In the spring of 1979, the people of Sagemont Baptist Church were meeting in a crowded gymnatorium (now The Hall) and were looking forward to building a new worship center (our current Auditorium). It was time to raise a major portion of the necessary funds to build the building. With a congregation much smaller than today’s, and an economy where the dollar was not what it is today, the one million dollars needed at that time seemed unattainable. The church needed a miracle of God-sized proportions. God laid on Pastor John Morgan’s heart to lead whomever would follow to commit to a period of 40 Days in which entire families would give their entire income to the Lord’s work. 300 families made that commitment, and the church saw miracle after miracle occur as these families were faithful to follow the Lord. What follows are excerpts of a previously unpublished diary written during that 40 Days by Pastor John D. Morgan, demonstrating the power of God when His people are faithful toward Him.
Sunday Evening, March 18, 1979
• It had been previously announced and clearly publicized that the church would meet to pray at 7 p.m. The largest Sunday night gathering in the history of the church (excluding programs involving special guests or entertainment) assembled to pray. Five were baptized; the congregation sang Victory in Jesus; Richard Wessinger sang It’s My Desire; the pastor, John D. Morgan, preached a brief message on Acts 12:5. The congregation divided into 30 groups to pray, and pray they did. God immediately began to work in the hearts of His children. There was brokenness, confession, and an honest openness before God.
Monday, March 19, 1979
• The day began at 6:30. It was evident from the first waking moment that God was alive and at work.
• A spirit of excitement and expectancy was in the air. The phones began to ring. Ed Morrison called to share that the funding on a town house had been completed and that he would have a check for the new Worship Center in the amount of $75,000. Mrs. Gerald Bullin (Betty) called to share that, though her husband had been committed to the 40 Days for some time, she had not made a commitment of her resources from real estate sales. She shared that God had spoken to her heart during the prayer meeting and she wanted to be a part. Betty said, “I want to give to the Lord everything He lets me earn through listings and sales for the next forty days. My goal,” she continued, “is one-half million dollars.”
• 9:45 a.m. - Suddenly, the devil makes an attack. I received a call from Deacon Jack Kitchen from the home of Mr. & Mrs. Joe Craddock. Mr. Kitchen is a Certified Public Accountant and Mr. Craddock is a police officer for the Houston Police Department. A few days before, Officer Craddock had been involved in a serious accident at the Astrodome. He was struck by a drunken driver exiting the Astrodome parking lot following a performance of the Houston Fat Stock Show and Rodeo. His condition had been critical and the church had prayed for his life. His legs below the knees were mutilated by the crash. God had spared his life, however, he was facing a long period of convalescence in a wheel chair. His wife, Judy, was so distraught. She had every reason to be. Her husband was going to be confined to a wheel chair for weeks, their small business was suffering severely and, to top it all off, she had just received a call from the hospital stating that her husband was not on official duty at the time of the accident and, therefore, would be losing many of his benefits from the Police Department. The world had collapsed. Both of them had committed to the 40 days and now giving was impossible and just paying the bills was doubtful. We talked for a while and came to one conclusion. We were going to depend on God to meet our needs – not the Police Department, not the insurance company. After talking to one another, we talked to God. Satan was rebuked and we claimed Jesus as Lord.
• 5 p.m. - Mr. Richard Hart called to share that upon his arrival at home from work, he and his wife, Janette, had received a check from the I.R.S. for $1,563.34. It all went to the Lord.
• 5:10 p.m. - Mr. Jack Kitchen, CPA, called to let me know what had happened since our prayer meeting at Officer Craddock’s home. Judy went to the business and opened a letter that contained a check for $500 from a delinquent account. Mr. Kitchen also discovered a $4,900 error in the business’s bank balance. And then, to complete the afternoon, the Police Department called to reassure her that the hospital was wrong and all Joe’s benefits would be paid just like they had originally said.
• 6 p.m. - Home for supper, but before I could sit down the phone rings. It’s Mr. W. G. “Buddy” Luce, owner of Luce’s Motor Company in Alvin, Texas. He had several months before given his car lot to the Lord for the 40 days. “Preacher, I just wanted to tell you how the Lord’s car lot did on the first day. He sold four cars today and made a profit of over $1,000.” It is interesting to note that in the first 15 days of the month he had not sold a single car and on the first day of the 40 he had sold four.
Tuesday, March 20, 1979
• About 1:30 p.m., a check was delivered to the church from Mr. Randy Pennington, owner and president of Control Specialties, for $73,609.49. He had mortgaged his townhouse which was free and clear of lien and given the money to the Lord. We quickly added $26,390.51 to his check and bought a certificate of deposit for $100,000 paying interest at 10.5% per annum and maturing in six months.
• For lunch we had ham sandwiches furnished by Niday Funeral Home via Christmas gift. For supper we had beans, corn bread and squash. Our boys looked around for the meat and could only comment, “How much are we saving by not having meat?” The supper was delicious.
• At 8 p.m., Brian Handly, one of our single adults, called and told me that we had an opportunity to build a fence for the Sagemont Townhouses on Beamer Road. The fence would probably enable the men to earn from $2,000 to $3,000 for the Building Fund. The project would begin Saturday, March 24, 1979.
Wednesday, March 21, 1979
• I was to meet Wayne Coleman and his son, Wesley, about 9 a.m. in my office. We were going to go pick up his offshore fishing boat and clean it up for sale. I had agreed to trade him my 1975 Oldsmobile and some cash for the boat, and the boat would be given to the church for the 40 days. The boat’s value is appraised at $8,000.
• Mr. Bob Perry, owner of Perry Homes in Houston called and talked with my wife about doing some decorating in some of his model homes. She gladly accepted the opportunity with the understanding that any money paid would go directly to the Building Fund.
• Upon arrival at church, I was approached by my secretary and handed a gold ring given by a lady to the Building Fund. I placed it in my pocket and walked out into the auditorium. She had stated that the ring’s last known value was $100. I saw Mr. Sam Pitts sitting at a table enjoying the Wednesday evening supper and approached him to talk about his getting the lumber to build the fence at the townhouses. After discussing the matter briefly, I turned to walk away. Mr. Pitts said, “Oh Preacher, by the way, I am sort of a jewelry nut and I will be interested in helping anyone that is interested in helping the church by buying or selling jewelry.” Shocked by what I had heard, I reached in my pocket took out the ring I had just been given, and immediately Mr. Pitts bought the ring for $100 cash. I took the $100 bill, carried it across the room, and gave it to my secretary to put in the bank. She looked as shocked as I had looked a few minutes before. Out of more than 200 people, why would I walk up to the man who would be interested in buying a gold ring?
• A bit later, a gentleman by the name of John Tibbs was waiting to see me. God had spoken to him and his wife, and they had felt God wanted them to give one of their most prized possessions, the family car, a 1949 Oldsmobile with 96,000 miles and in excellent condition. Approximate value $3,500.
• Before the day ended, I spent time in thanking God and asking him to keep on speaking to and blessing our church family.
Thursday, March 22, 1979
• Beth, my wife, and I left home about 8:30 a.m. and made our way across town to see the houses she was to decorate.
• As of 2:40 p.m., eight men had called and offered to help build the fence behind the townhouses. We still need about 20 more before we can handle the project. At least 50 are needed to assemble the boxes. At 2:45, I took time to pray and ask God for the 70 people needed.
• My father sent a smoked turkey to the house to meet the need for supper.
Friday, March 23, 1979
• The day was clear and windy. Mary Ella Elam and Judy Scheschuk came by my house and picked up my father’s Chevrolet Suburban. They were on their way to the Farmer’s Market where they will purchase groceries for 47 families. They were excited beyond words.
• 8:40 - Mr. Alex Benney called the church office and asked us to help him sell his car, 1973 Pontiac Station Wagon, the proceeds going to the Building Fund.
• 11 a.m. - Gerald Saccane called to share that God had given him a figure he was to give for the 40 days. At the Prayer Retreat God had spoken to his wife, Carol, and given her the same figure. They felt the Lord wanted them to sell one of their land investments; however, there were no buyers. Monday morning a letter arrived stating that some party was given an option until April 1, 1979, to purchase one of the investment tracts. The money from the sale would exceed the figure God had given them. Also, last night they had received a $600 check from another investment. The check was totally unexpected. Gerry stated, “I am riding on a cloud just letting God be God.”
• Earlier in the afternoon, I visited with Ed Thompson at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He committed his life to the Lord and also renewed his commitment to give 80 days of his total income to the Lord.
Saturday, March 24, 1979
• Ward McDowell called and asked me to check on the price of pure silver. He has two 100 oz. bars he will give to the church. Also, he has 80 shares of Tandy Stock he wants to donate.
• My oldest son, Sean, cleaned out his school teacher’s flower bed and earned $8 to be put in the Building Fund.
• I officiated the wedding of Raymond Shaw and Mildred Oates. The best man gave me a $50 bill, an unusually large honorarium; it will be given to the Lord.
Sunday, March 25, 1979
• Sunday was a fantastic day. Attendance 1,682, offering $43,000, and more than 30 responding to the invitation. The buses had a record day with 423 riders.
• Martha Wessinger told me how she had prayed for a job and then had a call from her aunt, Mary Wilkins, to clean her beautiful home for $40 per day, with the privilege of working as many days as she wanted.
• There was a sense of expectancy in the air. The day was extremely busy, and I was unable to return to my house until 9:30 p.m. Exhausted but excited, I am looking forward to Monday as we begin week #2.
Monday, March 26, 1979
• Mr. Gilbert Ray called and donated a lot at Westwood Shores on Lake Livingston. This is one of the most beautiful subdivisions around the lake.
• 6 p.m. Ron Niederhofer called. He was so excited. He is a new Christian; I had baptized him a few weeks before. He is growing so rapidly in the Lord. From the time of his salvation, he had been strapped with a medical bill from the birth of his and Beverly’s new baby. He had wanted to give so badly of finances but there were none to give. Sunday he and his wife had prayed that some way God would make it possible. This morning his father gave him a check and two others arrived by mail. The $4,000 medical bill was paid. Now they are free to participate in the remainder of the 40 days.
Tuesday, March 27, 1979
• 9 a.m. - A call came to the church office for an emergency need for an accountant. The offer was that they would pay any accountant double his normal fee to do the work they needed. I called Jack Kitchen, CPA, and he called to make arrangements to do the work.
• 11:30 - Jim Baughman called. The men that worked Saturday were paid $150. The real excitement came in that Jim had just written a $100,000 order at list price. God keeps blessing.
• Mrs. Joyce Standley sent me a note stating that she had sold $400 worth of paintings and had just completed what her art critics and teachers say is her best painting. It is to be sold for $495, all to go to the new building. She states in her note, “It is so thrilling to see the Lord at work through his people. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the joy and victory we are experiencing in our church.”
• Milton and Carolyn Tyler dropped by to tell me they had bought a house from Betty Bullin. The commission goes to the 40 days.
• Tuesday evening was spent going over to the home of a Mr. Long who explained the need to paint the inside of his house and also to do extensive work on his lawn. Mr. Long is not a Christian and I pray that we will be able to win him to Jesus during these days.
Wednesday, March 28, 1979
• I awakened at 6:30 on Wednesday morning and began to make preparation to join Mr. Lewis Ellis and work in Mr. Long’s yard. During the morning a most unusual thing happened when we were joined by Mr. Bobby Murphy and during the course of edging the yard, the edger kicked up a $1 bill and cut it into two pieces. I guess it only goes to show you that whenever you are working for the Lord, money can be found anywhere. The day was extremely tiring, but was most rewarding.
• Mrs. Lewis Farris told me that she had sold some silver that had been valued at $200 on the Houston market was sold in Colorado Springs for $304. This is silver that she had had since her marriage.
• Mr. Rick Carlisle called my office asking for Mr. H. R. Wilkins, who had a membership to sell in the Golfcrest Country Club. Mr. Wilkins is committed to our 40 days and I am sure will be very pleased that he has a buyer for a club membership that formerly belonged to his brother-in-law. The membership is valued at $5,000.
• Rev. Bill Standley, one of our most faithful men, shared with me that his son had been working cutting yards and had earned $35 which he gave of his own free will to the building fund.
• Mr. Harold Epperson approached me and told a most thrilling story of how he and his wife had saved for the 40 days and had it all in the bank. However, due to a message I had preached on a previous Sunday night asking them to let God provide rather than saving in advance for the 40 days, Mr. Epperson decided that he would just commit the 40 days from March 18 through April 29. The first thing that happened was that he was given a raise retroactive back to March 15 and income has increased substantially up until this point.
• Bobby Murphy and Sue Heinze reported that during this 40 days that people had provided meals for them each evening without their asking or knowing that this was what they were going to do.
• As I was leaving the building, Mr. John Elam who works for Perry Homes, told me about an unexpected $1,000 check coming to him and his wife, Mary Ella, in the mail from some sale of timber on an investment he had made six months ago. He was so pleased that the timing had come during this 40 days.
• Before going home, I went by the home of Mr. Long where four of our men were diligently at work painting the inside of the house. While there, Mr. John Murphy and Mr. Don Rhoades came by and shared Jesus with Mr. Long. We continue to pray for his conversion.
• One of the things that I failed to mention that happened at church was that Virginia Hosea brought to me a beautiful diamond ring that she had been paying on for almost a year at Sears and Roebuck. She had paid it out of layaway that day and gave me the ring to sell for the building fund. The ring is valued at $995.
Thursday, March 29, 1979
• Thursday morning began at 8 a.m. in the yard of Mr. & Mrs. James Long. I was joined there by Mr. Lewis Ellis and Mr. Bobby Murphy. We spent the day in an intensive cleanup operation which included the-hauling of 16 pickup loads of junk to the dump.
• About 3 p.m., we finished that operation and I returned home to spend some time with my boys, who were arriving from school. I watched a practice game played by Sean and then returned home at 7:10.
• While I was away, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Blake came by our home to share some most exciting news. One of their children has been facing a very serious operation that was going to take approximately $2,200 to perform. On visiting the doctor on Thursday, they learned that their daughter’s condition had greatly changed and that surgery was certainly not necessary immediately, and maybe not at all. Therefore, they immediately wrote out a check for $2,200 and rushed it to my house in gratitude to the Lord.
Friday, March 30, 1979
• Friday morning, I went by the home of Mary Ella Elam to deliver Officer Joe Craddock’s truck to be used to haul the groceries from the Farmer’s Market for 66 families. The initial order for Irish potatoes was 900 lbs.
• Upon arrival at my office at 8:30, I had a letter from Jim and Diane Cooper stating that they had a two ton Whirlpool central air conditioning unit worth $500 that they wanted to give to the church. I am sure someone is going to need this unit in the near future.
Sunday, April 1, 1979
• Sunday was a beautiful day and 1,658 came to study God’s Word.
• Mr. Sam Jackson came with two of his daughters and brought me a beautiful man’s ring that he had purchased several years ago for $500. He wanted to give it to the church.
• When the offering was counted on Sunday afternoon, it was over $50,000. People were sharing many testimonies. We had the joy of seeing nine baptized Sunday evening, including seven adults.
Monday, April 2, 1979
• Mr. Randy Pennington’s office called and told us that he had 25—30 Butterball turkeys to give to the church to provide meals for our families.
• At supper time, over 170 families came by to pick up some delicious vegetable soup that had been made by some of our ladies.
• In the middle of the day, Mr. Randy Pennington told me that God had impressed him to give a total of $200,000 from his company, and he was still praying as to what God wanted him to do as an individual. It is such a joy to see this outstanding young businessman growing in the Lord.
• I met Mr. & Mrs. Jack Merrell and their two sons, John and Jay, in the reception area of the church office and they reached into a large envelope and handed to me a copy of their will. The will stated that in the event of their death, all the money that they had in a savings account with Perry Homes, Inc. would be given to the Sagemont Baptist Church. In the middle of last night, God woke them up and told them that He wanted them to enjoy the blessings of giving, not through death but through life, and instructed them that they were to give now what they had in that savings account. Then, with eyes that were aglow, the father wrote out a check for $10,000 and handed it to me. We all joined hands together and had a prayer and dedicated the gift to God and asked Him to multiply it a hundred times. It was interesting to note that when this family moved to our church approximately four years ago, they were suffering financial disaster. Jack had been on the professional golf tour and had lost thousands of dollars in that venture. The entire story of this family is indeed a miracle of the love and grace of God.
• When I got home about 10 p.m., a phone call was waiting for me from Mr. & Mrs. Russell Whatley. They have a little janitorial service business, and they wanted me to know that God had impressed them to give $5,000 towards the new building. This family has always had a very modest income, but over the past few months, since they became committed to this venture of faith, God has more than doubled their income.
Tuesday, April 3, 1979
• George Matthews called to share his commitment to use his talent of carpentry to help in whatever way he could to provide additional money for the building. It is interesting that this young man only a few months ago was in The Shoulder, which is a drug rehabilitation center in downtown Houston. He was excited about what God had told him to do and was looking forward to this week.
• Mr. Gadd, our church bookkeeper, reported that we have now another $100,000 to place on interest. It will be invested today at the Republic State Bank and will return to us a little over 11.25 percent interest.
Thursday, April 5, 1979
• I went to 9806 Mango and worked until 6:30 in the evening, painting the house and cleaning out the storage shed. Several of our people worked all day and up until 10:00 in the evening making a house that was very dirty look like it was ready to sell. In the conversation among the workers, enthusiasm was evident.
• In the evening we had in our home the John Elam family. John had been in my office Wednesday night a week ago and had shared with me that since the 40 days had begun, he had not sold a single house for Perry Homes. However, the story changed as of this week. Mr. Elam has sold six houses and is anticipating selling two more Friday, April 6.
Friday, April 6, 1979
• I received a call from Miss Guyla Laird early Friday morning. She shared with me that she had been transferred in her company and where she used to have to drive 17 miles to work, she now will drive only three. She will save many dollars and a lot of time. She said, “Preacher, so many great things are happening to me during this 40 days, I just can’t wait to tell you more.”
• The ladies are at our church today working diligently on the stew that is to be picked up by almost two hundred families this evening. The vegetable pool is being divided up as of this moment.
• At 1:40, Doug Owenby called from Champion Paper to let me know that he was promoted and is sitting in his new office and that the timing of the promotion has come right during the 40 days, and that he and his wife are very much of the one opinion that the Lord had brought the promotion at this particular time as a result of their commitment.
• As I arrived at the Little League field where Dean was to practice baseball, Mr. Jay Evers, the chairman of our deacons, pulled up in the parking lot, and a few moments later, he came over to my car and shared with me that he had just received the largest raise ever given in his division of Philco Ford Corporation. He was so excited that an unheard—of raise came his way and believed that it was due to his commitment to our Lord during this time.
Saturday, April 7, 1979
• Saturday evening, I received a call from those in charge of the garage sale and it was shared with me that $3,600 had been received through those sales and had already been given to Mrs. Chambers to place in the safe.
Sunday, April 8, 1979
• As we came to church on Sunday morning, I was met in my office by Mrs. Verby Balinas. She brought to me a knife and fork of some sterling silver by International, the pattern Enchantress. This silver has a retail price of $3,500. This is certainly a very sacrificial gift from Mrs. Balinas, and I know the Lord is going to honor her for her gift.
• Our offering Sunday was in excess of $50,000, and our total to date is over $350,000.
In the Sunday evening service, we baptized eight people, six of them were adults. As the day came to a close, I was physically exhausted. However, we went by a home for a time of prayer and fellowship with Mike and Judy Ishomoto. • Mike and Judy were baptized Sunday night and are the answer to many months of prayer and soul winning activity.
Monday, April 9, 1979
• On Monday morning, we were faced with an awesome amount of responsibilities. My mother’s health has taken a major turn for the worse and she is no longer able to walk.
• We do have some people this morning that are finishing up the house of James Upshaw. I went by to see the home of the Jim Hemperleys, and they have asked us to paint the inside of their beautiful house. We anticipate the Long’s house being finished this week as well as the Upshaw house. Little by little, others are getting involved in doing this work.
• We painted at the Hemperley’s home until about 10:15.
Tuesday, April 10, 1979
• My wife, Beth, spent most of the day Tuesday buying decorating materials for the Perry homes. She was also called by the Perry Homes office and asked to continue working by decorating some homes in Colony Park in the Sugar Creek addition of our city.
• It is interesting that in every arrival of the mail, we are receiving checks for hundreds of dollars from different members of our church family.
Wednesday, April 11, 1979
• Throughout the day our ladies worked hard in our kitchen preparing the turkey and dressing for the Wednesday night supper. Over 400 are expected to attend. Mrs. Barbara Woosley, Mrs. Charlotte Tate, Sharon Brown, Sharon Friery and Anna Luce are all working very hard in the food preparation.
• At the Wednesday evening supper over 400 came. Mr. Don Diamond walked up to me and handed me a check for $1,600. These were the sum received from the selling of his boat, motor, and trailer. A few moments later, Mr. Jim Long, the man who is not a Christian that allowed us to paint his house, came over to me, having come to enjoy the supper, and gave me a check for $1,500.
• During the prayer meeting services, several got up and shared that they had received raises during the week. Randy Bolster’s wife, who is a new Christian, stood to share what the Lord was doing in their home and that Randy had received a nice raise during the week.
• During this past week, my mother has also been carried to the hospital and- diagnosis has come of another stroke. She continues to be constantly on my heart and mind, and I am praying for God to reach out of heaven and touch her and bring to pass whatever will bring glory to His name.
• When Wednesday evening was over, I had received more than $4,000, including a gift from Mr. & Mrs. Jim Payne, Sr. of $853 which was their total savings at Cullen Savings.
Sunday, April 15, 1979
• Easter Sunday morning was beautiful. The crowds came to the worship services, more than 2,300 in number. It was truly a glorious day. We had the privilege of baptizing 26 precious souls and saw many respond to the invitations.
• One of the real triumphs of the day was Mr. James Long coming in the service to give his heart to Christ. This is the man that is the owner of the first home that we painted during the 40 days.
• When the offerings were counted on Sunday afternoon, more than $55,000 was given. Mr. Ward McDowell brought me two hundred ounce bars of silver and 80 shares of Tandy stock which is valued at approximately $2,000. The silver’s value is probably around $1,800.
• Following the evening service, Pat Kveton, another salesman for Perry Homes, came and gave me a check for $5,000. This indeed is a most sacrificial gift on the part of this family.
• One of the most interesting things happened after the service on Sunday night when a man that Martha Wessinger had met in the Kroger supermarket had come to the service to hear the music. Mr. Frank Hudson had not been inside the church in 40 years. Following the evening service, he was gloriously saved, and Martha is looking forward to going into his home to talk with his wife about her also coming to know the Lord as personal Savior.
• I went to bed about 11:30 Sunday evening totally exhausted but rejoicing over the great day that the Lord let us see, without a question the most glorious Easter Sunday that I have ever experienced in my ministry.
Monday, April 16, 1979
• When the Monday morning mail arrived, $2,318.69 was contained in the envelopes. This brings the total offering to date to over $439,000.
• Judge Henry Schuble called and asked someone to come by and look at his house for the purpose of painting. He also plans to give his Ford L.T.D. to the Building Fund.
Monday evening was spent watching Dean Morgan win his first season baseball game.
Tuesday, April 17, 1979
• Kent Johnson, John Wills, and Cecil Wells showed up at 8:30 to go to work painting. They first took a load of trash to the dump and then went to 1317 Jefferson in Pasadena to scrape paint. Kent expressed to John his delight in getting another promotion at work, the third in 30 days.
Jimmy Evans’ wife, Shirley, brought by the church office the title to their 1975 Buick Regal. The car will be fixed up and sold.
Wednesday, April 18, 1979
• I went over to the Jim Hemperley home and painted the kitchen.
• At prayer meeting, Brian Handley gave me three checks totaling $996. Jim McAdams shared he had been offered two promotions and asked prayer for his decision.
• After prayer meeting, I visited with Mr. Chuck Brown and then returned to the Hemperley home to finish the painting. We finished by 10 p.m. The job is complete and looks very good. Mr. Carl Sparks, Manuel Contreras, Roger Blake, Bob Brown and Jimmy Evans helped us finish. Dick Benson came by and told me he was giving a lot to the church. Last appraisal was $5,000. It is free of lien.
Thursday, April 19, 1979
• Thursday was spent shopping with Beth for items to decorate Mr. Perry’s model homes. We went to the Galleria Shopping City.
• In the afternoon, Mr. Lee Hollahan brought three shares of stock in Superior Oil by the house. The stock is valued at $372 per share. Total value $1,016.
• Mr. Don McLain called to tell me he had found he had some cemetery lots for sale in Georgia. He has put them up for sale for $2,700.
Sunday, April 22, 1979
• Sunday morning was cloudy. Attendance was down to 1,534 and the morning offering was $41,600. Several folks were saved, and four were baptized in the evening service. Included in those baptized was Mr. Jim Long.
• When I entered the room for the church training hour, a lady approached me and gave me a registered edition of a Dalhart Windberg painting. She told me it was her most coveted possession.
• Mr. Jim Payne was standing by my side and immediately offered to buy the painting when we have it appraised. In the evening service, we observed the Lord’s Supper and many gave a testimony of what the Lord had done for them. There was no lack of faith expressed by anyone but rather a constant affirmation of believing God would do the impossible.
Monday, April 23, 1979
• Mrs. Ernest Marshall called the office and told my secretary she is bringing a 642 Remington 6mm by the office. The rifle will be sold and money given to the Building Fund.
• Larry McLemore, claims adjuster for State Farm, called and told me he and his family wanted to make a sacrificial gift to the Building Fund but did not know if he could do it by April 29. He mentioned that he had learned much during these days about how much he had wasted the Lord’s money in past months.
• Mr. H. W. McDowell called the office and we discussed the gift the Lord had laid on his heart, $10,000 of bonds in the First Assembly of God church in Ft. Worth. The bonds pay eight percent interest. They will be sold in the near future.
• Mike Schmidt called to tell us he had found some stock in his bank box that was very old. When purchased for $250 it was called Lumps, now it is Caesars World and is worth $1,100. He will sell it today.
• Randy Pennington, Ralph Edwards, and I went over to Spring to see Bro. Ralph’s house. We are going to some way sell the house. The sale will mean a gift of $22,000 to the Building Fund.
• Herb Coppinger got a bid of $7.40 per ounce on the silver bars. Total sale price, $1,480. I called Mr. McDowell, the giver of the silver, he said, “Sell it.” Mr. Coppinger came by and picked up a check for $120,000 to be put in United Savings. The interest will be 11 1/2 percent.
Wednesday, April 25, 1979
• Wednesday morning began at 5:24 a.m. I went to the Park Plaza Hospital to have prayer with Mona Dudley and her family and to visit Sugie Wells. Jim Baughman and his wife, Ann, were there and told me they had sold their ranch for $1,000,000. They have purchased over 6,000 acres in South Texas west of Laredo which has 12 producing gas wells. They are planning to put 500 mother cows on the ranch and Ann and Jim both said, “Preacher, at least ten percent of all the income is going to our Lord through our church.”
• Upon returning to the office Mr. Gadd, retired from General Tire and our bookkeeper, came to my study and brought me the last stock he owns in General Tire, 77 shares.
• Wednesday evening Joellan Murphy brought me a check for $1,200. She is single and works hard as a nurse. She has many material needs but Jesus is first in her life.
• In the testimony time, Judy Scheschuk shared that they had given $1,500 to their stock broker at the beginning of the 40 days and had received $2,700 in return. Many shared that God was teaching them much about the sweetness of Christian fellowship.
• After prayer time Cody Davis, President of Lubrizol Plant in Houston, motioned for me to join him in my office. He had a gentleman with him by the name of Robert Pongratz that needed to know Jesus as savior. After about one hour of sharing scripture with him, he prayed and asked Jesus into his heart. He is 42 years of age.
Thursday, April 26, 1979
• Thursday was spent cleaning up the automobile given by Jimmy Evans. The car will be sold for $2,200. I worked on the car for ten hours and was sore all over by the end of the day.
Friday, April 27, 1979
• A beautiful landscape was delivered to my office by Joyce Standley. She wants it to be sold for the Building Fund.
• Paul Herring brought a check by the office for $1,000 in the morning and Dave Green came by and left a check for $2,600.
• Ruth Johnson came by and told us she had sold her stereo for $100 and her husband was so touched that he had her write out a check for $1,000.
• Dru Mixon called me to her office and gave me some stock she and her deceased husband had owned. The stock’s value is about $2,600.
• Tom and Ruby Collier brought two shares of IBM stock plus a check for $115 and a commitment to give $600 in the next 60 days.
The 40 Days officially ended on Sunday, April 29, 1979. In one of the most amazing moments in the history of this church, the final money count revealed that $1,077,469.10 was given during this period.
Many of the people mentioned in this diary have moved away from Sagemont or have moved on to Heaven, but the legacy they left serves as an inspiration as we strive to be faithful in the completion of the Living Proof Project.