This Is It

This is it! We have been working toward this day for three and half years. It has finally arrived. By this time tomorrow night, Lord willing, we will be reporting from the mission field of Paraguay. I hope to post some video or pictures real soon.

Thank you to everyone who has lifted us up in prayer for safe travels. Thank you for all the encouragement and support.

It is all in the Lord's hands now. May He be glorified.

Today is Andrea's birthday! Lots of emotions are tumbling around inside as we are dealing with the anticipation of leaving Friday, sadness from all the farewells and well-wishes, to the stress of finishing up a few final details for our departure. A very unique birthday, indeed!

We want to offer a big "THANK YOU" to our sponsoring congregation, Margaret Street church of Christ, for the kind words and the send off festivities they provided for us on our last Sunday with them Jan 17th. We also want to say the same to Palm Beach Lakes for this past Sunday. We love all of you very much, we will miss you very much, and we are so thankful to have you as our supporters.

I have been invited to write on a brotherhood blogsite to describe the emotions and events that a new missionary feels going into the field. I call the daily post "Culture Shock Chronicles" and it can be found at The Fellowship Room. Hope you will join us there. Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland in N.C.

History of the church in Paraguay

This is a video that the team in Asunción produced which tells a little about the history of the congregation that meets at Avenida Sacramento. Brother Ike Yegros, one of the members in Paraguay, tells the story.

A Little Help Packing Our Bags

Andrea and I received a little help, well actually, a WHOLE LOT of help "packing our bags" from our sponsoring congregation, Margaret Street church of Christ. Martha Todd put together this very unique display in the foyer of the building, to bring about awareness of a few items that we are in need of to take with us to Paraguay. They are items that we will not be able to purchase in Asunción. So, our brethren have graciously taken it upon themselves to gather up several of the products for us. Thank you, so very much!

An Introduction to the Life and Culture of Paraguay

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season ...

Andrea and I have stayed really busy since arriving at Margaret Street church of Christ in Milton, FL. We have been blessed with several opportunities to be able to serve. We both volunteer for the Food Pantry distribution every Thursday. We are also involved in young adult Bible studies, youth gatherings, and the "Golden Agers" Bible studies.
I have been teaching a class on Wednesday nights, titled "They Were Fishermen and Farmers" which is a comprehensive study of the Great Commission. I have also assisted in other Bible classes and special studies. We have been able to go on several visits and be involved with the Monday Night for the Master program. It is wonderful to be able to serve in His kingdom!
Above is a picture from our Family Retreat. I extended a short devotional in the evening and the next morning.

Polishing the Pulpit

One of my dear friends asked me, "What is Polishing the Pulpit? Is that some kind of hazing ritual for a newbie preacher like you?" I laughed, and even though I am a "newbie" preacher, Polishing the Pulpit was one of the finest events I have ever attended.
It is a seminar/lectureship that offers a wide variety of classes and workshop settings on various subjects pertaining to matters of the church. Each of the classes, or lectures, are taught by some of the prominent men within the brotherhood. Wayne Jackson, a well known preacher and writer, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for the many years of service he has given to the Lord's kingdom. Other speakers included Alan Highers, B.J. Clarke, Glen Colley, Dan Winkler, Kyle Butt, Eric Lyons, George Bailey, David Pharr, and many others including one of the most eloquent speakers, Tom Holland (pictured below).

It was wonderful weekend and a great opportunity to be able to spend time with so many like minded Christians (1,400 to be exact) and see so many good friends and brethren. I was blessed to be able to go with my friends, and fellow servants, Preston Silcox and Jason Lasure (pictured). If you ever get a chance to attend this fine event, I highly recommend that you do.

Grateful to Be Starting Our Work

Andrea and I have been working toward a single goal for several years now - to be full time servants in the Lord's kingdom. We are so thankful that the day has finally arrived!

We arrived safely in Milton, FL on August 8th. We have since been settling into our new "temporary quarters" (until we leave for Paraguay) and also finalizing the last few details regarding the shipment of our belongings to South America. This involved driving to Nashville, TN to offload everything with Healing Hand International who will be handling the shipping container and customs documents for both the Blackmers and our household items. This past week, I spent a day planning out mission strategy and budgeting with Ed Temple, missions deacon, and also updating various documents. While here I will be teaching an evangelism/missions class on Wednesday evenings and also working alongside the ministers of Margaret Street church of Christ. I must say, it really feels exciting and good to be starting, on what I pray will be a very long career, of serving our Lord. I feel like Isaiah when he said, "Here am I, Lord. Send me!" - Isaiah 6:8

This picture is from when Andrea and I had dinner with our good friends and fellow servants, Al and Rhonda Washington, before we departed from SWSBS. Al preaches for the University Hills church of Christ in Austin, TX and we have known them for many years. They were members at Palm Beach Lakes where Andrea and I were also members for a long time.

Sad Goodbyes and Happy Beginnings

One of the unique moments of life that occur often are those where one thing comes to an end while a new beginning takes shape. We had one of those instances tonight when we said "Farewell" to our friends and church family at Dripping Springs church of Christ.
It's hard to believe two years came and went so fast. Everyone at Dripping Springs is very special to us and we will miss each of them greatly. Here are a couple of pictures that our dear friend, Beth Moore, took of the money tree they presented to us along with a fingers foods layout. It was definitely a crying time.

Now we are packing to leave for Milton, FL where we will begin working with the Margaret Street church of Christ before departing for Paraguay in January. We are excited about this new part of our work and look forward to what the future holds!

What do you do with trophies?

Andrea and I have a couple of prized possessions - our trophies. Not the kind of trophy you win at some athletic or academic event. You know the kind, a little gold man on top of a vase with a nice plaque engraved on the base of it. No, these are a different kind of trophy, the kind that many hang on their wall - an animal mount.
Andrea has a large sailfish she won at a fishing contest and I have a deer mount from the very first buck I ever tagged.

So the question is this, when you are packing to move to South America, what do you do with those? Answer: build your own custom shipping crates from scratch. Just one of the interesting challenges we are facing with the move. Already an adventure!

Graduation from SWSBS

We did it! We finally completed our studies at Southwest School of Bible Studies! Andrea received her "Certificate of Completion" for the Women's Bible Study Program. I received my diploma for completing the Biblical Studies Program. We are so excited and are thrilled to have the opportunity to enter the mission field. We look forward to being servants in his kingdom.
THANK YOU to everyone who supported us being here! This is a little video with some highlights from the event:

Summer 2009 Newsletter

Here is our latest newsletter:

Spradlin Summary - Summer 2009

Graduation from SWSBS is July 12th!!

Barn Swallows

Andrea and I have enjoyed watching nature in action through our newest little neighbors - a Barn Swallow and her hatchlings.

She built her nest under our back porch roof and now has four little ones she is caring for. We can watch her bringing food to the chicks from our kitchen window. They get pretty excited when she shows up at the nest!

They are about ready to leave the nest, so we are going to miss their chirping in the evenings.

Crawfish Boil!

One of the members at the Buda/Kyle church of Christ, brother Doug Garner, hosts an annual crawfish boil about this time of year each year. This was their 11th year to host it. He cooked over 200 pounds of the little pinchers and, boy oh boy, they were DEEELISH!

We had a great time eating, visiting with our fellow brethren, and just enjoying the wonderful Texas springtime weather. There were lots of people there to enjoy the feast! All the kids had a great time playing together, too.