This week Becca’s dad and two of her sisters were able to come and celebrate an early Christmas with us. They brought the kids some gifts and new pajamas. We had a lot of fun and then loaded their car up with Christmas gifts to take back to Minnesota for the rest of her family.
One of the new friends I made as a result of the funeral was a Master Sargent who works at the Armory in town. He is from a Southern Baptist background and looking for a church in town as well as he would like some personal discipleship. We are now meeting twice a week to work out and hopefully I’ll be able to keep up with him. He feels that while he is being a personal fitness trainer to me in exchange for some spiritual guidance. Although I would be glad to provide spiritual guidance without any sort of compensation I feel privileged to have access to the base. It has already been a great way for me to meet some of the soldiers on base who are stationed here year round. Please pray that God opens more doors of opportunity and gives me wisdom as I minister.
Our attendance has been fairly steady for the last few months. We have averaged about 17 each Sunday but for the last month we have had between 20-23 people. Today we had one couple for the first time and another couple who had visited a few months ago. Please pray for continued fruit.
Tomorrow Becca is hosting a Christmas Cookie Exchange for the ladies and next Sunday we will be having a Christmas Candle Light Service. Please pray that the Lord blesses our efforts and opens new doors of opportunity.
The story is told of a young curate in the Church of England who was greatly helped in his understanding of the Scriptures by frequent conversations with an uneducated cobbler, who was, nevertheless, well acquainted with the Word of God.
On one occasion when a friend of his, a young theologian, was visiting him, he mentioned this remarkable knowledge of the Bible which the cobbler possessed. The young theologue, in a spirit of pride, expressed a desire to meet him, saying he felt sure he could ask some questions which he would be quite unable to answer. Upon being introduced to the man in his little shop, the question was put, “Can you tell me what Urim and the Thummin were?”
The cobbler replied, “I don’t know exactly; I understand that the words apply to something that was on the breastplate of the high priest. I know the words mean “Lights and Perfection,” and that through the Urim and Thummin the high priest was able to discern the mind of the Lord. But I find that I can get the mind of the Lord by just changing two letters. I take this blessed Book, and by “usin’ and thummin,” I get the mind of the Lord that way.”
—H. A. Ironside
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).
The Lord led for me to prepare to preach along those lines. I opened Isaiah 9:6 and explained that Christ is the Prince of Peace. I then turned to Ephesians 2:14-24 to show that Christ as the Prince of Peace broke down the wall of separation between man and God. I then read John 14:27 where Christ left a parting gift of peace to His disciples and the church when He ascended. I explained how the Holy Spirit was sent as the Comforter and true peace only comes from God. After establishing all of this I quoted Matthew 5:9 where Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Focusing on that verse I explained that peacemakers are those who make peace with other people, but also bring peace between men and God by declaring the good news of the Gospel. Shifting to the second part of Matthew 5:9 I explained that peacemakers have God’s favor smiling upon them. The verse says, “they shall be called the children of God" and I compared this to when a parent at a ball game or sporting event yells from the bleachers, “That’s my boy!” after their child does something well. God is in heaven watching His children on earth and when they are peacemakers by resolving problems or bringing others to the Savior He thunders from heaven, “That’s my child!” Before giving an invitation I closed with a quote from the Puritan Thomas Watson where he said, God the Son is called the Prince of Peace. He came into the world heralded by angels announcing peace; "On earth peace..." He went out of the world with a legacy of peace, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Christ's earnest prayer was for peace; He prayed that His people might be one. Christ not only prayed for peace, but bled for peace: "Having made peace through the blood of His cross." He died not only to make peace between God and man, but between man and man. Christ suffered on the cross, that He might cement Christians together with His blood. As he prayed for peace, so He paid for peace. (Thomas Watson, Gleanings From Thomas Watson (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1995), 86.)
There was no way that we could pull off everything ourselves. With almost a third of our church grieving their lost and another third with a sister in the hospital we just couldn’t see how we could pull it off ourselves. As a result we had help and support from many places and want to publically thank all who labored with us. First, we couldn’t have done it without the help of Faith Bible Baptist Church in Greeley, Co. Their Assistant Pastor Ken Curtis and his wife Bessie brought four ladies from their church to help with the food preparation, serving, and childcare. Second, Pastor Randy Simmons from Faith Fellowship and those who came from his church to help with the food and childcare also. Third, Pastor Roy Phillips from Douglas Baptist Church was there to lend a hand and support the family as well as me. Fourth, Jason Crossman, Pastor Robbins assistant at Pioneer Baptist and The Lunch Box did a great job getting food prepared for the group from Greeley as they made themselves busy preparing food for everyone else. 
Funeral services for Albert Wade Martin, 52, will be held at 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at the General Spence Wyoming Army National Guard Armory in Guernsey, Wyoming with Pastor Jason Miller officiating. Inurnment will be held at the Hartville Cemetery near Hartville, Wyoming.
Wade died Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Wade was born August 29, 1960 in Casper, Wyoming the son of Albert Paul and Eldora Joann (Goolsby) Martin.
Wade was a football and basketball player for Wheatland and Guernsey High Schools. He graduated from Guernsey High School in 1978. Wade attended Torrington College on a basketball scholarship. On July 3, 1982 he married Shelly Dickinson, to this union they had two daughters, Tricia born on March 18, 1990 and McKenzie born on December 30, 1992. Wade worked at the Wheatland Power Plant for seventeen years and later took a job traveling for Intec Services based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Recently he returned home to be with family on the ranch that he had always loved. Wade enjoyed playing golf, bowling, hunting, collecting hot wheels, watching Lonesome Dove, hanging out with his nephew Ned, his girls, and Rock, his ever faithful dog. Wade had many loyal friends, a large family, and he loved every single one of them.
He is survived by his parents, Albert and Dori Martin of Guernsey; daughters Trish (Tristen) Martin of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and McKenzie Martin of Wheatland, Wyoming; his fiancé Tiffany Savageau of California; four sisters, Jackie (Bill) Holtz of Guernsey, Lynne (Dave) Mesenbrink of Casper, Liz (Eric) Henneman of Lead, South Dakota, and Ellen (Scott) Nelson of Hartville; two brothers, Pete (Sheila) Howes of Fort Laramie, and Matthew (Sabrina) Martin of Guernsey; as well as many nieces and nephews, great nieces and Great nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Wade is preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Jesse and Jennie Goolsby, paternal grandparents, Harley and Nellie Martin, and niece, Ashley Howes.
Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Dan Cooley, Doc Jeffries, Marc Martinez, Mike King, Rex Martin, Danny Martin, Dale Woodrick and all of his many friends.
A memorial to the Wade Martin Memorial Fund in care of Lusk State Bank, P.O. Box 1400, Lusk, Wyoming 82225 would be appreciated by the family.
Friends and family may call on the funeral home on Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
The Gorman Funeral Homes – Platte Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.
Condolences may be sent to the family at gormanfh.com
Wade Martin was the kind of individual who could make you smile on your worst day. His presence filled any room and his laughter filled any heart. Wade never knew a stranger; he could sit and talk to someone he just met for hours. Always happy, Wade never stopped smiling. However, he seemed to be the happiest when he was round his family.
When Wade wasn’t spending time with his nephew Ned, his daughters, or his fiancée Tiffany, he was finding more stuff to pile at his mom and dad’s house. His dad was his hero, but he loved every member of his family unconditionally. His faithful dog Rock never left his side since Wade bought him some “special” Jerky. As far as his daughters are concerned, he was a hero. In his eyes they could do no wrong and he was always proud of them.
Wade always said he had a degree in everything, but one of his biggest passions was music. He knew a song for any occasion. One thing Wade was really good at was teasing people. He had a joke up his sleeves at all times. Wade enjoyed golfing, bowling, collecting Hot Wheels, and gadgets. Everywhere Wade went, he was taking pictures. His friends were as dear to him as his family and he kept in touch with all of them.
One way that Wade showed his affection was by placing two fingers on your cheek. Nobody quite knew why but they all accepted it as his token of love. Wade loved all and was loved by all. He will forever be in our hearts.
Before the advent of the Christmas carol, celebrations of Christmas had become so depraved and rowdy that the observance of the joyous season was once forbidden by the English Parliament. The meaning of Christmas had become lost in a malestrom of reveling, drunkenness, rioting, and depravity. Decent people found it necessary to stay indoors for safety. The situation became so shameful that in 1644 Parliament passed strict laws making it illegal to commemorate the season in any way whatsoever! How empty and devoid of meaning is a Christless Christmas! KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS.
—Knight
Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).
This last week has been a fury of unexpected activity. On Sunday we were told that Wade Martin, the son of one of our church members, was in critical condition in the Hospital. He had had a tumor removed on Tuesday and by Friday he was able to walk around and play cards with his family. On Friday and Saturday things took a turn for the worst. We headed for the Hospital in Fort Collins, Co on Monday. On our way to the hospital in Colorado we stopped in the hospital in Wheatland, Wy to visit Ramona, the sister of two of our other members, who had congestive heart failure and they didn’t expect her to make it.
After making hospital visit on Monday we spent the night in a hotel in Fort Collins, Co. In the morning we went back to the Hospital in Fort Collins, Co to be with the family. Around 11:00am, just after praying with the family in his room, wade passed away. It was very hard on the family and we grieved with them. The last time I had seen Wade before going in to the hospital he had taken Andrew for a ride on the four-wheeler and both of them were smiling from ear to ear.
On our way back from Fort Collins, Co we stopped again at the hospital in Wheatland to visit Ramona and her family. Her family was glad to see us again. We came back to Wheatland on Wednesday for Becca’s checkup with her pregnancy so, we stopped in again and were able to spend a more significant amount of time with Ramona and here family. She is doing much better and they plan on moving her to Casper some time this week.
Almost every day I have visited Wade’s family as they make plans and preparations for the funeral. This will be my first funeral and from the sounds of things it should be a fairly large one. They are expecting 40-60 family members to come and 100-150 other people from the community. Wade didn’t know a stranger and everyone liked him. In a small town like Guernsey it seems that everyone knows everyone. Here is a copy of the details from the funeral home’s website.
Funeral services for Albert Wade Martin, 52, will be held at 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at the General Spence Wyoming Army National Guard Armory in Guernsey, Wyoming with Pastor Jason Miller officiating. Inurnment will be held at the Hartville Cemetery near Hartville, Wyoming.
Wade died Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Wade was born August 29, 1960 in Casper, Wyoming the son of Albert Paul and Eldora Joann (Goolsby) Martin.
A memorial to the Wade Martin Memorial Fund in care of Lusk State Bank, P.O. Box 1400, Lusk, Wyoming 82225 would be appreciated by the family.
Friends and family may call on the funeral home on Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
The Gorman Funeral Homes – Platte Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.
Monday morning this last week we got some snow and before it was gone I went out to take some pictures. This is a banner I made from the pictures I took.
