RV Ministry Report July to Sept 2021
JULY, 2021
On July 1st, we were still at Taylorsville Lake State Park. Lane and I went to Lexington, KY, to visit her friend Mary from high school. Mary was with Lane when Lane and I first met at the Baptist Student Union at the University of Kentucky. In addition to visiting her, we saw several of the places we knew from our Lexington days, including our first apartment as a married couple. So many places there have changed, as you would expect.
At this state park, we saw many wildlife, including does and fawns, skunks and their babies, raccoons and their babies, turkeys and their chicks, and five feral kittens.
While we were here at this park, Lane’s mother Betty had a medical issue with her heart, and had to go to Baptist Health Hospital in Lexington for a night. We had reservations at Brown County State Park in Indiana, but had to cancel those because of Betty’s health. Lane stayed with her mother and father a couple of days, after Betty came home. We were glad to be here during this time with them.
We gave tracts to a man across the street from our RV, and to a Shik man, who is traveling with his wife from Washington, DC, to south of San Francisco. We also gave a tract to a Buddhist lady, and to a waitress.
We moved to Charlestown State Park on July 8th, so we can still stay in this area until we see how Lane’s mother does with her health. Only a few sites are occupied. I walked through all three loops of them, and gave away seven tracts. We also visited our son Matt and his family in Louisville.
On July 11th, we moved to Elkhorn RV Campground in Frankfort, which is where Lane’s family lives. We gave tracts to a man at the gas station on the way, and to a couple from Wisconsin. We also met a Christian couple from SoCal, who prayed for Betty, Lane’s mother. I gave them three tracts and a business card. On the 12th, I met a man from north of Lake Tahoe, and gave him a tract. I also met a man from Davenport, FL, and gave him a tract. On the 14th, the park owners had a baptism at the swimming pool of a teenager from their church in Frankfort. On the 15th, we gave tracts to clerks at two fast food places. On the 16th, I had the oil changed on Lane’s car, gave three tracts to the clerks there. I gave two tracts to fast food clerks. We gave three tracts and our card to our next door campsite neighbors. On the 17th, I walked the park, but was only able to find one camper to whom to give a tract. At restaurant I gave three tracts to family seated next to us, and left a tract for the waitress.
On the 18th, we attended Crestwood Baptist Church, first in-church service we’ve attended since Mother’s Day in CA. I walked through the campground, gave two tracts to couple I met. On the 19th, I picked up a SoCal pastor friend from the airport, who is attending Southern Baptist Theological Seminary classes for a week, and dropped him off there after dinner. On the 20th, we moved to Taylorsville Lake State Park, and gave a tract to one couple as we left our last park, a tract to restaurant waitress, and to a lady at this park. On the 22nd, we went to Louisville Bats game, and gave a tract to the window clerk. On the 23rd, we gave a tract to a fast food clerk.
On the 24th, we talked to older vet, gave him a tract, and helped him have assurance of salvation. Lane gave his wife a piece of jewelry. We gave another couple a tract and a piece of jewelry, too. After lunch, I walked through another loop of the park, gave away six tracts. On the 25th, we attended our former church in Waterford, KY, Plum Creek Baptist Church, then we had lunch with one couple from the church, and gave a tract to the waitress. Pastor Rohr had good message on James 1:2-3, “A Time of Testing,” on life today. On the 26th, we went to the Jefferson County DMV to apply for our “Read ID” driver’s licenses. We have a 15-20 day wait to get them, but we were able to talk with the clerks and give them five tracts. We ate at a fast food place, gave tract to the waitress.
On the 27th, I walked through the campgrounds, and gave away about a dozen tracts to people. Later in the day I met and talked with a man, and his two grands, who works at the Toyota Car Plant in Georgetown, and gave him three tracts. He said that that plant cost about $800 million to build. All that to build a car! Compare that to all the creation, and the purpose for which God did all this! That purpose is so we can co-reign with Him forever! On the 28th, we went to a Target store, where I gave two tracts to teen girls at the Starbucks there. Back at the park, I gave two tracts to couple from Lexington, KY. On the 29th, we visited her folks again, and her mother is doing well. Then we moved to Charlestown State Park in Indiana.
Our friend, Rev. Sung Lee, has moved to start a seaport ministry near Houston, TX! You can google him on FB, and if the Lord leads, support his non-profit ministry. He and his wife Grace are doing amazing work, visiting ocean-going ships almost every day, and sharing the Gospel with sailors from around the world!
On the 30th, I walked around the campground, but not many people out. I gave away seven tracts to people. The next day, more people were available, and I gave away about 25 tracts to people. We also visited our son and his family, with their little girls. So great to finally be able to visit them more often!
AUGUST ,2021
On August 1st, we visited by car Brown County (IN) State Park to check it out, and then visited Nashville, IN. We gave five tracts to parking lot attendant, BBQ clerk, and two ladies who were eating at the BBQ place. Drove back to Charlestown SP and our RV. Went to restaurant in Clarksville, IN, and gave tract to waitress.
On August 3rd, we started our trip to see the Michigan lighthouses, going through Ohio. We gave a tract to gas station clerk on the way, driving Highways 421, 50, I-475, and I-75. We boondocked at a Walmart in Kettering, Ohio, and gave tract to food clerk. The next day we gassed up, and gave three tracts to gas clerk, vendor, and customer. We drove I-75 and Highway 33 to Neil Armstrong’s hometown (first man on the moon), and then back roads to a RV park near Pioneer, Ohio. We gave a tract to the owner, and then four tracts to new owners who were surveying the park for purchase. For once, this was a poor RV park, no working restrooms or showers, the advertised swimming pool was closed, and there were not even dumpsters on property to handle trash! We were glad we were only staying one night.
On the 5th, we drove to another RV park near Vassar, MI. On the way, we gave tracts to newlywed guy at gas station, clerk at MI Welcome Center, clerk at chili dog place, and registration lady at new park. This RV park is Wesleyan Woods Park, a Christian based park! First Christian one we have found. We also gave three tracts to restaurant and grocery clerks. During our time seeing the LHs, we picked one RV park for a base camp, and then drove in Lane’s car to see three to five LHs in the area.
On the 6th, we drove to Port Sanilac on the Lake Huron shore, and saw deer, wild turkeys, and a small herd of bison on the way! The first lighthouse we saw was Port Sanilac, now a privately owned and maintained lighthouse. Beautiful! In addition, we also saw lighthouses at Harbor Beach (on a jetty out in the harbor), Port Aux Barques (again on a jetty in the harbor), and Port Austin. This was driving north, up Highway 25, on the west shore of Lake Huron. We gave 13 tracts to store clerks, to the museum/gift shop keepers, tourists, and maintenance crew. At one town, we gave tracts to cafe staff and customers.
One of the surprises about lighthouses is that today they usually are not used for their original purpose! The ships out on the lake, and probably at sea, use radar instead of lights from the shore to know their positions in relationship to shores, sandbars, reefs, etc. This means that most lighthouses (LH in this report) are now historical sites, and are usually maintained by various historical societies in their areas. That is important, because the histories of these structures needs to be preserved. Men, and some women, risked their lives to both maintain the LHs, and go out onto the raging waters to rescue crews who were about to drown. Lake Huron is especially known for the storms that could come up suddenly, and put a ship with 20-30 sailors in a life-or-death struggle within a couple of hours. There are 1,200 known shipwrecks on Huron. You can look up the ballad of “The Edmund Fitzgerald,” which described the deaths of 29 men on one ship carrying iron ore. Another fact not usually known is that many LHs were ‘manned’ by families. At one LH, we saw the one bedroom where the five children of two families slept, played, and studied. The societies have a National LH Day, usually the first weekend in August. We also found out that you can climb some LHs, and some you cannot, due to the condition of them. Most have a small gift shop. We collected over 20 refrigerator magnets on this trip.
On August 7th, I walked the Christian campground, and gave away 22 tracts to campers. On the 8th, we attended the worship service here, with about 120 people. On the 9th, we drove up I-75 and Hwy. 23 to Alpena, MI, to a RV park there. I gave four tracts to a camper and staff. On the 10th, I gave three tracts to staff and a camper. We went to the LHs at Sturgeon Point and Tawas State Park, and I gave five tracts to a lady from Key West and camp staff. We ate at a KFC, and I was stuck with dismay at the expressions on the faces of the staff and the customers. They looked so discouraged and defeated. We gave four tracts to three couples and a clerk. In the town, we gave three tracts to three people. On this drive, we crossed the 45th Parallel, which is halfway between the equator and the North Pole. We gave five tracts to the park owner, staff, and some campers.
On the 12th, we drove to 40 Mile Point LH north of Rogers City, and gave three tracts to staff, and walked up into the tower (a spiral staircase with 57 steps). We learned about the Fresnel Lens that is used in most of the older LHs. They are from France, and could cost $1-2 million! Some are big enough to let adults walk inside of them. Then we drove to the old and new Presque Isle LHs. The new one is the tallest operating LH in MI, 130 steps to top, and you can climb to the top and stand on a narrow ledge on the outside! (No, we didn’t!) The old one has a huge bell, bigger than the Liberty Bell, that was at one time used to signal ships on the lake. We gave five tracts to people at the two LHs.
We have been giving the Titan/Titanic tract to people at these LHs, and they are amazed at them, especially the staffers. The tract tells the true story that 14 years before the sinking of the Titanic, a British novel was written about a cruise ship called the Titan, which was declared in the book to be unsinkable. It hit an iceberg, just like the Titanic, and sank with hundreds drowned. The book reads like a prophecy of the Titanic. Unfortunately, we can’t get this tract any more, as they don’t make them now. People loved to get them.
On the night of the 12th, we were so frustrated about our neighbors behind us at the RV park, who stayed up with loud music till 1:30 am! Quiet time at these parks, and at this one, is usually at 10 pm. We considered going to them, and complaining, but we didn’t want to hurt any potential witness to them. The next day, I met a Christian couple; the wife is an author, blogger, and column writer for their local newspaper. They live near Punxsutawney, PA, the “home” of the groundhog of Groundhog Day. I gave them a tract, and she gave me two of her books. Back at the RV, Lane and I talked with the ladies of the “loud” RV behind us. They apologized for their men being loud (they had gone to work). We gave them two tracts, and Lane gave them two pieces of the jewelry that she makes. We were very glad we had not made trouble for them last night! At a local restaurant, we gave two tracts to staff and to a couple at a nearby table. He had a shirt with Phil. 4:13 on it, and I told him I liked his shirt. He said he has a whole book at home with it in it! He also gave me two tracts that they give to people. It was good to see other Christians who witness this way!
On the 14th, I walked through the campground, and gave away 12 tracts to about 25 people. On the 15th, we gave one last tract to a camper at that park and to a fast food clerk. Then we drove to and over the Mackinac Bridge, five miles long and I don’t want to know how high! Lane enjoyed the view, while I ‘white-knuckled’ it and kept my eyes on the pavement! We drove to Brimley State Park, and set up on a nice site. We walked to the Lake Superior beach, and we could see Canada from there, and the city Sault (Sue) Ste. Marie!
On August 16th, we drove to Point Iroquios LH. It was closed due to covid, but we were able to talk with volunteers painting the outside. We gave three tracts to a Evansville, IN, couple, to a Michigan couple, and to a Wisconsin lady, all doing outside painting. We drove through Paradise, MI, to Whitefish Point LH and Shipwreck Museum. In Paradise we had lunch, and a couple from Paducah, KY, saw our KY license, and stopped to talk. We gave them a tract. Then we drove to Tahquamenon (Upper) Falls State Park. Wow! 50 feet high and 200 feet wide! The water is orange in color, because of the tannic acid from the decaying leaves of the park.
The 17th was our 47th anniversary! I walked the park, and gave away 20 tracts to about 35 people. We had our anniversary dinner at a Applebee’s at Sault Ste. Marie, and gave a tract to waitress with the tip. Our marriage is such a blessing from the Lord! On the 18th, I gave seven tracts to campers and staff. Some of my FB friends warned me that there is a false friend request with my name, so one of them and I reported it to FB, and I sent a caution notice on FB. On the 19th, I witnessed to a YA staffer who is a college student, and plans to go into engineering. I also gave him two tracts and a Gospel of John. I also gave a tract to a older couple with grandson, and to a sailing couple who also camp.
On the 20th, we left Brimley, and drove back across the Mackinac Bridge, past Traverse City, to RV way out in the forest 30 miles from Cadillac, MI! Nice park but mosquitos everywhere! We used it for a base camp, but could not go outside at all. Besides the bugs, we also had to close up doors and windows, so that bears in the area will not smell our food! We had to eat at fast food place in Cadillac; I gave tract to clerk.
As a side note, we were heartbroken about the Afghanistan Christians, and prayed for them. On the 21st, 11 am US Eastern time is 11 am their time, and yet they went to church as always. Some died for it. 20 years of war, and the enemy is right back where they were before it started. Lord, please help them and our nation!
On the 21st, we drove through Mesick, MI, and saw woodcraft on a man’s lawn. We stopped and bought a small lighthouse design, and gave the craftsman a tract. Then we drove through Traverse City, going north, and went to Mission Point LH. Gave the keepers a tract. In Traverse City, we ate at fast food place, and gave a tract to clerk. When I looked back, she was showing it to her manager, and they were both smiling (it was the 101 One-Liners tract)! Then we drove to Grand Traverse LH. On the way, we stopped at a gallery of yard, glass, and metal works. I was wearing a shirt I had made, which has a picture of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders, and it says, “They got his name wrong. His name is Jesus. 2 John 1:1.” The store owner started complaining to me about Biden for some reason. I shared with him what we do, and gave him a tract, which I saw him show to his clerk. At Grand Traverse LH, I gave a tract to the staff. Outside, we gave a tract to a family from Bay City, MI. On the way back, we stopped at another gallery, gave tract to clerk there.
On the 22nd, we drove to Manistee, MI, and saw the Coast Guard LH there. We walked out the long pier, with waves crashing over it a little. Yes, we got wet. We gave three tracts to some YA girls and a guy, a tract to grill clerk, and a tract to a lady customer at the grill. Then we drove to Point Betsie LH, and got postcards, magnet, mugs, pullover jackets, and poster of the LH. Beautiful views of Lake Michigan, the LH, and the beach. We gave tracts to clerks. I noticed that the two small apartments at the LH had people in them, and in the museum/gift shop I asked the clerks how much they cost to rent. Get this: $500 a night and $3,500 a week! Wow. We gave three tracts to a SBC pastor from St. Charles, MO.
On the 23rd, I gave a tract to the camp owner, and then we drove to the next RV park in Fountain, MI. We gave a tract to the park owner there. On the 24th, we drove to White River Light Station & Museum (some LHs are called Light Stations), near Whitehall, MI. I gave a tract to staff there. Then we drove to Little Sable (means ‘sand’) Point LH. I gave tract to gas station clerk, then to the LH gift shop keepers (which was in a RV!), and then to two men on the beach. Back at the RV park, I gave a tract to another camper. On the 26th, I gave a tract to camper and his son, then we drove to Big Sable LH, north of Ludington, MI. We had to walk two miles on the beach to get to it, but it was worth it, very beautiful. I gave two tracts to volunteers who ran gift shop, then four tracts to four sets of hikers on the beach road to the LH, including one couple who are missionaries. Then we drove to Frankfort Breakwall LH, but the fog rolled in before we could walk out its pier to it. Lane gave a tract to a lady at a fast food place, who had parked her car next to ours. On the 27th, I gave a tract to the park clerk.
On the 28th, we went to restaurant in Ludington, MI, and gave tracts to the cashier and the waitress with her tip. On the 29th, I gave two tracts to two campers in the RV park. On the 30th, we went shopping in Ludington, ate at fast food place, and gave a tract to clerk. I also gave a tract to another camper. On the 31st, I rode my scooter to Fountain, MI, got cokes, and gave tract to a clerk.
SEPTEMBER, 2021
On September 1st, I gave a tract to another camper, then one to a grocery clerk. On the 2nd, we drove to another RV park, and this one is also a Christian retreat center and campground, located outside Big Rapids, MI. Our son David went to the luthiery school here a few years ago. (Luthiery places are string instrument makers, usually guitars.). We gave tracts to a restaurant clerk, a Walmart clerk, and grass mowers in Big Rapids, and then checked into the park, giving a tract to a lady clerk. We gave a tract to a camper. On the 3rd, we gave three tracts to staff at the gift shop. On the 4th, I walked the campground, and gave three tracts to campers. One from Holland (the country), one from Chicago, and one was the camp host. I gave a tract to a couple playing disc gold.
On the 5th, we went to the camp worship service at what they call ‘Chapel in the Woods.’ Good message and good service. We went to Applebee’s for dinner, and left a tract with the tip to the waitress. On the 6th, I walked around our camp loop, and gave out 14 tracts in 15 minutes! Fun. I just walked up to the people on a site, held out a tract, and said, “Did you get one of these? If you are a Christian, it’s a great way to share the Gospel, and if you are not a Christian, it’s a great way to understand the Gospel!” No one rejected them—PTL. I also gave one to a guy at the dump station, and one to a guy at the trailer parking lot. Later, we gave one to a girl clerk at a fast food place. Then we drove to Grand Rapids Walmart, where we boondocked for the night. On the 7th, I gave a tract to a lady waiting at the bus stop at the Walmart.
Also on the 7th, we drove to the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum at Elkhart, IN, where we boondocked for the night, too. On the 8th, I gave four tracts to fellow RVer, the museum clerk, and another couple seeing the museum. We walked around the museum for almost three hours, very interesting. The first exhibit was a covered wagon! We also gave three tracts to another RVer, and to two maintenance men.
On the 9th, we drove to Fort Wayne, IN, to eat at a Skyline Chili restaurant, where we gave two tracts to clerks and two tracts to customers. Then we drove to another Christian RV park outside New Castle, IN. While we were checking into the park, the owner asked me what we do, and I told him about our RV ministry. He was amazed, and told me he is teaching a class this coming Saturday on how to use tracts. He wanted to know how we do it. So I explained about the tracts we use, and gave him 20 copies of the 101 One-Liners tract, a Big Money tract, and one of the Gospels of John. I also showed him on my phone how to use the Share Jesus Without Fear app. I gave him our business card, too. So great to find another believer who is actually training believers to witness to lost people!
On the 10th, we drove to the New Castle Walmart and boondocked there for the night. On the 11th, we drove to the Columbus, IN, Walmart, and boondocked there for the night as well. We gave tracts to a clerk at fast food place next door, and then to a clerk at the Walmart when we shopped there. Note: 20 years ago today almost 3.000 people went to work, never dreaming that they would die that day. Will someone you know die today or tomorrow? Do they know Jesus as their Savior and Lord? Share the Gospel with them!
On the 12th, we went to Louisville, KY, got our mail from our son, and played with our grands! Yea! Then we drove to Taylorsville Lake SP, and set up on one of the sites. We gave three tracts to park assistant manager, and to two sets of campers, along with Lane’s jewelry. The next day Lane visited her folks in Frankfort, and I worked in the RV. On the 14th, I gave a tract to another camper. We reorganized the RV storage compartments, which we call our ‘basements.’ We gave two tracts to a fast food place staff. On the way back to the RV, we saw 15 deer! Sweet!
On the 15th, I gave a tract to fast food clerk, as we took Cody to an animal clinic to get his scheduled rabies shot, and we gave a tract to receptionist there. We gave tracts to two other fast food places.
On the 16th, we gave two tracts to fast food places. On the 17th, we gave two tracts to Christian couple. On the 18th, I walked the park, and gave away 16 tracts to about 25 people in the four campgrounds here. Later, we gave a tract to fast food clerk. On the 19th, we gave tracts to two fast food places. We had a bday part at Lane’s parents for both our son Matt and Lane. Her bday is the 20th, and his is the 23rd. He and his family came to her folks’ home in Frankfort.
The 20th is Lane’s bday! I’m so blessed with her! We went to Chili’s for her bday, gave tract to waitress, and to a clerk at a bookstore. On the 21st, we got a notice from our website host that their cloud server has lost all their websites! Bad news! They are trying to restore as much of them as possible, but they have warned us that they have no idea of how much can be regained! Their cloud server was transferring all their customers’ data from one place in the cloud to another, and somehow lost it all!
On the 22nd, our son David made a decision to come to Kentucky, and join us for the rest of the year. Yea! He will be with us in about four days, from Florida. He does not like the cold weather in the winter, but he wants to be with us and our families over the holidays through the middle of January. We are looking forward to seeing him! I gave a tract to a Cleveland, OH, man.
The 23rd is our son Matt’s bday. We took our RV to a branch of the company who makes our electric RV generator, to do a diagnostic on it. We discovered it will cost $1,000 to replace the motherboard on it “to start.” Only then will they know if there is more wrong with it. Since we don’t use it very much, we decided to not do that repair. We also found out that a new generator on the RV would cost $3,200. I did get to give a tract to the rep there. Later I gave a tract to a clerk at a BBQ place, when we picked up food to take to Matt’s bday party at his house. We had fun with he, his wife, and their children. And we saw 25 deer in the park, when we went home to RV!
On the 24th, we drove to my mother’s house in Greenville, KY, and visited with her for two days. We got gas on the way, giving a tract to clerk. We also gave a tract to a pizza place clerk. On the 25th, we gave a tract to lady in the Walmart, and to a clerk at a fast food place. We texted prayers to Rev. Mark Gayden and Sister Lizz Bell who were holding the Empower Conference today in Long Beach. On the 26th, we drove to Mammoth Cave National Park, and set up on site B47. This is a boon docking camp-ground, and has no internet and very little cell phone service. Our son David joined us! He will be with us until after January 19th, Lord willing.
On the 27th, we gave three tracts to a camp store clerk and a camper couple. I tried to work on our website, but did not have any success. I did get an email request from a online Bible study pastor, asking if he can send me brochures about it to give to people when I give out tracts. But I decided that would not be feasible, since our tracts just open the door to the Gospel. I think that trying to get lost people to do an online Bible study routine would be too much to ask them. Our RV ministry is a Gospel seed planting effort. His Bible studies do not witness specifically to the lost.
On the 28th, I gave three tracts to two staff members and one camper. I walked thought two loops of the campgrounds, and gave away 13 tracts. On the 29th, we drove to Frankfort, where we had the brakes on both the car and the RV checked. All okay, but the car tires will need replacing in the spring. We visited Lane’s parents again. Then we drove to Taylorsville Lake SP, and set up camp on site #47. On the 30th, we gave three tracts to family next door to us. That ends these three months.
SUMMARY
During these three months, we gave away 414 tracts, two gospels of John, and several of our business cards. Lane gave away four pieces of the jewelry that she makes, and I shared the Share Jesus Without Fear app with a Christian, who is training other believers.
For Sunday morning worship services during the pandemic, we usually watched our daughter’s church service online. She’s in Orange County, CA.
We use the Passport America app, and the all stays app, for finding a lot of the RV Parks, and by researching the state and national parks along our routes. We generally drive 4-5 hours a day, when we are on the road.
For those people who wanted to send financial support to us, go to Zelle, and use ‘Marian Graham’ and her phone number 563-676-5740. Please note that we are not a non-profit.
At this time, we are still working to restore and update our website (www.godzfriends.net) and my Facebook page (Richard Graham). (We were able to do this at about 50% or so in mid-October, so they are back up and running when you get this RV Ministry report.) We will update every 3-5 days, so people can keep up with us, and pray for us and our RV ministry. Please check it out! Thank you for all your prayers! Our Lord has been providing for all our needs!
In our prayers, we claim the salvation of all to whom we share the Gospel by whatever means. God’s Word will not return to Him void.
A good friend and fellow minister, Rev. Sung Lee, who for fifteen years was the LBHA seaport chaplain for the Long Beach and Los Angeles Harbors, is now a seaport chaplain in Houston, TX. You can find him and his ministry on Facebook.
A good online Bible study is the Through the Word app. Rev. Kris Langham is the founder and teacher.
Richard and Lane Graham, RV Missionaries, rgrahamdom@yahoo.com, 562-676-5640,
