Congrats go out to our niece Stephanie for correctly guessing the quote as the dinner prayer Will Farrell said in Talladega Nights. She will be enjoying her lovely prize just in time for Christmas!!
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I just learned the following:
The Newtown Post Office has been taking calls all day from people wanting to send letters, care packages and drawings from children. But where do they send them? On Monday the postal service dedicated a PO Box to the town. If you’d like to send your own condolences, the address is PO Box 3700, Newtown, Connecticut 06470. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world.”
-- Fred Rogers I wish this could be our typical, upbeat post but after the unthinkable tragedy in Connecticut, that can't be the case. Like all of you, Steve and I were horrified to hear about shootings and find it hard to understand such evil. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, including the family of the man that carried out this horrific act. I could spend a great deal of time waxing philosophical, or even theological, about the evil present in the world and what God does, or should do, in light of what could be called "demonic" behavior. Such an incredible tragedy. Trying to describe that horrific event is something that words cannot quite do justice to. We struggle to understand, to be sure, but there is more to the story. I have something that I want to do right now. I do not want to make light of the pain of the victims' families, because my heart breaks just like yours, when I try to imagine what those people are dealing with at this time. But what I want to do instead of focusing on the sadness is to redirect our attention for just a bit and somehow see some good in such a bad situation. First, let's take notice at the number of people who immediately descended upon this community to help. Whether it be to assist the police in obtaining evidence and motive, or the individuals who are helping the families cope and carry on with the process of grieving, or the people who came into the community to do nothing more than open their arms and give a hug, and be hugged, in abject grief. It is at times like this that I am proud of who we are as a people. Sadly, it is not until we are faced with such tragedy that we show our true colors - - we really do love each other in the United States. Just as with Hurricane Sandy, strangers come together to help those in need. Volunteering time, donating money and food, and just generally being there in prayer with, and for, those who are suffering. Secondly, how about the father of one of the young victims who proclaimed his concern for the remaining family of the shooter? At a time when he is processing probably the most pain his heart will ever experience, some of his thoughts are for the pain that the father and brother of the killer are experiencing. How touching is that? Would you or I have been so gracious? As Red Cross members and through my new ministry with the Billy Graham organization, Steve and I get a first-hand look at the other side of tragedy - - the love side. I don't know about you, but so much of my regular life I spend thinking about or praying about the evils we face every day. Today, instead, I want to rejoice in the love that is evident at times like these. Can we take a moment and thank God for what is obvious inherent in most of us - - a real and genuine love for our fellow man. Jesus serves as a model for us at times like this, doesn't he? When confronted with opposition, he loved. While being tortured and killed for the work He did in spreading the gospel message, his thoughts were about the forgiveness of those who were his killers. I guess what I am saying is that in order to not get overwhelmed with the violence and tragedy that we read about daily in the news, let's talk about the generosity and loving acts of those who come to the aid of others. What a different place this world would be if the 6:00 evening news was one story after another about good things in this world, instead of who's bombing who, the drugs and child molestations occurring in our schools and neighborhoods, and the murders and violence that we hear about taking place within someone's broken family. I dream about a time when that is what we focus on - - goodness. Doesn't that sound nice? Ok, that's it for my soapbox. Now on to the story of Baton Rouge. Steve was a big fan of Justin Wilson - - The Cajun Cook - - a chef and a humorist. For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, let me give you some examples of his quirkiness. He is from Louisiana so, of course, he would name his dog Phideaux (aka Fido). He named his dishes with goofy names like "Chicken What The Hell". He's also known for his saying "I gar-on-tee". One of his more famous jokes goes something like this.. http://www.casttv.com/video/nar8jo/new-orleans-cajun-justin-wilson-christmas-video Anyway, Steve visited his gravesite and took some pictures. So beautiful! Along with doing a little gambling at the Hollywood Casino, where we lost money once again, we visited the Old State Capitol Building. What an absolutely magnificent piece of gothic revival architecture! Pictures do not do it justice as one really has to see it to believe it. The woodwork, stained glass windows, and spiral staircase were spectacular. It even has a dome in the center that has blue, yellow and red stained glass that just takes your breath away. It was all decorated for Christmas and it was delightful to behold. This building has a ton of history. It was built in 1847, used as a barracks during the civil war, burned almost completely down, rebuilt, abandoned, and then finally restored through funding provided by the citizens of Louisiana. Now it serves as only a museum as Governor Huey Long built a new Capitol building during his administration. It is definitely worth a couple of hours of your time to tour this structure. That's really all for Baton Rouge. We did some geocaching, but other than that, I studied and Steve read. We are currently in Livingston, Texas where we will be until January 4. Hopefully the weather will improve over that which we experienced in Baton Rouge. I have no desire to see ice on the windshield ever again!!! "We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."
– Carlos Castaneda Hello everyone! Let me begin with a note that will make some of you smile - - IT IS FREEZING DOWN HERE! We are currently in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and it got to a high of 55 yesterday. Steve and I had to wear coats. UGH! We had a nice time in Summerdale, Alabama. There is just so much to do in that area with the Gulf of Mexico so close by. We spent a good amount of time close to the water because both Steve and I are fans of the surf. One day, we visited this huge fishing pier that juts out into the gulf about 500 feet. We watched people fishing as quite a few brown pelicans watched us. Someone hooked an 8 pound sail cat which looks like a cross between a catfish and a sail fish but they couldn't land it because they didn't have a net. Then we noticed a guy fighting a decent sized fish farther down the pier so we went over to see what he had on the line. It turned out to be a 35-pound red fish. Man that thing was huge and the guy was completely exhausted. I wish we had the right fishing equipment to do fishing off this pier but our poles are meant for smaller fish and not those that would be found in the ocean. Oh well. We also did some geocaching in and around Gulf Shores and the Gulf State Park. What a nice park that is right on the water. We continued our geocaching over to Fort Morgan and ran into Josh, the bicyclist, on the way. He is riding his bike across country to do a fundraiser for returning vets. He started his trek in Jacksonville and will ride all the way to San Diego. Good Luck Josh! Anyway, while we were at Fort Morgan, Steve and I planted our first geocache. It's a pretty good hide in the wall of a battery by the name of Dearborn. We chose that spot because I grew up in Dearborn Heights, so it had some personal meaning. Out in the gulf around this fort were several natural gas drilling platforms. They were really cool to see, especially at night, as they looked like Christmas trees out in the water. Since we were near Mobile, we ventured into town and visited the USS Alabama, a World War II Battleship. WOW, that was so cool. These ships are so huge and so intimidating. They have all manner of guns and cannons aboard them and I can only imagine what it would be like to see one of those coming at you full speed. The larger of the guns can shoot ammunition as far away as 22 miles. In its heydey, this ship had 2,500 sailors on board. It is hard to picture that because while the boat is huge, 2,500 people is a lot of people! It was interesting to see the working conditions of these sailors while in the heat of battle. In the big gun turrets, there would be 5 people working in a space about the size of one standard office cube. They would climb into the turret and the doors would be shut behind them and there they would remain with all the noise and smoke of the cannons, until the "all clear" was signaled. There were other guns on the ship and we saw a video about how one guy shot a hole in the side of his gun station because he did not lift the end of the barrel high enough before he shot it. We found the hole and took a picture of it so you could see how thick the metal is and how big the hole was. YIKES! That gets a big "oops". There were other cool displays at Battleship Park including a air museum and the submarine USS Drum. My intense claustrophobia did not allow me to visit the inside of that submarine so I cannot write about it, but Steve got some pics for you. Since we were in the area, we revisited the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola. If you will recall, we toured this facility back in January and just loved it. We came back a second time because it was just that good of a museum, but also because they now have a virtual flight deck that you can experience. That was pretty cool and I recommend that if you have children with you. We also saw the IMAX movie called "Rescue" which was about 4 people, from different walks of life, who went to help with the earthquake in Haiti. While the premise of the movie was a sad one, we did enjoy seeing Haiti again and that experience brought memories of our trip and our heart for that country. Lastly, since it is Christmas time and all, Steve and I visited the Bellingrath House and Garden in Theodore, Alabama. The advertisements stated that the house had Christmas displays made up of 3 million lights and man, they weren't kidding. I think they should rephrase that and say 3 million strands of lights because the place was amazing. We walked the grounds of this house for 90 minutes before we came to the end. What an awesome job they did with these lights - - I cannot think of the right words to describe the visual overload we experienced. The displays were so well done and it really put Steve and I in a festive mood. I only wish that we had visited the house during the day so that we could see these gardens in their full light, but nonetheless, it was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Lastly, Steve and I got to play Bingo this past week. We have developed quite the fondness for the game. Steve won twice - - well 1 and 1/2 times since he shared a victory with another person. I won the coverall and in total, the two of us raked in $34.50 that night. Awesome! We are here in Baton Rouge for just a couple of days and then on to Livington, Texas where we will be until the end of the year. Christmas this year will be strange as we will not be venturing home to be with family. Thankfully, the campground that we are staying at is part of the RV club that we belong to so the people there will be like our surrogate family for the time of our stay. The weather will be warming up soon and be back in the mid-70's. Whew! I don't have a lot of winter wear so I need it to get warmer! If I could ask you to please pray for me this semester. I have 3 classes and a ton of work to do. I counted 18 books that I have to read this term and 2 huge projects, not to mention the 12, 5-6 page papers that I have to write. I am somewhat overwhelmed, so your prayers would be appreciated. Take care everyone! Talk to you soon "In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes." – John Ruskin Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday! For Steve and I, this is the only day of the week that stands out because we go to church. Otherwise, every day is Saturday - - yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking! No swearing, please. :( We left our Florida home base of Bushnell and have begun our trek west to San Diego. Our first stop was to Carabelle, Florida which is on what is called "the forgotten coast." It really has no claim to fame like the Tampa area, the Pensacola/Destin/Panama Beach area (which is called "the emerald coast") or other parts of Florida. Driving highway 98 along the coast to get to Alabama is probably all that would make it interesting. We did, however, stay at a very nice campground that was right on the water, and by right on the water, I mean the back of Big Red was hanging over the rock wall and almost on to the beach. We were blessed with beautiful sunrises and sunsets and heard lapping waves all night long. This sounds like the makings of a vacation commercial but when you get to our age it just makes you have to go to the bathroom several times during the night. Those types of campsites are few and far between so when you can get one, you grab it. We enjoyed our time in Carabelle very much. We did a little geocaching on St. George Island, which is a very nice little island out in the Gulf of Mexico, directly south of Carabelle. The white sands there are amazing and the dunes and vegetation make for a lovely landscape. The fishing along this part of the world is focused mainly on crabbing and oysters and we learned a little about that on our geocaching adventure. There are also a lot of hiking trails in the Apalachicola State Forest, so if you are looking for a quiet, non-touristy kind of beach environment to visit, I recommend the Carabelle/Apalachicola area of Florida. After a few days there, we made our way to Summerdale, Alabama where we will be parked until December 10. This campground is near Gulf Shores and we are looking forward to doing a lot of great and fun things during this visit. When we stopped at the Visitor Center just across the Florida/Alabama border, the gentlemen there recommended that we visit Lambert's Cafe (http://www.throwedrolls.com/) and indulge in the "throwed rolls" experience. What a hoot. The restaurant is quite charming with tons of old signs on the walls and the occasional black cat watching over your dining adventure. Aside from the absolute TON of southern style food that they serve you, there is a gentlemen who wanders around offering hot rolls right out of the oven. If you want one, you simply raise your hand and he throws it to you - - sometimes from clear across the room. It's quite the hoot to watch and the food is excellent. In addition to the Jethro Bodine-sized dinner, there are people wandering around with side dishes that will find their way on to your plate - - fried potatoes with onion, black-eyed peas, cabbage, deep fried okra, etc. Clearly, you need to fast for about 3 days before you go to this restaurant to be able to truly enjoy all that it has to offer. We chowed like we'd just left a two-year stint in a prison camp and still had full take-home containers that we ate the next day. Lordy, my mouth is watering just thinking about the place. So if you are in the Gulf Shores area of Alabama, or in Missouri where there two other restaurants are located, I highly recommend a stop. You won't regret it. This week we plan to visit the USS Alabama, the Bellingrath Mansion where they have quite the Christmas display, and other great Mobile and Gulf Shores adventures. We are hoping that while we are here we are able to get another great picture of us to use as a Christmas card again this year, but how many times are you lucky enough to run across a drunken Santa who will let you sit on his lap? So that's it for our update this week. Steve and I are still thinking and talking about our trip to Haiti. We have sent the funds for the roof repair of our dear Wilguens' home and we hope it gets there before Christmas. I wish every one of you could experience a trip to a place like Haiti or any other third world country that experiences extreme poverty. You will never again complain about what you don't have or what you think you desperately need in life. God has been so good to this country. Don't you think we seem to be losing track of that lately, or is it me? Gotta go. Take care y'all! "You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you." – Joseph Joubert Before I get to updating you on our trip to Haiti, I want to just take a moment and say goodbye to one of the dearest people I have ever known. Steve and I have been friends with a couple, Dave and Deane Luce, for about 8 years. We bought our farmhouse from them in 2004 and became instant friends. Deane has always struggled with health issues due to her diabetes and heart condition, but this fall she was diagnosed with kidney cancer. She had surgery to remove her cancerous kidney on November 1, but had a heart attack in recovery and her remaining kidney ceased all function. She went to be with the Lord on November 9 and we will miss her always smiling face. The above quote is the perfect quote for her. She was an artist and loved to sing and act and to write poetry, and brought such joy to all who knew her. We love you very much Deane and miss you terribly! But we know that you are in heaven, organizing some talent show, and preparing a nice feast for all of us to enjoy when we finally get there with you! Such a great lady and a great friend. Okay, on to Haiti. First, let me just say that this country is beautiful - - I mean beautiful like Hawaii. There are mountains that soar to 10,000 feet and beautiful beaches with the softest sand. Palm trees abound and the tropical breezes are absolutely delightful. We stayed at Club Indigo which is a former Club Med resort that was 2 hours north of Port-au-Prince. The resort was sparse by our American standards (the room didn't even have a phone) but the scenery and sunrises more than made up for that. We ate Haitian food and loved it. Steve even ate goat!..TWICE! This resort would be a nice place to vacation as long as you don't venture off the campus. Once you do - - WOW - - the poverty smacks you in the face like a blast of cold water. We didn't take pictures of the situation because we wanted to honor these Haitian people. You can Google pictures of Haitian life if you want to see it for yourself, but suffice it to say, it was difficult to see. These people live in the most basic of conditions. Their homes are mud and cement, one-room structures with corrugated tin roofs. Most of the family's day is spent outside where they cook, eat and spend time with each other. They wash their dishes and their clothes in large tubs of water and this water is obtained from a nearby well and carried in 5-gallon buckets on their heads. They walk everywhere - - miles even - - to get to these wells and for the children to get to school (those who are lucky enough to go to school). Their homes rarely have electricity or indoor plumbing at all. Bathroom facilities are anywhere you choose to make them - - if you know what I mean. It was difficult for Steve and I to believe that, in 2012, there are still people living in conditions like this - - especially those so close (700 miles) to the United States, the richest country on the planet! There are only a handful of paved roads and one of the major bridges in the area in which we stayed had been washed out by Hurricane Sandy. This bridge collapse forced us to detour through very rough roads and over a make-shift bridge that reminded me of the African Safari ride at the Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld. No kidding! But the people - - holy cow are the people just beautiful. They have nothing but are not overcome with despair. They are very family oriented and very grateful for every blessing they have. The children are so adorable and treated us like rock stars everywhere we went. For some of the kids in the schools that we visited, our visit was the first time they had ever seen white people. They would come up to us and touch us like they were touching something dangerous, and then run away. Some of the kids would be bold enough to touch my hair and rub it between their fingers. They thought it was so soft and an unusual color (well, it is an unusual color - - Clairol #43 or something like that). They fought with each other for the opportunity to hold our hands and walk alongside us. Man, I was Brittney Spears for a day!!!!! Anyway, we traveled with an organization called Compassion International through which we have sponsored children around the world for years. This organization provides church-based assistance to people in various capacities: 1) Child Survival Program - young mother and infant care which includes not only medical and pre-natal assistance, but offers education in proper nutrition, parenting skills, and teaches them a trade so that they can support their families; 2) Child Sponsorship Program - where monthly donations are used to provide a child with the opportunity to go to school, medical care for not only the child but his entire family, assistance with food and other needs; 3) Leadership Development Program - sponsoring a college-aged child so that they can attend college, receive housing and food allowances, and additional leadership training and spiritual training; and 4) micro-loan programs - loans in very small denominations are made to individuals who present a business plan and intend to use the funds to develop a income-generating project in order to support his/her family. It's an awesome organization that provides a TON of support to marginalized people around the globe. When I say that it is church-based, I mean that all of these benefits are given to them through the church organization that they belong to. Compassion believes that it is important to not only address the poverty of the person, but also the poverty of the mind and the soul. Compassion has been a huge blessing to so many people in all parts of the world. Our first official visit was to school HA-322 which is north of St. Marc, which is about 3 hours north of Port-au-Prince. When we arrived, we were greeted by children from as young as 4 to as old as 19, all dressed in their Sunday best, singing a song for us accompanied by their version of a marching band. It was so sweet I burst into tears. In honor of our visit, they learned to play our national anthem and that was very touching. We were marched into their church where we were asked to take our place on stage and from that perch, we were entertained with Compassion success stories, prayers, songs of praise, and a sort-of fashion show of the children's arts and crafts. When I say fashion show, imagine the quick-tempo music that runway models walk to when doing a fashion show and kids walking into the church holding art projects that they produced. Some of the children were really into it which was very fun. After the festivities, we toured the school, which consisted of several buildings, and then were blessed with some genuine Haitian delights for lunch. After lunch, we visited the homes of some people who Compassion is helping and got to speak to them directly. What a joy it was to have this experience. It was a long day and our long drive back to the hotel in the air-conditioned bus was much appreciated. Honestly, I have never sweat so much in my life as I did in Haiti. A minimum of 95 degrees and 98% humidity - - at 8:00 a.m. WOW! The next day we visited a different school, HA-716 and saw the Child Survival Program. This school was housed in what was a former voodoo temple - - the voodoo priest was converted to Christianity and gave the building to the church. Hallelujah!!!! This school, however, suffered significant earthquake damage. It was literally leveled so Compassion came in and rebuilt it to better than it was before. There are four buildings, each with four classrooms, new bathrooms with flush toilets and lots of places for the kids to wash their hands!! We again were graced with Haitian delicacies for lunch and then were introduced to three people who were successful in starting their own business, thanks to micro-loans from Compassion. One woman sells fish that she buys and cleans herself. She is so successful that she not only provides for her entire family through this business, but she employs two other people who also support their families through this fish selling business. We also met a chicken farmer who not only paid back his loan early, but is expanding his business and employing people from his neighborhood. The last woman that we met is raising pigs and supporting her 12 children from the proceeds of her business. There is hope!!! After a long ride back to the hotel, we got to meet three Leadership Development students. WOW. Talk about impressive. Two young men are both studying psychology with the intent of returning to their villages and regions of Haiti to provide assistance to disaster relief and to help people overcome the "poverty of the mind" issue that they face. One woman that we met has become a doctor and currently has two clinics that she manages in order to bring medical services to the poor of her region. Very impressive and there are many more students just like them, hoping to make a difference in their country. Long day, but the next day is the day that everyone was waiting for - - the day we meet our sponsored children. Wilguens Dereme - - that's the name of our sponsored child. He is 18 years old and lives very near Port-de-Paix in the very northern part of Haiti. We have been sponsoring him since he was 5 years old so meeting him for the first time was going to be quite emotional. All the sponsors waited on this patio area while the children were being brought in. I could see him when he got off the bus, but it took about an hour before all the paperwork was done and we could actually meet him. What a moment though. I gotta tell you I think he was as excited as we were because he hugged me pretty tight and held my hand. He is smaller than I anticipated - - maybe 5' 5" and certainly a lot thinner than I expected. But what a beautiful face and smile. He is soft-spoken and shy so the translator had to really bring conversation out of him when we first met, but as the day went on, he was all smiles and laughter and we had an awesome time. Steve and the boys (Wilguens, the translator, and the director of Wilguens' school) all went swimming but we had an almost terrible situation ensue - - Steve jumped into the pool thinking that it was chest deep and Wilguens followed right behind him. The pool, however, was deeper than Steve anticipated and Wilguens, who is not a swimmer, was frantic when he found that he couldn't touch the ground and keep his head above water. The near-death experience of Steve and Wilguens bonded the two of them and they laughed about almost meeting Jesus together for the rest of the day. We learned from Wilguens' director that his family is a good family and very much together. He has 13 brothers and sisters but most of them are older than Wilguens. The roof of Wilguens' home was ruined by Hurricane Sandy and his director is going to help us get that roof fixed for his family. We had such a lovely time getting to know each other and Steve and I will certainly be back to visit Wilguens again. We will also be sponsoring him for his college education so we are excited about that too. The boy wants to study computers and be a lawyer so he can help people. Yes, Lord! So, after a tearful goodbye, Wilguens and about 20 other sponsored children drove away. We left Haiti the next day and will forever be changed by the experience. Many of us in this country just do not have any appreciation for the blessings that we have. We here in the U.S. have such an entitlement mentality - - we believe it is our God-given right to have all the stuff that living in this country affords, but that is just not true. We are blessed, regardless of how hard you think you work for it, it is all a blessing and we should be grateful to God for that which we have. In church today the pastor made the following point - - "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?" Think about it. The people we met in Haiti have little but were extremely grateful for everything and they always refer to God as "Good". We here in the U.S. have everything, yet some are grateful for nothing. Make a change in your life by helping someone today. You won't regret it. I promise you. Until next week peeps, be good. I am grateful for every one of you and love you all. I even miss you sometimes too! "Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road."
– Dag Hammarskjöld Good morning family and friends! Steve and I had a busy week. We did some shopping for our trip to Haiti. Our trip adviser gave us a list of items to bring and ideas for gifts we can bring for Wilgens' family. We also scoped out more 55+ communities here in Florida because both of us believe that this area of the country is where we will land. We went back to The Villages and saw a home model that we both really loved. We also visited a community called On Top of the World, which is located in Ocala and is much like The Villages and Del Webb, but not as large. We have too many options now so I think it's best that we stop looking or we will go on information overload - - know what I mean? This week we also paid a visit to Campus Crusade for Christ where we hooked up with Mike and Amy Whipple. Mike used to be one of the Pastors at our church, Westgate Chapel, but moved to Florida to take on the role of National Director for Global Missions. While we were there, we learned about one of the most powerful evangelistic tools - - The Jesus Film Project - - and how it is dubbed into hundreds of languages and used all over the world to bring people to Christ. If you have never seen this film, here is a link: http://www.jesusfilm.org/film-and-media/watch-the-film. One of the fun things we did was watch as Steve demonstrated his acting skills for us. The tour director was telling us how they dub various languages into the base film footage by counting syllables and to demonstrate how they do it, they asked Steve to come up and read some lines for the film. He is NOT an actor and exuded about as much emotion as a stuffed animal while reading his lines. They gave us a recording of it but you can't really hear Steve, or we would have included it. Needless to say, it was a total hoot! As you know, tomorrow is election day and I don't know about you, but I am absolutely exhausted from the media coverage of this presidential race. I can't imagine the amount of money that has been spent on this election. There are kids in this country who go to bed hungry every night and I wonder how much of our country's homeless and poverty issues we could have solved with the money spent on this campaign. The Pastor at the church we attended yesterday had a good point: give both candidates the exact same amount of money, and make it minimal (like $1,000,000 per state or something) and that's it. Do what you can with that! It makes me sad to hear the negativity that drives all of these political races. Even the local races here in Florida are all about accusations and negativity. UGH!!! It's hard to follow a leader who uses fear tactics as his basis for motivation, don't you think? Anyway, the other thing that the Pastor shared with us was a prayer that was read in front of the Kansas legislature back in 1996. After the pastor read the prayer he left without waiting to see how it was received. Turns out that several of the legislators wanted the prayer stricken from the record because they found it offensive. It was tremendous food for thought for both Steve and I so we wanted to share it with you, especially today as you contemplate going to the polls tomorrow in a race that will be very pivotal in this nation's future. Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Ok, that's it for this week. Steve and I prep for our trip to Haiti so there won't be an update until we get back. I am so excited about this trip that I can hardly stand it. We will have lots of pictures and stories to tell when you next hear from us - - probably around November 19 - - which coincidentally is my sister Lois' 54th birthday!!!! Man is she old or what? Take care peeps and get out there and vote tomorrow. It's not just our responsibility. It is our privilege! Hello everyone!
We are currently residing in Bushnell, Florida and thanking God that we are not in the path of Hurricane Sandy. Holy Cow! That is one seriously dangerous storm and we are praying that it somehow fizzles before it hits land and spares the coast the worst of the potential damage. We were just in the areas that are going to be significantly impacted by this storm and can only imagine how they will cope with the surge of water that is headed their way. We got a call from the Red Cross asking us to be in New Jersey to serve on a Disaster Relief team, but given our pending trip to Haiti we had to turn them down. I am sorry about that because I know how much work the Red Cross has in store for them, but we could not make the 3-week commitment and still get to Haiti. Please pray for the people who have been and will be impacted by this storm. Based on the latest projections, that could include people as far west as Ohio and Kentucky. So, here's a rundown of what we did this week - - a whole lotta nuttin'. We relaxed a bit the first part of the week and then checked out the Del Webb in Ocala. We really liked this community too. It's much newer (started in 2006) so there aren't as many homes as there are in others like Charlotte and Hilton Head. The amenities center was beautiful and so is the golf course. Apparently, Ocala has a different sort of weather pattern for summer. Because they are at a slightly higher elevation, they don't get as hot as the rest of northern Florida, plus they get a nice breeze all summer long. Could be a possibility for us as we like the tax structure for the state of Florida too. The big thing we did this week was attend the 8th Annual Florida Finders Fest. This is a geocaching event held in Ocala National Forest and let me tell you, it was an absolute blast. There are a number of events that go on over the course of the weekend that were geared toward people of all ages. Every event was geocaching related, however, but some were more challenging than others. For example, there was a team gauntlet run that was several miles long and involved not only finding caches, but solving trivia questions along the route. Everyone we talked to thoroughly enjoyed that event, although it was a bit more grueling than they had anticipated. The event developer (Dave, whose geocaching name is "IceCreamMan") said it was a 5-mile course. What he failed to mention was that the course was 5 miles point-to-point, but the caches were placed in such a way that you criss-crossed the course in order to find everything and it ended up being 10.5 miles in total. OOPS!!!! Oh well. All kinds of teams participated - - there was a 3-generation family, a team of high school kids (boys and girls) who all wore fake mustaches (their team name was "Team Mustache"), a team of 10 people who were all in their 50's and 60's, etc. In addition to geocaching, they had a pinata full of candy for the younger kids, a creepy graveyard (including fog machine) that the pre-teen and teenagers had to cross to go trick or treating, t-shirt contests, a chili cook-off, tin foil hat contest and star gazing at night. Most of the participants camped right on site so they were able to enjoy all the festivities. We, however, were an hour away so we came to geocache and eat. We were lucky enough to win one of the door prizes though. YAHOO!!!!! That's it for the update this week. I am anxious to go to Bible Study at the church we attend when in Bushnell as one of my fellow Moody students is a deacon there. I have never met this man in person but have had several on-line classes with him. Should be interesting to finally meet him. Aside from that, Steve and I plan to re-visit The Villages community one last time to completely rule that out as a future home site. We are going into Orlando to visit with one of the former pastors from Westgate Chapel who moved down here about 2 years ago, and a stop over in Disney. The remainder of our time will be spent preparing for our trip to Haiti and shopping for gifts for our dear Wilguens. I am excited to meet him but anxious about being in Haiti. I got sick when I went to India so I am a little leery of traveling again to a place where the water is unsafe to drink. I am sure it will be fine though and God will show us amazing things while we are there. Love you all and for those of you on the east coast, please be safe. Until next week . . . . . "I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well."
– Diane Ackerman Good morning everyone! Hope all of you had a wonderful week. Not sure what the weather is doing in your part of the country, but where we are, it's in the upper 70's and sunny. LOVE IT!!! Steve and I have moved 3 times and have driven 565 miles since we last updated you. We left the Outer Banks area of North Carolina (a vacation destination for all of you to be sure - - check it out some time) and headed to Wilmington, NC. Once again, Steve and I were absolutely shocked at how cool this little town was - - and when I say "little" I mean slightly smaller than Toledo. The character of the city is that of a Savannah or a Charleston with the historic homes and waterfront amenities, but has a much younger kind of vibe that I would liken to that of Little Rock. Apparently, Wilmington is called the "Hollywood of the east" because there are several television shows and movies that are filmed there. For example, Jennifer Aniston just finished her filming in Wilmington just a couple of weeks ago. I can definitely see the draw to this city and we just loved it. I believe it has hit our top places to live along with Charlotte, Hilton Head and Little Rock. Sadly, we didn't get to stay very long but we did get to do some fun geocaching within the city which allowed us to do a "walking tour" of that charming town. If you are on the east coast of North Carolina, be sure and stop in to Wilmington. You will not be disappointed. On our way south to Florida, we stopped in Hilton Head to revisit the Del Webb community there. Again, we loved it like we did the first time we toured the community. First of all, Hilton Head is just gorgeous. Secondly, this Del Webb community has models that offer us exactly what we are looking for in a home - - 2 beds, an office, room in the garage for two vehicles and a golf cart, tons of things to do, 3 golf courses, 30 minutes to Savannah - - the list could go on and on. I graduate from seminary in December 2013 so we want to narrow down where we will be settling down when I start my second career and since we will be focusing our travel efforts on everything west of the Mississippi this coming year, we need to close the books on the east coast. For me, Charlotte and Hilton Head are tops on the list. We really didn't have time to do anything else in Hilton Head because we needed to get down further south as we were planning to attend the Blue Angels air show in Jacksonville, FL. We stayed in a campground in Woodbine, Georgia because we know this place. We stayed here when we visited St. Mary's, Georgia back in the Spring and also, because we really liked the young Australian couple that bought this campground and are fixing it up. Anyway, let me tell you about the air show. The day began with Steve and I heading to church. We had chosen a church that was a few blocks from the Jacksonville Beach (the site of the air show) so that we could attend church and then just leave our truck there and walk to the beach. On the way to that church, we passed another church that had a sign out front that read "Beach Service 10:45". AWESOME! We love to attend service in unusual places as we think the location adds to the ambiance of the service. You will recall that we've attended services in a former drive-in theater (Daytona Beach, Florida), on top of a mountain (Stone Mountain, Georgia) and a lakeside pavillion (Lake Champlain, Vermont). Why not add a ocean side service to the mix!!! We were definitely in! So we park the car and Steve hops in the back seat to change out of his church clothes and into his beach clothes. We grab our beach chairs, the cooler, sun glasses, camera, our sun hats (Steve's big straw hat that he got from MIS) and head to church. We are so excited and just know we are going to love the experience. Since we were new to the whole beach service concept, we ask someone working the parking lot for directions on where to go. He was so kind and was willing to walk us all the way to where we needed to be. Steve and I were a bit taken aback because we were several blocks from the beach, but hey, he's a Christian so kindness is not unexpected for strangers. Anyway, as we are following him and chatting away about being in the area for just the day, he walks us right into a building which turns out to be - - you guessed it - - THE CHURCH SANCTUARY. Here's Steve and I standing there with beach chairs over our shoulders, a cooler and camera, sunglasses, straw hat, shorts, sun glasses and sandals and everyone else is dressed in their Sunday best. We were mortified. I mean absolutely stunned. We looked like total goobers and drew a lot of attention (as you can imagine). We tried to explain to them that we saw a sign that said "Beach Service 10:45" only to find out that the name of the church is BEACH UNITED METHODIST. C'mon people. Really? Your big sign reads "Beach Service" Anyway, they welcomed us, gave us a glass of lemonade and a place to stash our beach gear. Then we attended the service. The message was about fear and trusting our God to help us either overcome the situations we are in, or to take us out of the situation if He deems it to be the right course of action. The message hit home for me as I am coming to the end of my masters program and will be looking for employment in ministry soon. I am a bit fearful because it is a world that is foreign to me, but I know that God will provide the right opportunity for me when the time comes. So after the service, Steve and I head to the beach to watch the air show. What a spectacular venue for this event. The weather could not have been more perfect - - 79 degrees, nice breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. We plopped down our lawn chairs and relaxed while watching bi-planes and World War II era fighters and older jets do their thing. An F-22 Raptor came on the scene at high speed (although they can go faster than the speed of sound, we were right on top of a residential area and I am sure the Air Force didn't want to replace a bunch of broken windows that would result if a sonic boom were to ensue). WOW! The speed and the sound of this piece of machinery are so impressive that it can literally take your breath away, especially if it comes up from behind you and you don't even know it's there until it passes you VERY LOUDLY! I love speed and loud engines which is why I am a NASCAR fan, but these F-22's make NASCAR pale in comparison. Tons more airplanes performed for us and then finally, the Blue Angels arrived. If you have never seen these planes in action, please find an airshow and go see them. The precision with which they fly in formation is something to behold. They also do a number of stunts that are very exciting to watch. They come within inches of each other and I mean inches. They typically fly 18 inches apart going 400 miles per hour. WOW. Steve got some awesome shots of the two planes that would pass each other periodically while doing barrel rolls or flying upside down. For me, however, the coolest part of their show was their entrance. They were staging way out over the ocean and then flew in formation, straight toward shore where the crowd was, with the smoke billowing behind them. From that far out, it looked like fire in the sky because all you could see was this huge cloud of smoke getting larger and larger and coming straight at you. As they neared the shore, they shot straight up in the sky leaving all of us staring skyward, mouths agape. I got chills just reliving that moment as I wrote this blog. Loved it! Ok, this morning we are headed to Bushnell, Florida where we will land for a couple of weeks as we prepare for our trip to Haiti. Steve and I will be starting our malaria pills this week which should be interesting. Last time I had to take malaria pills (when I went to India) I had such incredibly vivid and psychotic dreams. If I have any dream worth writing about as we go through our pill regimen, I will definitely share it with you. We have big plans for the next two weeks - - a trip to Disney, a visit to the Del Webb in Ocala, a visit to St. Augustine, and a huge geocaching event on the 27th. Good times! Weather will be in the mid-80's and sunny. Geez it sucks to be us! Kidding.... We know how truly blessed we are. Take care everyone! Miss you all. |
Past Blogs
December 2013
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