Regena and I first met Jimmy and Juanita Summers in the summer of 1987. We had just been married for 5 months and I was "trying out" at the congregation in Trenton, Florida. The brethren there asked me to come and work with them, we subsequently moved there in August of that year.

We made numerous friendships that continue to endure to this time. There are many brethren there that were sources of encouragement for both of us. Jimmy and Juanita were two of those people. Each Sunday they visited the physically and spiritually sick. I was amazed at the energy level of those two people.

Juanita often taught Bible Classes and was busy getting material together for those classes. She watched after her two granddaughters. At that time both were young babies. She did not let that slow her down in doing the Lord’s work. Jimmy was working at Gainesville, about 30 miles away, but he also was busy about the Lord’s work. If there was a Bible Class at some one’s home or if somebody needed visiting I could call on Jimmy and he would be ready to go.

One of the first orders of business at Trenton was preparing the congregation for having elders. The brethren asked me to give some lessons on the qualifications, duties of elders, and the congregation’s responsibilities toward them. In the middle of those lessons the Olan Hick’s doctrine on marriage and divorce came up. Some of the brethren were handing out Olan Hick’s book on the subject. People were confused and some were angry when the false doctrine was confronted. We had a couple there that was living in an adulterous marriage. A few brethren wanted us to just let it go for they were afraid "we would split the church." However, others wanted to stand for the truth. Jimmy and Juanita were two of those that would not back away from the truth. Eventually the issue was handled in the scriptural way and some did leave but most remained. The church there is stronger today due to people like the Summers.

They invited us to family gatherings, and we often drove out to their house to talk and joke around. I remember when we found out Regena was pregnant with Eli. They joked with us saying, "You’ve done it now," and they would talk about the task of parenting.

We faced numerous issues at Trenton. One occasion stands out in my memory. We had members that would be faithful I their attendance for a while but then stop coming. They would come when some one would visit them for a while and then stop again. Often people would say these folks just needed encouragement. Juanita spoke up and said, "Yes, and some times they need to encourage others." In other words we all need encouragement from time to time. Being spiritually weak is not the same thing as being spiritually lazy. Juanita was always ready to help the weak but had little tolerance for laziness.