Former Pastor and Wife Busy Doing God’s Work pThe Church Office received a letter from Gerald and Imadel Dacus, former Pastor and wife of our Church. In the letter Imadel said, “Gerald and I were saddened to hear about Zane Newton. The Church and the Crandell/Newton family are in our prayers. Thank God for your Pastor who apparently did the right things-the VBS t shirt was a good idea-and knew the right things to say at the funeral under difficult circumstances.” She also said, “Knowing the good people from your church, I am not surprised and can imagine how well you all ministered to the family.” She also sent love and prayers to Sherry Guess/Eagleston as she prepares for their new missionary venture in Central Asia. pWe exchanged e-mails, and I found out the latest on the Dacus clan, which may be of interest to you.pGerald has been interim Pastor and she is Sec/Ed Dir/Admin. Asst. for White Ave Baptist Church in Pomona. The church recently called a new Pastor, so “Gerald has chosen to join another church, since it is hard on the new Pastor to have the old one hanging around.” Can’t you just visualize Imadel keeping everything going and helping the new pastor get off to a good start. Gerald is teaching a senior Men’s Sunday School class at Rob Zinn’s church, Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland. Gerald is 75 and in relatively good health. pTheir son, Kent Dacus has been on staff at California Baptist University for 25 years, and is now VP of Student Services and asst. to the President. He is married to Lynae and they have two children, Grant a first grader, and Cole, second grade. Imadel reports that she is recovering from a shoulder injury: “While playing ball on a concrete driveway with my grandsons, I took a hard fall, resulting in many aches and pains.” pTina lives in Ohio, and is happily married to Scott Fatzinger, a traveling pharmaceutical representative. The Dacus’ daughter, Connie is a school teacher and lives just a few blocks from them. She teaches at Glendora High School and attends Walnut Valley Baptist Church. pVickie still lives at home but is very independent. She attends her own church and walks all over town during the week. Vicki is very happy but has a fear that they may move again, the thought of which is upsetting to her. Imadel says they have no plans to move, but if they did, they would return to Bakersfield. pMany of you remember Imadel’s brother Dewayne Adams and his wife Joanne. Imadel said Dewayne still works for the Federal Courthouse in Little Rock, Arkansas as a court baliff. Joanne works at a bank in Conway. He is a Deacon at his church and she is in the choir. They still yearn to return to Bakersfield some day. p I will close with a quote from Imadel’s last e-mail: “First Southern Bakersfield is still my favorite church and the people there touched our lives in such a beautiful, loving way. We will never get over our love for all of them. The beauty of going to Heaven will be that I never have to say goodbye to my friends again.” pWell said, dear friends

Molly The Pony Is Inspiration to Mankind pWhile on vacation this year I heard a story about a pony named Molly. I was so touched by the little pony's courage that I want to share it with you. If this doesn't light your fire, then your wood must be soggy. pMolly is a grey speckled pony that was left behind in the aftermath of Katrina in Louisiana. She was found and taken to "safety" at a ranch where lost and abandoned animals were being held. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died. Among other injuries, she had severe damage to her right front leg. That's where Molly met Kay, the ranch owner's wife, who contacted a vet from Montana that was volunteering his services in New Orleans and they took a special interest in Molly. Her leg was infected and needed surgical care, so they took her to the animal hospital at LSU. They were swamped with cases, but after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he decided to make her his special project. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down so as to protect her leg, and would allow people to handle her. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. pUsually when a horse has leg damage, they will simply put them to sleep and be done with it. The surgeon decided to remove her leg below the knee, and then built a temporary artificial limb. pMolly survived and thrived with her new lease on life, and this is where the story gets interesting. She seemed to understand her situation, and would hold her leg up to her caregivers when she wanted the artificial limb taken off or put on. Molly is tough but gentle, frisky but calm around children, and able to endure pain without complaint. A prosthesis designer built her a new custom fitted leg and she began to gain weight and run in the pasture of Kay's ranch. Sometimes she wants to run on three legs, and sometimes she will come to Kay and hold out her limb for the forth leg to be attached. Molly's story turned into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana, and she began a new job. pIn Deuteronomy chapter 31 God told Moses to "Be strong and courageous….for the Lord your God ….will not fail you or forsake you." This seems to apply to Molly in her new job. She goes every day with Kay to visit shelters, hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and anywhere that people might needed hope. She likes to show off for people and her personality comes alive when she goes on these visits. She inspires people, and has a good time doing it. pThe surgeon, said, "It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life.
She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others. She seems happier with each passing day. She is truly
an inspiration to everyone." pAs we go about our daily walk, what a great thing it would be for each of us to learn something from this little pony, and
try to enrich the lives of everyone we encounter.

 Modern Day Good Samaritan I saw a guy standing with a sign that said "Will work for food". As I watched, another man stopped and after a brief discussion, gave him some food. I decided to follow the man to find out more about this modern day good Samaritan. He entered the freeway and seeing a lady standing in the heat beside her disabled car, he stopped, gave her a bottle of water, used his cell phone to call for help, and then stayed with her until a tow truck came to her aid. So I followed him into a service station and asked him who he was. He said he was just an ordinary Christian going about his day. He wished me God's speed, and I went on my way. The next day I saw him again, this time on his way to a church, where he met up with some other church people and began to clean trash and weeds from the church property. As they worked a stranger came by needing gas money. I watched the man dig into his wallet to help. Then the church men prayed with the stranger and sent him on his way. The next day was Sunday, and I saw the man taking his family to Sunday School and Worship. That afternoon, he was back at church for evening service. The next day after work I observed the man and his wife as they went to visit a new couple at their home. After the visit they went by a hospital to see an ailing church member. The next day he picked up a food basket from the church to take it to a needy couple. He continued through the week going about doing good. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)