Browsing articles from "June, 2013"

A New Chapter Soon to Begin

Jun 20, 2013   //   by   //   News  //  No Comments
We have so appreciated everyone of you who have been praying for us as we travel, sharing the message of God’s creation. It has been over three years since stepping out in faith and going full time with the ministry God gave to us.  God has been so faithful. Someday I would like to write a book of all the doors He opened, the provisions He supplied, and the protection He gave. And now we are about to embark on a new chapter. God has supplied us with a new home! We will still carry on with the ministry. Traveling in loop trips and then spending time at home doing local seminars and perhaps working with area camps to establish God honoring nature centers.
Let me back up a bit in order to tell you how God supplied our new home.  First I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been praying for our need to relocate, and to those of you who have been helping us search.
Before heading out on our New York, New England and Michigan loop, we contacted Samaritan Ministry ( the health care organization we have been apart of for 16 years where Christians help Christians with their medical needs).  They put a note in their news letter about our loop and about our need to relocate with a new home.  The day we left for New York, Brian received a phone call from Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris from Michigan not Texas. He is a deacon at Cornerstone Baptist church in Gladwin, Mi. The secretary at church saw the note.  As a church they had been praying about how God would have them use the empty parsonage. They invited us to come up, do a seminar and talk.
Long story made short, the plan is to move in at the end of Sept after we share in NC, ARK, OK, and TX.  We will be home for a month then go on a loop to SC and FL returning to Mich in time for Christmas! Then we plan to stay home until the summer.
Please continue to pray as we have one more month on the road and many miles to travel. By the way, we had our first flat tire this weekend.  As we pulled into Cleftrock retreat center, we ran over a small chip of a deer’s antler and it punctured our bran new camper tire. On Monday Brian pumped up the tire, covered the “rock” with gorilla tape, and drove down the mount into town where we were able to get it fixed. 

A Busy Winter, Spring, and here it is Summer 2013

Jun 15, 2013   //   by   //   News  //  No Comments
Once again, I’ve gotten very behind with the blog.  These 7 updates should be read from the last to the first.  It was easier to write starting with the present and working back to the winter.  So slide down to the heading out of Florida post and work your way up!
June in New York update:
We have had 3 wonderful weeks in New York.  We had a real sweet time with the Sweets.  Jonny did some woodworking, Bekah got to try her hand on the potterywheel, Brian and I were able to be the guest on the Higherground radio show, we all enjoyed family bike rides (They actually rounded up 8 bikes for the week!)… Our seminar at Victorious Church went very well (please pray for them as the following week the village had flooding including the church basement). Back in March while in SC, we had met the Dates and were invited to stop by if ever in their area. Their house was a perfect half way stop over between churches. What a wonderful stop it was, from hiking and swimming in Lake Ontario, go-cart riding, new friends, even a farris wheel ride – (The Dates put one up in their back yard for the grand-kids!!) Then it was on to western NY and our friends the Worthingtons. Friday’s homeschool seminar went very well as did Sunday’s. Then we had a fun week with them too with fireworks, Letchworth canyon, and then the highlight Niagara Falls and fort. Seeing Niagara was a first for all of us. What an awsome sight.
We are about to pull out now and head an hour south where we will have a week of VBS in the little village of Portageville.  It is a small, old church in a depressed town.  We will mainly have troubled kids from troubled homes. Please pray that the truth of the gospel will touch their hearts and give them hope and that parents will come Friday night and will be open to the gospel too.

Drive to New York and Tour through New England

We had a rainy but safe 1,000 mile drive to NY.  While on the road we received a call from a family on the road to KY who saw our camper “billboard”.  We met with them at a rest stop just before our paths separated.  I was able to share some homeschooling advice and DVD with the young mom while the kids all had a chance to visit. Come to find out, there was a bad storm ahead of us which stayed ahead of us, since we made that extra stop. The services at Greig went very well, and we were able to spend a wonderful evening with the Weber family (a singing family whom we met in FL).
Yesterday we returned from our 1,000 mile loop through New England. Six states in six days! Josiah is working on getting the pics on youtube. We enjoyed showing the kids where we had spent a year teaching 20some years ago.  Chapel went so well at North Stonington.  It was great seeing fellow teachers again. It was a lot of driving, but we saw the Portland Light house, Plymouth Rock, White Mtns,(where we were caught in traffic for 3 hours – it was bike week, I’ve never seen so many motorcycles in all my life!) We stayed 3 nights in cabins at Camp Good News in NH, while there we shared at chapel and AM devotions. We went to a country church for father’s day – heard a wonderful message on being content and were asked if we would share that evening! So although only one chapel was on the schedule, we ended up being able to share 4 times! For the next 4 weeks we will be in NY, we are all glad for the break in driving -especially Brian!
As always thank you for your prayers.  Please especially be in prayer for our week of VBS.
Estell Family’s Summer Itinerary 2013
Sunday June 9th – Calvary Baptist Greig, NY Sunday school, AM service, PM
Wed. June 12th – North Stonington Christian Acad. Connecticut AM chapels
(June 13th – 18th touring New England)
Sunday June 23rd – Victorious Life Christian Church Fort Plain, NY
Friday June 28th – Homeschool group Warsaw, NY
Sunday June 30th- First Bapt. Warsaw, NY, AM service
Sunday July 7th – Portageville Bapt., NY VBS kickoff
Monday – Friday 6:30-8:30 VBS
Sunday July 14th – First Bapt. Kingsville, Ohio, Sunday school & AM service
Sunday July 21st take part in George Ramsey’s ordination (Carla’s brother)
Sunday July 28th – Howardsville Gospel Chapel, Michigan
Sunday Aug 4th – Three Rivers Bible Church, Michigan AM service
Sunday Aug 11th recently filled – Cornerstone Bapt Church Gladwin, MI AM & PM
Sunday Aug 18th Open
Wed night Aug 21st – Salem Bapt. Dobson, NC
Sunday Aug 25th – Temple Bapt. Mt Airy, NC, Sunday school & AM service
Sunday Sept 1st Open
Wed. night Sept 4th – Harvest Bapt. Yukon, OK

May – Birthdays and Our first graduation

May was a very busy but good month for us with finishing school, celebrating 2 birthdays, a great seminar in Franklin,NC and James’s graduation. His graduation went very well. I’ll soon be putting parts of it on youtube. Thank you to all of you who sent cards and those of you who were able to come.  It was wonderful being able to visit with friends and family both in FL and GA, although time was way too short short.
Today we start our 1,000 mile drive to NY.  Please pray for us as we drive and for the van as it continues to pull the camper.  We have new tires and brakes so should be able to roll (and stop!) The Lord has lined up a full summer for us (it is great having a schedule before heading out. Although, I have learned to trust God to line things up and show us the way as we go.) Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

2 week stay in a missionary house in South Carolina

Presently we are in SC staying at a friend’s missionary house. While Brian has been busy lining up our summer schedule, the kids and I are finishing the book work of homeschooling. I so love coming to the end of another successful year.  And this year marks a real landmark for our family – our first graduate.  James will graduate on June 1st.  We are heading to FL to have the ceremony before heading out to New York.
It seems like yesterday when each Christmas letter told of an expected new baby or the birth of a little one.  Now, starting this year and for the next 10 years I’ll be telling about graduations. I think I like the news of a new baby better.  But it is quite the accomplishment for both of us, and I am very proud of him.

March — Sharing the story of St. Patrick

It has been amazing to see God opening door after door.Last letter I asked that you would pray for opportunity to share the true story of St. Patrick.  Well, Brian has been able to share more than ever before, beginning with the McMurray”s “back yard” (I’ll put that one on YouTube linked with our web site at stonestruestory.org ), then at a community center dinner, a nursing home, a girls’ home, and last night at a park by the river! Thanks so much for your prayers. Since leaving GA we have also been able to share the creation message at a girls’ camp in SC, and another Mennonite church (both of which opened while we traveled!). Today we head towards Tenn, where we actually have 2 churches scheduled for Palm Sunday – we change the message and focus on the people asking “Who is this man?” as Jesus rides into Jerusalem then go into how He is the Creator who became the Lamb, ending with Him also being the Righteous Judge – thus tying in the Flood. New York and Michigan are lining up for this summer.  We actually met a couple this weekend (who live in NY and winter in SC) who have invited us to stop over for a week at their house and they live right along the way between churches! God is truly directing our path.  He is also keeping us safe and healthy. Thank you so much for your prayers. Speaking of prayers, a few months back we asked that you pray for a special family request in OK, well, that too has worked out in a miraculous way – I can’t share details except to say God does answer prayers in ways only He could.

Camp Cedine TN

The LORD has been so good to us. This week with the below freezing temperatures, finds us enjoying a heated cabin complete with a kitchen and bath! We are at Camp Cedine in Tenn for the week as Brian teaches at the Bible college. We are all enjoying the beautiful camp setting and getting in a good concentration of schooling.  The Creation Fellowship last week in Hickory, NC went very well.  We so enjoyed getting to know Steve Lawwell with Echos of Eden and seeing Dan the Animal Man in action. (He actually brought a 7 foot alligator and used it to demonstrate God’s design in nature!) Jeff and Heather Setzer did a great job putting it all together.
As of date, we do not know where God will lead us next. But we have been in this spot so many times before, it is no cause to worry anymore.  But, we sure do appreciate all of you who pray for God to open doors.  We are planning on being in New York (state not city) in June and then hopefully going up into New England and then Michigan in July.
We are still praying that God will lead us to our new home.  8 in a camper gets a bit crowded at times, but we are all doing fine.

Heading out again after a month in Florida

Today we embark on another mission loop.  We have been sharing the creation message here in Florida for over a month.  We’ve been able to visit with family and friends, had a very nice Christmas and have enjoyed some great – if not hot weather. While here we have also been able to make some new power point presentations and catch up on some book keeping work. I sorted all our email contacts into groups discovering many of you that have not been receiving our updates. As I neared completion of the massive project something happened and I deleted all the contacts…..so, thanks to the trash I was able to retrieve the addresses but not as sorted groups.
It would be so helpful if you would reply to this email and let me know if you want to receive the monthly updates and also tell me what state you are from and if you are a pastor, what church you pastor, Thank you so much.  By the way we are switching to this gmail address.
Please pray for us as we travel to SC today and then on to NC next week. And please pray that I’ll be able to get these emails all sorted out again.
One last thought, in this age of hacking, we want you to know we do not ask for money – even in an emergency (God has been so faithful to supply all our needs).