"I've been touched this weekend. It's been different. It's been something that Mom and I will never forget. I'm glad I had a part in this. I thank God for you, for those that I know and the ones I don't know.

"I'll never forget a lot of things that went on (to build this chruch) - the hard labor and no money. We planted a cotton patch to pay for our church because you could take an offering and pass the plate and got nothing...nothing. Not a dime. If they had a dime they would have given it. Do you know what we lived on during those depression days? We lived on jersey cow milk, butter and eggs, and fruits and vegetables that we canned from the year before. That's what everyone lived on. Now you can go down and buy you a soda drink, ice cream, anything you want; but back in those days you couldn't.

"I laid out a patch of cotton two miles south of here. It was rough land. For laying it out and breaking it up, we receieved the first year's crop. I put cotton and corn in it. I went down there one July day, it was late in the month, hay baling season, our team was poor; and so was everyone's team that used one. I was coming back about the middle of the afternoon. I had finished my work and was heading home. I lived just over the hill (on 141st West). A Dr. Pepper truck passed me. Now, I had been drinking warm water. I had taken it out of the well cold and put it in a jug that was cool and had a toe-sack sewn around it. We would wet the toe-sack with cold water and put cold water in the jug and go to the field. At noon we would do the same thing to take cool water back to the field; that was all we had to drink during the day. It was tough going. The Dr. Pepper man passed me, pulled over, and stopped. The old team was hot and sweaty and I was, too; and dirty. The dust had been flying. And he said, "Farmer, would you like to have a Dr. Pepper?" I said, "Sure I would, but I don't have any money." He said, "I'm going to give you one." I saw him pull that Dr. Pepper out of the ice. You talk about coming alive! He pulled that bottle, maybe six ounce, or maybe eight eight ounce bottle; I don't know, but they were little short bottles - right out of the ice! He brought it back to me and opened it. I took a swallow of that and - OHH! It was so good all the way to the bottom. I tell you, I thanked him for it! You know, he didn't know what he did for me, but I've drank Dr. Pepper all these years. A man who would stop and give you a Dr. Pepper when you're all dried up - you come alive! Wouldn't one taste good right now?

"That is the permanent thread that runs through the Glenpool First Church of Pentecost UPC. God has been and is good to this church. Not only does he provide us with what we need (water), He gives us added blessing (Dr. Pepper) just to let us know how much we are loved.