Sara is 12 today. That evening Chris and his family came over for dinner. They have two girls and a boy and they brought Sara a birthday balloon and cards. We had a special-order cake and ice cream. After dinner, the kids all played and jumped on each other, especially the youngest one. They were laughing and having a good time. Sara said later that she liked her cousins. Now we need to get her a belated gift.
This afternoon the Lynn's daughter, Misty, and her kids came over for dinner. I cooked a modified Japanese dish of gyudon; beef, onions, veges, over rice. They all seemed to like it. Must have been the teriyaki sauce. I miss Japanese food, really. After dinner we went outside and watched the kids swing while Henry and Rob played horseshoes. As dusk came and the bugs came out, we all went inside.
This morning I called Lucette, a long-time internet quilting friend, and we decided it was a good day to visit the over in Lutz, Florida, about 45 minutes from Lakeland. After we tried to get the oil changed (it did not work), we went over in the early afternoon. Our GPS found the house with no problem.
When I got out of the car, AJ comes running to greet me with a big hug and saying, "It is good to meet you!" Lucette and I hugged and we all walked into the house.
We met Mark at the door; Daniel and little Lydia all said hi and gave a hug. Their front room was stacked with items for a Saturday yard sale (wish I could go—I love yard sales, but really have no place to put any purchases). Anyway, AJ kept hugging me while going hither and yon talking up a storm. Henry brought in my computer case and I brought out the goodies for the kids. Each one got a Japanese five yen piece on a ribbon they could hook to a backpack or other ring. Lydia was given one of my pink Sakura Beanie Buddies; AJ got a Tshirt with kanji for love on it: 愛 ai and Daniel was given one with a crane on the front and the kanji 元気 genki, meaning lively. on the back. I gave Lucette the last of my yukata fabrics. I have others in Japan, but may need to acquire some more.
Daniel is big brother. He likes recess and history in school, like any 10-year-old. He is into collecting those silly bandz which are the current fad of that age group. These are different shaped rubber band bracelets the kids wear on their wrists and trade with each other.
http://www.sillybandz.com/
We left about 4:00 pm; it was a really good visit and so good to meet after all these years.
The Leonards decided that Amanda could visit grandma who lives in Dade City, on our way to Lakeland. We left there about 9:00 am. Sara and Amanda played games, slept and had a good time there in the back seat. Georgia is a l-o-n-g state. We arrived at grandma's house about 6:15 pm and the four of us went to the Temple Baptist Church for the evening service. Pastor's wife and Roxanne are good friends. We were greeted by several friendly people, some of whom knew or worked with BIMI missionaries.
Barnabas means "son of consolation" and he was a nurturer, encourager and his ministry was to help people along in their Christian life. We find that in 2 Timothy 4, Paul said John Mark was profitable to the ministry. Barnabas helped bridge the rift between them. Mark was not a perfect servant, but became a much better one under the influence of Barnabas.
Today is BIMI's 50th Anniversary celebration. We went over in the early afternoon and parked by the Lee Roberson Auditorium. Several displays were set up in this building as well as a book table. We headed up to the main building where Open House was from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The lobby was packed with people. It was so good to see and meet many people we have known through the years. What is even better is to see people still serving God faithfully. Some of the home office staff were in motorized wheel chairs; Mr. Dwire was walking with difficulty with two canes. Several staff members are senior volunteers helping where they can.
We met the Gardners, Monteiths, Burchells and Fishers and saw the Harris family all from Japan. Who is minding the store? LOL.
Bob and Dan
We went with Dr. Frazier to a BBQ restaurant for a hurried dinner as the evening service started at 6:30 pm. Good food, and we made it back in time.
There was a huge tent set up with some 600 chairs; the overflow was in the previously-mentioned auditorium where we opted to stay in the AC. The service was to be broadcast via live stream, but the video portion was not good so mostly we heard what was going on. Toward the end of the service, Dr. Snyder was installed as the new President, then a video presentation of the history of BIMI was played. It is amazing what God has done in the last 50 years through our mission. There are currently some 1000 missionaries in 100 nations around the world preaching the gospel to the lost and dying souls. Should the Lord tarry, let us continue to pray that BIMI remain as strong and true to God's word. He is good, all the time.
Henry left early with Tim and went to BIMI to help out where he could. After taking care of some needed errands, Sara, Amanda and I went over about 1:00 pm. I dropped off the girls to do whatever they were going to do, and I headed up to the main building. The first stop I made was to see Serena about an insurance question. As I was standing near the door ready to leave, Dr. Creed walks in and says to her, "Is she getting straightened out?" or something like that. Surprise! I did not expect Pastor to be there. It is always good to see him. Eventually I helped the ladies set up the dining room for the evening meal. There were several people coming and going whom I recognized.
The building and the grounds of BIMI have greatly improved since the first and only time we saw it back in the fall of 1995. At that time it was newly purchased, so everything was in need of fixing up. Today the grounds are beautifully landscaped; many buildings and homes have been added, the main building has been renovated and decorated beautifully. First class all the way.
Along about 5:00 or so Henry, the girls, and I head back to the house where I made dinner so Roxanne would not have to. Tim came in late. We stayed up and talked until past 11:30. Tuesday was going to be a very busy day.
This morning we went over to my soon-to-meet-for-the-first-time friend Linda's house, which we could see from the parking lot. Linda has one of her young grandsons living with her, plus a small dog who likes to jump all over you, in a friendly way. Sara stayed outside to pet the dog and Henry and I went inside and we chatted for a time. Linda and I were to meet at Paducah two years ago, but I had decided at that time to skip the evening class I was going to take and did not get in touch with Linda and let her know. Some problem with cell phones. Anyway, she went and I was not there, but she was given a goodie bag by Eleanor Burns. Linda had saved it for me and it is loaded with lots of little things made by the Japanese company Clover. I will have fun putting those into a quilt someplace.
Linda and grandson Alexander
She brought out her love quilt that the IQ group had made for her many years ago and found the block I made. It is still a pretty quilt. Callie had done the quilting on her long-arm machine.
Quilt squares on the buildings
We wanted to go see the Christ Camp for the Blind which I think is less than 30 minutes from Berea, but when she called, Mike as in Lexington and would not be back until after 4:00 pm, so we are not able to see that; much as I would have liked to. Years ago I made 10 quilts for their campers, along with many other ladies from the IQ list.
So instead, Linda took us into "downtown" Berea where we saw some of the local crafters. The first was a lady that went to high school with Linda. She makes glass beads that are really beautiful and gave us a demonstration. On her wall is a posted sign: "Real Women do not have hot flashes, they have power surges" The name of her company is Hot Flashes.
We walked over to the next building and met a lady who told us about Berea's Sister City exchange with a city in Japan near Mt. Fuji. They have been doing that for 15-20 years.
Next we went over to the former railroad station and saw a demos of model trains. Rather spiffy.
Of course, there was a quilt shop across the street, so I went in and found some 90 inch wide fabric for $5 a yard, and some Dick and Jane alphabet for $7. A good find, if I do say so.
After this we ate lunch at the Cracker Barrel. Henry and I split a chicken roast dinner that was enough for two people. Sara had chicken fingers, her current favorite. It was delicious, as usual.
We parted about 2:00 pm and headed south to Chattanooga and arrived there about 6:00 pm at the Leonard's.
This morning we went to Stanley Heights Baptist Church with the Leonard family. We met many people from BIMI there that we have not seen in many years. There were two families from Japan there also, as well as some of the people from BIMI HQ.
The Pastor had a time of Children's Worship with the kids from 4-11. He called all the kids down front and they sat on the steps of the platform. One brought a brightly wrapped box in which was an item that Pastor did not know. He took out the item, which was a ticket stub, and related it to the Bible. Sorry to say, I do not remember what he said. ;-( Every week there is a different object in the box and the kids try to stump the Pastor, but so far have not. This was a new thing for me, but I can see how it would help young kids to relate to the pastor. So often children have their separate classes and do not get to know the Pastor through the preaching.
In the evening service a Japanese man gave his testimony of how he got saved years ago in Chattanooga as an exchange student. He went back to Japan and worked in a local Baptist church. He wants to start a new work there. He said that out of 1,000 people in Japan, only 4 claim to be Christian. Now, that is a sobering statistic. His wife sang in English and Japanese.
Then there was a church planter in Connecticut who preached the evening service. He is starting a church in a town that has no Baptist churches. They were able to purchase an abandoned building that used to be a bar. With the approval of the community, they can now start on the renovations. God is good.
Church planting is God's plan for the Great Commission. Go and preach the gospel, baptize believers as their first step of obedience; and teach them so they can in turn teach others. The process still works.
First floor hallway
