When we arrived in Flint four years ago we were filled with a sense of great inadequacy. God sent help and sustained us in ways for which there is no human explaination. There were times early-on when I battled an oppressive spirit, but by the grace of God that gave way to joy and purpose and fellowship. We saw the hand of the Lord on what we were doing. The years in Flint were good years of ministry that we will always remember with great fondness. If you were there you know.
The Les Means Family
The Dave Teitz Family
Calvin and Chad Bradley and their family
Family Enrichment Weekends
Young Ladies’ Winter Gatherings
Common meals with laughing friends
Late-night talks around the Front Desk
Helping people feel at home
Meeting new friends
Character Lunch
The French Laundry
The HomeSchool Bookstore
Fenton Park
Parshalville Mill on autumn days
Linden “Kitty-litter” beach and the oak wood above it on the Lord’s Day
Byron Baptist and Family Fellowship Bible Church
Going “Up-North” across the “Mighty Mac”
Eternal Vision
Verity
Morning Chapel
Piano in the lobby
Luther and Melvin and Punkin’ off the streets
Bruce Smock and the DDA
The Mayor and the former Mayor
Jerry Preston and the Conventio Bureau
Grand Traverse Pie Company
Empire Bluff and outings at Lake Ann
Hot-air baloons over Seven Lakes in the evening
Late-night dishwashing
“All-hands” housekeeping
The Mills
The Krauses
The LaMantias
The Williams
The Nudds
The Dodges
The Horsts
Kim and the Cookbook and Heart for Hospitality
The Chili-Pepper Jumpers and Isaiah’s Chili-Pepper Pants!
Isaiah Mays
Elizabeth Blain
Monica Huber
Francis and Francis
Monica DeMass
The Keilen sisters
Kariliee Kuehn
Ruth Stewart
Janice Erickson
The Ryans
The night of the “intruder” when all the men showed up armed.
MMBDC
Team of Destny
The CRIM
Priority Children
The house music system
Feeding the Fish
Eli Schilling and the Schilling family “bltizes”
Mark Hancock Family
The Skinner Family
The Kaneys
Late night-security
Early morning security
Going to Knoxville and Nashville and Indy
The Christmas Conference
Water in the Basement
No more water in the Basment
Swimming in the flooded Flint river
Park night
My favorite running route U of M Flint Campus, along the River, through Kersley Park across the Mott Campus, through the College and Cultural neighborhood, past the Mott Estate and home.
Speedwork on the High School track
Tim Hortons and Starbucks and Big Apple
Peter Gulbransen
Nathan Leichty
Jessica and Nathan Davoli
Carissa Magnuson
Amy Jackman
Ryan Matteson
The Mattsons
The Miracles
Caleb and
Jessie Williams
The Zumhagens
Ron Jaster
The “Mother of all Vacuums”
Sixth-floor, late-night boxing matches
Papa Shoe and the Shoemakers
The Castelinos
The Schraders
The McCrays
Cleaning toilets and sinks
The smell of fabric softner off the third-floor Mayor’s Room
Making coffee in the back of the TGI Restaurant (Riverfront Restaurant)
Dan Grose
CHARACTER LUNCH
Shawn Conlen
Service Hour
TESOL
Effective Communications
Chalk Art and the Bowmans
Visits from Mr. Gothard and his team
Will Thornton
Jonathan Stewart
Andy Warner
Nathan Ritchie
Russ Bennett and the Novotni family
There are hundreds of others but these are the ones that flowed into my mind as I considered the things the Lord has done in Flint. He is good.
We left Flint after church Sunday morning without fanfare. There were just a few left to say goodbye and it was appropriately dreary and gray. We drove away in a mist of rain. It didn’t seem quite final for a couple reasons. One is that the building has not sold, and the other is that we are already scheduled to spend another week there September 10-17. When we leave Flint again on the 17th we have no concrete plans to return.
Nonetheless, the burden of the sixth-largest hotel in the state of Michigan is no longer on my shoulders. Now we are still with the same ministry but our responsibilities will be different. For the first time in four years we will live in a regular home and that will be helpful for our family at this time in our lives.
It’s almost September, one of my two favorite months of the year. There’s a faint hint of autumn color in the trees. I love September and October. Raised in the mid-west, I have loved autumn since I walked home from school in my sneakers crunching through maple leaves on the sidewalk.
David Tietz
The years have been good!! Very Good. It is with sadness that we have to say Goodby to you & your Family. You guys truly have been a delight & a blessing. You will be missed. The Lord’s Blessings and leading on this new Path in your life & ministry.
David Tietz
Family Fellowship Bible Church
Les Means
Our short stay at the Character Inn is also filled with great memories, and you Pierponts are among the best of them! I’d love to hear about your new ministry, brother Ken, and how God leads and prospers your family. Thanks so much for “setting the tone,” and leading the way in making it such a great community, full of the Spirit of God.
Ken
Thanks for the notes Les and Dave. (Notice you are on the list of good memories).
Vernon ZUmhagen
Now you’re living close to 2 of the Zumhagen families. Don’t be a stranger. Nice to be on the “good memory” list
Ken
I’m looking forward to some time together. We’ll be in touch!