November 14, 2010

We got a call early this morning, about 6:30, waking us up (we overslept and it was a Sunday).  Peter was calling and said he had been in an accident.  He and Joe were driving someplace looking for a car part and Peter ran a red light and smashed into a car.  The air bags deployed; Joe got a bloody nose and they were calling from the hospital in Waldorf.  They were fine, but the car is probably totaled.  It was a nice car.  He did not get collision insurance.   Character learning lessons. 

Friday, October 1, 2010

Peter seems to have secured a job in Vienna, Virginia, in the area of building maintenance, i.e., cleaning, which is similar to what he was doing at college.  It is a long commute from Clinton by either car (a pain in Northern Virginia traffic any time of the day) or via the Metro bus/subway.  Praise the Lord for answering this prayer rather quickly.

We learned Matthew's old Bonneville dropped an axle and is in need of repair.  He bought parts so hopefully he can get it fixed this week.  Trying times for #2, but also character building lessons.  Sometimes it is difficult to sit back and watch your kids go through testings.  However, God is good, all the time.

There were four new people in Wednesday night's service!  It was great to have our visitors, a very unusual happening.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

This is a statistical summary of the last three months, for anyone interested.  I like to keep stuff like this, details, details.
 
We traveled over 12,000 miles by car from California to the East Coast before the car was wrecked at the end of the trip.
 
We drove through or visited 30 states: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Utah and Hawaii


Henry spoke in 18 Independent Baptist Churches, three of which were non-supporting ones.

 
I saw my five siblings: Joe, Bob, Barbara, Mary, Tom, and their families. Sara met her cousins for the first time: Nathan, Debbie, James, David and John, on my side and Chris Lynn's three kids on Henry's side.

 
We paid for seven different hotels on our own between meetings, and stayed in 5 other hotels supplied by the churches and in the homes of at least 14 families and friends.

 
We ate at numerous restaurants with good, All-American cooking. Had fresh lobster and clams in Maine and wonderful homemade ice cream.

 
The digital camera took 1797 photos, all saved on the computer. I made separate folders for the American Flags and the Water Towers which included in that number.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

This is my face a couple of days ago; the bruising under the left eye is gone and now just a small amount under the right eye, mostly hidden by my glasses.  The bump is considerably smaller and a nice shade of yucky green.  Perhaps in another week it will be completely gone.

In the meantime, I have developed a summer cold and am coughing more than usual; very annoying.  I hate colds.  

This is a photo of one of my iris beds taken on April 30th this year.  There were about 30 plants ready to bloom a week before I left for the states.  Missed all the pretty blooms. 

 This next one is what the same flower bed looks like now.  Something happened while we were gone that literally rotted all the iris plants.  This is true in several other places around the yard.  We were told that June and July were particularly wet which may explain the rotted chormes.  I am so sad to see these all gone; it took at least seven years to get the flowers to this stage.  However, there are some still around the yard in other places, so when the weather cools some, I will dig up everything and start over, putting some fertilizer and lime in the soil and other nutrients. 

Our pastor said recently that It Takes Time to Plant a Garden, speaking of building a church.  The real flowers take time also, some bloom for years, some wither and fade away, some don't grow big at all, while others are beautiful and have big blooms year after year.  The same can be said about the local church in many ways.    

While this flower bed looks more like a forgotten desert, it can, once again, produce beautiful blooms as before, but it will take some work, much like planting a church does. 

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Henry talked to Peter early this morning about getting tickets for him to fly East from California.  He will be stopping in Chattanooga to visit Johanna and family for a few days, then go to DC.  Henry also talked to her dad and he said that there are some cars there at BIMI that might do for a replacement for Peter's car.  Peter said the insurance company called him and said the Camry was totaled and they would get back with Peter about what amount they will pay.  Pray it will be a good amount so he can get possibly a newer car with less mileage on it.

Friday, August 6, 2010

When we landed in Hawaii, we flew over the island across beautiful green/dark blue seas. The flight itself was about 7 hours; the food was fine, the movies not so great. This big plane did not have the individual screens in the seat backs, so had to watch the big screen in the middle. Fine, except for the extra-tall man sitting in my line of vision. Hollywood does not do reality. One movie was called Date Night; I did not listen to it, but watched when I could. This couple decided to spice up their boring marriage and somehow get mistaken for another couple wanted by the mob or somebody. Anyway, one scene, they were driving at night in the streets of NYC and somehow attached themselves to the front of a taxi and drove at high speed through Manhattan. #1—no cops anywhere to be found. They wrecked several cars in passing and weaving in and out. #2 At one point I noticed no seat belts in use. #3 This couple gets hit broadside by a SUV and it does NOT hurt them—no scratches, bruises, cuts, nada. They wreck several police cars trying to stop them. After our seemingly minor rear-ended accident, this entire scene was outrageous. It did not appear they even had sore muscles at the end of the ordeal. 


Approaching Honolulu Airport

 

 The remainder of the flight was actually on Thursday, USA time, from Hawaii to Japan when we landed on Friday about 4:30 p.m. There was very little turbulence, mostly clear skies all the way and a smooth landing. The Wakimasu's got us at the airport and we drove back to the house amid some wondrous clouds that appeared to be stormy, but we did not see any rain. It has been dry around here.

Twilight in Kobe
 
When we got home, I noticed and expected the flower beds and yards to need some work. They do. Something has destroyed a bunch of my iris—rotted them; the leaves are all dried and none coming out of the chorme. I will have to find out what happened after I get to that section. He grass is tall; the weeds are taller and it will take some effort to get the yard looking nice again for the fall planting. August is not the time to do yard work, but it will need to be done.

We will also need to pass out a few thousand brochures in the area that have not been done yet; they are stacked in front of Henry's desk.

It is good to be back, but somehow anti-climatic. I would be dishonest to say I would rather be here than the USA where my kids are. Teresa flies into Maryland on Saturday to spend about 18 days there with the brothers and home church. The church people here are wonderful. It needs to grow with more young people and kids and complete families. Through it all, we know that we are where God wants us and we will stay until He says we can go.

Thursday, August 5

I woke up about 5:00 a.m., so decided to get dressed and get ahead of everyone. We got down to the lobby and there were several other people waiting for the shuttle also. We got to the airport and unloaded, then got into the correct international line. I then remembered that I wanted to mail the book back to Valerie at the hotel, but completely forgot. One of the workers at the airport said he would drop it in a mail box for me. There are NO mailboxes in the LA airport.

We went through the lemming wait of passengers going through "security." There were so many TSA women that had almost nothing to do. There were three lines to go through baggage check. In the second line, one female just stood at the head of one line and waved people on to the next level and fussed with her hair when she wasn't using her hand. Other women walked up and down the long first passenger line barking orders about boarding passes. I am sorry, but to me there are too many employees doing not much of anything in the way of security and probably getting paid way more than their civilian counterparts, and it really does not make security any better, just more inconvenient. JMHO


We got to the baggage screening place and they found something suspicious so we went through a second screening. Turned out to be computer wires and sea salt Henry bought for gifts. The two men were really kind about having to go through our carry-on luggage. I suppose it is better to be safe than sorry, and it is a good thing we got to the airport a few hours before needed. No longer can you just get there at the last minute.


 

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

This morning Joe had his third scheduled driving road test. It did not work again. The car we borrowed has an engine check light on and the DMV would not let Joe take the test. The owner said he has had the problem checked numerous times and the problem cannot be found; nevertheless, DMV said no. While down there Henry decided to renew his license and that process took about three hours of waiting. Much like Japan. Then again, getting through DMV is not a swift thing on most days.


 
We again tackled the luggage thing and I think it is down to what we are finally going to take. One more checked bag would be convenient; Henry wants to save the fees. I said we have wasted lots of money on this trip, especially all the stuff poured into the now-wrecked car. We shall see if we can get another bag, just to lessen the weight in the others if nothing else. We fly out tomorrow evening. This trip is quickly coming to an end.


 

Monday, August 2, 2010

This morning we went down to Solomon's Island Rescue Department so Henry could get a physical for the life insurance policy he wants. The EMS lady who does it lives down there; she had her two kids in the station. I really liked the shirt on the one five-year-old. 

The physical went well. Some of the people at the department go to Pastor D's church; the one we were in the last Wednesday in June.

This afternoon we tackled the task of packing and making things fit into as few pieces as possible. The domestic flight Wednesday will probably charge us for the checked luggage, 4 pieces so far, and they are close to the 50 pound weight limit. It was much easier when the limit was 70 pounds and checked luggage was free.

Meanwhile the face is nicely turning darker red and blue. I could be a bandit without the mask now.

Not the most flattering of photos.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

This morning the bruising is starting to creep to my right eyebrow. I could cover some of it with face powder and my hair, but it will have to go as is.

It is Missions Emphasis Sunday at IBC today. Two missionaries are in the service. The Bunnells served in Russia for a few years and now have a ministry in London, reaching the Muslims in one part of that city. He said they were given three buildings to "revive" the area and they will set up a church and outreach area from there. 


He said recently while in London on a Sunday he went to a place in Hyde Park called Speakers Corner where probably 30 people just talked about anything they wanted. One guy was dressed in pink and said that if everyone would wear pink it would be a better world…one of the crazies. Another large group was two guys shouting at each other. One, a supposed Christian, was yelling vile things at a Muslim and he doing the same in return.
 

As Mr. Bunnell listened to this, a Muslim came up to him and engaged him in conversation. The man ended up saying something about the Muslims taking over London and then doing the same in the USA. Well, the Holy Spirit spoke to Mr. Bunnell to calm down and tell this man about the gospel. So for the next hour he quietly talked to the man and he was really interested in what was said because he had never heard that before. Mr. Bunnell had to catch a plane, so could not go further, but believes this Muslim will get saved.   Mr. Bunnell has reached several former Muslims who are now ministering to their own people in the Arab world and in Europe. Muslims can be reached and converted.


 

The Larsons are with Reseeding America, a church planting group with our mission board. He showed a DVD about the SW USA and the need for churches among ethnic groups that are in large numbers around the bigger cities. Some men have started churches and are reaching a diverse group of people including Cambodians, Mong, Philippino, Vietnamese and many others. They truly have an international church in the USA. We gave Peter's email address to Mr. Larson since Peter wants to start a church sometime in the not-too-distant future.  

I took photos of Sara, Anna Gill and Anna Long, who are all MKs and born within three weeks of each other.  Sara has enjoyed these new friends. 

Also took another family photo, but with out me in the picture for obvious reasons.  

 

Tonight my face has swollen up with bruising around both eyes. I look like a raccoon now with the left eye sorta reddish and the right one black and blue. Time for some heat therapy to disperse the blood. It looks worse than it is, really.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Henry made calls to some local pastors to help us out a little this morning. Henry is going over to the towing lot and check out the car to see if it is possible to drive back to MD. We are not sure what the insurance will cover. Meanwhile Sara and I waited at a Red Roof Inn.


We called Ken and Mary Gill to let them know we did not make it back last night and told them what happened. They offered to pick us up if we needed it.


I am doing fine, the swelling has gone down quite a bit and I can cover the bruising with my hair for now; it will get worse over the next few days, I am sure. The lady at the front desk allowed us to move into another room temporarily with the luggage, so they could clean the one we were in. Sara and I lugged everything from the car and our big luggage to the other room.


Day 1 of
bruising

When Pastor Ogden and Henry got back from the towing yard, he said the car is not salvageable and will probably be totaled by the insurance company. The back right door cannot open and the left one is sticky. The frame is bent. Henry also said they went to two car rental dealers and neither had one-way rentals. We thanked Pastor Ogden for his kindness; gave him a picture I had of us three years ago and he said we could call him if we needed.

 
We decided to call Ken and Mary; this was about noon and they would be here after 3:00 p.m. Meanwhile we waited in the new room, careful not to get on the beds or make a big mess. The Gills arrived about 3:30 and we loaded their van and headed up US 81 toward Northern Virginia. After stopping for dinner at a Subway, we got back to their house about 7:30. I managed to do the laundry for the week. Matthew came over after work about 11:00 p.m. My face was bruising nicely, just like the ER doctor said it would—the swelling would go down, the bump get softer and the blood under the skin would gravitate down toward my eyes and cheeks. It will be interesting make-up the next few days.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Today our Joe is 20 years old. Happy birthday!

We finished up the last day of Enrichment Week with a message from the Director, David Snyder. He used an acrostic on Faith using Hebrews 11.

1. Focus forward by reviewing the past; looking to the future and concentrating on eternity.
   
2. Abhors apathy. We will move v. 7, always forward, and moving whole heartedly.
   
3. Ignores impossibilities. The Physical as in Abraham and Sara. Spiritual armor in Matthew 17; Salvation of souls, Luke 25:18 and Heb. 11:29
   
4. Trusts tenaciously even when it takes longer, Acts 7:23; even when you don't know how it will turn out; Daniel 3
   
5. Honors Him—God is pleased through lives of faith like Enoch Heb. 11:5, Abraham. God will reward. Gen. 12:2
   

After the morning session was over, everyone packed up, got some sandwiches to take along or eat in the dining room, then left. It was a good week. We went over to see some friends from Independent, Marcel and Sandy Anderson. We met their daughter Marie and youngest son. Marcel had the day off, Sandy came in a little later. They have not changed much at all. Both are looking to get employed with the TVA after completing some further education.


 Along about 4:00 p.m. we got gas for the car and headed up 81 back toward Maryland. According to our GPS we would arrive about 1:00 a.m. and called the Gills about 10:00 to tell them. We also called Peter and told him where we were and such.

 

We got off the interstate near Staunton, VA, about 10:35p.m. to get gas and had to make a left turn across a divided highway. I put my shoes back on. Upon making the turn, we got rear ended and Peter's car is a mess; possibly totaled.

I got a nasty goose egg upon hitting the door window. I was taken to
the hospital in an ambulance, my first, and hopefully only, experience.
All the emergency room folks were great; it was not a busy night and I
was released about midnight. No one else was injured; the other driver
was OK, but her car front end is smashed also. It is a 2001 Audi.

Meanwhile, at the scene, Henry's brief case was thrown from the trunk, but a family from NY in a big truck found it and brought it to the scene. Nothing was missing from the briefcase, even the passports. Praise the Lord. Henry's Japanese computer screen is cracked, but still works. The guy, named Brad, took Henry and Sara to the hospital to get me. He was our angel unawares for the evening.

Please pray this event will not hinder us from returning to Japan. We
leave DC Wednesday afternoon to LA, then fly out on Thursday next
week. Also pray that Henry will not beat himself up over this; he is
saying it is all his fault, we cheated Peter out of his car, etc. Henry was charged with not yielding the right of way. However, it was allowed by God for a reason. It could have been much worse

Thanks for your prayers and we will be in touch once we know more of what's going with the car, insurance and all of that. Peter will probably get another car out of this.

God is still good, even in Staunton, VA

Thursday, July 29, 2010

In the afternoon we went on a riverboat cruise. We met the Nichols who are friends of ours from Independent who now pastor over in Leesburg, VA. They were visiting one of their sons in Chattanooga. It was a surprise to say the least.

 
We got to talk to some fellow veteran missionaries today and found out what it is like to minister in India and Burma. There should be a book compiled sometime by those of us foreign missionaries who can really tell what it is like. It would be a fascinating read.

 
Our car got worked on some more again and hopefully the EGR light is fixed by now.


 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Today's meetings were of the information/financial nature so we did not go anywhere. Some men who worked on the retirement plan came in to explain the new stuff and to talk to each couple individually on what to do with their current retirement options. The teens went to a mountain place to do hiking and such. I am catching up on the blog and this evening we will attend church where we are staying in the prophets chamber.

 

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Today the teens went white water rafting someplace and got back about 9:00 p.m. After the morning service and lunch, several adults went bowling and five of us had our nails done. We were taken to a small shop. Three ladies opted for pedicures and we set in comfy chairs and their feet placed in warm, churning water. Since I do not wear sandals, I had the manicure and chose a pink polish to match the outfit. The last time I had this done was about 35 years ago. It looks nice and my nails are currently of a decent length to make the hands look pretty. It was nice to be pampered.

 

Monday, July 26, 2010

We drove from someplace in Virginia to Harrison, TN, where BIMI is located, the same place we were June 5-8, only this time we are staying in a Prophet's Chamber at a local church. We arrived at 4:30 p.m., just in time for dinner. After we ate dinner with the other 12 missionary families there and staff members, the teens were taken out for bowling. We were told we would not see the teens for the rest of the week.

Sara met up with Amanda Leonard again; they are sharing a room with four other teens on the campus here. The staff has this group of 25 kids all tied up this week with day-long activities. There will be some tired puppies at the end of the day.

Monday evening we all met for a service and introduced ourselves stating what field we are on and for how long. One couple has been on the field for 30 plus years, another for three with the rest of us in between. It was 19 years ago this week that we landed in Japan.

The purpose for this week is a time of relaxation for us, out from the hustle and bustle of reporting to churches. It will be a fun time.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

We went to church at Independent today and did not have to do anything!! We got to enjoy the service. Pastor Pat Creed and June were there, as well as Mrs. Dove whom we did not see in June.

Pastor Mike's message this morning was on the individuals who will be in hell.

Hell is a place of separation from God; torment, suffering.

1. Satan. Isaiah 14:12.
   
2. Fallen angels
   
3. Satan's Trinity Rev. 19:20— including the beast and the false prophet
   
4. Mark of the beast Rev. 14:9-11
   
5. Wicked of all ages. Matthew 13:49. Fearful, atheist and abominable
6. Those not written in the Lamb's book of life
   

It was a powerful message. There were three that got baptized and one lady joined the church. 

This is Trinity, a real charmer.






After church, w told Pastor that Peter had sent a text message saying that we could do what we felt best with the car. So we will return to Clinton after going to BIMI this week, then fly out on Wednesday, August 4, to LA, stay in a hotel and catch the flight out to Japan on Thursday next week. We will buy Peter a ticket to DC and ship his stuff for him. He said he will finish there about August 24-26. It might be that Teresa will be able to see him before she returns to college. We got her a ticket back to LA on August 23^rd. 


We then went home, packed our stuff for the week at BIMI and took two suitcases and our computers. It was a light load, considering. 

We traveled down to the Patuxent Baptist Church in Southern Maryland for the evening service arriving about 5:30 p.m.

During the service the teens gave testimonies about their week at Youth Conference in Hammond, Indiana. They all said they would pray an hour a week for America, one of the challenges received at the conferences. It was a fine group of young people. One of the young ladies took first place in the piano competition and she played her winning piece before Henry preached.


The sermon tonight was a new one for me to hear. Many people responded and one man got saved tonight.

Pastor Connor and Lori started the church years ago. Henry taught Lori in high school. Rick got saved about 1980-81 or so. I remember seeing him on a Sunday morning making a public profession. He had this wide Afro-style hair. That evening he came back and he had his hair cut. You could tell he had a life-changing experience. From there he dated Lori and they married in 1985. They have been faithful to serve and have built a fantastic, diverse church where they are. It is so good to see people stay by the stuff.

 
After the service we went out to eat then we had to leave to drive a couple of hours to Chattanooga. We stopped about midnight at a Howard Johnson's.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Henry visited the bus route with Matthew then he went to work at noon. Henry took the computer and did some more upgrading at the library then at Starbucks. The music was terrible, he said, and when it closed at nine p.m., he came home.

I spent the day packing and repacking suitcases. Most of the heavier stuff will fit in the wheeled duffle bag which will make it easier to carry. My clothes will fit in the large regular duffle and will be easier to carry. Still need to hear from Peter about driving the car to LA.


 

 

Friday, July 23, 2010

Henry worked on Matthew's computer getting it updated while at the Library. It took several hours to do and Henry upgraded his virus software and some other stuff. Neither of us rode the bus for VBT tonight; I was plumb tired and had to do some packing. It is still up in the air about our return to California as we did not hear from Peter yet.

  While I was at the library at a table, there was a young black teen sitting at the next table. His tutor comes in, an older black lady, to help him with some project. After a few minutes a young black boy, probably about 12, comes up to them and asks if he could have a dollar to get something to eat from the vending machine. The other teen starts to pull out his wallet. Then the teachers says, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Do you know him? Do you know me? How can you ask a stranger for money? Don't you feel ashamed?" I worked hard for my dollar. Why should I give it to you?" This was all said in a low whisper, she was not loudly chewing him out. The boy just mumbled something, said sorry, and moved on. I was going to commend the teacher later, but some friends came in and she left with them. I wanted to applaud her for telling the kid it was wrong to panhandle. More than once one our trip we have had people ask us for money so they could get something to eat. Adults. We would take them to a place and buy them something, but not give them money. They did not want that; just the money. No wonder kids are not ashamed to do just as their parents. 


  At VBT tonight I talked with one young girl and she prayed to ask Jesus in her heart. I told her aunt later and she said the girl had been asking questions. Pray for Laniyah, 6, to grow in her Christian life.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

We had follow-up doctor appointments today and were told our blood test results which were pretty good for Henry; I had high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which is nothing new, so we got prescriptions for those problems.

The Long family invited us over for lunch of turkey, potatoes and carrots; really good, too. We then talked for a time exchanging missionfield stories. The Longs were in Nigeria for several years and are about ready to go to Trinidad in a few weeks; They need their house to sell as quickly as possible

 

We rode the bus for VBT again tonight and got back early. However, I did have a coughing fit/asthma attack after I swallowed a mouthful of water. I turned all red, tried not to make a scene, so most people did not know I was having a problem.
There were 16 on the bus tonight plus workers, the total number of kids attending was down.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

We went to Woodlawn Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland.
http://www.wbcbowie.org/index.html


 Pastor Tyson is a former student of Henry's when he taught high school. They exchanged some stories; it was funny. One of the questions Henry was always asked at school was, "May I go to the restroom?" Henry would reply, "Let me think about that for a second. No!" Pastor said he has used that line on his kids and could not remember from where it came. Now he knows. Mrs. Tyson was happy to finally meet Henry since her husband talks a lot about him.

Henry preached another message on A Cup of Cold Water and this night three people came forward to get saved. That was worth the late service. The people of Woodlawn are active, dynamic, diverse and growing. One of the families was on The Extreme Makeover program this year. 


http://www.gazette.net/stories/09032009/landnew192310_32522.shtml


It was a blessing to see this church and its people actively serving God and getting rewarded for it in this life. It is also good to see former students still serving God and enjoying it.


 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Vacation Bible Time again was in the evening; this time I rode the bus with Henry on Matthew's route. We made some song charts that can be used more on Sunday than this week. Matthew was a baby when he rode on the bus years ago; now he is a Captain of his own route.

There were 18 kids on the bus plus the workers and we got back 10 minutes late. Tomorrow Matt will have to leave earlier. Anyway, after the games, story and preaching, I was able to lead a young 12 year-old girl to the Lord. Her name is Kim and she rode Matt's bus. Please pray for her spiritual growth and that her parents would let her get baptized. She has been coming on the bus for some time.


 

Monday, July 19, 2010

Today Jackie went to work about 6:30 a.m. and we said our goodbyes. They were really a blessing to us. We got everything together and packed and left about 8:30 a.m. Joe got a hug out of Sara and a "Bye". Amazing how she does not say much at all to anyone. 

We opted to drive around New York City and took Western routes through Jersey and Pennsylvania. Beautiful country.  There was a storm brewing in New York; the skies were amazing.

We were going slowly through one town because of traffic and I noticed a quilt shop, so we had to stop. The Quilted Cat sold Webkins stuffed animals that Sara collects, and she bought one of the cats. I found some floral fabrics and one with little ladybugs on white, as well as some pre-printed Bible verses that I can turn into wall hangings and quilts. It helped that there was a 20% sale, also.


We got back to Clinton about 5:30 p.m., just in time for Vacation Bible School at 7:00 p.m. Henry joined Matthew on his bus route to help him. He could use some dependable workers. There were bunches of kids at VBS, about 80 plus the workers and counselors. I was asked to be a counselor and at that time I talked to two young girls about their salvation. They did not seem to grasp that they were sinners, so I did not asked them to pray but gave them a tract to take home. Perhaps later this week they will fully understand.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Church today was at the River Valley Baptist Church in Ansonia, about 5 minutes from where we stayed. They had purchased a former bank building and renovated it and you would not know it used to be a bank. There are several classrooms and a large auditorium and baptistery.

Henry taught the adult Sunday School lesson then Pastor Camp preached the morning service. The people were really friendly and some had told us they were praying for us for many years. About seven years ago this church bought each of us Wards a new Bible. They have been a blessing to us through the 20 years they have faithfully supported us in Japan. One of the kids' classes had been collecting pennies and offerings for us and praying for us every week. It is really encouraging to see and hear this.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

We drove from Cambridge, Mass., to Mystic, Connecticut, to see the Aquarium there. It proved to be a rather hot day and over half the place was outdoors. We first saw the beluga whales swimming with their sweet smiles in the huge tank. We also saw the penguins from Africa being fed. They are a small one compared to others we have seen. The indoor aquariums were OK; there were lots of different fishes and a couple of touch pools and plenty of kids that did not want to be there with their parents (tired and grumpy little ones). We left there about 2:30 pm. 

We drove onto Derby where we went to the home of Joe and Jackie Horesco. They live in a spiffy 1930's house with hardwood floors and radiator heaters and a walk-up attic which is really a third floor. Joe is a cop of 30 plus years and currently is assigned to an elementary school. Can you imagine the necessity of having a cop on-site in an elementary school? He said the gangs are starting there, but he does not take anything from those who try to usurp his authority. The fact that he is about 6'3" is enough to intimidate anyone, let alone a 10 year-old. He teaches a D.A.R.E class attempting to discourage the kids in getting involved in drugs and such.


 

Friday, July 16, 2010

Freedom Trail day and also our 27^th Anniversary. We boarded the Boston subway and rode to Boston Commons, 44 acres of original land from 1775 much as it was then. It is a beautiful place. We opted to take a self-guided tour instead of a guided one because I wanted to stop and get plenty of photos to peruse later. It is a 2.5 mile trail marked with red lines or a line of two red bricks winding through Boston.

We walked through Quincy Market and came upon this noodle. Spiffy, huh?


Several of the buildings we passed were from that time period. We saw the graves of Sam Adams and John Hancock and the house of Paul Revere, one of the still-standing original buildings in Boston.

 We started about 10:00 am and ended about 4:00 pm, walking and taking in everything of history. The statue of Paul Revere in front of the North Church was inspiring. We wanted to go see the USS Constitution, but you had to go through a security check like at the airports and the line was rather long and it was late in the day. Photos will have to do. 

We took a cab ride to Bunker Hill, our last stop on the Freedom Trail. Normally you could ride to the top and see the scenic view, but the monument was under renovation for a few months. It is a smaller version of the Washington Monument in DC, but was built first. I collected all sorts of info for future history lessons this fall. Sara was mostly bored after an hour, but was a real trooper and walked with us all the way.


We rode the train back to our hotel, changed and went to dinner at Bertlucci's Italian Restaurant. Tomorrow we get to take Sara to an aquarium and do something she wants to do.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sara wanted to go to the VBS at Victory BC, so we took her over there in the morning. She has not experienced an English one yet. There were about 40 kids attending plus the teen helpers and adults. It was a lively group. Pastor got into it also leading singing and Bible verse memory. The kids were in three teams, Sara was on the blue team. They first broke up into grades and did a craft. Next was a short snack time and then outside to the field where they played some games and threw raw eggs and water balloons. Sara got smacked with an egg on her shirt. I had to get her a change of clothes from the car and wash out her messy stuff. She enjoyed it, though.

Henry and I ended up staying the morning while he resized our prayer card for their display and I helped in the kitchen and where I could.

When we were done, we left Londonderry and rode to Lexington where we finished our tour of three key taverns in the Battle of Lexington. We did not get to see the archeological dig behind the Munroe Tavern as we got out after 4:00 pm. Our guide for that tour of the British point of view, was a young college student from Colby College in Maine, where Mrs. Tiner works. Found out he was born in Chile and adopted by Americans and is Catholic. After the tour I gave him a gospel tract to read and told him of my salvation experience. Please pray that Andrew J. will get saved.

After our tour we drove through the Minute Man park and stopped at the Old North Bridge where there is a famous statue of a Minuteman; took some pictures of the area, then went on toward Cambridge where we found a hotel. Tomorrow we are going to walk the Freedom Trail in downtown Boston.


 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

We left Maine after going to the bank and the shoe store. I found a pair of good dress Docker sandals that feel good on the feet as well as a pair of Stretcher running shoes which will help on the long walk we will take when we go to Boston.

We arrived at Victory Baptist Church in Londonderry about 4:30 pm and the Pastor Messer led us to his house for dinner. Their two teenage sons are really sharp looking and talented musically. They both played either the piano and organ in the evening service.
 Mrs. Messer is a quilter as well as her mom, Mrs. Fuller. She showed me a paper pieced Mariner's Compass and a Bear Claw quilt she did. We got along famously.

At church that evening we set up the display and I gave the young kids a Japanese nickel if they asked me for it. Henry showed the presentation and preached the message on A Cup of Cold Water. Several people came forward at the invitation and later said it was a good message as it touched their hearts.
 We met many people who have been praying for us for years and that is always good to know. I probably won't remember names, but they have remembered ours. We stayed with a newlywed couple in their townhome. Chrissy and David were married the end of May. His parents are missionaries in the Czech Republic.