Bittersweet Farm

Red Jeep Journal
August 25, 2017

It was chilly on my walk this morning at dawn. The Lions play tonight and it almost feels like fall. We are about 30-40% packed and getting Granville Cottage ready to be listed and officially offered for sale. Today a member of the “Fellowship of the Red Jeep”, Arlene Champnella, wrote and said she had set aside some boxes for our move. I jumped in George the Red Jeep and drove over to fill it up with boxes. Every gift, every prayer, every encouraging word, every text, e-mail and visit have played a part in the wonderful spring and summer of ministry that we are about to complete.

Arlene came out into the drive and said; “There it is. There is the Red Jeep.” We stood in Arlene’s driveway and went over some of the stories of what happened this summer that will likely never be written down. One story of kindness and opportunity and provision and ministry tumbled into another. We have had so many who have blessed us, believed in us, helped us, gifted us, hosted us, prayed for us, visited us on the road, written us. It’s been overwhelming. People that we least expected have given generous gifts and every bill has been paid. How thankful we are.

Now it is time to move to our new place of ministry, Bethel Church in Jackson. We have had offers to help move (that is how you know who your friends really are).

Hope America will head to Cannon Beach, Oregon in October for Bible College. She is our baby. We are thrilled for her, but that is going to be an adjustment. Hazard is not going to know what to do with himself. Lois will be without her little buddy. I will cry. I cry a lot. It’s how I roll. I will cry that happy cry that means you have someone in your life you deeply love. Only deep love can make you cry like that. It’s a bittersweet kind of thing.

Hope America is 18 now. When she turned 16 her mother wrote a tribute to her that was beautiful. This evening Hope and her mother are out on an errand. I thought you might like to read it.

“When I realized I was pregnant in 1998, I already had 7 kids at home and the youngest was about 3, I had my hands full & running over. Ken & I had already decided years before, to allow the Lord to give us as many kids as He wanted us to have so I was a little fearful, I was getting older, I was going to be 40 years old. But I knew God had given us another baby and He knew what was best for us, He knew the future and what we needed.

Today as I write this I can’t imagine what life would be like without our little Hope America, she is a delight to our souls, when she was born the other kids adored her, always playing with her so much so that she walked at 8 months. Now that the kids are all married or moved away for work, she is my little shopping buddy, she is my photography partner, let’s-get-a-bite-of-lunch-buddy, craft store buddy, my sit-in-church-with-me-buddy, I can’t imagine life without her, I love her so much.

I know I can trust God, even when I am being selfish and think I have too much on my plate, and I can’t possibly take one more thing, God is the one who see’s the future and knows what I need in my life. Children are a blessing just as God told us in Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Thanks for being a part of the Red Jeep Team… If you would like to help us as we close out this chapter of our lives, now would be a very good time… We will have a few more posts and I have a couple brand new projects to replace the Red Jeep Journal when September comes.

Under the Mercy;
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
August 25, 2017

Red Jeep Journal
August 23, 2017

The Summer of 2017

The sweet summer of ’17 is coming to an end and I will never forget it. It really started on the 11th of April when I drove into the mountains of Kentucky to preach. The dogwoods and redbuds were just opening in the mountains. When I conclude my Red Jeep Adventure on September 10th and drive away from Pleasant Valley Bible Camp fall will be in the air and the trees will begin to blush with the first touch of autumn. I will have preached 116 times this spring and summer and safely travelled thousands of miles.

26 More Days-An Important Appeal

Last night I stepped out onto the street in the evening. It was cool and breezy. My good neighbor Brad was walking his dog and called out “Feels kinda” like fall.” It does.

As autumn approaches there are a couple things I need to communicate to you who have been so faithful to help us in the Fellowship of the Red Jeep: 1. After September 17th we will no longer need financial support. 2. Before September 17th we do especially need financial support as we bring the Fellowship of the Red Jeep to a close. In 26 days we will assume our full-time ministry with Bethel Church. Until then we have three more promises to keep and eleven more messages to preach up-state as autumn comes.

God has faithfully answered our prayers, provided the finances we need to pay our bills, and given us somewhere to preach almost every single day all spring and summer. Please consider a final gift to help us bring the ministry of the Red Jeep to a close. Follow this link to give tax deductible gifts to our ministry. We are especially grateful for those who are able to help us.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
August 23, 2017