WHAT A BLESSED WEEKEND!

What a great way to wake up on Monday!  61 degrees and cool in the valley this AM after a blessed weekend for our church family in Trenton.  On Saturday we had our Philippine Mission Day and after it was over had three new people committed to work with Chris Gerber and me during our April 2012 trip.  We have a retired couple who are experienced mission workers in several countries and a brother who has been travelig and working in India for several years, so we are delighted to have 3 more experienced workers for the Lord's work in the Philippines. 

After the mission day ended we spent some time getting ready for the next day...our Homecoming and 174th Anniversary at the Trenton church of Christ. 

On Sunday morning, Jamie and I were at the building early getting our food unpacked, helping others bring theirs in and making sure everything was rolling along as we greeted the folks arrivng.  We had a good crowd of 57 for our 9:30 AM lesson when brother Marlin Graves gave a great lesson "Any Old Bush Will Do" from Exodus 3.  After Bible class, I noticed the crowd was really coming in steadily and in good numbers.  By the time 10:30 arrived and services began, we had 136 present for worship!  It was the largest crowd for a Sunday service since we got here 8 years ago.  I kept hearing from those returning how great the attitude and atmosphere was at Trenton now.  That was so uplifting and encouraging to me to see the positive progress at this great church! Then at lunch--our ladies had done such a great job of getting the food to the building and serving the delicious meal!  It was our first major event in our remodeled fellowship hall and it went great!  Over 100 people stayed and ate and then stayed around and visited for a long time!  It was wonderful to see people who love each other so much!

As has become our tradition here, there was enough food that we came back together after evening service for the left overs!  We had 60 for evening servce and about 50 stayed and eat!  It is a great blessing to be a part of a great group that loves God and loves each other!

This week, Jamie and I are working on our individula punch lists to get things finished before we head south for the start of the pre-wedding events for Leigh and Nate's wedding on Thursday. I am looking so forward to being with the wedding party this weekend as we get to spend a weekend in Orange Beach.  Jamie and I can really use a little quiet time and to get to spend time together with our family and the two soon to new members is a blessing I am really looking forward to.
When I am up early and praying, I can't help but be thankful for all the blessings God has placed in my life from my parents and sisters and thier families, Jamie and our girls, great son in laws and a perfect granddaughter and a wonderful church to be blessed to work with.  God has really been good to me and I am so blessed!     

WHAT A YEAR!

Today marks the first anniversary of Laurie donating her kidney to Janet.  I was at UAB Wednesday with Charles Hill and we were in the Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Unit in Jefferson Towers and I was flooded with memories.  The great memories of the loving kindness of Laurie and how proud we are of her good heart (and kidney, too).  Also I was filled with a great sense of happiness at thinking about how great Janet is doing and how wonderful it has been to grow to have her be a part of our family and to get to be a part of hers too. In less than a year it is so great to see them both with great health and two great Christian ladies who love God and their families.
11 months ago Louise and Dirt brought a great addition to all our lives in precious Ellie.  What a joy it has been to watch her grow and develop. Now in just over a month she'll have her first birthday and they will all come faster for her and her parents, her aunts and her grandparents in the coming year but continue to bring us joy and pride.
Also in less than a year Leigh and Nathan have gotten engaged and in two weeks from right now will be married.  That is a wonderful blessing to our lives as our family expands again with the addition of Nathan.  It has been a great joy to watch them grow as people and as a couple in the last couple of years.  I look forward to seeing them grow in their love for each other and God in coming days. 
A year ago Laurie didn't even know Matt and now in 6 weeks, he too will become part of our family. It was a great source of pride to watch him grow in his interest in Laurie and to watch his increasing interest in studying the Bible culminating with Dirt baptizing him while all the girls were here.  I have never seen Laurie happier and I am so happy that both found the right one in each other.
At church, just about a year ago I was asked to serve on the eldership at Trenton.  I have had a great many things that have been challenges and occasions of joy to me but none have compared to the first year as an elder.  There have been some of the greatest highs and some of the most difficult emotional nights of my life.  It is truly been the greatest honor and the greatest challenge in my life.  It has been a great year at church with some wonderful growth and some great people have become part of our family at Trenton. In over twenty years of preaching it has probably been my most satisfying and peaceful year ever at a congregation.   God has truly blessed us here.
Our work in the Philippines continues to progress as we move into a different area of focus.  Now we are addressing the strengthening of existing congregations in central and eastern Pangasinan.  Our April trip was greatly blessed as we were blessed to be a part of the establishment of a new congregation at Pao and 51 baptisms and some great work with the Binalonan, San Carlos and Urdaneta congregations.  It was a wonderful trip for Chris and I and really continues to show the commitment this congregation has to the work in the Philippines.  Today we met with 21 people and discussed the work and have 3 pretty firm commitments to go with us in April, 2012.  It has truly been a blessed work there.
A year ago, the conventional wisdom in Trenton and Dade County was that tornadoes don't come through here as the mountains keep them out of the valley.  April 27, just 7 days after we had returned from the Philippines, we learned that the conventional wisdom isn't always wise.  4 tornadoes swept over Sand Mountain and devastated areas of our county as the devastation tracked across the South. The work began that night as we cancelled worship services on Wednesday night and then stayed at the building with a number of folks who were seeking shelter in a safe place.  The congregation rallied around and for the next 60 days was immersed in tornado relief.  We did amazing amounts of tree and clean up work, feeding those that were hungry and providing food, cleaning supplies, and clothing to many families in need. We also gave away a lot of gift cards at BI-Lo and provided help in just about anyway that was needed.  I was so proud of the response by the loving Christians at Trenton and the help that came in from churches and brethern around the country.  It was just waht I would have expected out of Christians who have rallied together to help others and glorify God.
Finally how could I reflect on a year without sharing my joy at the progress Jamie has continued to make.  She started about 3 months ago to start to walk every night.  Now she is walking most mornings and evenings and is doing so great.  She has lost about 25 pounds and feels so much better.  She is even running some and continues to feel better and do so much better!  She has been a great joy to me through 32 years and now I am so excited to watch her continue to defy the experts as her recovery from the stroke just continues to amaze me!  She is something special!
Now the next 6 weeks will complete the biggest expansion of our family ever with the addition of Ellie, Nate and Matt.  It also has truly been one of the most blessed years of my life and I look ahead to even greater things to come.  Every day I sure have a lot to give thanks to God for. I also have so many people to thank for all the blessings in my life!  Thanks to you all!  I love you all in a special way!

Balot, chicken feet, sushi and raw oysters and 10 baptisms!

THURSDAY, April 14, 2011
It has truly been a memorable and wonderful day! This morning at 9 AM Beverly brought one of her school teacher friends and we had a very good Bible study. He has been teaching HS English for 15 years and was a very pleasant man to visit with. He left with a lot of good questions and careful notes to study with.
We then went to Asingan to meet Arnold and his family. He has really become a good friend and a brother on this trip. His daughter, Dinah, and her best friend Irish have become fast friends with me and have been my official photographers on this trip. Irish was the first person baptized on this campaign last Wednesday night and she and Dinah have been our constant companions--it has brought back memories of having our three girls around during good times in lots of church work.
We met them about 12:30 and headed out to Pao for a picnic lunch and Bible study. After a very good lunch where the Urdaneta and Binalonan congregation fed over 70 again, we sent the kids with Richard, Beverly, Irish and Dinah (they had 21) and we took the 48 adults down under the mango trees by the stream for more Bible study. After Chris and Arnold spoke and 10 came to be baptized. They asked me to do the baptisms and now there are 32 Christians in a rural farm barnagy with just 12 houses and probably less than 60 adults!It was truly a wonderful day!
When we returned to the resort, the power was still off but I took a shower and came to dinner. The resort has a backup generator system, so it wasn't inconvenient for us at all.  They have live entertainment tonight and it's not bad. The waiters have been very friendly and we have gotten to know them so tonight they have Pika-Pika which means buffet and my waiters brought me balot, fried chicken feet, and raw oysters along with tuna, shrimp and some other native fish sushi. I really could not disappoint them so they got my camera and had pictures going to record the event. I'll try and post pictures here or on Facebook.
It has cooled off now and we are getting ready to have a little social time! Hope you have a great day! It has been a great day to be here in the Philippines and sure has been a great blessing to me!

WHAT A WEEKEND!

SATURDAY, April 9, 2011
On Saturday the day dawned bright and hot. It is summertime here and today is a Philippine summer day! We were picked up by Arnold and taken to the Udaneta chapel After singing and registration with snacks, I spoke on Keeping the Church Alive through Evangelism. There were 174 people present and during the first hour, Chris took the teenagers and young people outside and taught them some singing and new songs. After the first hour and a short break, Chris would bring the second lesson on Keeping the Chris Alive with Benvolence. While he was speaking, the power went off and it started to get hot in the chapel! When Chris finished speaking we broke for lunch provided by the ladies at Urdaneta.
The Trenton church had provided the funds for the meal had they had been stolen in a breakin at the Boniels' home so we replaced it and so the meal was about $1000 US but those things happen. After the meal was completed we sang for a few minutes and then I spoke on Keeping the Church Alive through Edification. Following the lectures, the group met to focus on evangelizing the 17 towns in Pangisinan that do not have congregations in them. The discussion ran about 2 hours in Tagolg, so I didn't get much out of it....but I did hear them say say, "Dawn Walker and Chres Gerber" a couple of times so I hope we were being presented positively and feel sure we were.
After those meetings were over, Chris, Susan, Butch and a lady doctor who is a member at Urdaneta met with Jeff, the young preacher with psoriasis, to discuss how we can help him. We are going to deposit funds into an account to provide things that we are able to do here. Saturday night we returned to the cabanas to rest, very tired but very energized about a great day and looking forward to a great Lord's Day.
SUNDAY, April 10, 2011
After breakfast in the resort, I was taken by Susan and Butch to Urdaneta to preach. Chris was picked up by Celine and Benny and taken to Binalonan to preach there. I spoke on Our Almighty God. After services we thought there would be about 8 of us to go to Pao, the new church plant, for their first service. Instead, there were almost 40 who rode down there.
A highlight of the day was when we met the other cars in Asingan, they told me to get out and go to another truck to ride in. When I got in I saw Josie A. in the back seat! She and I were so happy and just fell in to each other's arm and just wept with joy at seeing each other. There are many that are special to us but she is especially dear to me and my family. Chris knew it was coming and so he had the video camera rolling! It was about like a scene out of a TV show with a surprise reunion.
When we arrived in Pao there were probably 90-100 total fed a picnic lunch that was just planned on Friday night! It was a great success and all pitched in to make it a success. As I watched Arnold's mother serve so many people their lunches, I was so reminded of watching my mother here. She would not eat until all had their lunches and then she was one of the last to be there cleaning up..and she is in her late 70's. Certainly a good example of the older women teaching the younger women.
After lunch, we went to meet by the creek under a HUGE mango tree. Every one in the barangy brought chairs and benches and we sang and had our first service with over 70 adults present and 17 children being taught in another place by 4 adults! Not a bad start, over 90 present for the meeting of a church that did not exist on Thursday morning! Chris spoke on The Church and then I taught a class on the Lord's Supper. After the lessons, 12 wanted to be baptized and since I had brought clothes to change, I was asked to do the baptizing. It was in a stream and after Arnold took their confessions, they came down the bank to be baptized. It was a beautiful day with all 23 that have been baptized on this trip present at the worship service as Irish was there also. After services we headed home and stopped to look at a piece of property that a brother in Asingan hd donated to build a building for the church to meet in. He also donated the wood to build it and now they need the material for a roof. The tin to make the roof would be about $350US so Chris and I are trying to see if we can work that out help them some way. One of our main purposes on this trip was to strengthen the congregations, and helping to provide a building would accomplish part of that.
While we were there, I called Mom and Dad at 5:45 AM in Quitman and let Josie talk to both of them. That was another highlight for me to a great day! We then stopped to visit the oldest member of the church in Asingan who is 74. Our brother was in a wheelchair and nearly deaf and blind but he has been a member of the church for over 5 decades and said his body was weak but his faith was strong. It was quite a nice visit.
Then Arnold took us to a funeral home to pay our respects to a man in the community who has family members that are members of the church. After that we headed back to Lisland and I took a shower ate a package of crackers and laid on the bed and rested. Chris and I met for about an hour to discuss the progress of the first week and then I went to sleep very satisfied with having been a part of great week when God was lifted up in this wonderful land! Please continue to pray for us, we are looking forward to a great next 10 days!

Going to Work in the Philippines

THIS IS THE PHOTO OF A YOUNG PREACHER CHRIS AND I  ARE TRYING TO HELP GET HIS TREAMENT FOR PSORIASIS. HE HAS A NEW BABY AND WIFE AND IS A FAITHFUL GOSPEL PREACHER WHO CANT AFFORD HIS MEDICINE. THE FOUR IV TREATMENTS COST ABOUT $825 US. IF YOU CAN AND WILL HELP, MESSAGE ME OR SEND ME AN E-MAIL AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS. THANKS, DON

TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2011
Woke up at about 2:30 AM and watched TV and read my Bible for about an hour and went back to sleep, realizing that I had no idea who had won the NCAA basketball tourney finals and the world had kept turning! Woke back up at about 7 AM PST and after a little time for prayer and study got dressed and headed to breakfast. Eggs and crispy bacon with toast were quite good and the restaurant is very nice and a covered open porch overlooking the HUGE swimming pools. Susan joined us and left instructions for our plans, but could not eat as her youngest son, graduated from high school that morning.
We were picked up by Carlos, a college student, who will be our regular driver in Benny and Celine’s late model Toyota and we were off to our meeting with the area church leaders at the Urdaneta church building. When we arrived there were about a dozen preachers and church leaders from 5 different congregations in the Pangisinan province to meet with us. Butch Boniel, Susan’s husband, opened the session and gave a quick introduction and then Arnold began to make the main presentation. Arnold is, I would guess in his mid to late 30’s and a very successful business man. He owns a beauty salon, barber shop and spa along with an optical shop and a pharmacy. He outlined in his very good presentation that lasted a little over an hour and ½ the history of the Lord’s church in Pangisinan going back to 1942 and the current situation. There were 18 towns in Pangisinan without churches of Christ a year ago and 11 congregations met together to try and establish one in each town in the next 20 years.
They have a very good program of placing two men in each town as preachers and supporting them for 2 years fully in then over the next 5 years weaning the support down to when the congregation can be fully autonomous in 7 years and have a program to build a permanent building in 10-12 years. They have begun the first church planting in Bayanbang last September and it appears to be going good. Their goal is to plant a church in every town in Pangisinan over the next 20 years. Currently there are 1605 members of the church of Christ in Pangisinan. The province has a total population of 2.8 million and is increasing by 2.4% each year. They aim to have a 2.8% rate of conversion in 20 years, which will mean there will be almost 75,000 Christians. It is a lofty goal but it is one that they are committed to achieving. As with many good works the number of congregations involved dwindled to just 5 but they all appear to be good churches. Tuesday afternoon we continued meeting with the local church leaders and returned to the hotel about 6:30 PM and hosted the Boniel family for dinner at the hotel restaurant. After that at about 11:00 PM we headed to the cabanas for a night of rest.
WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2011
This morning when we got up at 6 AM and had breakfast in the hotel. I was able to get to talk with Jamie, Laurie, Leigh, Louise and of course, Ellie on Skype! It was wonderful to get to see and visit with them. At 9 AM bro. Arnold picked us up and we had planned to go visiting members of the Urdaneta congregation who were older, sick or weak spiritually. Before we went, I had lost my sunglasses, so I asked Arnold to let me go to his shop and get some. That will be an important fact as the day goes on! We went to the Magic Mall and to his Optical Shoppe. After looking at cheap sunglasses, he suggested I get the Ray-Bans. I looked at a pair that were way to expensive but he went and looked at the invoice and said “1000 pesos” (US$23.17) They were marked 500% more but with the usual negotiation he gave them to me at his cost! After getting the glasses he gave Chris the free “Sr. Citizen” eye exam.
Then he shared with us something he had not spoken with any one else about. He took us upstairs above his Beauty Salon and showed us an area that is over 300 sq/meters (which is a big area) with on open area that would be wonderful for opening a Bible Study Center. The area has unlimited potential as it has over 20,000 people that walk by the mall store every day. This is a great opportunity that has wonderful potential to reach souls. There are 7 universities in this city with 18-20 K students out of a total population of over 100,000 people. After about 3 ½ hours of meeting and planning, we had lunch at Jolibee’s.
After lunch, starting at about 2:30 PM we made 3 visits. One of them was a 94 year brother who was baptized when he was 86. We visited another brother who had been less faithful but said he would be at the Central Pangisnan Fellowship that Chris and I will be speaking at on Saturday at Urdaneta.
We then went to the home of a Muslim family. The one young sister brought her 67 year old aunt and we studied with her for over an hour. She was hung up on “Mother Maria” . Chris led the study for about 45 minutes and then I tried to reason with her. But she could not give up that yet. But she left us with the promise that she would be thinking about it.
We then had dinner at Max’s and then went to Arnold and Donna’s home and had two Bible studies. Chris studied with Donna’s sister in law who is waiting on a VISA to go the US to join her husband and children in Evansville, IN. He is a member of the church but she is not. Chris had a good study and she said she would continue to study and pray. We hope to have another study with her before we leave.
While Chris had his study in the kitchen, I studied with Irish, a 22 year old friend of their daughter, Dinah. She was able to understand and accept the Lord and at about 11:15 PM we took her to the Lisland Resort and she was baptized. After a very difficult start to the day with the break-in of Susan and Butch’s home, it ended on a wonderful note with the baptism of Irish to close the day on a great note!

FLIGHT TO MANILA

April 2, 2011 After great visits with my mom and dad last night, Louise, Dirt and Ellie arrived about 10:30 PM and we visited until about 11:30 and they headed on to Nashville and we got ready for bed. Mom and Dad brought a Filipino cell phone that I will use on the trip and then give to Josie A. They also sent 2,500 pesos for her and her family. April 2, 2011 Got up this morning with Ellie at about 7:30 AM and got to visit with Ellie for about 1 ½ hours by myself. Then Jamie got up and we had a light breakfast with the family and then went to the church building and handled some things and headed to Chattanooga. We ate at Sticky Fingers. We had a great Southern meal of wings and ribs before heading to the airport. The flight from Chattanooga to was on time and uneventful.
When we arrived in the Atlanta airport, we found a charging station and got our phones and computers charged and headed to T G I Friday’s to eat. Chris had ribs and I had soup and salad and it was a good meal. We then spent about 5 hours waiting for the flight and Chris and I had the chance to visit with a very nice Korean lady, Sona, who lives in Birmingham and is traveling back to Korea to see her sick mother. She shifted seats and sat with Chris and I on the flight to Seoul. The flight left about 10 minutes late, just after midnight, and the plane was full. During the first 10 ½ hours of the flight I slept and watched two movies, Gulliver’s Travels and Secretariat and ate dinner and breakfast, I had Korean for dinner and still couldn’t eat the seaweed soup or the pickled … something. It was a vegetable but was not a kosher dill.
Sunday, April 3
We crossed the International Dateline at about 6 AM EDT and turned south. This trip we flew the Great Circle route. We left Atlanta and flew almost due north across Hudson Bay in Canada and then turned to the north and west and flew to the Artic Circle and north of Alaska. About 6 or 7AM ET we headed across Siberia headed south to South Korea. We will fly well inland over China, also, and into Korea. At about 10:45 AM EDT, Chris and I shared the Lord’s Supper at 36,000 feet over northern Siberia. It was encouraging to think that we were sharing it at about the same time our brothers and sisters in Trenton were partaking. A little feeling of family, even 7500 miles away. Sunday came and went and we never touched the ground. International travel will mess with your mind sometimes….. We are slated to land in Seoul at 4:43 AM Monday morning local Korean Standard time and we leave for Manila at 8:10 AM local time.
Monday, April 4, 2011
We arrived in Seoul on time and it is always nice to get off the plane after a 15 ½ hour flight! We went to the terminal and Chris headed for the coffee shop while I watched our carry-ons. I began talking to a young man in his late 30’s who asked why we were going to the Philippines. He said he was born in the Philippines but had moved to New Jersey 25 years ago. Alex and I began a discussion about our trip and family and religion. When Chris returned with the coffee, he sat down next to him and we continued the discussion and turned it in to a question and answer session as he asked us questions about the Bible and spiritual things. We both talked to him for a while until I got connected on SKYPE with Jamie. Chris continued to discuss the Bible with him and the conversation and discussion with Alex went on for over an hour and a half. One of the more interesting comments by Alex was made after about an hour of serious questions by him. He said, “It’s great you are doing this but I really don’t think that many Filipinos are very interested in the Bible or spiritual things.” I found this particularly interesting after this young Filipino had initiated most of the first hour of the discussion and would continue it until we got on the plane! He was very interested but he cold not see that others woul be interested too! Our flight was announced and we boarded the 777-300 for our final leg of the flight to Manila on time, about 8:20 AM Seoul time. When we got to our seats, the seat beside us was vacant so we had a little extra room to spread out and relax for the last 3 ½ hours of the trip. Never found much on the movie channels I liked so I put in some music and slept of and on until we arrived. It was interesting the meal choice on the plane. At 9:30 AM local time, they served us lunch, seafood and rice, pickled vegetables and a roll with yogurt! Not your typical power breakfast, but our internal clocks were so confused, it didn’t really seem strange at all! We landed in Manila on time and after clearing customs and getting our bags, we went out to meet our ride. When we walked out of the terminal, across the road, in the mob of Filipinos, was Richard De Capria. It’s not that my eyes are that good, he is just head and shoulders above most Filipinos at 6’2”! He was smiling and waving his arms and signaling us to wait. Susan Boniel and our sister Celine met us with Richard and the driver and we loaded up the van and headed NW to Urdaneta. About 2:30 PM we stopped at Max’s in Tarlac City for lunch. Tarlac is our regular spot as the shopping area has Max’s Chicken, KFC, Jolibee’s, Pizza Hut and Starbucks. For an American group heading to north-central Luzon it is an oasis of the familiar!. In Max’s we decided on a Filipino family meal with chicken, fish and pork along with soup, vegetables and of course, rice! When I got ready to pay the ticket, sister Celine had already paid for it. She and her husband, Benny, are in the construction business and very influential in the Urdaneta congregation. They did the construction on the beautiful chapel (church building) at Urdaneta and loaned the congregation the 1.2 million pesos,(about $28,000 US) interest free! Her grew up as a preacher’s son and attended Sonrise Christian College and is very good friends with Bob Buchanan and family, He also is close to Roman and Lena Carriaga and their family. We continued on and made a stop at CSI (a department and grocery superstore) and got pesos for dollars at a good rate (43.15) and I got minutes for my local cellphone and Chris purchased one. We arrived at the Lisland resort and checked in about 6:30 PM. The cabanas that we had are nice with a large bedroom and sitting area and a bath. They are in the middle of the property and away from the pool and ballroom but not so close to the road so it is very quiet. Chris went to #7 and I went to #6 and after a call to Jamie and Mom and Dad, called it a night at about 8:30 PM PST (Philippine time) and fell quickly to sleep on a very comfortable bed. We are ready to go to work!

Prepping for the Philippines!

Just had a wonderful week in west Tennessee at the Freed Hardeman Lectures. WhenI get to attend a lecture series it is such a big boost of energy for me. This year was no exception as it was on the Minor Prophets and was outstanding.
I had to miss several sessions as Jamie's mom had very serious eye surgery (but did great) and then there was the SNOW! Two snows (Monday and Wednesday) brought over 6 inches and then about 3 inches and made it a winterwonderland...but snow plows and salt trucks left a little snow and ice on the roads, so we missed some of the evening sessions. But another great series that really gave me a lift!
Now that we are back the time before the mission trip to the Philippines is closing fast. April 2 brother Chris Gerber and I are heading back. We are already getting two big boxes ready to ship this week to have them there ahead of us. (Hopefully)
It is so exciting at Trenton to have the ladies and girls of the congregation involved with making dresses to ship to little girls at the congregations in the Philippines. Cheryl Judd (the preacher's wife at Rising Fawn church of Christ) has been teaching the class for a year there and several of our ladies inquired about it and she offered to start a class and teach it here at Trenton. She started last week and there were 16 ladies and girls from three congregations in Dade County and by the time the class was over, all of the girls, including a 4 year old!, had sewed and the excitement was palpable in the room! It was great t see the cooperation and love between the three congregations (Magby Gap, Rising Fawn and Trenton) and to see some of the beautiful work!
If you don't already, you should follow Cheryl's blog at http://buchananjudd.blogspot.com. She has a lot of pictures and the Bible lessons she teaches along with the sewing training. Tere is also an article in the Jan/Feb issue of Christian Woman magazine.
With the great things happening at the church and so many things to be tankful for....I pray your day can be blessed today, too! Mine has been!