Page 185 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

185 | P A T R I C I A R A E M E R R I T T W H A T L E Y

“BUT GOD”

An opportunity was granted to me to attend a Southern Baptist Conference held in Bradenton, Florida, which included a Creative

Arts and Drama Workshop. My church sponsored the trip, and it was a fantastic experience. There were few African-Americans in
the conference of about 600-700 attendees. To this point, I asked the Drama Consultant of the First Baptist Church of Orlando if I

could bring a presentation to the next conference. The conference inspired me to return to Sanford to form a drama group at my

church. When I received consent that I could make a presentation the next year, I was so thrilled that I began organizing a group and
selecting an appropriate presentation right away. When it was time for the conference the next year, I got so engrossed in checking

into the hotel and finding our performance venue that I lost my paycheck. The thought of losing about $600 in cash made me panic

and I back-tracked, trying to track down that money.

I went to the Registration Desk to inquire and was told that someone had found the money and returned it. God came to my rescue!
And, on top of that, the presentation was well done and accepted whole-heartedly at the conference! TO GOD BE THE GLORY

FOR ALL HE HAS DONE!

Several years later, I was again asked to perform for the college. My answer this time was that I would like to wait and be accompanied

by my students, rather than do a solo performance. I had started working with students from my church in the performing arts. We
would rehearse on the porch of my shotgun house whenever we couldn’t rehearse at the church as much as we needed to refine the

presentation.