June/July Newsletter

 

 

Things have been crazy around the O'Neal household so I am late writing the newsletter. My wife and I just celebrated our 17th anniversary on July 18, and we are achieving a dream for our marriage and buying our first home. As I write this, we are about a week away from closing then the move begins. God has provided a miracle in our lives and we give him all the praise.

 The Wanda Mountain Boys had a pretty busy month of June and then we took some much needed vacation time in July but still were able to work in a couple of concerts.

 The Mid America Gospel Music Association sponsored an artist banquet at the New Life of Hope Church in Sullivan, MO on Friday, June 12. Claude and I were able to attend and had a great evening of fellowship with 50 or more of our Gospel Music friends and their families. We did some mixing and matching of singers and musicians and laughed a lot. The food was great and the church did a bang up job of hosting the event.

 The next evening, we were back at the church for a concert featuring the Wanda Mountain Boys and our friends Sunday Edition, from Nashville, TN and Janice Crow. These folks have been friends of the Wanda Mountain Boys for many years and are also members of MAGMA. It was a great concert and the Spirit was very real. Each group complimented the other and several came forward for salvation. That's what it's all about.

 We traveled from Sullivan to Mt. Vernon, IL for the morning service with our friend Jimmy Beaty. Pastor Shores is a long time friend of the group as well and we had a great service with them at 1st Freewill Baptist Church. There are those who think that Jimmy Beaty and Claude are separated twins because of their similar personalities. That being said, there were a lot of laughs shared that morning.

 On June the 28th, we had the privilege to be a part of the Freedom Celebration at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Belleville, IL. We did an hour concert at 6 p.m. followed by a presentation by the church choir, orchestra and drama team. It was a moving moment when they took the time to give each Vietnam Veteran in attendance a special trophy in appreciation for their service. The presentation was great and it was a privilege to meet Chris Higgins from KTVI channel 2, who took part in the presentation.

 We spent the 4th of July with special friends, Tom and Sheron Cadle at the Bethalto Church of God. They have been sponsoring Southern Gospel Music at the church for several years now and have one of the best music series in the Midwest. We weren't sure how the crowd would be on a holiday night but we had an almost full house and a wonderful concert. We tried out some of our hymns from our new recording and the crowd responded well.

 Magnify Ministries came to Roxana on Thursday, July 9 and what a night it was. Gene and Ann Young ( YoungSong), Bill Schell, The Chosen Ones and the Wanda Mountain Boys presented a joint concert complete with a 40 plus voice community choir lead by our old friend, Tom Hollingsead. Each group was featured as well as the choir as we lead the crowd in an evening of worship. Be watching our schedule for the next MAGNIFY event which is already scheduled for next year.

 Claude made his yearly motorcycle trip down through Louisiana and up the Natchez Trace. He returned for a couple of days and had a great opportunity to go on a fishing trip to Alaska. Rod and I held the fort down here while he was gone but I'm sure he is like the rest of us and ready to sing.

 We are just a couple of weeks away from having our "Hymns of Faith" project. The art work is done and at the printers and the mix has been completed. Thanks to all of you that pre-ordered the project. We hope to have it to you soon. I think that you will find that it's worth the wait.

 Keep watching the website as we are constantly adding photos and new dates. Thanks for your support and prayers.