The Brakes Knew What They Were Doing

We were sitting in Atlanta traffic with a bag of Colombian coffee in the back seat and no cups to put it in.

The diesel pumps had been down at the station. The first grocery store we found was out of coffee cups, which I did not know was a thing that could happen. We found some at the second store. We were one mile from the missions apartment, and the traffic was not moving.

We turned on Always Abounding, the podcast by Brother Keith Stensaas. It is one of the best things going for Christians who want to grow. Look it up if you have not heard it. The episode was about a cup of coffee. I could picture every bit of it. Some things are universal whether you are in West Africa or metro Atlanta.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. Smoke.

My vehicle was smoking. We got into a parking lot. The brakes. The same brakes that had started a conversation with me in Kansas earlier that week and then gone quiet. They were back, and this time they had something to say.

We limped the one mile back to the apartment. I found a brake shop open Saturday morning, made an appointment, and sat down with the Colombian coffee. I had finally found a cup. I decided the day had earned it.

The shop had us out before lunch. That coffee was worth every bit of the trouble.

Let me back up and tell you how we got to Atlanta.

We left Nederland, TX, a couple of weeks ago and drove to Oklahoma City. Laura and Bonnie flew to North Carolina from there to watch my nephew Jack Nelson graduate from high school. I dropped them at the airport and turned north toward Kansas.

Sunday I was in Heritage Baptist Church in Lawrence, KS, with Dr. Scott Hanks. Morning and evening both. Heritage is a growing, working church and the congregation is doing something worth being part of. They let me use their missions apartment for a few days while I worked the phones and booked meetings through November.

Wednesday with Pastor Chris McCurry at Harvest Baptist Church in Manhattan, KS. Pastor McCurry came with me to Ghana on my last trip. Always good to spend time with good friends.

Thursday in Topeka with Pastor Mark Oprzedek at Capitol City Baptist Church. Mark is planting this church and doing solid work. Every growing church I visit teaches me something. Deputation has been an education I did not fully expect.

Saturday to St. Louis. Sunday morning with Pastor Ed Decker at Arnold Baptist Tabernacle in Arnold, MO. Sunday evening with Pastor Michael McDowell at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Wildwood. Both services were a blessing.

The same Sunday I was in Missouri, Laura was still in North Carolina, Bonnie was flying to Baton Rouge for SMITE Camp, Gilbert was in Illinois, and Danny was in the Philippines. All five Consfords serving the Lord at the same time, just not anywhere near each other. We are thankful for that.

I left Wildwood at the end of the evening service and drove through the night toward Greenville, SC. My friends James Ruckman and Keith Shumaker had invited me to a church planting conference starting at 2 PM Monday. I drove until 1:30 AM, slept in Nashville, got up at 7, and made Greenville in time to pick up Laura and Bonnie at the airport. The whole family together again. That felt good.

We drove to the conference. I parked in the wrong spot, went inside to ask, came back out, and the truck would not start. The starter was done.

I could not find a mechanic in a city where I knew nobody. So I put the truck on jackstands and replaced it myself during the afternoon breaks over two days. When it fired up I may have praised the Lord loud enough for the whole building to hear. Worth it.

One more thing I should mention. Earlier that week in Kansas, I had stepped out of a hotel to the smell of hot brakes. Took it to a shop. They found nothing. I chose to believe them and had zero problems to St. Louis. The brakes were apparently just letting me know they were aware of their own importance. They showed back up in Atlanta to finish the conversation.

After Greenville, Atlanta. That is where the smoke comes in, and you already know how that part ended.

Bro. Stensaas said something on that podcast about digging a well that landed at exactly the right moment. A starter, a brake line, and a missing coffee cup are light problems. I have walked through valleys much deeper than that. The Lord is good, and that Colombian coffee was excellent.

We got to Birmingham on Sunday and had a great day in two churches I had never visited before. Morning with Pastor Mike Ramsey at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Springville, and evening with Pastor Mike Eaton at Calvary Baptist Church in Hartselle. Both services were a blessing.

At Calvary we met a family that stopped me in my tracks. Former missionaries to Mexico until the father had a serious medical issue that changed everything. But the mother and the grown children are faithful and active in that church, and the musical talent in that family is something else. A genuine testimony worth knowing.

Monday we drove to Shreveport and traded vehicles with my parents. Deputation is hard on trucks. Pray that the Lord leads us to exactly what we need for the road ahead.

Bonnie came back from SMITE Camp encouraged. The Summer Missionary Institute for Training and Evangelism is a week-long program training young people to conduct backyard Bible clubs and reach children with the Gospel. She had a great time.

From Shreveport we drove straight to Oklahoma City. Laura's dad, Bro. Adrian Van Manen, had cancer surgery scheduled for Tuesday morning. Surgery was set for 10 AM. If you know how hospital schedules go, you already know it did not start at 10 AM. We were there and ready, and the surgery finally got underway around 2 PM. By 6:30 that evening it was done. The surgery was a great success and Bro. Van Manen is doing well.

We are grateful to the Lord for bringing him through. If you think of it, would you pray for Bro. Adrian Van Manen? Pray that he heals quickly, that he has a full recovery, and that the doctors got all of the cancer. We are trusting the Lord with the rest.

We have a lot of deputation left. If you know churches looking for a missionary, would you have them reach out at consfords.com/connect.

Churches, camps, and ministries mentioned in this post:

Heritage Baptist Church, Lawrence, KS — heritagebaptistchurch.cc
Harvest Baptist Church, Manhattan, KS — harvestbaptistchurchmhk.org
Capitol City Baptist Church, Topeka, KS — topekachurch.org
Arnold Baptist Tabernacle, Arnold, MO — abtconnect.net
Cornerstone Baptist Church, Wildwood, MO — thecornerstonebaptist.com
James Ruckman Missions — ruckmans2africa.com
Keith Shumaker Ministries — theharvest.net
Solid Rock Baptist Church, Springville, AL — srbaptistchurch.com
Calvary Baptist Church, Hartselle, AL — facebook.com/people/Calvary-Baptist-Church-HartselleAl/100066508936038
Always Abounding Podcast — podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/always-abounding/id1534403333
SMITE Camp — smitecamp.org