Hello to everyone, especially those who have been wondering where we have been. In our last update, sent out in May, we reported that I was struggling with severe laryngitis. I am sorry to report that although I have been able to preach many times since then, I am still struggling with my vocal cords. On the days that I spend several hours telephone counseling, I end up very hoarse. Thank you for your continued prayer about this need.

One of the highlights of the last six months is the progress that Becky and I are making on the planning and organizational structure of a book she is writing. It will essentially be the sequel to our book More Precious Than Gold (MPTG) first published twenty years ago. In September I preached at a men's retreat atPeniel Bible Camp, with Sunday services at Morrow Bible Church, in Centerburg, Ohio. While there I received a set of recordings of Brenda speaking at their ladies' retreat in 1993. One of the recordings was her testimony that was transcribed and used as source material for much of her part of MPTG. We posted it on Sermonaudio and it quickly became one of our top downloads. You can listen to it here.

In fact, our Alaska trip in late July was made according to plan and was an incredible ministry opportunity. The Lord provided for frequent flyer tickets for Becky and my two teen-aged granddaughters, Sarah (17) and Becca (13) to accompany me to the Alaska Regional FBFI meeting and Sunday ministry atImmanuel Baptist Church in Palmer, AK. Becky and the girls pitched right in on the ministry. Becky spoke to the ladies, and the girls were an integral part of our ministry of encouragement. In the land of the "midnight sun" we spent a very late evening on a quest to see moose, with great success, seeing three adults and two calves. There was significant squealing inside the borrowed van. We had a couple of days for site-seeing and several of those huge meals for which Alaskan pioneer restaurants are known. Sarah spent three weeks with us this summer, including a huge family reunion in Gatlinburg, TN, in early August.

As always, October was an intense month of ministry. Becky and I spent ten days in the Tidewater area of Virginia, where we both spoke at the Good News Baptist Church Missions Conference, where Pastor Mike Ascher was our host. We toured Historic Jamestown and participated in the daily activities of the conference. On our way home, we spoke in Sunday services at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in Powhattan, VA, with Pastor Tom Alvis. In mid-October, Becky rested a bit at home while I traveled to New Mexico and Kansas preaching at Emmanuel Baptist in Gallup, NM, and then at Faith Baptist in Manhattan and Meridian Baptist in Newton, KS. I was in Gallup a few years ago when I met police officer James Mariano, who made a gift to cover the cost of the original printing of Francis Smith's tract, "He That Hath Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear." I did not get to see Officer Mariano in Gallup this time; but stopping at a Village Inn for breakfast in Albuquerque, I met his daughter and shared the story with her! On my return from Kansas, Becky and I departed for Puerto Rico, where we both spoke at Calvary Baptist Tabernacle in Carolina, PR. You can see Becky's brief testimony here. Then, we both spoke at the 20th Annual Caribbean Regional FBFI where 27 different countries were represented from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Africa, the UK, and the US.

We will have Thanksgiving dinner at our house on November 26, and my oldest son, John, will be treating all of us to a "Segway Tour" of downtown Greenville on the 25th. Becky plans to tag along on her own wheels. We are joyfully enjoying some days at our home church and working on Becky's book before the January trip to Mexico. 

Thank you for all you do--praying for us, being patient with us, and supporting us in more ways than most could imagine.

Love and Prayers,

Dr. John C. Vaughn, and Becky