wait a bit longer for Jimmie to be well enough to do some of the work himself because the prices we got from installers were totally outlandish. We hired contractors to do the outside repairs (I certainly did not want Jimmie up on the roof!), replace the damaged wall inside, and put down new carpet, but we still had a tremendous amount of work removing the last of the previous floor and clearing the rooms. Jimmie installed the new wood in our foyer and will be putting down the new kitchen vinyl now that our Thanksgiving company is gone. I will post some pictures on our blog as soon as it is all done.

I hope each of you have a blessed holiday season.

In Christian love,
Linda Hill

December 2008 Report

Dear Christian Friend,

The first day of December brought snow flurries to Duluth, which created a stir of excitement, but November brought its own flurry of activity around the office.

We have a small staff and depend heavily on our wonderful volunteers, so when Charlotte Archer called from Alabama to say she was coming for a week, we were thrilled. Charlotte teaches with the public school system, but this fall holiday she worked at some very different tasks. Another volunteer, Emma Evans, taught Charlotte the intricacies of packing M-bags, one of our most difficult volunteer jobs both physically and mentally. Between the two of them they shipped more than 1,000 pounds of Gospel literature overseas.

Our 15th Mission Forum came and went without a hitch. There were interesting reports on the work being accomplished in the icy North (Russia, Iceland, and Minnesota), the deep South (Georgia), the far East (Singapore), all across the Spanish-speaking nations of Latin America, and those who speak Chinese around the world. We want to thank all of our scheduled speakers – Skip Andrews, Gary Atwater, Michael Barclay, John Grubb, Jimmie Hill, Denton Landon, and Benjamin Richardson – and those who gave campaign mission reports – Lee Davis, William Howard, and Mike Underwood – for a great forum. We are already making plans for next year’s event so we hope you will be here.

November also brought one bit of disturbing news. Our largest monthly supporter notified us they must make drastic cuts to their 2009 budget. This will hit our General Fund hard. Since the General Fund donations are split between the various departments, all phases of our work will be affected. But we have learned how to do a lot with a little and we know that God will provide. We do ask for your prayers, however, that our work together will not be hindered.

As 2008 is about to close we want you to know how grateful we are for your continued, faithful support. May the Lord bless you during this holiday season and may we all bring more glory to God in 2009.

John Grubb, Jimmie & Linda Hill,
William & Katrece Howard, Dave Komisak, Ellen Mills,
Benjamin Richardson, Kristen Underwood
Staff of Truth for the World