OTR JAN 21-24

The Georgians

I'm sorry that some of the pictures are a bit pixilated. We used a different camera this weekend and I must have set it wrong.

January 21-24

What a weekend! Matt talked from the stage that the group had been on the road 15 of the past 24 days of January! We have fought the devil tooth and nail from the very first trip out, and we have become stronger Christians for it! We started this weekend in Villa Rica, GA. The Diplomats hosted a singing at their home church. We made some new friends and were reintroduced to some old friends. The Georgians, consisting of members Calvin McGuyrt, Elbert Southall, Evan Minix, and Chad Riley, charged the crowd with some good old time quartet convention style singing. The Garner's showed the crowd their deep roots in Southern Gospel Music, by playing some songs I haven't heard in years! An old friend we haven't seen in a while proved that he still knew how to read an audience. Parker Jonathan's new group, the Jonathans did an outstanding job. Be looking for this group in your area. After singing only a month or so, You know that they will continue in the years to come to be a blessing to folks every where. The Diplomats hosted the singing, but only sang a couple of songs. They are some wonderful people that the group has had the opportunity of working with more closely in the past 2-3 years. Jim has truly been a good friend to the Singing Echoes. We want to thank all of the people that braved an immense storm to be with us that night. I don't know how many people know this, but as the singing was going on, the tornado warning sirens were going off outside. A member of the police force was present and assured us that we were safe, and HQ was watching out for us. Really, I think the sirens were going off because of the meeting that was taking place inside! If you've never been to one of Fullersville Baptist's Singings...make plans to attend the next one that you notice. You'll thank me!

We scurried across Georgia to South Carolina. When you travel like we do, you sometimes meet interesting people, and see interesting things. This week was no exception. For those of you who have seen us lately...Jonah (Josh's son) has been playing the guitar with us. He is learning and picking it up just like dad. He isn't used to seeing some things that we have seen and been accustomed to over the years. This weekend the pastor at the church Saturday night joined us on the stage to play with us. We've had preachers play the fiddle, guitar, banjo (FRANK BRYANT IS THE BEST BANJO PICKING PREACHER I KNOW!) but the only preacher that I know that plays the washboard is n Gaffney, South Carolina. When the preacher got on the stage, Jonah looked at me and said "What is he doing?" - I said "He's playing a washboard." -Jonah said " I've never seen anything like that in my whole life!" We have been there two years in a row, and from the stage the preacher relayed to a packed house, We are going to make this an annual date with the Singing Echoes! I'll say that suits us fine. We've had a blast there both times we've been there.

Then we went back to the home church of Lynn's family, Clingan Ridge Baptist Church to sing Sunday night. The presence of God was so real that night. Several people filled the altars. Our home church has been so receptive and supportive of the Singing Echoes' ministry. Some of the members of the church even help upkeep the park that the group holds their annual singing.

For those that are interested, we finally found the source of a problem that has been bothering us since the engine swap in the bus. A hydraulic core that is an integral part of the cooling system on the bus has been springing leaks. Come to find out, the oil that had been used as a replacement to the original fluid had been changed (by the parts company) to a different type. We thought the substitution the parts people gave was still within spec, but it wasn't. Finally, this should be the last problem that we have out of that core for a while. Special thanks to the people at Monoco Coach Corp. and Hicks welding in Cleveland. Mr. Hicks revised the setup on the core, and assured us...His welds hold up to some of roughest riding there is - NASCAR! He welds and heli-arcs for some of the biggest racers in the business (Jr. too! - J/K a little dig at some of Earnhart's fans that we know!).

We would like to thank each and every one of you guys supporting the Singing Echoes ministry. We have seen a huge following that have been so encouraging to us. We appreciate you people taking the time to call the radio stations and sharing your testimonies on the I'm a Used to Be website. We are really optimistic that this song can break some barriers for the group and be a blessing to so many people. We are encouraged each week at the numbers of people that are following the site. It's still hard for some to share their stories, but it's such a blessing to read those that have taken the time to tell what God has done for them. If you haven't been there, be one of over 10,000 hits that have occurred in the past 2 1/2 months! Visit the site, share your story and be encouraged by a group of used to be's!!! http://www.imausedtobe.com/