May 18-20, 2012

We had lunch with the senior adults on Thursday; a very lively group.  We had a BBQ of hot dogs and hamburgers—delicious.  Afterwards some of us played corn hole, which is another name for bean bag toss. The church had made some spiffy boards with the church logo and the hole for the corn bag.  Henry scored several points, I maybe got one or two bags in the hole.  Every time the bags hit the board, dust would fly from them.  It was fun to do. 

The weather was just beautiful the entire time we were there.  Sunny, not too hot with a little breeze.  Rain is forecast for Monday.

Friday Pastor and Kathy took us to the Swallow Falls for a hike.  It is the highest waterfall in Maryland.  You could walk out into the water from flat exposed rocks.  I did not do that.   We walked down the trail which followed the river to another smaller falls.  There I shared the gospel with a lady who was sitting on a big flat rock.  She did not get saved, but accepted a gospel tract.

 The second place we were taken to was on a mountain top where a Olympic size kayak river was built.  There was a school group going down the rapids in big boats, with all the protective gear on.  When they got to the bottom, most of them were soaked.  The water level can be adjusted to the amount of water flowing through there for training purposes. 

 Saturday at 10:00 a.m. a group got on the bus and we went to a small down about 15 miles from the church, over the mountain and right next to West Virginia.  Then teams of people went door-to-door inviting people to church.  One lady got saved!  It is a pretty town. 

Saturday evening we had the International Banquet.  I made okonomiyaki, a Japanese style pancakes with veggies and bacon served with a modified BBQ sauce.  I made small ones, cut them all in half, and every one was gone!  One of the men said he would be making that meal for the moms next mother (he is a former Navy cook and enjoys cooking).  His wife and I hit it off like we were long-time friends.  Their daughter and family are missionaries in New Zealand, so that was a connection.  We met some spiffy people this weekend.

Sunday was the final day of the conference.  Henry taught Sunday School to the younger kids.  They have a spiffy room that looks like a castle complete with crowns and armor.

  Henry told the story of Naaman and the Jewish girl who told him of Elisha who could cure him of leprosy.  The kids got a kick out of it.  After church all the kids came upstairs to our display where I gave them a trinket from Japan—some were chopstick holders, some goodies from soda bottles collected over the last couple of years and assorted things I did not want to take back to Japan. 

  

After the evening service they had a graduation celebration for just Teresa, since we won’t be there when they have their regular event.  We ate ice cream cake!  Yum!   Teresa was also given a Bible signed by the Pastor. 

One young boy got baptized and another man joined the church after attending for several years.  Their faith promise for missions was about  $80-90,000; their goal is $105 thousand.  The three families there were all voted on and accepted as their new missionaries.  We are so grateful for God’s supply in this way.

May 10-16, 2012

After we traveled back to DC with Teresa on board, we took a short break from the busyness of the past month.  Mother's Day we were at our home church in Clinton.   We had a cookout with the Gills in the afternoon, all five of the kids eating with us.  After the evening service, I found a card in my bible signed by all of them--very nice   :-)


Several moms were honored for having the most children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and for being the oldest (89).

Monday and Tuesday Henry helped fix the upstairs bathroom by recaulking the tub and replacing the faucet handles; then he scrubbed the grout in the downstairs bathroom.  Handyman he is.

Wednesday we drove from Clinton to Western Maryland where we are in a Missions Conference through Sunday.  I'll spend my 58th here on Friday.  This area is really rural, big, beautiful and quiet.  The Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church    http://www.mlibc.org/menu/id/38/Home
is a strong Bible believing and preaching church and has been here for years.  The campus is huge,  but then so are most churches in America compared to our little one in Japan.  Anyway, we are staying in a spiffy old house on the property.
 

Graduation video posted

Here is the You Tube link to Teresa receiving her Diploma last week.  She is second to last so you can fast forward it to about 7:30 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv2kvhMVVHc&feature=player_embedded

This is why we went out to California --about 10 seconds of a family event...just kidding.  It was a great time seeing the kids and my brother and his daughter.

Graduation 2012

 Teresa with Mrs. Sisk who was honored at graduation for being a faithful wife and missionary to her husband for over 50 years.  She has had recent brain surgery to remove some tumors. 

 Dad and Mom with the graduate.  The blue collar is for secondary education major.

Teresa with Mrs. Harris who received a Masters in Christian Education via the online course.  She was Sara's piano teacher in Japan. 

Front: Sara, Teresa, Mom, Dad.  Back: Stephen, Matthew, Cousin Stephanie, her dad and my brother Joe, and Peter.  Joe and Stephanie came up from Los Angeles. 

The graduation ceremony was all pomp and circumstance and very Christian.  We sang Crown Him With Many Crowns to open.  Pastor Chappel preached a message on being Rooted in Christ.  Then the over 190 graduates received their diplomas.  The photos I took were too blurry to determine that Teresa was getting her diploma, as we were not that close to the front.  Perhaps we will receive a CD or I could download the video in a few days.  It was a great day all around.

Sunday night there was a huge moon out--something about it being closer to earth than normal.

Today we left Fairfield and drove down Route 12 and 5 to Lancaster, arriving about 2:00 p.m.  The drive down through the central valley was one of wonder at the sheer flatness of the farming fields.  From what I could tell there were lots of almond groves and other types of nut trees. They are huge groves of trees in 3-4 stages of height:  fully mature, about 5years old, down to seedlings.   I did see several signs of protest along the way.  The Congress has cut off the water supply in the valley, therefore, crops  cannot be grown and food costs rise. 

 This one says Valley Farmers paid 100 percent of the Water allocation but received only a percentage of it in the three years listed.

The valley in many parts looked barren and dry.  When we got into the hills about 30 minutes from Lancaster, it was a bit more green.

 The start of a new orchard, top and the greener valley, bottom.

Jelly Belly Factory

 The Jelly Belly Factory is in Fairfield, CA.  It was made famous by Ronald Reagan when he wanted something to help him stop pipe smoking.  Remember?  He always had a jar of jelly beans on his desk and at meetings.  The tour is very kid-friendly, but on Saturday there were no workers in the factory, so we had to watch short videos on the process of making the beans. 

There were several portraits of famous people hung throughout the factory, each using about 10,000 beans.  This was the first one done in 1980.  

 This is one All-American, patriotic company!  Yes!!

Mr. Jelly Belly waves from the family car>.

Bird utterings

We recorded the mackaw and the other two birds in Pastor's house.  It was so funny listening to them and all the noise.  The cockateel squawks loudly sometimes while the other two sometimes carry on a conversation.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

In the evening service at Calvary Baptist church, Fairfield, Henry showed the presentation and preached about the feeding of the 5,000.  There were at least three Japanese in service, one a lady who rarely comes, so Henry gave the outline in Japanese for their benefit. 

After the service, he was signing Bibles for people.  He was also able to witness to an older Japanese lady for about an hour.  She did not get saved, but said she wanted to, but was not ready.  More watering on the planted seed. 

About 9:00 p.m. we went to dinner with a family to a New Orleans style restaurant.  I had French Onion Soup and a salad---really good, even that late at night.  Henry had a tomato bisque which was a little spicy for me, but good.  Sara ate a turkey dinner, but Henry ate her cranberries.

Fairfield, CA May 4, 2012

As we drove out of SFO toward the east and Fairfield to be with Pastor Stonestreet and family, we saw many signs.  One said The San Francisco Bridge is using $100 billion of Foreign Steel.  It should be Made in the USA.  Apparently the additional bridge is being constructed at a huge cost-overrun and some US steel companies are not happy.  Why am I not surprised?  When government does anything, it always costs way more than if private companies would do.  But that is another issue not for this blog.

 

The writing on the hill says South San Francisco, The Industrial City.  The hills were barren, seemingly, as there were no tall trees.  The housing has the Southwest flavor to it.


The Stonestreets have three dogs--two German shepherds and a smaller breed.  She was very happy to see us.   :-)   There are also four birds, one a mackaw.

Pastor grilled ribs--yummy--and  special treat.  Janet made marvelous slaw with ramen noodles, and baked beans and corn on the cob. 

Sara found a new friend. 


That evening we went to an Eagle Scout ceremony involving a young man from the church.  It was so heartwarming to see these young men demonstrate what the Scouts are all about--honor, truth, honesty, patriotism and love of God.   Matthew is the second son of this family to reach this level.  The Dad is a scoutmaster, too.

Flight to SFO

Friday, we had to get up at 4:00 a.m.  (groan) to depart the house for the airport.  Joe spent the night so he could drive us to Dulles Airport.  We managed to leave just after 5:00 a.m. and got to the airport about 6:00 a.m.--good timing as the roads were not that crowded.  However, there was a lot of cars on the road at that hour going someplace...

We were able to check in at the curbside area and proceeded to wait until our flight about 9:30 a.m. after a short delay.  The flight itself was great, although the seats were cramped, but that is to be expected in economy class.  We don't usually fly United, but have some free miles for the tickets.  The airline service is not like it was a few years ago.  The airline now charges for checked baggage; if you want a meal, you have to buy it for between $6-9 and it came in the form of a snack box--lots of carbs, little protein.  Anyway, I prefer the hot meals with eating utensils.  Cleanup was easier, but air travel is just not the same, expect for those who can afford business and first class.  Ok, that's off my chest, so on to the rest of the trip.

 Sara had the window seat and spotted this lake which may have been man made. The rim was rather even and smooth.

 This is a bridge across the San Francisco Bay as we approached the airport. 

  As we walked the airport to get our luggage there was a display from the Singer Sewing Company.  It was spiffy seeing all the old sewing machines and patterns from 80 years ago.  These were working toy machines.  Aren't they cute?

One of the last ones was of quilt blocks, so I had to take a photo!

Fabric Finds

 These are the fabrics I found at  the three or four quilt shops I've been to so far.  There was no particular project in mind for getting these, except I needed to replenish my stash. 

 The one at the bottom left is actually prints of various stitches on white, rather unique.  The other white print is colored doggie prints.   Then some florals and fireworks, patriot prints.

These last ones were found at the Material Girls in LaPlata, MD. It is a family owned business for the past nine years. 

My favorite ladybugs were there and bright butterflies, as well as Dr. Seuss. 

http://www.materialgirlsquilt.com/


I also bought a Brother machine SC9500 with some 90 stitches and alphabet capabilities for about $200 (lots of English classes taught to get this one).   This I got at Hancock Fabrics and will take it back on the plane.  I've decided not to open it and leave it factory sealed so hopefully the screeners at the airport won't think I have something in there I should not have.  We shall see.

Little Noel

Noel is a Chapoodle about 5 months old.  Matthew came over one night after work and was sitting on the couch.  This little dog started licking the bottom of his shoes.  Must have been all those marvelous flavors from Panda Express.  Sara got down there with the camera and filmed it.   The dog got a little upset when Sara tried to make her stop.   :-)

The First Baptist Church in America

This church was started by Roger Williams back in 1638 and has been continuously meeting since. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_in_America

Pastor Crichton knows the bell ringer, a former fire chief whose job it is to keep the premises in order.  He gave us a personal tour of the building which has an amazing history.  We even got to go up to the bell tower, some 110 steps up! Spiffy view of Providence, Rhode Island.  

We got a photo of us behind the pulpit.  The pipe organ is amazing.  Here is a photo of the bell.

Sara, Henry and Pastor Crichton in front of the church.  I'm behind the camera.

Rhode Island April 28-29, 2012

We had a meeting in Johnston, RI, on Sunday,  so we left Friday and drove about seven hours to get there.  It was a pretty ride on some parts of I95; we have traveled this route numerous times in the past.   Most of the water towers we have seen before, but the sky was pretty in one part of the ride.

We arrived at the Great Rhode Island Baptist Temple in Johnston about 5:30 pm and were met by Pastor Crichton who founded the church 38 years ago.  His wife was in Florida visiting her elderly mom, so was not there to meet us.  We stayed in the Prophet's Chamber which is located behind the baptistry.  That means the chlorine was rather strong just outside the door.  Anyway, it was a beautiful room and we were very comfortable.    Pastor took us out to dinner at a place called Uno.  I ate a huge salad while the others had huge sandwiches and side dishes. 

Sunday morning we were awakened about 6:00 a.m. by the honking of a pair of Canadian geese, one whom perched on the awning just under our window.  Eventually they walked off together to the woods.

Sunday morning Henry taught the men and teen boys and I spoke to the women and teen girls.  My topic was basically a testimony from the time we became missionaries back in 1989.  My text was from Psalm 37:25 "I have been young and am now old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread."  When we started out Henry quit his job and since I was a SAHM, we had NO income, yet all the needs were met.  We never missed a rent payment; had plenty of food and gas for the car and in the process of it all, had another child half-way through the two years we were on the road.  Some things I would have done differently, but it is always good to count your blessings  when you find yourself in a tough situation.  That way we can remember what God has done in the past and has promised what He will do in the future.  The best thing to do is keep a diary (as it was called when I I grew up) or a journal of the blessings God gives; then when the hard times come it will be easier to recall what God did do.

The people were great, very friendly and interested in our ministry.  The GRIBT has supported us since about 1990 and have been very faithful. 

Pastor preached the morning service, then took us out to lunch.  This time we went to the Yamato Japanese Steak House, a place he had not been.  We wanted to see how authentic it was.  Come to find out all the staff there are Chinese.  :-)   Sara had a chicken dish, I ordered a shrimp dish, Henry had a variety of items and he tried to get Pastor to taste, including gyoza--fried dumplings with a garlic flavored meat.  He was game.  It was actually quite good but the rice was more a long-grain than the short type in Japan, but good, nonetheless.

During the evening service Henry show our presentation and preached a familiar message.  Then we went out for ice cream after church.  Pastor Crichton told us about the oldest Baptist church in America that was nearby, so we decided to go there on Monday.  

April 23-27, 2012

It took us about six hours to drive from southern Virginia back to Maryland only because we stopped several times looking for things which we did not find at particular stores.  In Waldorf, MD, I was looking for a quilting shop only to find it was no longer at the location.  Guess I will find another one sometime.

This week was not busy, so we stayed here and got caught up on things.  Henry was working with Joe on getting the car he wants registered.  Friday he drove to Waldorf early to get it registered.  Matthew was to also go there and get his tags renewed.

Tomorrow we head to Rhode Island for a Sunday meeting.  The first month here is coming to a close rapidly.

April 19-22, 2012

We had a terrific time at the Eastern Shore Baptist Church over on the Eastern shore.  The Rediger's are long-time friends and it was great to renew acquaintances.  Dr. Creed preached the services all about faith promise giving.  The church had a goal of just over $27,000 and the final count came in at about $31,000!
God is good and it was such an encouragement to the church.  I'll write more and post photos later. 

We had a meeting in Hampton Roads area of Virginia on Sunday evening, so we had to leave Eastern Shore right after the morning service.  We got down there about 5:00 p.m.  Again, this church was so on fire for God, it is so good to see.  We connected with several people we knew from years ago at our home church and met a couple of Japanese ladies.  We felt really at home there.  Henry preached the evening service on the topic of using our talents for God. 

After service we stayed with a family from the church.  Mr. Alger is a manager at Waffle House restaurants in the area and so his his daughter.  They are terrific folks.  They moved to Virginia recently and bought a house right near the church.  We had a great time of food and fellowship.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

After washing clothes and packing, we waited for a UPS package delivery but it did not come by 3:00 pm so we left for Grasonville on Eastern Shore, about 75 minutes away.  It was a very nice drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  After getting there, we filled up with gas that cost about $40 and discovered the car gets about 36 mpg.  WOW.  I’m still thinking in metric, though.  This is way cheaper than what we pay in Japan which is about $7 per gallon roughly. 

We are at the Eastern Shore Baptist Church for a missions conference.  Dr. Creed is preaching this week.  Edwin and Mary Beard are also here as church planters in Annapolis.  Henry taught them in high school---many moons ago.  Their son is with them. 

Henry showed some photos of our work that are not in the presentation—pictures I have not seen in years. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Today we went over to the County Courthouse and took care of some items for Matthew so he could get his car registered.  It was the first time to this courthouse which has that courthous-ey feel to it.  The people we saw were very helpful, which is a great thing.

This evening the Gills had a cookout in the backyard while the dogs ran in circles and tried to beg food from us. 

We then went over to Peter’s place.  Nice basement apartment. Clean.  We had to take the shoes off at the door.  Must be that Japanese influence. 

Monday, April 16, 2012

On our way back to Clinton, we stopped by Mrs. Owens’ home near Frederick.  She and her husband started Sound of the Word, a literature/tape ministry to missionaries.  Her husband had passed away about two years ago and had turned the ministry over to the Veenstras.  Mrs. Owens is about 87 and spry, witty and just fun to be with.  She tried to get Sara to talk and would make comments about her to see Sara’s reaction.  She did smile and say a few words.  We met her son and then prayed with them before leaving.  Gracious, wonderful Christians.

Traffic was backed up merging from 270 onto the Beltway so it took us until about 6:00 pm to get back to Clinton.  We were met by Peter and Joe.  Mr. Ercole who lives down the street, has a car for sale Joe wanted to see.  He and Henry took a spin around the block and Joe has decided to buy it.  It is a good deal—63,000 miles, about 6 years old, compact and great gas mileage.  Now he will apply for the loan at the credit union and go from there. 

Sunday, April 15, 2012 Tax Day

We drove about  30 minutes to Mannington, WVA, where the Calvary Baptist Church is.  It is an older building, but recent remodeling has brightened the interior.  The platform is now a beautiful blond wood floor and it really looks bright in there.  Henry spoke in Sunday School on the 9 nails and a boat sermon from last week.  It was good the second time around.  :-) 

Pastor Bowman preached the morning service.  He used to be an evangelist and preaches like one.  Really good.  John 11:40—Death is Coming.  Many people today do not allow their children to see death as in going to a funeral.  It does not prepare them for that event.  Death is a part of life. 

Here Lazarus was in the tomb.  Jesus told them to take away the stone.  There was a desperate plea from Martha, saying, “by now he stinketh.”  She did not tell Jesus anything He did not know.  In this verse Jesus tells here to “trust me…if you believe God, you will see the Glory of God.” 

Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:5.  Ex. 33:8-14.  There is a rest to the people of God. Phil. 4:6.  Be careful for nothing.  When you are in the valley, your faith is on the summit. Ps. 18:2.  When in the valley, don’t tie a knot and hang on.  Let go of that knot and stand on the Solid Rock of Christ.  John 11:40. 

Pastor Bowman

After service we were taken to a terrific Italian Restaurant for lunch.  The servings were way too big, not like the small portions we get in Japan.  Delicious.  Sara had to take her portion home. 

Henry’s former roommate from back in 1980-83, Ken Jamerson, goes to this church.  He has not changed much at all.  Still single, still memorizing scripture, still out of the ordinary.

Henry preached the evening service after showing our DVD presentation.  My notes:

Looking Ahead to Looking Back  Matthew 25:14.

We are given talents by the Master.  How did the men in this portion of scripture use them? We have a responsibility we have been given.  The 1 talent guy was making excuses for not increasing his talent.  These excuses were, I might make a mistake, doubting my ability; a misconception of inability to do something.  Why did he get the talent unless the Master thought he could use it?  Go in the strength of Christ.  There is the excuse of fear.  He called the Master a liar because he did not believe the Master.  There is the misconception of the value of a soul. 

Saturday, April 14, 2012

We drove over to Mt. Airy to see our nephew Joe and family and Henry’s sister Caroline.  Their boy Scott is 5 and Rachel is about 2.  Their huge back yard could fit our entire church property on it easily with room to spare.  While the little ones played in the sandbox with Sara, we adults sat on the swing and around a table and just talked.  Joe and Lindsey and family were going hiking at Great Falls, so they left 11:30.  The rest of us went over to Burger King for lunch—delicious. 

We visited the Veenstra family hear Frederick.  They now do the Sound of the Word literature ministry to missionaries.  We have received a monthly mailing for several years now and it is always good to get the envelope in the mail.  They are a terrific family.

 Rachel, Scott and Lindsey

We then drove over to Fairmont, West Virginia, to Pastor Lee Bowman’s church for a meeting there Sunday. The roads wound through the hills of Western Maryland where we saw some beautiful purple trees in bloom.  It was a wonderful drive up and down the mountains.  West Virginia is beautiful country—almost heaven as the old song goes.

The Bowmans took us to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant.  This place was buffet style and had at least 8 tables of food to choose from.  I always opt for sweet and sour and took a stab at the frog legs—taste like chicken, really, good, too.   After this delicious meal we drove back to the hotel in Fairmont.

Friday, April 13, 2012

We went to a Michael’s Craft Store where Sara got herself a new cross stitch kit.   After this visit, we went to the Antietam Battle Field where the bloodiest day in American history took place.  Over 23,000 men died on that one day.  We will be doing a study of the Civil War soon.

The service tonight again was preached by Dr. Vineyard. My notes:

2 Corinthians 8:1-3  regarding faith promise giving

1) give in spite of poverty

2) it is a test of love

3) give according to our ability v.9

4) stewardship of God's money

The second service notes:

Psalm 40:8

The Will of God isn't always pleasant.

The Will of God is never impossible

The Will of God isn't for the faint hearted

Doing the Will of God  is the result of inward law

Doing the Will of God is the result of praying and asking God to show His will

Those who do God's will have a special relationship with God.  Matthew 11

Follow Christ, the perfect example.  He did the will of God.

Wholehearted dedication is required to do the will of God.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

We went up to Frederick again to hear Dr. Jim Vineyard speak at the church there.  His message tonight was “Don’t Forget the Jew.”   Here are my somewhat disjointed notes:

Christians owe the Jews a debt of gratitude for the scriptures, the family unit and the humanity of Jesus Christ. Rom 3:1; Romans 9, 10; 11:1, Gal. 3-4.  The lesson we learn from Abraham is that he believed God,  Heb. 11:8.

Romans 4—remember the people you owe and pay your debt.  Gen. 12. We owe the Jews by being a blessing to the Jews.

1)   Call to Abraham – Gen. 11:27; 12:1.

2)   Carnality of Abraham  Gen. 1:10.  He endangered Sarah.

Our carnal traits cannot keep us from serving God.  Focus on God.

3)    Life is full of challenges.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

 We were able to attend our home church’s Wednesday Prayer Meeting this week.

This message was on Boldness in the life of a believer  Acts 4:13

1)   A boldness that was a result of being with Christ.  Peter and John had walked with Christ.  They had seen the miracles of Christ and they had seen the resurrected Savior.  Do I spend time with Jesus?

2)   A boldness that was revealed by trials.  Peter had gone through the struggles of forsaking Christ. Now the disciples are following Christ’s commission.  Now the disciples are focused on the souls of men.  This is a confidence-building process.

3)   A boldness that was resting in God’s promises.  These disciples feared God more than ma.  They spoke the truth from their hearts.  They praised God for His mighty works.  1 Cor. 1:27  God uses the weak things to confound the wise.