Help Joe Taylor!

To all of you who have prayed for us, sent letters of encouragement and your generous financial support, I thank you. I wish that I could say we are out of the woods on this, but the truth is we still have a long way to go. Some of you may have watched the auction of the mastodon skull on January 20th. Seeing it sell for a total of $191,000 was gratifying in that it proved that I wasn’t crazy for believing it was worth that much. Our part of that is $128,000. And it would have been really gratifying if we were merely waiting for the check to come. The truth is that the sale has yet to be approved by the Bankruptcy judge. That is supposed to happen February 7 — and even then we won’t receive payment for weeks. We still have to deal with the judgment of $136,000. But, thank God, the Sheriff’s auction, scheduled for this week, has been canceled.

Since January 16, we have worked night and day on the paper work to file for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. We were able to get that done at the last hour of the day on Friday before the auction without a lawyer. Since Monday, the 21st, we have worked every hour of the day and many at night on learning the procedures that have to be done to file all the numerous forms with the bankruptcy court. Through friends of Mt. Blanco, we found a lawyer who could help us with many of the legal issues. Other knowledgeable friends have come on board to guide us through the difficult process of properly filing on time. Today, Friday afternoon, having done as much as we were able on our own without a lawyer here in this area, we felt we had no choice but to retain one here to help with the filing in a Lubbock, Texas court. Your contributions will be indispensable in that. We are trying to do as much as possible on our own, but appearing in court is something I cannot do on my own.

Henry Johnson has spent a month of nights and days researching for the legal documents and has nearly worn out his phone calling to find out what to do. Joel Peck has had the odious duty of combing through the maze of financial records to find the information we must have. Every hour we spend on this is another we are not making any money in the museum. None of it is enjoyable. I hate all of it, and we all would so much rather be doing what we are good at, art and paleontology. In the last seven weeks, I have only worked two days. The rest of the time has been spent trying to save the museum. I wish I could say that I am jumping for joy that the mastodon is sold, but, while we are truly grateful for the many good things that have happened in recent weeks, the truth is our situation is still precarious in many ways.

So, again, God bless all of you who have supported us through your prayers, giving and encouragement. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you. If you are led to continue helping financially, thank you very much, if not, we still cherish your prayers and good will. Please also continue to pray with me for those who oppose us and their families.

In Christian bonds,
Joe Taylor
Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum

www.helpjoetaylor.com is now accepting online donations to help support Joe Tayor’s family! These donations are not tax-deductible, but are free will gifts from one Christian to another. Please pray about making a donation to help support Joe’s family.

Matthew 6:3-4
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Acts 20:34-35
Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.