Today we went up to Bowie, MD, and met the Schnegleburger family. Kara has been corresponding with Sara via the internet for a couple of years at least and they finally got to meet. We met at an Olive Garden Italian Restaurant.
Sara told her that we would be in Maryland starting May 11; she got the dates wrong as we did not get here until June 16th. Anyway they were looking forward to meeting. Sara hardly said anything but eventually warmed up to it. Kara and Olivia, the younger sister, kept asking questions so she had to answer.
I think we spent a couple of hours at the restaurant. By the end Sara was asking if we could go to their house, but that was not do-able. We will continue to correspond via email. It is always nice to put a face to a name, especially after a long time.
Today we went to the local library and accessed the internet so got caught up on this blog. After that we went down to Costco and then to Lens Crafters where I got a "free" pair of bifocal soft contacts. Interesting. I can actually read with these things, but I am not sure about the long-term wear. One pair lasts for 30 days, but I would need to order a minimum of two boxes (right and left lenses) for about $160 which could actually last a year if I do not wear them daily. I found them comfortable, but the eyes seemed to dry out after a time and I had difficulty removing them. I will have to think about getting these new eyes.
Henry
and
Pastor
D.
We went down to Prince Frederick MD for the evening service at New Life Baptist Church. Pastor DiChiacchio and his wife have been there for several years. The church is in a building program, now waiting on the county to approve the plans. Henry gave a testimony since they did not have a projector for the DVD. He fielded some questions then preached the sermon about A Cup of Cold Water. It was better the second time around.
The Bryant family is a member of this congregation. Henry taught the son and daughter, Gordon and Anna, many years ago. They are a fine Christian family who have taught their children right. Anna and her family live nearby; we hope to get to see her, time permitting. She is about to have her 12th or 13th child. It is always good to see people still serving God 25 years down the road.
We had a lunch date with Pastor King from Granite Baptist Church in Glen Burnie. We met him and his wife, son and daughter at the church, then drove over to a restaurant called The Grill. It was between the Chesapeake Urology Association on one side and the plastic surgery place on the other. Hmmm. Anyway, the food was really great; Henry had some Maryland crab soup.
Next summer, Pastor King, his son and daughter are planning to visit us in Japan in July. He and Henry made some preliminary plans for their time there. He wants to do a three-day VBS as well as visit Japanese sites. It sounds exciting, so we have some work to do.
After lunch, we called the Ed Ocker and he said it was OK for us to come over; they lived about an hour from where we were, near the Potomac River. When we got there we drove down a long driveway back to their home. It is set on rolling hills, right next to the main highway, but far enough away it was not a danger of vehicles having an accident in your front yard. Beautiful place. They have a three-year old cocker spaniel that is really cute and quiet. I don't think she barked at all inside the house. Sara took to her, of course, and the dog took to me. She crawled on my lap for some petting; dogs don't usually do that with me.
The Ocker's took us out to a buffet restaurant (the name escapes me now). During this entire time, Sara did not say anything, as much as Mr. Ocker tried to get her to talk. She finally said something at the restaurant about it being time to leave.
We drove back to their home to get our car, then we left there about 8:15 pm or so and took the Virginia route back to Clinton. We saw a huge thundercloud in the distance that was very colorful at dusk. When we got to the Gill house, it had rained there, so the yard got a nice watering.
Henry and I had a doctor appointment at 10:15. It had been years, of course, since we had seen our family doctor, so he wanted us to have some screening tests like a colonoscopy, mammogram, bone scan and blood tests. The blood tests we had done since we did not eat breakfast that morning. But after calling the places for these tests and discovering the cost, I called Aetna Global to find out if they were even covered. They are not since there is no reason to have them. Preventive tests are not covered under our policy. So I called BIMI and found out the tests would not even be applied toward our deductible. In order to keep down the premium costs for the large group of missionaries around the world, it was decided not to cover screening or vaccinations. But, if the doctors found a diagnosis of some kind, then it would be covered, but in order to do that, a test would have to be done. If it was negative, we would pay out-of-pocket. The cost for the colonoscopy was $1,400 each, the mammogram was $315 and the bone scan was $225. Upon discovering that this would cost about $3,500, which we do not have and if we did, we could use it better elsewhere (like paying a college bill), we decided not to get this done. We went to our doctor's office and explained the situation, wrote a note about the cost, etc., and it will be put into our files accordingly.
We are over half-way finished with our time here and this is the only Sunday we will be at our home church. This morning there was a singing group from West Coast Baptist College; a men's quartet and they sang several songs which were really good.
The guys all knew Peter and Teresa and one particularly said he appreciates Peter. Both work on the cleaning/maintenance staff at the school, Peter being the supervisor and apparently has taught those under him well. Dr. Rasmussen, a VP of the college, delivered the morning message. The notes I took:
The rest of your Christian life starts today.
Comparing our Heavenly and earthly fathers:
F aithful – Proverbs 20:6
A ttitude –
T emperate-
H oly Life – I Peter 1:16
E xcellence – Psalm 16:3
R everant – Ezekiel 14.
Honor our fathers with our life, time and living. I Cor. 6:20; Ex. 20:12. Be a servant.
Follow My Father
Holiness I Peter 1:16 – the light that casts out darkness. Can people tell I am different? How do I look and act?
Giving John 3:16 We are created in the image of God and should follow His steps.
We met Jim and Sharon Pitts who were in our home church years ago; they taught in the school the same time as Henry. We had lunch at Wendy's and just talked about all the folks we both knew from the 1980's; the Shuffields and Coons we have already met. Since Henry was preaching in the evening service, they decided to stay.
Henry played the piano for the first offering and then showed our presentation. I should put a copy of that up on the web someplace. He then preached from Exodus 3 on how God had a plan for Moses and Israel. In Ex. 3:4-7 after God calls Moses, he says, Here I am. Then God proceeds to tell him what is going to happen.
The main points:
- God gives clear instruction in verses 7-10
He promised Abraham He would bring out the Israelites in Gen. 15:12-21
He showed Moses clearly by calling and signs. Ex. 3:1-15; 4:1-12
- You will have peace and confidence about it and start doing it. The Israelites were overjoyed God heard their prayers and worshiped. Ex. 4:31. The people agreed with Moses and he went to tell Pharoah.
- Opposition will surely come. Pharoah did not agree. Things got harder, not easier for Israel. The opposition, when it comes, is insurmountable. God uses the opposition for His own glory.
- God will overcome the opposition if we persevere. Ex. 6:1-3
It has been nearly 19 years we have been in Japan; 21 since surrendering to missions. God has met the needs all along the way. There have been opposition, but God is faithful and since He has lead us in the past, He will lead us in the future. We have about seven weeks left here, then we will return. God is good, all the time.
Henry went with Matthew this morning visiting the bus route, so I stayed here. This day I helped Mary clean up and organize her kitchen somewhat. At least a drawer and the plastic containers under the table got organized. She has done a wonderful job of cleaning the rest of the house and now needs to tackle the smaller spaces that are left. Having lived in Nigeria for many years, she has difficulty throwing anything away, so I am trying to remedy that little by little.
Saturday evening I prepared the gyudon dinner again; it was a big hit. Next time I will have to ask the butcher to shave the meat as it is easier to eat that way. This time I made the sauce using regular soy and adding sugar.
The Gills went to a local nursing home and held the weekly service there for the people. There is a lady named Mrs. Farmer that comes over here frequently. She is a widow and rather lonely I think, so she shows up at the door. Mary has asked her to unwind this big mess of yarn, so Mrs. Farmer just sits in an easy chair downstairs and rolls up balls of yarn and is happy when she gets one completed. She also help the Gills with the nursing home ministry.
