Dear Praying friends and Family,

Wow! Where has the year gone? It seems as though we get rolling along with our revival schedule and then the next thing you know it is summer. We have just begun our fifth summer with Camp Hosanna in Hiawassee, GA. We are currently in the midst of our first week of camp and God has blessed throughout the week with souls being saved, lives being changed and young people surrendering their lives to the Lords service. Tonight was the weekly campfires testimony service and the one thing that stood out to the camp staff was how many of the campers gave testimony of how Camp Hosanna had had an impact on their life. Time and time again a young person would stand and say, “I was saved here last year (some 2 or 3 years ago) and I look forward to coming back to camp every year.” Many of the children that we have ministered too since the camps inception in 2003 have been un-churched children growing up in a hostile world. The camp has become, for many, a source of refuge and they often mention how much they love the camp and the staff. This is an exciting ministry to have a part in and we always look forward to being here. We still hold firm to keeping the camp a tuition free even though the cost of running the camp continues to go up. We have seen our cost of feeding the campers and the staff rise tremendously since last summer. Last year we could feed 125 campers and staff for around $1200.00 a week but already we have seen this week with 125 campers for week one we have spent close to $2000 feeding the entire crowd. We do praise the Lord that by His grace we will be having a new ice maker installed in the kitchen this next week. We have been given the opportunity to purchase a large capacity ice maker at a ¼ of it’s actual price. We would have cost the camp $4000 is only going to cost $1000. GLORY BE TO GOD!

We completed the graduation process for Zach from high school and now the application process starts with college. We will spend the next 8 weeks working in the camp ministry and I have tried to schedule my Sundays to preach out as much as I can to help with our finances. This weekend we will be back in Fort Mill, SC with Pastor Jim Parrish at Bible Baptist Church for an all day Sunday and then on Monday we will leave to head back to camp to begin our first teen week for the summer. Once camp is over we will have two weeks of meetings in the Bristol, TN area during August. We then will leave for Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Please pray for both Diana and me as we adjust to sending our first child to college.

Please pray for our family as we work to be where he wants us to be in the future as well as meeting our needs during this camp season. Please pray that God will supply for our needs during these slack months of camp. This is the second year that I have had the activities to over see and direct each day. It is very difficult to think of not being a part of this ministry but when God moves and we see all the lives being changed I am convinced we are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing at this time.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at camp this summer and we pray that you will be just as excited to be here as we are. Continue to pray for our family with all the pressure of life as well as the hardship of meeting financial obligations.

May God Bless You All,
Brother Bill Abbott

Exodus 34:28-35 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

I love to watch people. I mean, I really love to watch people. When my wife and I go places I enjoy just sitting and watching people as they pass by. You can tell a lot about a person by just looking at their face as they pass by. Everything from the position of their eyebrows to the corners of their mouths are a determiner about the person. Now granted, this is not an exact science and I don’t mean for it to be, but have you ever stopped to check your face.

So many times when we are out places I see everything from two friends walking together or a whole group and they are often laughing and cutting up and seem to be having a good time. I don’t know these people but probably, in most cases, they are lost and have no hope of spending eternity in Heaven with the Lord but yet they seem so happy. They laugh and joke and just seem to be really enjoying life. I remember an incident several years ago involving our family. We were eating dinner at a Sonny’s BBQ on the east coast and were just enjoying our time together as a family. As is the case with our family we were laughing and giggling and basically oblivious to the people around us. Suddenly a lady, who was exiting the restaurant, came up to our table and with a pleasant smile on her face she said, “You have a happy family.” To my wife and me that was a great compliment.

With our ministry we are privileged to be in a different church just about every week. Churches that have good Pastors, that teach and preach the word of God. Churches where people are being saved and lives are being changed by the Lord. Yet, I notice something, many times, in these great churches and it is the face of the people. These are people that claim to be saved, have eternal life, a home in heaven, they will one day see the Lord, and the great truth that this world is not our home but we walk around with a face that looks like we’ve been eating sour lemons. Why is that?

In Exodus 34 we read about Moses coming down from the mount and having spent time with God. Moses had been communing with God and receiving all that God wanted him to receive during this time together. Moses had no idea that his time with God was having an affect on his face. When Moses came down the people feared him because his face shined with the Glory of God. Did Moses know this? No! He only learned this when someone told him. That means it show up on your face when you’ve been fellowshipping with God. I have often wondered; are we really spending the time with God we should be? Moses spent forty days with God and then came down. It was evident to the people that he had been with God. Does my face radiate to the people around me the fellowship I’ve had with God?

Here is something I find interesting in this passage as well. Moses didn’t know how his face shined from having been with God until the people told him. Therefore, this wasn’t a fake, put on your church face, fool the preacher, fool the people thing this was something real. I believe that God’s people need to check their faces and see if it is real. Maybe the reason the world doesn’t want our message is because they don’t want our long sad faces. Let’s get a face lift and lift the corners of our mouths and show the world we are the happiest people alive because we’ve spent time with God.

Exodus 40:12-15 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

Sometimes God’s word has a way of just reaching up and grabbing you by the heart and saying, “Pay attention right here.” Well, that is exactly what happened to me recently as I was reading through this passage during my daily devotional reading. I was preparing to preach in a Christian school one morning when this passage seemed to come alive. As I was reading this passage, three things suddenly leaped off the page at me.

God told Moses to bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tabernacle and wash. The first thing I saw was their need for cleansing. Aaron and his sons were about to embark on an incredible work for the Lord. They had been selected by God to perform the office of the priesthood. I was reminded that Jesus destroyed the work of the Levitical priesthood and instituted the priesthood of the believer upon His death. Now, I have a responsibility as a believer to maintain a proper cleansing. We can not approach a holy and righteous God such as ours if we are not clean. So many people try to administer the office of the believer priest while being just at Zechariah (Zechariah 3), standing before the Lord in dirty garments. We live in a time of moral decay. Values are minimized while sin is maximized. Holiness is mocked while carnality is praised. Separate living is no longer defined by, “What does God’s Word say about this thing?”, but rather, is defined by, “Well, my pastor doesn’t think this is that bad.” We are obsessed with the flesh. The Bible verse, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes (Psalm 101:3),” is for the guy next door; I have it all under control. Why are Christian men falling? Not just preachers, but deacons, Sunday school teachers, bus captains, and your average man in the pew are all becoming casualties to the lust of the flesh. Why? Because we have forgotten t his one very simple aspect of our relationship with the Lord – “our cleansing.”

Secondly, Moses was commanded to dress Aaron and his sons in the holy garments provided by God for the work of the priesthood and to anoint them with oil and to separate them. This showed me their consecration. I am reminded of the awesome God we serve and that He is not a casual God, but a great, mighty, and majestic God. You would not sit down to a nice meal with the President of the United States dressed in your t-shirt and Levi jeans. Why then do we attempt to worship a three time holy God with such an attitude? We must realize that God had a particular decorum in which the priest was to dress to perform His work. We too should dress like godly men and godly women in every aspect of our lives. We should attire ourselves in that which reflects our relationship with God, not the world. The priests were also to be anointed with oil. This reminded me of our anointing with the Holy Ghost of God. Most people have no idea of how to live in the power of the Spirit. Even though the Bible tells us to be filled with the Spirit, we often are nothing more than filled with the flesh. I have learned this true fact in my ministry. I can do the work of the ministry, and the power of God and the Holy Spirit of God be nowhere around. We need men and women, boys and girls, teens and young adults to crave the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Not this mess we see on TBN and these other Hell sent programs, but real Holy Ghost sent revival of the Spirit. People should be sensitive to the needs of those around them– be it spiritual, physical, or emotional needs. The Spirit filled man can sense all these needs.

Thirdly, Moses was told to establish an everlasting priesthood. This reminded me of the commitment they had to do the work. This is a bad word in America today – commitment. This was a God appointed position that was going to last forever. We have an eternal commitment as the children of God and that is to be faithful to the work of the Lord. We need soul winners. We need prayer warriors. We need people that when the going gets tough, they don’t quit, but they hunker down, and they work their way through all the muck and the mire to get to what God wants them to do. We have too many on again/ off again Christians sitting in our pews. When are we going to step up, do what we know to be right, and stop making excuses for our lack of commitment. I am surely glad Jesus wasn’t as non-committed as most people are today; otherwise, we might not have the opportunity to be saved today.

Today let’s think about our cleansing, consecration, and our commitment. If need be, maybe right now you need to go to the door of the tabernacle and receive those things you need to do your work today.

Philippians 4:6-7Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

It’s 7:30a.m.and I am sitting staring out the window of our travel trailer at the parking lot of the church where we are currently staying for a few days in between meetings. I am looking at our calendar and for the next few weeks there seems to be more open dates than scheduled dates. I am now beginning to wonder what is going to happen. My family is functioning all around me doing their normal daily duties but it is my job to make them feel secure and that all is well in the Abbott household.

Sound familiar to anyone? One thing that seems to be evident in many people today is the tendency to worry. Why is that? One reason, because we may have had our souls saved, and have been given a new spirit, but God has yet to fix my wretched flesh. How do I battle with this bothersome character trait in my life? I have learned that we all have the capability to worry, but it is how we handle and deal with the worry that determines our ability to live by faith. We preachers are great at telling others how they ought to do things, but in reality we are just like them, and we to have to learn some lessons along the road that we might continue to grow as well.

As Paul writes to the church at Philippi, he makes an interesting statement in verses 6 and 7 of chapter 4. Our King James Bible reads, “Be careful for nothing.” Does that mean that I should just live my life without care and just load my family in the truck and drive to the next town and say to the first Independent Baptist Church I find, “We’re here!”? Does that mean that the average person should just go and do whatever he thinks he ought to do without regard to cost, life, or influence on others? The answer is an obvious NO. What does Paul mean by the phrase, “Be careful for nothing?” The Greek word that is translated careful is also used 18 other times in the New Testament to describe taking care, giving thought, or giving care. It is literally to be anxious over something. Paul writes this in such a way that the Greek reader would understand not only was he not to worry about the things he could not control but he was telling him to stop doing it completely. How do we stop worrying about these things that come along, or worrying what may take place if something doesn’t change?

Notice the second part of the verse, “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” What is Paul trying to tell me in this part of the verse? Literally, quit worrying and start praying and thanking God for my situation. Have you ever tried to pray in this situation? I know these verses and have quoted them many times to other people when counseling them about worry, but now it is my turn.

I picked up my Bible, and I went to be alone in my truck. (When your home is 490 square feet it is often hard to find a quiet place to be with the Lord.) I read some other passages in my Bible and then I began to pray. At first, it was tough because I wanted to ask the Lord for a full schedule and to meet the needs of these open weeks, but I wanted to do as Paul was commanding the Philippians and give thanks for where we are, what we are doing, and tell God that I am willing to trust Him to open the doors that need to be opened. As I prayed, I began to have a better understanding of verse 7, “And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I hadn’t scheduled one meeting, nothing as far as our current situation had changed, but suddenly I had the peace of God, which I can’t explain to anyone, that everything was going to work itself out.

I called a preacher that I had met back in February from Texas. I told him that we would be coming through on our way to San Antonio and just wanted to touch base and let him know we would be in the area. He said, “I would love to have you preach but I have been out of the pulpit for the last two weeks and I really need to preach.” I asked would it be okay if we just stopped by and visited his services. He was more than happy to have us come by. As we fellowshipped together by phone he learned about our music ministry and he asked could we sing while we were there. He used us in the morning service and in the evening service. After we sang in the morning service he told the people he wanted to take up a love offering for us and the church gave us a two hundred dollar gift for singing that morning. When he learned that we didn’t have to be anywhere until Easter Sunday he told us to just stay at his church until we needed to leave. We had a great week of fellowship and encouragement. By the time the week was over, God had filled a week in our calendar for later on this year, but He taught me a great lesson about walking by faith and letting Him do the worrying.

Maybe you have he same problem of worrying when you ought to be praying. It has often been said, “If it isn’t worth praying about, it isn’t worth worrying about.” However, when you pray, pray with thanksgiving for the opportunity to bring whatever it is before the throne of God and let the peace of God rule in your heart. It works, I promise.

Mt 9:16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

When my parents were married they were given a new 8mm video camera as a wedding gift, and much of my childhood was caught on that camera. There is one old movie where my dad is teaching me and my brothers how to make a football tackle, and he is using an old blow up punching bag that had a painted clown on it as the tackle dummy. He would hold it and then give the command, “Set Hike!” Then one of my brothers or I would take off and tackle the dummy. I am sure that during these times we destroyed our clothes with grass stains, rips, tears, and holes in the knees of our pants. As a boy growing up I had the wonderful privilege of having a mother that was a seamstress. It was a good thing because raising four sons that were encouraged to go outside and be boys required a seamstress at times. One thing I remember is when our pants got a hole in them, she didn’t throw them away and buy more; she would patch the hole with a denim patch, fold them up, and put them in the dresser drawer until the next time we needed them. There was something interesting about the way Mom would patch my jeans.

She didn’t put the patch on the outside of the pants like I saw a lot of guys pants, but she would place the patch on the inside of the pants. Why? To be honest, I don’t know and at the time of this writing it is way to late at night to call and find out, but I have my suspicions as to why she did it the way she did it.

Before Mom would place the patch on the inside of the pants, she would take her scissors and cut away any loose or frayed edges to make sure that no strings could be seen after the patch was put into place. She then would cut the patch to cover the hole, place the patch in place, and seal the patch with a hot iron. The patch was placed on the inside as to not draw attention to the hole in the knee of the pants. The frayed edges were cut away so that the patching process would not be hindered, and the patch was cut to the right size to take care of what needed to be taken care of–not too much and not too little.

Isn’t that what Jesus is teaching here in this passage? Putting a patch on an old piece of clothing will not help but will hurt because everyone will see it and know that something is wrong with the garment. You have not helped the garment but have made things worse. However, if the garment is patched from the inside and not the outside and every effort is made to make it look natural and normal, many will probably never notice that the garment has been repaired or patched.

Recently I was disappointed in something that I read by an older Christian in reference to a much younger Christian. Apparently, the older Christian had certain expectations of the younger Christian, and the younger Christian had failed these expectations. Unfortunately, the older Christian took the opportunity to patch the rent on the outside instead of on the inside by writing something that many people were going to read to the detriment of the younger Christian’s character. As with anything that is done in the flesh, it brings a fleshly result. When I asked the younger Christian concerning his/her thoughts on the subject, the answer was as I anticipated–one of hurt rather than brokenness or repentance. Here was a great opportunity for the elder to teach the younger through love and compassion and to help him/her to see the need for fulfilling obligations and expectations. Can we meet everyone’s expectations? No, we cannot and will never be able to meet everyone’s expectations of us. However, when we give our word, we should follow through. When we say, “I will do it,” we should get it done.

I may be missing the entire meaning of this verse, but for the first time in my Christian life, I believe I have a much better understanding of it and a greater application for it to my life. When we see things that need repairing, what do we do? We rush in with our external patch and slap it on there to show everyone we can fix the problem, but in the end all we have done is made it worse. Some things need to be handled behind the scene where no one sees it and where the testimony and character of a person can be best protected. I do find it amazing though, how some get this type of internal patch while others seem to always get the external no matter how large or small the rent. I wonder how many people we have lost from our churches, how many children have been discouraged from serving the Lord, how many families have just quit trying because no matter what they do or how hard they try, all they will ever get is an external patch.

The next time you notice a little rent in something, think about this verse. Maybe what it needs is for someone to take a little time, like my mother used to do as she patched my pants, and go behind the scene and say something like this, “Hey, I was disappointed that you didn’t fulfill this expectation, but I want you to know I still love you and hopefully you will do better next time.” I promise the hot coals of love will bring repentance much sooner than the cold chill of bitter un-forgiveness.

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

It seems as though it has been forever since I last reported to any of you and gave you some type of update on our ministry. God has been good to us and continues to open doors that, honestly, I never imagined would be opened. We are currently in the small community of Fairland, IN about 20-30 minutes south of Indianapolis, IN. This is our first visit to this church but God has met with us each night of the meeting and we have seen God do some wonderful things throughout this week. The Pastor of the church is overjoyed with the attendance, involvement, and excitement of the people about the meeting. It has been several years since this church, Fairland Baptist Church, has had any type of revival services. The current Pastor has only been here for a year and has to work through some deep and tough times over the last 12 months but Gods grace is sufficient. I would ask all of you to pray for the services tonight. Last evening was youth night and we had several unsaved teenagers in the service and four raised their hands for salvation but none of them were willing to take the next step and walk the isle. I reminded the Pastor later that God requires us to sow the seed, water the seed and He will take care of the increase. Please pray that the Lord will work in their hearts throughout the day and that they will be back tonight and Friday night.

Much like last year we have had a slow start to 2010. Our 2009 calendar ended the first Sunday in December and we were in between meetings until the last week of January. God opened a door of service in our home church during the month of January. Our Pastor needed to step away from the every day pressures of the ministry for a short stint to deal with some health needs and he asked me to fill the pulpit during that time. It was great to be home for several weeks and to preach in our home church but it is even better to know that our Pastors health is doing much better and that God had us there at the time when he needed us.

We had great meetings again this year in central Florida during January and part of February. I had several weeks open in the month of February that allowed us to visit several churches on Sundays and Wednesdays and make some acquaintances. This did open up some doors to preach on Sunday nights in some new churches. We praise the Lord for some great meetings in Lake Mary, FL, Sanford, FL and Fern Park, FL where Pastors Tim Morrissey, Terry Boyd and Kevin Campbell are all doing a wonderful job. If any of you are ever vacationing in the Orlando area I highly recommend these three churches for a visit during your vacation.

Since leaving Florida in early March we have been in meetings in North and South Carolina, Jacksonville, FL and now we are in our second meeting in Indiana. Last week we had a great meeting with Pastor David Jordon at First Baptist Church in Laurel, IN. God blessed and worked in hearts all throughout the week and several individuals were asking the Pastor to not shut the meeting down but to keep it going. We saw several souls saved, lives surrendered, marriages restored and parents and teens getting some things right. The Pastor had been praying and preparing the church for some time and on Friday before the meeting had a 24 hour prayer meeting. It was evident form the first service that God was going to meet with us each service. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

We will spend the remainder of April in the state of Indiana and then we go to western PA for a week before we go home for a few days. Our oldest son, Zach, will be graduating from Abeca Academy the weekend of May 14-15 in Pensacola. We have a lot of miles to travel between now and then. We covet your prayers each time you think of our family. We look forward to seeing all of you soon and may God bless and keep you for His Glory and Honor.

For Souls,
Evangelist Bill Abbott

A Sermon Delivered by Evangelist Bill Abbott

You Have an Appointment

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hebrews 9:24 – 28

24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

A Sermon Delivered by Evangelist Bill Abbott

Who Are You Pleasing?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Galatians 1:10 – 2:10

Chapter 1

10  For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

11  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

12  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

14  And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

16  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

19  But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.

20  Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

21  Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

22  And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ:

23  But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

24  And they glorified God in me.

Chapter 2

1  Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

2  And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

3  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

4  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

5  To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

6  But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

7  But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

8  (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

10  Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Ps 135:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

It is hard to believe as I sit down to type this letter that we are already at the end of 2009. I can say without reservation that 2009 has been the most challenging year for our family and ministry since we launched out into the ministry of evangelism. We have seen many personal highs and lows as well as spiritual highs and lows this year. The one thing that remained the same throughout it all was the faithfulness of the Lord. With the current economic situation in our country we faced several challenges this year. One of those challenges was cancellations. My heart is for the local church and I completely understand the heartache of any Pastor who has to watch as his people go through the struggles of job loss, lay-offs and unemployment and recognizing the church was not in the place or ready for revival. I have tried to support every Pastor that cancelled a meeting with us this year encouraging him to do as he felt the Lord was leading him. Through it all we had six cancellations for the year and many of those coming at the beginning of the year. I will admit for a while it created some anxiety on my part as well as some discouragement but as I mentioned earlier God was faithful to fill our calendar at the end of the year.

The second challenge came with the cancellations and that was finances. With the price of fuel regulating somewhat this year the price of seemed to average around $2.70 a gallon for us. As all of you know, when fuel prices go up, shipping cost go up, and retail prices go up. Our weekly cost of being on the road with a family of six continued to climb throughout the year. We had hoped this might be the year that we were able to purchase a home again away from the trailer. Like any woman, Diana dreams of having a place to decorate for the holidays, cook without running or tripping over someone and being limited to 490 square feet makes that difficult sometimes. As I mentioned earlier, God was gracious to us and showed Himself faithful in that He supplied for our family in some unusual ways financially and it was always in His perfect timing. We are so thankful for the churches and individuals that support us monthly and for the gracious giving of all the churches.

For 2009 God allowed us to hold 28 revival meetings, preach 3 weeks of camp, directed 7 weeks of camp, preached in two men’s retreats, and did 10 all day Sundays. We could not have done much of this had it not been for the faithful financial support and prayer support of many of you receiving this email. We recorded over 100 salvation decisions this year through the camp ministry of Camp Hosanna. We also saw many salvation decisions throughout the year in our revival meetings. We had one meeting this year that was extended beyond the scheduled dates and God richly blessed throughout the year.

The year 2009 was also a special year for our ministry and family. On January 1 I personally celebrated being in the ministry full-time for 10 years. January 1, 1999 was my first day on staff with Southside Baptist Church in Rock Hill, SC and God gave us a wonderful 6 ½ years there. On November 18, Diana and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and we had the opportunity during the month of December to leave the children with family and take a few days away for ourselves. It was refreshing for both of us.

The coming year will be a transition year for us as Zach will be graduating from High School and in the fall will begin his first year of college. At this time he plans to attend Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, OK. He has progressed tremendously this year with his music and continues to take a greater lead in our children’s ministry. Like any parent we would like to see him stronger in some areas of his life but are very proud of the young man that he is becoming. We are excited to see our children grow up but already we have those growing pains of letting them spread their wings and learn to fly on their own.

We still have many holes in our calendar for next year and appreciate your prayers. Like always, scheduling the winter months is challenge but we trust the Lord to provide and meet our needs. We hope to get a third CD out this year. Please pray that God will supply the time and funds to accomplish this endeavor.

We look forward to seeing all of you in the near future. Please pray for us and as we thing of you we will do the same.

For Souls,
Evangelist Bill Abbott

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Ps 66:2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.

It is hared to believe that October has come and gone and now we are nearing the end of November. Where has the year gone? God has so blessed our meetings this year. We have seen God do so many great things from saving souls, healing marriages, restoring the wayward and providing in unusual ways for our meetings.

We are currently in Hendersonville, NC at Calvary Baptist Church. This is our second meeting in a row with a Pastor that has just recently taken the ministry. Last week we were in White Sulphur Springs, WV at Grace Baptist Church with Pastor Shawn Spencer. Pastor Spencer has been with Grace Baptist Church for 8 months and Pastor Mason has been here at Calvary for the last five months. It was exciting to thing that both of these men wanted to have us in for their first revival meetings in their new ministries. God gave us some great services last week at Grace. Although we didn’t see anyone saved the Pastor was greatly encouraged by the attendance of the people as well as being able to see some things happening amongst the congregation that he had not normally seen. We have experienced the same here at Calvary this week with no one having been saved but God has been slowly and methodically chipping away at the individual hearts of the people in the services each night. We praise Him, the Lord of the harvest, for what He is doing.

Before coming back to the east coast we had several great meetings in the mid-west. I have to admit we were ready to get back to the south after experiencing three weeks of freezing temperatures in northern Indiana and it was only October. When we left our home church in MS after a revival meeting there we headed to Winamac, IN. When we left MS the temperature was 65 degrees. When we pulled into Winamac 12 hours later it was 30 degrees. I thought I was going to freeze setting up the trailer. Praise the Lord, Diana had purchased me an early anniversary gift earlier that day and was gracious enough to give it to me ahead of time. It was a new coat. GLORY!

Yesterday Diana and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We took a little time to go to lunch together and to spend some time reflecting on the last 20 years and where God has taken over this time. We are so thankful to the wonderful family He has given us and for the many friends we have made over the years. We never imagined 20 years ago that we would be doing what we are doing today. Our testimony is proof that God can use anyone if they will just make themselves available. I want to say thank you to those of you that were aware of our anniversary and sent cards. You have no idea what a blessing that is to the two of us. We appreciate all that each of you do for our family.

This coming Sunday we will be with Pastor Jim Parrish of Bible Baptist Church in Fort Mill, SC for a Sunday – Tuesday meeting. We plan to spend Thanksgiving with friends in SC and by the following weekend we will be in Blairsville, GA for what looks to be our last appointment for 2009. Please pray for us during the months of December and January. These two months are the hardest months of the year to schedule with all the holiday festivities going on in churches and families, as well as the possibility for winter weather.

God Bless,
Evangelist Bill Abbott