Pleasant Times

News from Mt Pleasant Christian Church - http://mychristianchurch.org - May 2010

A Second Glance…
Bill Taylor was born in Bedford in 1937 to Earl O. and Ruth Taylor both of Lawrence County. I
attended grade schools in Mitchell, Lawrence, Oakland and Crane, Indiana. Then went to Odon
Madison High School and graduated in 1956. Joined the Navy and after Boot Camp at Great Lakes,
Illinois I spent a year at Key West, Florida going to Fleet Sonar School then went to Charleston,
South Carolina where I spent 3 years to the day aboard the USS Parrot (MSC-197). I was
discharged after 4 years as a First Class Sonarman. Having a desire to be a draftsman, I was hired
at Sarkes Tarzian and spent 2 years as a draftsman. With a strong electronic background I was
hired at NAD Crane, IN as an Electronic Mechanic in 1962. I started on July 3, 1962 and got a paid
holiday the next day. Worked at Crane until 1979 as an Electronic Technician and was working on
projects designing and building electronic controllers for shipboard hydraulic winches. I transferred
to Port Hueneme California working as an Electronic Technician and filled the position of Tech Rep.
(known throughout the Navy as a SAND GRAB, that is a civilian working on Navy ships). I worked
on deck equipment that allowed supply ships to transfer Beans, Bullets and Oil to the ships of the
fleet while underway. This is called Underway Replenishment and is a vital process to allow the
battle groups to operate underway for months at a time. A typical transfer to an Aircraft Carrier
would require 50 thousand dozen eggs along with many pallets of toilet paper and numerous other
items taking 2 to 4 hours of navigating the two ships just 150 yards apart.
After 18 months at Port I traveled extensively
Hueneme there was a around the world to
need to but a Tech Rep where the ship was
with the Commander that had a problem with
Naval Surface Group, their equipment in
Western Pacific at order to repair it. My
Subic Naval Base in travels put me in
the Philippines. I was various situations
selected for a which made front page
permanent transfer and news stories. Such as
moved to Subic in the evacuation of
October 1980 & stayed Americans from
there until May of Tehran, Iran, while
1989. trying to get a flight
.

back home, I was leaving Rome, Italy and due to 2 people getting off in Italy I was able to get on the
plane going to New York. A flight from Burbank California to Portland Oregon was interrupted due to
the eruption of Mount Saint Helens that morning and my airplane flew over the mountain and
because of the dust, it had to land at Seattle then a short flight to Portland on a different plane.
While trying to get to an ammunition ship to fix their equipment I spent 3 days on the Aircraft Carrier
that the helicopters took off from on their mission to rescue the hostages from Iran and they crashed
in the desert. While on leave in the Philippines I received orders to go to the gulf war as soon as
possible as a ship had several pieces of equipment broke. I got a flight that night from Cubi Point at
Subic Naval Base and arrived the next day at Al Fuijayrah, United Arab Emirates then a flight the
next day to Bahrain and finally to a ship that took me to the ship that I was sent to fix their broken
equipment. I spent two weeks working on seven different ships before getting back to Bahrain. Then
a found a man which looked like a bush pilot, and he said he was going to Dubai, UAE, but had to
deliver a Navy pilot up north first. So we took off in a small 2 engine plane to Dubai via a quick none
stop landing to let the Navy pilot off (he jumped from the moving plane) somewhere near Iraq, the
pilot would not tell me where we were, but we were only about 1500 feet altitude all the way on that
trip to Dubai. Then a bus ride the next day across the desert to Al Fuijayrah and back to the
Philippines. I received the Navy Civilian award for serving in a war zone.
I had to fly in military helicopters many times during the 15 years I traveled moving from ship to ship
to shore; the longest flight was just under 1 hour. Every time I got off the helicopter my knuckles
were white and those were the times I started to feel the presence of the Lord. But then after I
retired in Jan 1994, I moved back to Indiana, and didn‟t‟ travel as before and I got away the Lord. I
had a double by-pass in 1992 and in 2001 cancer was found in my colon and later a cancerous polyp
in the bladder. This caused me to reconsider my relationship with God. I was baptized at Oakland
Christian Church in 1947 but I realize now that Jesus was not in my heart. In the late 70‟s my wife
and family were part of the original members of Woodhaven Christian Church and I served as the
Chairman of the Fund Raising committee in which we raised $25,000 to build the new church on S.
Leonard Springs road. Then in early 2004 while going to the Endwright Center I met Carl Kale and
we started a close friendship. He told me about a new preacher that really impressed him at Mt.
Pleasant Church and invited me to attend. I spent at least 2 hours and drove maybe 50 miles trying
to find the church. It was imposable until someone took me or I followed someone to the church,
don‟t remember exactly. I started on April 3, 2005 and transferred my membership from Crossroads
Methodist Church on August 7, 2005 at which time I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ as my savior
and I felt he was in my heart at last.
While in the Philippines I met my wife, Melinda, nick name Belen, and it took two years to complete
the visa application process while I was in the states. She and her son arrived here in May 1991, we
were married in Las Vegas on June 2nd and I retired on January 4th 1994. She is Catholic and
attends St John‟s in Ellettsville. But she will go with me especially on Fellowship Sunday and if I beg,
she will bring „Lumpia‟ which many people say they like very much, but they all want to call them Egg
Rolls. Maybe someday I can get everyone to call them by their Filipino name “Lumpia”.

The Resilience of a Child

By Vickie Miller

Today I was at a pitch-in gathering celebrating the

bond of a new family. Although I knew few people in attendance, the food was good and the
atmosphere pleasant. Congratulations to the new parents were being offered. Covered dishes were
passed to the host family's helpers and cups were filled to almost over-flowing. The building was a
pole barn hidden on the inside under the auspices of a modern church sanctuary. And there, amid
the people, the outdoor game equipment being used inside, and the wafting aroma of food, I saw
God.
I know you're thinking that my God-sighting surely couldn't be that original, since I was in a church
building. However, it wasn't an ordinary sight. Angels didn't abound. Communion wasn't served.
The prayer wasn't overly eloquent. I saw Him in the resilience of a child.
An avid people watcher, I noticed a large group of children playing. Off hand, I was able to pick out
eight of them whose history is known to me. The ninth, though not with the aforementioned eight, I
also observed as she walked among the guests talking, laughing, and smiling. Of these nine, a
handful of them have been either abused or neglected at the hands of people who were supposed
to love and care for them. All of them had been abandoned -also by the people who, at one time,
had held the titles mom and dad. I was both humbled and inspired by the sight of those children.
On a personal note, I am almost thirty-four as I write this. I've been estranged from my father for
nearly a decade. Father's Day brings with it a lump in my throat and unshed tears. There are times
when the sadness resulting from the distance between us envelopes me like a cloud. Looking
back on those days and as I anticipate this year's upcoming Father's Day, I know I am not as
strong as the children I saw today. I have forgotten the resilience of childhood.

The Lord reminded me this evening that He has

intertwined in our beings resilience like no other.
The joy on the faces of those children. Their smiles
and laughter that echoed throughout the sanctuary
was unmistakable. Inside of them lies such
strength. They are unhindered by the pain of their
past and flourishing in God's almighty love. Sure,
life won't always be as innocent or fun-filled as this
evening was, but God will be there every step of the
way.
The next time you're experiencing the trials of life
and feeling the overwhelming sense of weakness

and despair, stop and think of a child who has endured more heartache in their young years than
most of us do in a lifetime. Reach down deep inside and re-connect with the resilience that God
poured inside of you when He created you. I promise you, it will renew your strength in Him and
put a smile on your face.

Attention Parents:

Did you know that you can

download free Internet
protection software from the
The Hilltop Camp Work Day is on May 22nd. church website? It will keep
Breakfast and lunch will be served. We need to your kids safe and help you
know how many are going so that they will know monitor the sites they visit and
how many to prepare for. Thank you! how much time they spend
online. Just click the resource
button on the church
homepage.
Vera Acuff‟s Pie Crust
Orginially published in the Hoosier Times

 This makes enough for two crusts.

 3 cups flour
 1 1/3 cups of shortening (Vera always used Crisco)
 1 tsp salt
 1/3 cup of ice water
 1 egg
 1 tsp of vinegar

Use your fingers to crumple flour and shortening before adding other ingredients.
Roll out the crust on top of wax paper so they can be easily lifted and liad into ungreased pie plate.
If making ahead, freeze and then thaw before baking.

David Young- May 2nd Cranberry Cherry Pie

Paula Hawkins- May 5th
Kathryn Anderson- May 3rd
Sherry Farmer- May 4th
Tyann Miller- May 6th
Josh Walcott- May 8th
Howard Floyd- May 10th
Ricky Brown- May 12th
Angel Peach- May 13th
Butch McClary- May 17th
Trish Day- May 18th
Ella Chafin- May 20th
Tyler Miller- May 20th
Ira Young- May 22nd
Shelby Farmer- May 22nd
Janet Cooter- May 23rd
Rosalee Pruett- May 24th
Jon Miller- May 25th
Bob Long May 29th
Vickie Miller- May 29th
Wanda Frye- May 29th
Anniversaries
Michael & Nicole May 7th
Ben & Jessica Nickless- May 14th
Rodney & Patty Day- May 15th
Karl & Debbie Wampler- May 19th
Don & Sue Cooter- May 29th
Tom & Sydney McClary- May 29th
Michael & Mary Beth- May 31st
This recipe was graciously submitted by
Gene Payne in response to last month‟s
request. This is an Amish Recipe from
Wisconsin. 1st place winner in 2007 35th
annual Warren Cranberry Festival!
 ¾ cups sugar, plus ½ cup sugar
 3 Tbsp cornstarch
 3 cups cherries (thickened)
 2 cups raw cranberries.
Pastry for double crust pie (9‟‟ deep dish
pie plate)
In a small sauce pan, put the 3 cups of
cherries and 1 tbsp cornstarch with ½
cup of sugar.
Simmer over medium heat until mixture thickens. Cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar and 2 tbsp
cornstarch. Stir in cherries that have been thickened
and cranberries. Put filling in pie crust, then put pastry
on top of pie.
Brush with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. Bake
at 375* for 55 - 60 minutes. You can cover edges
loosely with foil. Bank until crust is golden brown and
filling is bubbly.
 Miracles of Jesus

B R E A D H P Z L F D Y S M S
R L S K Z Y G W K E A C P J E
J F L Y F S K B L I N D S P R
J K A B E T H E S D A X V B V
C M Z K F L V K P D I L E S A
Q A A B W I D O W H D E M O N
P T R L R T E N M E N P F I T
I A U H M X P O S S K R O X L
M C S D R O P S Y L W O M A N
C R I P P L E D C X N S I O A
E L L E M S P A R A L Y Z E D
N M H C S A O J F B L X O Q F
T C M O T H E R I N L A W H I
U F P S O N D N S O E X A L G
R E Z I R J F V H T K G L D T
I K C P M A N M U S I C K W R
O T H S E W T M Z F L W I N E
N V G D A U G H T E R L N U E
L I I K S B L E E D I N G F P
P K H I G H P R I E S T H D P

Leprosy mute son fish

Servant shriveled sick bread
Mother in law demon Bethesda fig tree
man deaf daughter wine
woman crippled widow blind
pigs dropsy Lazarus Centurion
Paralyzed Ten men storm fed
bleeding High Priest walking possessed

Copyright 2001 by the

Crownovers
 
Mt. Pleasant Christian Church
3191 W. Burma Rd.
Gosport, IN 47433
812-876-9149

Southern Fried Commandments


Does the whole “Twilight” craze get on your last
nerve? Is “Avatar” the greatest movie ever? Do you
(1) Just one God. watch a lot of movies or pick up the latest best-selling
(2) Put nuttin' before God novels on the market? Is there an oldie-but-a-goody
(3) Watch yer mouth. film, book or television show you’d love to tell others
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin.' about? If so, why not consider submitting a Christian-
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa. minded review. Share the love! Have an idea for an
(6) No killin.' article you’d like to see in our newsletter? Staff writers
(7) No foolin' „round with anuther feller's are always welcome and appreciated. Please see Jon
gal. or Trish if interested! Thank you!
(8) Don't take what ain't yers.
(9) No tellin' tales or gossipin.'
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's
stuff.

Have a recipe, a joke, or testimonial you’d like to share?

Email Pastor Jon at preacherjon@gmail.com
Or Trish Day at daydream@bluemarble.net