January 31, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Beloved Savior:
It is now 6pm. We just now learned of the death of Dr. Raymond B. Kays, 83, of Richmond KY. Brother Kays was pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Richmond while I was pastor at Newby Baptist Church. He was the evangelist with me at Newby in the summer of 1955 or 1956. May the Lord bless all of us who were made sad to know of his departure.
During this Mission Sheets month, I preached 6 sermons and Marie and I heard 9 sermons.
Sunday morning, January 4th, we attended Glen's Creek Baptist Church in Versailles KY, and I preached the message. David Fee is the pastor. We thank you, Steve and Eva Blake, for taking us there.
We (Marie and I) traveled many miles to fulfill our preaching appointments.
On Friday night, the 9th of January, at around 10:00, we left Lexington on a Greyhound Bus bound for Atlanta, Georgia, where we arrived some 9 hours later. After an hour's wait, we boarded another bus which took us to Ocala FL where our son and grandson, Stephen and Stephen Matthew, met us at the bus station at 4 pm. Saleth, Stephen's wife, met us at the restaurant where we ate, and afterward they took us to their home where we spent some 9 days.
Sunday morning and night we attended and I preached at Faith Baptist Church, Marion Oaks, where Randy Miller is the pastor and our son, Stephen, is the Associate Pastor.
Sunday afternoon, the 18th, Stephen took us to Leona Barnes's home in Brooksville FL where that night I preached at the First Baptist Church of Lacoochee. Rev. Eldridge Parrish is the pastor. Leona, whom I baptized at Newby when she was 16, obtained the invitation for me to preach there where she is a faithful member.
The following afternoon after we spent Sunday night in her home, the music director and his wife drove us to the motel in Winter Garden. From the motel, Brother Bobby and Sister Betty Creiglow took us to the Park Ridge Baptist Church where Danny King is the pastor. We attended the BFM Winter Conference on Monday and Tuesday, and I preached twice.
On Wednesday morning at 6:00, we left the motel in a rented car with our Son, Asa Mark Bratcher, pastor of Communion Baptist Church in Manaus, Brazil. Sixteen hours later, we arrived back in Lexington.
Saturday around noon, we left Lexington with Asa Mark and we drove to Morganfield and checked into a motel. A few hours later, Pastor Jim Adams and his wife took us to a nearby restaurant for supper. Brother Adams is the pastor of Calvary of Uniontown where Asa was to preach the next morning. The services were cancelled due to the ice storm making the roads slick.
The next morning we left and we drove back to Lexington after visiting two dear sisters in the Lord, Mrs. Nannie Edith Richardson and Mrs. Ella J. Casey in Richmond.
Asa Mark left us on Wednesday morning, the 28th. He drove to Jacksonville FL where he is attending the Pastor's Conference at First Baptist. He, the Lord willing, will arrive back in Manaus next Thursday. "So teach us (Lord) to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalm 90.12
We thank all of you who contribute and/or pray for us as missionaries, lo, these 44 years of Baptist Faith Missions service.
Permit us to mention 3 givers: Billy and Barbara Stone of Richmond KY and "From a Friend" of Lexington. We appreciate ALL who give.
Thus, we have "numbered our days" and we trust have "redeemed the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5.16.
We are praying for more invitations to preach in the churches here in the USA. Yes, our "youthful days are gone and old age" has overtaketh us, but we, with God as our Helper, are still carrying on. "God be with you till we meet again."
Yours in the service of the Savior,
Harold and Marie Bratcher