Media Day in Virginia...

As part of my developing relationship with God's Pit Crew and founder Randy Johnson, which has been such a great partner to Louisiana, I gave two days to travel to Virginia to do TV and radio work raising funds for their ministry. It was a whirlwind trip with radio time at the local K-Mart for Spirit FM in Roanoke, VA; a quick checkin to my hotel, a change of clothes and then 2 hours with WSLS-TV Channel 10 (the NBC affliate) for cameo spots and interviews which they will use in conjunction with the anniversary of Katrina and in raising of funds for God's Pit Crew's work in the 9th Ward. Then this morning, up at 6 a.m., a 90 drive to Lynchburg, VA to the studio of Spirit FM in Lynchburg, (under the shadow of Thomas Road Baptist Church) for the drive show of Brian and Linda where God helped us raise $15,000 for God's Pit Crew.

Wow! What a day and how God used our time. Great contacts and new friends for New Orleans. Two busloads of volunteers from these media outlets will arrive at NOMACC on September 17th.

This is me with Brian, the DJ who is a good brother and fellow COG member. He did a fantastic job in guiding our interviews and helping listeners to connect with our heart.

Right now, I'm sitting right now in the airport waiting to fly back.

Louisiana-Honduras missions

We are just back (last night) from Honduras where me, Pastor Bryan Strickland, Pastor Jim Milligan and my father were preparing for our October ministry trips. We are excited about the things God is doing and we look forward to our teams from Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina working together to do some really great stuff like rebuilding a parsonage in Saledito where Pastor Luciano and his family live in very poor housing. We are also going to help make major repairs for the parsonage of Pastor Lopez Garcia in San Juan Pueblo which will involve a roof and floor work.

For our Louisiana family, as you can see the Lassiegnes (Morgan and Ena) are well and prospering. God is blessing the French Harbor church and they are very happy. He is helping us with logistics for our work teams.

We spent one night at the Hogar Esperanza orphanage in San Pedro and saw the children there which are so dear to our hearts.

Busy week ahead...we are planning to launch our new website this week. I'll let you know!

Honduras...here we come!

By this time tomorrow, I'll be in Honduras with Dad, Pastor Jim Milligan, Pastor Bryan Strickland and our friend Pastor Morgan Lasseigne. We will spend one day in San Pedro visiting our little friends at Hogar Esperanza Orphanage and then move to La Ceiba where our teams in October will repair/build homes for two pastor's families. It's a quick trip back to San Pedro for a flight home on Saturday.



Me and a bunch of LA folks are working hard to finish our new book entitled What Our Storms Teach Us which will debut at the Ministers Meeting--September 29th. I'm excited to share it with you.

I'll have something to tell ya on Sunday!

Much love,
Bishop Bill

The Stephens arrive tomorrow!

Brent, Sarah, James David and Abby Stephens arrive officially tomorrow to begin their tenure as Louisiana Youth & CE Directors. We are looking forward to welcoming them and working with them for the coming years.

My mom had eye surgery today and all reports are good. Dad says she is now able to see how incredible good looking he has always been. Remains to be seen what surgery can do to one's eyes!

Kathy has finished her cohort at Southeastern this week and boy is she glad....now she is launching a new ministry called Meara(?) or something that means women will be staying overnight at my house while I'm in Honduras next week.

Speaking of Honduras, Dad and I will meet Pastor Bryan Strickland and Pastor Jim Milligan in San Pedro Sula, Honduras next week to prepare for our October missions trip. There we will meet the two pastors and their families whose houses we plan to build.

Jason and Andrea, my two youngest children (well, she actually started with her mom and dad) are buying their first home this month. They are so happy in Louisville, they've decided to purchase a used home near their church. Andrea is nearing the educational finish line, so perhaps more grandchildren are coming???? and the work at River City seems to be getting more interesting every day. Kathy and I are so proud of them.
Cooper has not seen me in two weeks and I'm getting the vibe that he is not happy but Mom and Dad have been so busy they have not been able to meet me...perhaps when I return from Honduras??? Get the hint, Jeremy?

Taking 3 classes this semester (Preaching II, Romans and Galatians and Urban Ministries), finishing a book project for our state "What Our Storms Teach Us?" and with my election to the Council of 18 for our church, my fall is getting crowded...oh well...what's new?

Much love!

Kelly and Dana moved yesterday!

How awful that yesterday ended Kelly and Dana's tenure as teammates with Kathy and me. These past four years have been so cool and we enjoyed working together. Kelly brought a spirit of excellence to everything he did and he was skilled in a number of areas which complemented my style. Most of all, he was my partner. Dana has a servant heart and was always willing to do whatever needed to be done. Ashten, their son is now 11 and he has been a fun guy to have around. He and I had some great "adult" conversations. We once spent a good afternoon debating "insurgency" in Iraq--not your typical 10 year old conversation. The Shopes are our friends and I admit I had something in my eye as their cadillac (which is leaking oil, BTW) pulled away from 4821 Tartan Drive.

We pray they will be happy and successful in Pennsylvania. They will be missed in Louisiana!

Wrapping up the General Assembly...

Well, we got home from an exhausting week full of meetings, long days and nights and way too little rest. To say we were tired is to put it mildly. But then, we enjoyed our friends so much and this year we had added responsibilities to the meeting (Chairman of Ushers, etc.) Dad and I sat together again in the General Council on Tuesday (6th straight time). I was elected to the Council of 18, a tremendous and unexpected honor of my peers. This will be long remembered by me for its impact on my life. I am humbled by this action of my peers. Kathy won the award for Most Monies Raised in our state category--an exceptional honor for our Louisiana women! It was an eventful week in Indianapolis for us -- many things happened--we saw lots of people. We celebrated my good friend Randy Parris' 42nd birthday with Jan and Pat Wright. But the best thing about the General Assembly this was---COOPER DAVID was there and he said "Papa" when he saw me! He also played the drums on the stage at the RCA Dome after the Teen Talent awards!