Prior to Perry and I marrying, we felt Cleveland, Tennessee would be an ideal choice for our home and ministry headquarters.  It was a centrally located area. It had a small town feeling with mountains surrounding the city, which Perry said "Any place I live has to have mountains...you can take the boy out of the mountains, but never take the mountains out of the boy."  There was another reason - actually the main reason we moved to Cleveland.  All of Perry's printing and tape ministry was being done in Cleveland, at Carroll Printing.

                I remember before being married to Perry he drove with me all the way from Northport, Alabama, to Cleveland, Tennessee (about 4 hours) just to turn in a small magazine. We then turned around and went back to Alabama. In those days, Perry would drive for hours without stopping and go for days without eating.  I was so hungry, but was hesitant to ask him if we could stop and eat.  I didn't want to interrupt his fasting pattern.

                Getting back to Carroll Printing, one of the first families we met in Cleveland was the Ralph Carroll family, who owned Carroll Printing. Ralph founded the shop and his wife Ruth and their sons helped run the business, including the presses. It seemed every family member and even close relatives were involved in every aspect of the business. Carroll Printing printed the VOE magazine, revival posters, cassette and video inserts, books and just about anything else that needed ink!

                Ralph was such a help to us when we moved to Cleveland.  When we needed a bank, an auto mechanic, a doctor or any other service, we could go to Ralph who knew just who to recommend in each situation.  When we organized the VOE ministry as a non- profit organization, Ralph was asked to serve on the Board of Directors and did so from the very beginning.

                Recently, Ralph suddenly passed away.  He was getting up there in years and his health was not what it once was. Until the very end, he believed in our ministry and was very proud to be a part of our Board of Directors.  He always gave good counsel and advice. His brother Jack was our CPA for many years until passing away, and their brother Max was the real estate agent that negotiated the property that our two buildings now sit on.

                Ralph's wife Ruth told Perry one of the most amazing stories that Perry placed in the new book Angels on Assignment.  In honor of the Carroll family and their generations of faith in God, Perry is placing the story on the main site for people to read and enjoy.  We appreciate all the Carroll family and their kindness toward us.  Ralph has now joined so many Carroll's that have entered the Heavenly Kingdom. There is no telling how many people have been blessed and helped by the printed Gospel that has passed through the presses at Carroll Printing.  May God bless the Carroll family.  We will miss Ralph at the board meetings; however, he has a much bigger meeting to plan for in heaven.

Love and Prayers,

Pam Stone

                Most of you are aware that last year, in the month of August, my doctor suggested that I undergo a brief surgery for cancer cells in one of my breast. The surgery went well and one year later, after an MRI and a mammogram, the doctor has given me a "clean bill" of health.

                While some of the information I am sharing is rather personal and private, I am saying this for the benefit of those women who may be on birth control pills. When the small cancer cells were discovered, I knew there was no history in Perry or my family of any form of cancer, let alone breast cancer. There were different reasons given as to what may have triggered these calls. Thus, there was no definite reason, other than speculation: from birth control pills, artificial sweetener, stress and numerous other possibilities. 

                It is very important that once a woman turns forty, that she has a yearly "female" checkup, to provide "preventative medicine."  It is much easier to help prevent or stop a process before it takes root, than it is to deal with a dangerous disease once it has spread. 

                While I am certainly appreciative of the great doctors and nurses, and the fact that in America we have some of the best health care in the world, I am also certain that the prayers of so many people have assisted in this good report.  In fact, there is no way that I can express in words my personal appreciation for your prayers.

                I also want to express special appreciation to the wonderful Daughter's of Rachel prayer ministry and to the 1500 or more women who are a part of this unique prayer team, headed up by "Aunt" Bea Ogle. Only eternity will reveal the numerous times that one of these dedicated prayer warriors arose early in the morning or remained awake during the watches of the night, to pray for me, Perry, the family, or the ministry. Perhaps they have warded off demonic assignments, built a barrier and hedge against sickness, or have interceded to prevent a dangerous accident.  Thank you Daughter's of Rachel and those who are not a part of this team that holds us up in prayer!

                 As we enter new phases of ministry, your prayers will be needed and appreciated. In return we are in agreement with you for your personal needs. God bless and keep you!

Friends always,

Pamela J. Stone

                Charlie Ellis has been working in the VOE ministry as Perry's "right hand man" for over 20 years. Charlie, a young stripling from Adamsville, Alabama, felt a burden and call to the ministry as a teenager and was suddenly hired by Perry in 1989 to assist in managing the office. At the time there were only four workers in our 2,000 square foot office which included Perry, Charlie, Perry's brother Phillip and me.  Actually, we could not afford to hire any more people. There were times Perry and I stayed gone from home for weeks and months at a time. Upon returning to the office, it was common for Perry to work 18 hours a day just to get caught up.  At times Charlie literally worked all day and night without any sleep, to ensure all things were in order.  He has remained a very close friend and a wonderful, dedicated worker.

                Charlie eventually married a young woman named Mona. As time progressed they desired to have children. In 2002, Charlie and Mona had marked a scripture in their Bible during a worship service from a passage in the book of Isaiah.   They selected two names, Isabella and Isaiah for two children.  Their first child was a girl named Isabella. Recently, on August 20, at 5:39 P.M. Isaiah Robert Ellis was born in Cleveland, Tennessee. Because of the size of the little guy, 9 pounds 6 ounces, the doctors preformed a c-section. Following the surgery, Mona experienced internal bleeding and lost four pints of blood. At 4:30 in the morning the doctors went back in to find the area of the bleeding. When Charlie called and said, "Please pray...this is a life threatening situation," Perry reminded him on the phone of a powerful scripture that every pregnant mother needs to know prior to entering a delivery room:

                 "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."                                                                  - 1 Timothy 2:13-15

                In the wee hours of the morning we prayed and God assisted Mona and brought her through the shadow of death.  I am reminded of a statement that Perry has shared throughout his years of ministering. Often he has stated, "A promise in the Word of God is not activated just because it is written in Bible. Your faith in the Word and confession of that Word is the key to seeing that promise enacted in your own personal life."  Thus, the promise of a women being saved in child bearing must be believed and claimed during a child bearing circumstance.

                The same was true when Perry's Mother, Juanita, at age 40 was giving birth to a little girl she would name Melanie. After the c-section, Juanita began to bleed and the doctors feared they were losing her. Juanita describes coming out of her body and her soul hovering over the surgical table, watching the doctor's work on her to stop the bleeding.  At the same time, prayer was being requested for Juanita at the church where Perry's dad pastored. Perry was a young teenager but had remembered the verse in the Bible and asked God not to let his mother die in child birth.  Today his sister works in the ministry and Perry's mother, at age 74, still assists as a secretary in the ministry. 

                Today, we are rejoicing with Charlie and Mona over the birth of a son that can carry on the family name. Welcome to the world and to a very loving family, little Isaiah, and get ready because your "Uncle Perry" already has plans for you to work in the next phase of his ministry!

God bless you all!   Pam Stone

                A fellow could be pretty comfortable with life by age 75. After all, you've lived to a good full age, you're content with your valuables and possessions and certainly the wife of your youth, who is like Elmer's glue, has stuck with you until the end.  Ahhh...now you can rock in your easy chair, watch the sun set behind the mountains and drink a little cappuccino coffee from the kitchen.  Everything is going smooth until you hear a voice say, "Get up and move to another country!" For a 75 year old patriarch and his 65 year old barren wife, the news to leave everything that is familiar and depart to a new land was quite a transition that may not have made a lot of sense at the time. Especially when you consider that Abraham's father died on the way (Gen 11:32).  Further, Abraham encountered a famine when arriving in this "promised land," and had to trek a long way down to Egypt and live among the heathen until the famine ended.  There may have been a few times when Abraham asked, "Are you sure this is the right thing?"

                At times in life we are required of the Lord to be shaken from our comfort zone and directed into unfamiliar places. I recall many years ago when Jentezen and Cherise Franklin were with Perry and myself on a Holy Land tour. Jent (as we call him) and Perry were both raised in the same denomination and had a heritage of several generations of ministers within this group of believers. At the time, Jent and his wife had been traveling evangelists and were having some great revivals throughout the United States. Prior to the trip, he had ministered at a church where a long term pastor had passed away and the church made an offer for Jentezen to become their pastor.  He was torn however, between being loyal to the denomination of his family and struggling to find the will of God in making a move that in some ways would separate him from those he was familiar with. When he informed several denominational leaders of his consideration to join another group, some noted youth leaders predicted his demise and failure if he left what he was raised in.

                The two of them had a long conversation on the tour bus. Perry asked him, "Do you believe that God has opened this door for you and do you have peace about going to the church?"  He replied he did. Perry said, "Then just do it and time will tell if it is the will of God.  Don't let men determine your destiny...only God."  Jentezen left and some of the older men said, "This is wrong it is not the will of God...he is not a pastor...what does he think he is doing leaving his roots?"  That was over sixteen or so years ago and the rest is history or His-story. The Free Chapel Worship Center in Gainesville, GA and Free Chapel Orange County are two of the most thriving evangelical churches in North America today.

                Men will always have an opinion. As Perry says, "Opinions are like noses...everybody has one!" Yet, no one but you can determine what the mind and will of God is for your life.  God knew Abraham's descendants would become so many they needed a land mass and a nation of their own.  Thus he moved them from a crowded city into a barren wilderness that today is the bread basket of the Middle East.

                Perry has recently been musing over several decisions that he believes he must make to prepare him for the next major phase of his ministry.  Neither he nor I take lightly any major transitions that we make. Perry has always considered himself to be more interdenominational and a bridge builder between denominations than a "system man." This has actually been a negative for him as it relates to the denomination of his upbringing. Yet it has been a blessing when it comes to reaching out to people of varied spiritual backgrounds.

                As we begin a new assignment and mission that will take us into new, exciting and challenging areas of ministry, we will do so with the confidence that God directs our lives and prepares our path, even in seasons when transitions do not make sense to the natural mind.  We must all keep in mind, that the original intent of the Father was to have one body, one Lord, one faith and one baptism (Eph 4:5). In this end time generation, we do not need more spiritual bureaucrats attempting to dominate and control the message and messengers of the Lord. Instead we need a unified effort of all believers and ministers to bring about the manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth through the church.                                  

Love you all,

Pam Stone