February Road Trip Part 6

Robin was a part of workshop/network gathering in Billings.  So I dropped her off there and picked up Dave Long.  Dave is a quality guy and the former Financial Officer for the Inland West Mission Center.  He and traveled five and a half hours northeast of Billings to a town called Culbertson, MT.  

Culbertson is the most isolated congregation we have and I wanted to make an effort to meet the folks there, even if I couldn't be with them on a Sunday.  Dave and I travelled up on Friday night and met with Scotty and La Vonne Scotson on Saturday morning.  Scotty and La Vonne are great people with a wealth of gifts and talents.  Their family runs three different furniture stores in thetowns of Culbertson, Sidney, and Williston.  In addition, Scotty also drives a charter bus.  

Scotty showed us the inside of the Culbertson church.  I didn't know this, but that is the church where Dave and his wife Sherry were married.  It is in great shape and has lots of character.  I plan to make it back to Culbertson some time in the not to distant future, I think I have some things to learn about tenacity from folks in isolated congregations.  

After visiting in Culbertson, Dave and met with a church member in Williston, ND.  We no longer have a church presence in Willistion, ND since the congregation closed a number of years ago.  We met with Art (the church member there) to perform some of the final duties associated with closing a congregation and to do our best to keep him connected to the body.  After our meeting Dave and I drove by the church in Williston.  We no longer own the building, but the old church name is still engraved in the front of it.  

February Road Trip Part 5.5

After leaving Great Falls, Robin and I traveled to Billings via the "high line" and then down through Judith Gap.  On the way it was unnecessarily cold and we were out of reach of most cell phone signals.  So we had do something novel.  We stopped and used a pay phone at a very interesting gas station/taxidermy/western wear store.  If you couldn't tell by my big parka it was REALLY COLD!!!!

February Road Trip Part 5

On my February road trip I was fortunate to be able to have Seventy Robin Linkhart travel with me through Montana.  I picked her up in Spokane, WA and then we traveled to the Whitehall, MT congregation for Pizza Church.  Pizza Church in Whitehall is always a good time and Robin and I stayed with Terry and Carol Ann Reiff.  

The next day Robin and I met with Judy Gardner, the pastor of

 the Helena, MT congregation, and spent some time exploring Helena.  We ended the day in Great Falls, MT with a fabulous meal at the home of Nathan and Karen Reiff.  Even though I still live in Independence, MO my membership is at the Great Falls congregation because I think it is important to financially support a congregation in the Inland West Mission Center and I want to support Nathan as pastor.