June 2023

Dear Friends,

Meetings

Since our last newsletter I’ve preached in Iowa, Mississippi, Idaho, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and Missouri. The meetings have been well attended with, in some cases, the largest attendance-to-date for some of the churches. We conducted our TVBBI graduation on Sunday night, May 21. Then Kathy and I drove 1500 miles for our first meeting of the Summer Tour in Missouri. We will be preaching in the East until we return to Boise for the new school year in August 21.

Travels

We have seen the power of prayer in two ways since leaving Idaho. Our first trip was 765 miles through the Rockies. We normally get 7mpg when towing. Amazingly we got 7.5…up & down the mountains. The next day we drove 530 miles. The drive was from Cheyenne, WY, to Salina, KS. A 3,000 foot drop in altitude. Yet our mileage dropped to 5.9mpg. I cleaned the air filter on the truck and the next drive it dropped to 5.5mpg! I mentioned that on Twitter and the next drive it improved to 7.2mpg! This may seems insignificant to you but 5.5mpg is devastating mileage. We fill up and have only 165 mile range. You folks who pray have no idea of how your prayers bless us. But we are ever grateful for your kindness. The 3/4 ton truck really hammers me. Indeed, I had a really bad day right after we initially left Idaho. But, to eliminate that would require purchasing a small RV and another ½ ton truck. At today’s prices that would easily pass $150,000. Spending that kind of money to only use it three months a year for, who knows how many years, doesn’t seem wise to me. So, I decided to just tough-it-out. But, I believe folks prayers have been physically supporting us. Kathy is a little slower getting in and out of the truck. And, we take a couple days to recover from a long drive. But all-in-all, we are coping with that decision.

Highlights

In April I turned 73 (Kathy is still 29!). On June 14th I celebrated 53 years of salvation and 53 years of preaching. We figure every day over 70 years old is a “freebie” so we are truly celebrating every single day as we live them. Neither Kathy or I would rather be doing anything any different than we are. We love the Lord and love serving Him and feel so humbled and blessed that He would allow us to continue to serve Him years after “our warranty is up!”

Printing and Publishing

I am still plugging away at several new books. Preaching/teaching/traveling & writing take up pretty much all of my time. I accidentally “backed into” a new book which has involved a great deal more time/research than I thought it would. I was hoping for a “quick knockout” but it has evolved into a real time consumer. It is a comprehensive list of all scripture ever translated into English. I know, you checked the divine internet and already have it. Well, there’s more to just finding a few lists on the Internet. Right now I have documented somewhere more than 800 different translations of scripture into English. I say “scripture” rather than “the bible” because back in the beginning someone may have only translated: The Psalms; or the Gospel of John; or Proverbs or some other portion of the Bible into English. It’s all “scripture” but certainly not the entire “Bible.”

Our Intentions

It is our intention to just keep on going for the Lord until He decides a different course for our lives. Kathy & I both still love traveling the roads and love helping churches in whatever way possible. God has been very kind to us and allowed both of us to enjoy fairly good health. What am I supposed to do? Say, “Thanks for the great energy we have in our old age. I think I’ll retire and use it for fishing.” Doesn’t seem right to me. We both know our ministry could end with the next doctor’s report. So, we are going “pedal-to-the-metal until God directs us otherwise.

Your Part in All This

It is here where I’m supposed to pitch “partnering with us in this great ministry” …by sending us money. Nope, we both learned a long time ago that the single greatest thing you folks can do for us is to pray for us. We both believe that we wouldn’t be doing as well as we are if God wasn’t so gracious to us. And we believe God wouldn’t be so gracious to us if you folks didn’t ask Him to be in prayer. If you would be so kind as to uphold us in prayer, Kathy & I would be absolutely thrilled!

Thank you for your prayers!

In Christ’s Service,
Samuel C. Gipp