March 31, 2005

This past weekend was so eventful that I have to gather my thoughts just so I’ll know where to start.  Tim Shelton and I left Ohio at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday morning to start on our journey to Florida.  Little did we know that the weekend would be a testing of the will, a time of character development and one aggravation after another.

Before we even made it out of Ohio the traffic was so bad that it added an hour to our routine commute to Richmond, Ky. Before we made it to our first stop, to pick up Jr., he called to tell us that he was at the hospital with his wife Janice and that she might have to have emergency surgery.  So the next half hour was filled with uncertainty.  We were concerned about Janice mainly but the other issue was that Jr. is such a pivotal part of the band that getting someone to fill in for him with no prior notice is nearly impossible. To make a long story short the doctors decided to wait until Monday the 28th to perform the surgery so we ask you all to keep Janice in your prayers.

The rest of the trip to Florida was great.  We played at a Co-op at 9:00 a.m.  Thursday morning and we just had a blast.  After performing, eating and packing up we were eager to get home and spend a day with our families before we had to play in Somerset, KY on Saturday.
 
Well we made it as far as Valdosta, GA when our van started acting crazy.  We took it to a local service station and had the fuel filter changed thinking that would remedy the problem but a mile down the road we realized that we had a bigger fish to fry.  We took the van to an actual repair shop and the owner/mechanic diagnosed the problem as a faulty fuel pump.  Since it was getting late in the day (3:30 p.m.)  he said he couldn’t get the right pump until the next morning.  Reluctantly, we WASTED the rest of the day and stayed the night in Valdosta.  We got up early Friday morning and took the van back to the repair shop.  Upon arrival the owner told us that he didn’t accept credit cards or out of town checks.  So the only thing that stood between us and home was 800 dollars in cash. Needless to say we didn’t get the van fixed there. (I think he just didn’t want to do it).

Thank God we made it to Macon where we took the van to a Chevy dealership.  Four hours later we were back on the road, happy as larks and picking on Jr.  We stayed the night at Tim Caudill’s house in Caryville, TN then made our way to Somerset, KY Saturday around noon.  We had a great time at The Gospel Barn that night and all was well.  On our way home that night I realized that I had left my coat at Tim Caudill’s house which had my only set of keys and my checkbook in it.  Thankfully, my lovely fiancé Heather picked me up at Tim Shelton’s at 1:30 in the morning and took me to my house and Tim Caudill mailed me my keys on Monday. 

Although this past week was eventful and aggravating I believe that sometimes God uses these “happenings” to steer us clear of danger, trouble and sometimes complete devastation.  Through the events of the weekend I kept reminding myself that it could always be worse and that God sees the entire picture while we only see bits and pieces.  So let me encourage you right now to be of good cheer for he that has started a good work in you will complete it.  That is a direct promise from God.

God Bless.
Rob Baker