Laynes' Line

Dear Praying Friends,      What a blessed time of the year. Oh sure, there is way too much commercialization and many folks have forgotten the purpose for which Christmas was established. It is a time, however, when the majority of the world slows or stops to honor the birth of the Christ child. It is s great opportunity to share with all the wonderful, true story of Christmas.       I was invited to preach at the Christmas banquet for the deaf at Grace Gospel. The last we heard, there were 72 in attendance and that gave me a good opportunity to share the Gospel with deaf from the Tri-State area, Portsmouth, Oh and Lexington, Ky. It was an exciting opportunity as the Lord blessed our time and we pray that some of the deaf might understand salvation clearly. No public decisions were made, but several deaf commented that they really understood the message. Thank the Lord for such a good opportunity.  Of course, Grace Gospel always does...

September   2012          Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praise s unto thy name.    2 Samuel 22:49-51 Dear Praying Friends,      We have wonderful news to share but it certainly has taken us a long time to get to it. We are safely back in West Virginia and have already been in two missionary conferences in the little more than three weeks we have been here. Let me fill you in on our trip to Las Vegas first.      We traveled to Las Vegas to participate in the Deaf/Nation World Expo and saw absolutely wonderful results. The attendance was a smaller number than originally anticipated by the organizers, but it gave us more exposure to a greater number, one on one. During the week, we were able to chat, share the Gospel and give out tracts to the majority of deaf and hearing at the meeting. Registered participants were slightly mo...

     We are so thankful for a wonderful year and being allowed to be there when God is working in the lives of others. We have already had some really wonderful meetings with our churches.      We are busy making contacts and visiting our supporters.  The schedule keeps us busy and we have to work in outside activities between the Lord's work and visiting doctors. Nothing is wrong, but we have passed into that special category called "senior citizens." Gary has gotten in a little hunting along the way and shot a buck with his bow this year.      We miss our deaf and the good services with them, but Cheyenne keeps us posted and sends us updates and greetings from them.      We ask the Lord to give you a wonderful day of true thanksgiving to the Lord for all He has done for us. Thank you for supporting us in finances and in prayer. Happy Thanksgiving.

Dear Friends,      Please pray for our family and very special friends in Guadalajara. Starting on Saturday, they started burning all kinds of vehicles there, this time, including personal cars. There have been at least 28 on Saturday where they stopped any vehicle and either stole it or burned it or both. There were 5 more overnight. Cheyenne reports that all are fine and so far they have not felt threatened personally. However, I doubt many people who have not lived through it could appreciate the tension that rises INSIDE of a person when the city is burning around you. You feel a quiet peace from the Lord, but unconsciously you whisper a prayer for you and yours. Life goes on, but these dear folks need our prayers. Please take just a moment and pray for peace in Guadalajara. Gary & Ann

Dear Praying Firends,       Thank you so much for praying for us during our trip to Las Vegas. It was a tremendous blessing and challenge. Before I get into details, let me explain that I sent an update last week, except that the Internet we "borrow" (at a fast food place) simply was not connecting right and it appears that all was lost. I do apologize, but I imagine things won't get much better until we get out of Texas and get established in WV. We used to have a number of places where we could connect, but the majority have shut down their public access due to abuse.      Las Vegas held up to its promise to deliver hot weather. We arrived with the temps at 105. By the time the Expo started, it hit 107 and remained between 106 and 107. Due to the humidity levels at 8%, it wasn't as bad as I imagined, but bad enough. Expo states that there were "more than 16,000" registered for the week. We passed out almost 16,000 "Welcome to Las Vegas" fliers...

     Well, we are here! Our airline moved flights twice on us recently, the last without notification. Our trip that was planned five months ago became a totally new experience, but a good one. We were awed yesterday as we flew across Arizona. It was relatively overcast, but the glimpses were beautiful. We have driven through Arizona several times, but it looks a little different from 35,000 feet.      When we got here about 6:30 PM local time, our bags were no where to be found. After some waiting and checking around, we discovered they were outside the office in a semi-private area. Praise the Lord. One hundred degrees at 6:30 does not make a pleasant bag search. We called the motel shuttle and was told it should be there within 15 minutes. We waited and watched while sitting outside (slightly less than 100 degrees). After one hour, I called again to see if there was a problem. Of course there was - the driver was to blame, the front...

     Please pray for Casey Stribling, Ann's mother who fell down a complete flight of stairs this afternoon and is in the hospital. She has had some dizziness the last couple of days and apparently lost her balance near the top of the stairs which terminate near her refrigerator. She is black and blue, banged up but doing well under the circumstances. The doctors are going over her thoroughly  to check for hidden damages. Please add her to your prayer chain and pass along the word to all who can pray. i will update you as we learnmore. Gary & Ann