Spearsville Happenings

Barbara Walton
June 17, 2010

This has been a week of ups and downs for our community, state and nation. Not a day goes by that we are not glued to our TV thinking of the oil spill in the gulf and what it is doing to our wet-lands, the animal & plant life & the many jobs that have been lost because of this disaster. Our hearts go out to the people of our state and to our neighboring states. Over the weekend we turned our attention to the devastation & nineteen deaths caused by the flash-flood in AR. Can you imagine the “just minutes”, in the middle of the night, to leave without any prior warning since they were out of range of cellular communication. Out of all of that horror, God blessed us, in the little Village of Spearsville, with over 2 inches of rain that revived our dying lawns, flowers and gardens.

Over the last several weeks, we, at First Baptist Church of Spearsville, have been in the process of sprucing up our facilities. Hail had caused damage to the sections of the roof which required replacing it. After collecting the insurance money we were able to put in a little more and replace all of the old roofing with a new, white metal roof which matched that of the sanctuary — it really looks good. Next, our thoughts turned to the Fellowship Hall. Curtis Thomas was home for his two weeks off and he replace our old kitchen floor with a beautiful ceramic one; a painter has been hired to repaint and Curtis will put new counter tops on when he comes back home on his July break. Our young people have been working hard on fundraisers to get an ice maker and a new refrigerator; Stanley & Jennifer Leonard put in a beautiful flower-bed; we’re going to be ready for a great homecoming in August. Everyone is invited!! The food will be delicious and plenty of it; you’ll see lots of folks you haven’t seen in a long time.

Over the weekend our kids held a fundraiser for the projects of the fellowship hall as well as a mission trip to TN – a carwash, rummage sale & hamburger plates. They did a lot of hard work and our people were extremely generous; they made over $1000. These kids are a great bunch and Chris Canterberry, our Youth Director, is right in there working as hard as they did. The eighteen wheeler did present a bit of a problem, but that was quickly solved with a tall stepladder. Out hats are off to all those who made this day such a success — the Youth and Career Classes and to every one who contributed.

A youth rally was held at our church on Friday night – about sixty people attended. Bro. James reported that the entertainment was good and the speaker was excellent. We appreciate all the area churches that participated to make this happen – a positive, fun-loving event for our kids.

Last week Stanley & Jennifer Lenard took a much needed vacation, starting out in Arlington, TX, at Texas Rangers’ games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon – sweltering temps were up in the three digits but Jennifer reported that they love baseball and hardly noticed the heat. From there they drove to Hackberry, LA, where they met up with friends, Rusty & Annette Green, for three days of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, near Cameron. There were no problems from the oil spill; they had a wonderful time even though the fishing was not so great. We were glad they went but even happier that they were back in their usual places at church on Sunday.

My condolences go out to the Charlie Ward family. He was a good teacher, friend deacon, father and husband. Charlie loved his family and his church; he lived his Christianity every day even when God was forbidden in our schools. Every morning Charlie came to my room and reminded me that “Today is the day that the Lord hatch made and you shall rejoice and be glad in it”. Those good memories of his life will always be cherished and treasured in my heart and in the heart of many others. Charlie made a difference!!

Our condolences, also, go out to the Opal Reid family. She enjoyed life and her little scooter. In the nursing home she could quickly get around to all those she loved to visit with. Aunt Opal never lost interest in other people. We will miss her.

On Thursday night the Council on Aging treated all the participants of the meal sites in Union Parish to a fish supper at Hollis’. We always enjoy the food for there is none better than fish at Hollis’ but most of all we enjoy getting together with old friends and new friends across the parish. A special “Thank You” is sent to Lousie Denton, our parish director, who thinks of so many sweet ways to honor us, the senior citizens, and make us happy.