The Fortune Family

Praise the Lord who is worthy!

Yesterday (January 30), we sang twice; once in Monroe, GA, and once in Jackson, GA. We are excited to share that we saw three people come to Christ  and surrender their lives to Him! What a joy to take part in their celebration of salvation… and to know that we will see them again in Heaven.

We know and are grateful that the prayers of so many men and women of God had already prepared the way– we happened to come just in time to see the rewards they would reap after years of faithful believing. What a blessing to know, love, and serve the God who has saved us! May we continue in the faith, rooted and grounded in Him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Amen!

We praise the Lord for the Focus on the Family program that aired our testimony on January 26th! It was so exciting and humbling to see the hand of the Lord at work on such a larger scale… and we are praying that the truth of His forgiveness and grace will continue to work long after the show itself is forgotten.

If you missed the program, or have never heard of us and would like to hear the story of our testimony and how we started on this journey, please click on the link below, and then click on the “listen” option.

It is our prayer that, as we have always sought to do… that we will “overcome [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony.” ~ Revelation 12:11a

We would like to extend a special “thank you” to all those who joined with us in prayer throughout the day as the program was on the air. We know the Lord did great things in hearts we may never see. Bless His name!

Click here to listen to the Focus on the Family radio broadcast.

December 22, 2010

To our family and friends,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 6:9).

This child of Bethlehem has surely made known His peace to us this year, and shown His mighty power through His wonderful works to the children of men. We have watched as He has restored, protected, provided, and blessed our family in ways we would never have asked for—and it is with hearts full of grateful praise that we turn our faces toward the New Year ahead.

How do you sum up a whole year’s worth of blessings into one letter? We have spent more time on the road this year than ever! In these past twelve months combined, our family:

• Sang for 100 services
• Ministered in song and traveled through 19 different states
• Sang in 70 different towns
• Drove over 40,000 miles
• Spent 175 complete days on the road
• Traveled for one 2-month-long trip, and two 1-month-long trips
• Either attended or assisted in 9 different Journey To The Heart opportunities
• Took part in 3 weddings, 18 birthday parties, and celebrated a 30th anniversary

Yes, we were busy, and most of our “free time” was spent either catching up on rest or school, household duties or preparations for the next trip. But now that we look back over our year, and compare the time with the blessings, we can but lift our voices in praise to Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11), for we can truly say that all things worked together for our good.

From Chrissy’s opportunity to volunteer at an international ministry in Chicago for a month, to our entire family working with a local charity building company… our days were filled with ways to serve and give back for all we have been given. Among those blessings was the gift of Micah, Michelle, Sharon, Joy and Kara going on a Journey to the Heart, and the hospitable provision of a house to stay in while we spent time in Chicago. Both Micah and Chrissy returned to assist on a Journey—and during those stays our family was afforded the privilege to stand before a Peruvian Delegation and sing of our God’s greatness, plus sing a blessing over Mr. Gothard as we celebrated his 76th birthday.

But singing for the high officials of a country was not all God had in store for us… for Lauren was given the chance to go and minister to a village in Costa Rica, and in her service there she was powerfully reminded of how blessed we are to have even shoes to wear and a roof over our heads.

One of the most blessed events of this year was the homecoming of Michelle. Because we were in Chicago in June, Michelle flew up for the weekend and surprised Terry for Father’s Day. Even the staff was moved to tears as Mr. Gothard did the honor of presenting Michelle to her daddy, and everyone in the room stood to their feet rejoicing. For the first part of the year we both traveled the roads between home and NC in an effort to restore fellowship, and then in answer to much prayer, in one of those trips towards the end of the summer we helped pack her things, and we all came back to GA together.

Throughout all the travels, though the majority of our time was spent in churches, there were precious moments when we were able to share the Gospel in unlikely places. Once, at a public elementary school in Oklahoma, a young boy received Christ. There was also the big, scary gang member in JCPenney of Chicago who wept over his need and prayed right then and there. Or a small rural area in the country… where 2 precious souls cried out for the Lord, and a family on the brink of disaster decided to surrender to Christ and let Him heal the broken places. We saw a widow bound to a wheelchair sing along as we proclaimed “It Is Well”—and hurting hearts around a dying loved one found hope through the words of truth. We stood in the announcer’s box at an Oklahoma rodeo and had the chance to sing a blessing over the cowboys, and in the middle of a small western town we lined up at a county fair and ministered for over an hour. There were the various times in many a restaurant where the waiters and waitresses laughed through their tears as we reminded them they could face tomorrow… and once as we surrounded a bed-ridden minister he spoke blessings over us and reminded us of the same thing.

We were privileged to meet the Duggars, and spend two days in their home. Ordering 15 pizzas for supper and playing Broom Ball together gave us time to fellowship, and we were encouraged to see such a godly family as they take a stand for Christ in the public eye. After this we traveled to Focus on the Family, where we again ministered around campus before they interviewed Terry and Lynn. This was a great time of deliverance and ministry, as the interview dug deeper and probed into details the children had never heard before. When all was done, the show hosts, engineers, public relations and children were all crying as the tender Spirit of the Lord filled the place. The show is planned to air on January 26, 2011, so please tune in!

The 30th anniversary was Terry and Lynn’s, and that day marked a living testimony to God’s power and grace. In all the birthdays the children turned 27, 25, 23, 21, 19, 17, 15, and 12… and we know that a new chapter is dawning as each one gets older. What lies ahead we cannot foresee, but we have seen enough of the faithful hand of our Lord to trust that He does all things well.

Your prayers, faithful love and support have made possible all that God has accomplished through us. Without you, and the help and encouragement of so many nameless others, we would be lacking indeed. We pray that every prayer uttered, every gift given, every hand offered, every service rendered and every heart shared will receive back multiplied abundance of what has been given.

Thank you for making us successful, and for loving us. We love each one of you, and ask that God’s blessings would settle over you and yours as we celebrate His gift of love… coming to earth for our redemption, and giving us life through His name; Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.

Happy New Year!

The Fortune Family

Please enjoy this update on our most recent trip… pictures are coming soon!

We praise the Lord for His wonderful works in our family over the last few months! As many of you have noticed, we are finally in the process of reconstructing our website– just another outward evidence of the changes and blessings that are rapidly filling our days. Lord willing, this page will be used to update you on our travels and experiences as we continue to minister wherever the Lord sends us.

This year has been exceptionally busy, with our family traveling almost every weekend, besides ministering and being on the road for the complete months of May, June, August, and October. Though we have missed our home and its structure, we can look back over the summer and fall months and see the hand of God in every situation as He has guided, provided for, and sustained our family. We have learned so much, made many memories and new friends, and seen His Spirit move upon hearts as His truth went forward.

Our latest trip has just come to an end, and we are so grateful to be home after spending the month of October in Chicago, IL. While there, we ministered on the weekends at different churches in the Gary, IN area, and then spent the weeks in-between at IBLP Headquarters.

Our first weekend there, Micah was asked to assist in leadership on a team for a Journey to the Heart (www.livingthejourney.com) for young men. We missed singing with him that Sunday, but we were excited at the chance for him to watch God at work in the hearts of his teammates.

Chrissy’s birthday fell on a Saturday, and it was a joy to invite many of the staff members who have become our friends there for a party that afternoon. One of these friends, Madison, shares a birthday with Chrissy and so we combined the party for them both. It was a wonderful time of laughter, singing, presents, and fellowship. During the party, Mr. Gothard came by and played a game of ping pong with Joseph! Then he spoke a blessing over Chrissy and Madison, and sweet memories were made in our hearts, even while we snapped many outward pictures to enjoy.

Also as a special treat, the next week we had the opportunity to assist in giving Mr. Gothard a surprise party for his 76th birthday! Because the festivities were held in the house where we were staying, it was our job to get him there without rousing any suspicion… a delicate task, to say the least! In the end he was very surprised, and we made so many memories that night as we took part in a time of honoring this man of God. There was a special skit, a few songs, and then our family sang “Isaiah 11:2″ as a special blessing. We were so grateful to have a way to express our appreciation for all that God has done through him.

The following week, Michelle flew up and met us at the O’Hare Airport… and we were so excited to be all together again! Michelle, along with Sharon, Joy and Kara all went on a Journey for young ladies, which began on October 23rd, Joseph’s 12th birthday.

For Joseph’s birthday, all he had requested was to spend the day with his family, and visit Bass Pro Shop and Cabela’s Outdoors. We found them… and made a day of adventure out of the whole affair, completing the fun with lunch at Culver’s for a hamburger. He was so excited to spend the day just looking and… trying out his new ukulele he was given. During the next few days, he picked out “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” We praise the Lord for 12 years of pure happiness in Joe. What a blessing he is to all who know him!

While they were gone on the Journey, the rest of our family had the opportunity to work in the kitchen for the remaining staff, as most of them had gone on an evangelical trip to Peru. This was great fun for us; we had the chance to feed them all some authentic southern food for a full week! Amidst the work, however, we found time to pray and cry out to God not only for the team in Peru, but especially for the Journey, which held significant meaning for us.

One of the most memorable times there was that last Sunday, when we visited The Moody Church in downtown Chicago. After years of hearing Dr. Erwin Lutzer preach on the radio, we were blessed to sit in the beautiful historic church and enjoy a message from him in person. October 31st is Reformation Sunday, and in honor of the event the orchestra and choir were exceptionally triumphant, ringing with songs of victory and of course, the timeless “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” The worship service ended with the congregation, four-thousand strong, singing “Before the Throne of God Above”… and our hearts were filled to overflowing with joy.

We had a little time after the service to walk downtown Chicago, look up at all the high rises, take pictures, and enjoy a special meal together on Michigan Avenue. It was a time of fun and excitement, compacted by the fact that everyone was coming home that evening.

As they all came in at different times that night, there was cause for much rejoicing among us all. The team in Peru had seen God at work through many salvations and doors opened to share the Gospel, while the Journey teams had experienced great spiritual warfare in response to great miracles taking place in the hearts and lives of girls. Our family prepared a welcoming meal for them all, and though we were all tired, each face bore the evidence of the Almighty’s work and transformation. Joy and Kara stood and publically shared testimony of what God had wrought in their hearts, and Sharon had been given the opportunity to learn one-one-one counseling firsthand. It was amazing to see how much the Lord had accomplished in ten days through lives surrendered to Him, and we were so grateful for the gift He had given us through the ministry of IBLP!

Just before we left, many of the staff gathered and we celebrated our trip with a meal at Steak n Shake, one of our family favorites. After eating we sang for the employees, who excitedly shared that the songs had ministered to their hearts.

Since returning home, we have ministered twice; once in south GA at an annual electric meeting, and Sunday morning in Bartow, GA. Though we are weary in body and exhausted physically, the Lord is ever faithful and keeps us through each day. We are excited about the days ahead and the upcoming holidays where we will, though more busy than ever, delight in the miracles He has brought about in our family over the last year.

We hope you have enjoyed the new website, and we thank you for your patience with us as we continue construction. We praise the Lord for a young man at IBLP who offered his services to make us successful, and over time we are looking forward to expanding this website to include many more ways to serve you.

November will have us singing and preparing for Thanksgiving, after which we will immediately begin our Fortune Family Christmas Program. Keep up with our schedule– and if you cannot make the services, we ask that you remember us in prayer as we travel and share the Good News. We are constantly reminded that we are in a battle, but the truth remains that we have already won!

Thank you for your support of our family, and for giving of your time to read this report. The Lord has done great things, and we appreciate the fact that you are willing to share in our lives.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

The Fortune Family

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:21 Many of you may recall how that in the last paragraph of our latest newsletter, we stated that the next three months on our calendar looked “a little on the slow side”. To go back and read that now brings a smile, because in truth, these past months have been anything but slow, and if we could have chosen for ourselves, they would have been much different. But God is sovereign, and we are still learning new depths of trust as we continue to watch His plan unfold day by day.

The first weekend of April was scheduled in Ohio, where we were requested to sing our Easter Program. Bringing those resurrection songs out of the closet and remembering the victory that is ours always gives new zest to our outlook, and that weekend of singing was one of great joy and much laughter. We were at our home church for Resurrection Sunday, and had the opportunity to open up our home after services for everyone to come and share in the happiness of the day. The best part was after the children had found all their eggs, and were reading off the scriptures that had been written inside. The whole front porch was filled with little ones here and there, and the low mumble of voices spoke truth everywhere you turned your ear. Truly an uplifting experience! We sang only twice more that month, attended a wedding, and cried out to God to help us through the slow time. He came through as He has forever, and we again marveled at His providence and wisdom. Also, during these quiet days, the girls were able, for the first time, to really paint and decorate their room. After selling the cookbooks and achieving our goal of a family vacation, we realized that the generosity of others had made it possible to not only have the vacation, but to provide the girls with means to do something they’d wanted for 10 years! How excited they were as we all worked together to transform their room into something beautiful. Every one of you, somehow, had a hand in that, and we want to thank you from our hearts.

The month of May started with us singing at a Homecoming Sing in Gaffney, South Carolina with three other groups for about 800 people… and it was there we were introduced to a new song, called “I Have Been Blessed”, that ministered to our hearts and prompted the immediate addition of the song to our repertoire. Next we sang in Jacksonville, FL for a Sunday morning service, where at the end a young girl came forward and trusted Christ as her Savior! We were so excited to see and be a part of such a powerful service. The next time we ministered was close by home… in Dublin, GA. Here, too, a teen-aged girl walked the aisle and confessed her need for salvation. We were so very encouraged… two souls in a row, and we had the joy of watching them get saved! That night we sang in Dexter GA, and the rejoicing in our hearts spilled out in the service, causing the whole place to sing the mighty power of God. The following Thursday we drove to Columbus, GA to sing for a Baptist’s Association’s Banquet. Joseph delighted them all by quoting the whole chapter of Hebrews 11, and we enjoyed our time of visiting with them afterwards, as always. We sang for two more Sunday evening services that month, and in between running the household and learning our new song, Chrissy decorated a wedding cake for a childhood friend.

The first day of June found is back in the studio recording “I Have Been Blessed”. Even though we’d only preformed it live three times, we still felt the need to add it to the master of our newest CD, “Testimonies of Zion”, and get it in people’s hands so they could be as encouraged as we were. The rest of the month was busy with birthday parties, church fellowships, and Lauren’s follow-up surgery. She was only down for about 6 days, thank the LORD, and is still going faithfully for therapy twice a week. Praise our Father, the orthescopic removal of scar tissue was also a gift of love, just as her first major surgery had been. The added blessing of this go-around that differed from the first was the fact that not only the surgery, but also the anesthesia was given to us! We are so grateful for the ways our LORD has supernaturally provided for our needs. We sang at another retirement home, and three churches, and then at the end of the month left for a four-day trip to sing three times in West Virginia. There the hand of the LORD guided us, watched over and protected us on the road, and taught us what to say and sing. All three services were filled with the sweetness of His Spirit, and we thank Him.

Although July technically falls into the next letter, we want to share with you what took place the first week of this month. Our church was hosting an Independence Day celebration on July 3rd, because our family was scheduled to sing in Butler, GA on the 4th. As the party began, Joseph and another boy both ran for the football at the same time, and crashed head-on, knocking the boy out and sending Joseph to the ground. As we gathered around them, we could see that while the boy was fine, Joseph’s leg had suffered a compound fracture between his knee and ankle. Our church body sprang into action, and before any of us could turn around, we were sitting in the waiting room while the doctor on call performed emergency surgery on Joe’s leg. Two rods were inserted, and he was kept in the hospital for three days. Now he has a bright blue cast, and brings joy to our home as he is laid up on the couch, singing to himself or writing cards. We had to cancel a weekend booking in North Carolina, and this coming Sunday night will be the first time Joseph will be able to go out and minister. He has responded so well to this trial in his life, and we are confident the LORD will use it for His glory as Joseph sits in a wheelchair and sings with all his heart, “I Have Been Blessed”.

Thank you for all your prayers… your faithful support… and your kindness to our family as we seek to do His will, whatever it is, wherever it takes us, each and every day.

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”

With grateful hearts,

The Fortune Family