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Oilfield Christian Fellowship1 John 1:3 “. . . Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” AUGUST 2010

article from Petroevents Magazine on pages 1 & 2

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Bird’s Eye View

by John Bird

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Road Trips— A great time to reflect

One of the wonderful things about being retired, and I use that term loosely, is the freedom to travel without restraints of having

just a certain number of days of vacation. Recently Judy and I drove to Amarillo and stayed with

her mom for two weeks and during this time I got to play golf with old friend Dennis Scott and his son Clay, 13, (Dennis who once lived in Houston was one of the first volunteers who helped send the newsletters out each month.), meet with the Perryton OCF leaders, visit Palo Dura Canyon for the umpteen time, and be bolted out of bed at 1 AM one morning by every tornado siren in Amarillo going off! Some parts of the city saw the most rain ever in an hour but no tornado’s touched ground. (Now this will get your heart beating!)

The trip to Amarillo by car takes nearly 12 hours but because I like to drive it’s really no big deal and it’s therapeutic to me; a time to reflect, a time to visit with your wife, listen to the radio, stop and eat at different places and meet new people and see how things have changed along the roads we’ve often traveled.

Left Right

Huge thunder heads filled with rain and golf ball sized hail, one on the left and the right as we approached Amarillo; our road dry and clear all the way in. One of God’s wonders; we pulled off the road and watched and listened in awe.

But one of the highlights of our trip was getting to meet the leaders of the Oilfield Christian Fellowship chapter in Perryton, Texas and trust me on this. You have to be going to Perryton to get there. You don’t just drive through unless you are going to Liberal, Kansas for some reason. Perryton is very near the Texas border. You can’t get much more ‘Panhandle’ than this!

I set my alarm for 4:30 in order to make our breakfast . . . continued on p. 4

meeting at a local hotel at 7 AM. (Normally they meet for a ‘pre, week early, OCF meeting’ at 6:30 AM but cut me a little slack knowing it was a long drive, some 117 miles and two hours. But it is a great drive once you clear Pampa with a $.27 large ‘senior’ cup of coffee from McDonalds there. “Did I hear you right ma’am, just 27 cents?” I asked. (She looked at me like it was a trick question and answered “yes” as if I should already know this.) And it was a good cup of coffee I might add, much

better than my Starbucks, I mean Fourbucks that I’d had the day before.

The farm land changes to mostly vast rolling ranchland with some canyons mixed in just a few miles north of Pampa. It was beautiful and green with the Sun coming up and nary a tree in site. In fact I called Jim Teague in Pittsburgh and told him where I was and that I couldn’t see a tree for miles but only pump jacks and drilling rigs and he had a good laugh and wished he was there.

Phil Harris, Bill Skaggs, Mike Riley, Bill McCallie, Perry Sooter, Tucker Barne, me

I had a great visit with these men who love the Lord and want to win the oilfield for Christ! May their tribes increase!

I love road trips and this was a great one but I want to introduce you to a road “less traveled”, a road to eternity with Christ as your companion.

Author and drilling engineer Mike Chaffin, in his book,

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Does God Exist?Bird’s Eye View. . . continued from p. 3

Making the Trip with God on Route 316, aptly added the following subtitle, Directions to the City of Eternal Life and then pens the first line of day one of his book; “Everything begins somewhere.”

This ‘somewhere’ for you may be realizing, understanding and accepting this simple but profound scripture beginning with John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Will this be your new beginning? If so, call me and let’s talk about it.

The Smile CornerThrowing more tax money toward education doesn’t seem to be doing much good!

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As

the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: ‘I don’t believe that God exists.’

‘Why do you say that?’ asked the customer. ‘Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist.

Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.’

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: ‘You know what? Barbers do not exist.’

‘How can you say that?’ Asked the surprised barber. ‘I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!’

‘No!’ the customer exclaimed. ‘Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.’

‘Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.’

‘Exactly!’ affirmed the customer. ‘That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.’

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

Share this with others…..

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from Denver

. . . continued on p. 6

Four Christians Arrested for Answering Questions about Jesus

in Dearborn, Michigan

Chapter Praise Reports!

Four Christians were arrested and jailed for talking to Muslims about Jesus, by order of police chief Ronald Haddad

of Dearborn Michigan, who defended the arrests one week after the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered those same police to let Christian evangelist George Saieg preach openly at a Muslim festival there.”We didn’t distribute literature, or preach anything,” said one of the four jailed evangelists. “We spoke only to those people who first approached us, we talked only about Jesus’ love...and within minutes we were handcuffed and jailed.” But Haddad was unrepentant. “We did make four arrests for disorderly conduct,” Haddad told Worldnet Daily. “They did cause a stir” [with their free speech about Jesus].

Is talking quietly about Jesus now disorderly, just because some Muslims get angry?”Allah Akbar!” shouted two Muslims as the Christians were taken away in handcuffs, by police who also seized the Christians’ video camera evidence and refused to return video footage of the arrests.Live video is now on YouTube of another group of three evangelists being detained by the same police the very next day, because they distributed the Gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside the Muslim festival.

This new video got 15,000 hits in 3 days, after the police told those being held that city policy states Christian literature is not allowed within 5 city blocks of the Muslim festival, creating a “banned-Bible zone” in violation of the First Amendment. “The police are enforcing Sharia law in America,” said one of the four arrested Christians, explaining that Muslim Sharia law is not just about putting Burkas on women, but also prohibits anyone from talking to Muslims about Jesus, and prevents listeners from escaping Islam by converting to any other religion.

Editors note: Chief Ronald Haddad has just been appointed to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, which provides advice and recommendations to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on matters related to homeland security.

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” ~Winston Churchill

I have a “praise for prayer” report for one of our own who was on our prayer list a while back! Bill Weiss, President of Correlations, Inc., with the help of God and all the prayers offered up on his behalf has put his bout with can-

cer behind him and is back in the quest of securing funding for his ongoing hydraulic fracturing and CO2 sequestration/IOR proposals, many of which we worked on together throughout the years. He was not hesitant to credit prayers for the healing he has enjoyed! Let’s also wish him a happy 70th birthday, the occasion which brought him back to Denver over the weekend. We had a wonderful visit and resolved to push these areas of research further for the benefit of our industry!— Gary Nilson, P.E., OCF Director, Denver

from Oklahoma Not a long story but just some quick OKC information;Our Silent Auction held in conjunction with the Mid-Continent Golf Tour-

nament was a huge success. OCF of OKC raised $10,422 for our “Turkey’s to the Rescue” foundation.

We will be holding our Second Annual “Tailgate Party” for the City Rescue Mission on August 27th, last year at our inaugural event we grilled over 900 pounds of chicken and fed nearly 1200 homeless people in downtown OKC. We also had organized outdoor games for the children and live music, it was a huge block party.

Lastly we got our “IBLT” or I Bought Lunch Today program started, where donors can purchase a lunch (meal) for someone at the mission for a dollar a day, or $30 per month. You as a lunch sponsor will be given a nice lapel pin to wear in recognition of your support, If we can find 1200 sponsors at $30 per month then the Mission will not have to spend dollars on their food budget.

As you can see a lot is going on in the ministry of OCF here in OKC.— Rick Johnson; Oklahoma City Director

Bible StoriesEDITORS NOTE: The following article has been re-written from an email sent in by Gerald Zgabay Sr. and Gerald Zgabay Jr. We hope this becomes a monthly column in the newsletter. Send us your story so God can be lifted up. Contact Mike Chaffin or John Bird by using the “Contact Us” button on the web at www.oilfieldchristianfellowship.com.

“I’d seen the Oilfield Christian Bibles several times over the past several years and had never gotten my hands on one until recently when my son found out where to order them. He brought several to me and I kept one and handed the others out to people in the field. I still continue to order more and distribute them. It is amazing how God moves and puts people and opportunities in our path. It can be as simple as someone sitting in my truck, noticing my Oil Patch Bible and a conversation begins, and usually ends with; “I would like it get my hands on one of those Bibles”. Say no more, I reach in the back seat and present them with the Oil Patch Bible,” - wrote Gerald Zgabay Sr.

“This past Christmas was unique because as a family we had decided to put the money that would normally be spent on gifts, toward ministries. Knowing

Gerald Zgabay Sr. and Gerald Zgabay Jr.

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Bible Stories. . . continued from p. 5

that my dad had been in the oil industry for 30+ years and seeing the dedication and passion that he has for the oil industry I looked out of curiosity on the web for “Oil Field Ministries.” I was surprised to find The Oilfield Christian Fellowship. As I searched around on the Oilfield Christian Fellowship website I discovered that the organization offered Bibles in both English and Spanish with an attractive cover that would attract any person working in the oil industry. Also, the fact that they had luncheons throughout the state strengthened my interest. My first thought was that this was a great gift idea for my dad; my second was what a great tool and opportunity. The tool is obviously the Bible and the opportunity is the people that my dad comes in contact with each day,” added Gerald Jr.

Gerald Sr. went on to explain, “God has blessed me tremendously in my life and continues to do so. Being able to pass out the Oilfield Christian Bibles is just another blessing. Two of my favorite scriptures are Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Corinthians 10:13. Many times I have talked with people in the field that slowly open up and read these two scriptures.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Gerald Jr. adds, “Over the course of the last couple of years my dad really started to develop a closer more intimate relationship with God. Taking place in him was Romans 12:2, “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Everything he did including our relationship with each other was transformed into a deeper more meaningful father-son relationship. I am a man who truly believes where people will see the love and grace of Jesus Christ is in the everyday work place. How we carry ourselves in the difficult times throughout our work day when we face the real problems and issues; this is where people will see Jesus. This is the transformation I mentioned earlier that has taken place in my dad. He has taken those Oil Patch Bibles and begun to prepare peoples heart for the love and grace of Jesus Christ.”

Gerald Sr. closes with the following advice. “No matter what road we have been down in life, life is great. We serve a great God and he is so great to us. Put

all of your problems in life in the hands of the Lord, stop worrying and enjoy life. God is in control; he always has been and always will be. First thing in the morning: Thank God for the day that he has given, even if it is stormy, it’s still a gift and a beautiful one at that. Stay positive, negative thoughts have a way of ruining a beautiful day. Worry only about the things that you can control, put everything else in God’s hands, he can handle things much better than we can.”- Gerald J. Zgabay Sr. has been married to Karen for 34 years and has worked as a completions foreman for Chesapeake for sixteen years, for a total of 34 years in the patch. - Gerald Jr. has been in the banking business for ten years and has been married to Tabitha for seven years. He and his wife are directors in an organization out of Waco called Jesus Loves Truckers.

From Tyler:Special delivery by God’s appointed?

John, Your copy of the Oil Patch Bible

was delivered to the widow of Ed Wilson last Saturday afternoon. I told her that I had requested a copy of this Bible for her from my friend Emil Serda from Houston but that you brought a copy of the Bible by ‘special delivery’ even though you and I had never met before and you were unaware of my request! She began to cry as she read to inscription that stated “courtesy of John Trosclair, P.E., Tyler, Texas”. I should have added “sent special delivery by God’s appointed”!

Kay has your address, so you may receive a note of thanks in the near future and thanks again for helping to fill a need of a new widow. We never know when God has a need for us to fill.

May God’s blessings be bestowed upon you and your family. Have a safe and enjoyable July 4th weekend. — Hunt Perkins

The Rest of the Story…as they say.

John Trosclair is one of the leaders of the OCF in Tyler and told me this story:

John was on a consulting project in Kentucky and while there met a fine Christian gentleman by the name of Jim Vincent who had recently lost his wife Jane of sixty years. She went to be with the Lord in January and was just short of turning eighty years old. Four months after she died Jim wrote a moving poem about Jane which he read to John.

They both wept and John grieved with once a stranger but now as only two Christian brothers can do without shame or forethought.

Jim had introduced John over the phone with Hunt Perkins about some business and John went to see Hunt. John saw from the things around his office that he was a Christian and even had a copy of God’s Word for the Oil Patch Bible on his desk which Emil had given him. Hunt told John Kay’s story and that he was trying to get a copy for her from Emil. John reached into his briefcase and said, “Like this one?”

Hunt couldn’t believe it and was delighted. They both signed it and Hunt later gave it to Kay.

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

From the Wyoming OCF:

Barbara and Harold Lundsford, two year volunteer chaplains to the oil fields there:

This past month was a great month here in Wamsutter.

A group of 12 people from our home church in Ashville, N.C. came and helped conduct a vacation Bible school at our church, Wamsutter Baptist Church. We had an average of 40 kids each day which is a huge number for us, as our church services normally average 35 to 40 in attendance and this with the recent addition of three oilfield families joining.

There were nine decisions for Christ and six were baptized!

“God is good all the time.“

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For concerns or comments call John Bird: Cell: 713-899-1675 Home: 281-359-1258 • email: jbirdocf@suddenlink.net

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of HoustonWhen: 11:45 am until 12:45 pm

Wednesday August 7, 2010 Guest Speaker: David Gautreaux, VP,

Stokes and Spiehler USAPlace: Houston First Baptist Church, SW corner of I-10 and 610

Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship.com E-Mail: jbirdocf@suddenlink.net – Hm. 281 359 1258, 1st Wed. each month

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Perryton, Texas When: Tuesday August 10, 2010

Always 2nd Tuesday of each month • Time: 6 AM Breakfast - $15Where: Smoke House Restaurant – 210 SE 24th Street

Guest Speaker: TBA For more information: Call, Mike Riley

806-228-8393 or Bill Skaggs (806)-435-0686

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Pittsburgh, PATime: 11:30 AM until 12:45 PM

Date: Wednesday August 11, 2010 2nd Wed. each month • Guest Speaker: TBA

Place: Tambellini’s in Bridgeville Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship.com

E-Mail: jteague@newtecheng.com – Cell#: 724-331-8638

Oilfield Christian Fellowship of DallasWhen: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 – [3rd Tuesday of month]

11:45 am to 12:45 pmWhere: Brookhaven Country Club

Cost: Lunch $25 (no credit cards please)Speaker: David Gautreaux, Stokes Spiehler

Subject: “A Christian Journey on a Muslim Road”For Reservations call Hoss Smith at 972.239.3666 or hsmith@knightoiltools.com

NOTE: reservations must be made by Friday prior to the Tuesday Meeting

Fort Worth OCF July MeetingTuesday – August 6, 2010

11:30 am to 1:00 pmCity Club - DR Horton Building

Guest Speaker - Bill Chamblee with Sports Ministry of North TexasContact Scott Royal, 817-851-5425, sroyal@encoreacq.com

lst Monday each month

Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Oklahoma CityWhen: August 5th, 2010　[first Thursday of each month]

11:30 AM – 12:50 PM -Twin Hills Country Club (3401 NE 36th, just east of I-35)Speaker: TBA

Just show up (no RSVP needed; cost: $20)Rick Johnson, 405-426-4310 (O), 405-313-9417 (C), rickjohnson@chaparralenergy.com

or Joye Andarakes, 405-426-4524, joye.andarakes@chaparralenergy.comVisit: www.TurkeystotheRescue.org

Oilfield Christian Fellowship of TulsaWhen: 11:30 AM until 12:45 PM

Wednesday August 25, 2010Guest Speaker:

Where: BOK/WILLIAMS CENTER CAFÉ.Information: Jim Schmidt at 918 810 7114, jim@armadillojim.com

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of DenverWhen: 11:45 am until 12:45 pmWednesday - August 25, 2010

Guest Speaker Andre and Vanee Houssney, Missionary work in LebanonPlace: 1401 17th St., 11th Floor

Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship.com E-Mail RSVP: OCFDenver@pxd.com ; 3rd Wed. each month

Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Midland-Odessa [3rd Wed. each month] CALL FOR SPECIFICS

-11:30 a.m. to 12:45p.m.NOTE: Scott and Don are changing Venues: Call for updates

RSVP by emailing webmaster@ocfmo.com or call Speaker: TBA

Contacts: Scott Willingham -Cell- (432) 238-0458www.ocfmo.com

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Corpus Christi When: 11:30 am until 1:00 pmWednesday, August 11th, 2010 Cost: $15.00 (cash or check)

Guest Speaker: Mr. Brad Adkins, VP-Business Dev. & Marketing, Alpha Petroleum ServicesPlace: First United Methodist Church of Corpus Christi

Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship-CC.com Contact: Greg Garbe or Bo Waters @ 361-693-4001

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of TylerWhen: 11:30 am until 1:00 pmWednesday August 11, 2010

Guest Speaker: TBAPlace: Hollytree CC Tyler, Texas

Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship.com E-Mail: caroline@blockt.com , 903-526-4680 , 2nd Wed. each month

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Fort St. John, B.C. No meetings during the months of July and August

Our next meeting will be @ 7:00 PM Thursday Sept 23, 2010 (4th Thursday of each month thereafter)

Fellowship, Coffee, and Dessert at Whole Wheat & Honey Café (100th & 100th)A local FSJ oil patch person will share their walk with our Lord or speak about oil patch faith issues

Tickets available at the door $7.50 each Call Pieter Hoogenboom for more information

250.262.5747 or 250.827.3936

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Grand Junction

When: 7:00 pm until 9:00 pmThursday August 12, 2010

Guest Speaker: TBAPlace: Canyonview Vineyard Church

Web Site: www.OilfieldChristianFellowship.com E-Mail: ispthn@msn.com – Hm. 970-314-7628

2nd Thurs. each month

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of Morgan CityWhen: August 27, 2010

Cost: $15August Guest Speaker: TBA

Where: Dixie Grill Café7408 Hwy 182 E, Morgan City, LA 70380

Call Greg Roussel: 985.397.2360 groussel@sewartsupply.comLast Friday of every other month

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of WyomingWhen: August, contact those below for detailsWhere: Western Wyoming Community College

2500 College Drive Rock Springs, WyomingWhat Time: 8 AM

Cost: Contact numbers are Pam Crabtree, 417-880-8727 or Barbara Lundsford 828.713.8189

The Oilfield Christian Fellowship of CovingtonWhen: September 29, 2010

(Now meeting every other month)Time: 11:30am-12:30pm

Cost: July Guest Speaker: TBA

Where: Fleur de Lis Event Center, 1645 N Causeway Blvd, Mandeville LouisianaCall: Jody Blaylock-504-400-7768 or jodyb@sundrilling.com

Normally last Wednesday of the month

Oilfield Christian Fellowship of LafayetteNote: Meetings held quarterly

When: Call Greg for meeting information Date:

Where: First Baptist Church LafayetteSpeaker: TBA

Cost: $15 per personFor reservations call Greg Bruton @ 337-593-8700 on Prior Monday

Oilfield Christian Fellowship

Attn. John Bird1511 Palmetto LaneKingwood, TX 77339281.359.1258

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