Philippine Mission Trip

ANOTHER WEEKEND!

Don, Jamie Walker and Chris Gerber

April 25-May 14, 2013

Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

Teaching in San Vincente

9:00 AM

After breakfast Jamie and I headed out with Celine to our last day of VBS at sister Reggie’s house in San Vincente while Chris left with Arnold.  They were going to do a Bible study and then look at some other land options.  I already believe that the Lord will help us work something out as I am already dreaming of how the building will look and dreaming of building a missionaries’ room on the property.

Jamie teaching in San Vincente

Cookie Cruz-One of my heroes

The Walkers, sister Reggie and Shervin

When Jamie and I arrived at sister Reggie’s I did something I have not done in any of my previous 11 trips here…I drove a vehicle!  OK, I just backed up Celine’s truck into an alley from about 5 meters away…but that’s progressJ. We began my class with Shervin Cruz translating for me.  He is a very talented young man with some physical challenges but they never slow him or his sister, Cookie, from their love and work for the Lord.  They are two of my heroes!  He leads a wonderful prayer and we started our discussion of Cornelius and the Philippian jailer.  All 7 ladies brought back the Bibles we had given them and were working hard at keeping up with the  
 
 

Teaching in Pinmalupod

Estelle teaching with jamie

 

 

 

Celine and Cookie relaxing in the kitchen

 
 

Don with his new 4 mt old friend. Christian

 

JM, Susan and Jamie at the Cruz's

scriptures.   At the end of the study 5 of the 7 wanted to be baptized.  As we were preparing to go, there were some non-Bible related problems that put the baptisms off until Sunday.  I will see all the ladies again on Saturday at the Urdaneta chapel (church building) for VBS graduation and I will encourage them again to do it now! This has been a most enjoyable study with these ladies!

Jamie taught 38 and then had the entire group of over 95 for singing at the end of the session.  There were 3 classes and it was extremely well organized and executed.  Jamie was assisted by a sister who was an official with the public school system and Jamie said she was an excellent teacher.

12:00 noon

We went to Magic Mall in Urdaneta and ate lunch at the food court upstairs with Celine, Chris, Dana and Arnold.  Much of the day Arnold and Chris had been working on finding property to consider for buying.  We discussed this and made plans for the afternoon as we received our second rain in two days.  It was a good shower and cooled things down for a bit. 

Jamie, Arnold and Dana

3:00 PM

Basketball in flip flops!

We met with another 4P group.  This was the 4^th group Chris or I have spoken to about life improvement.  These are some of the poorest of the poor in Urdaneta.  The city of Urandeta has a poverty level of 70% and many of these we were speaking to subsist on less than P6000 per month for the family.  This is less than US$150!  The government assistance they receive is only about $38/month.  Arnold serves as a mentor to over 200 families within about 1.5 km of the Urdaneta chapel so this is a tremendous opportunity to reach out to families and serve their physical as well as spiritual needs.  To see a difference in governmental philosophies, in the Philippines, these families must attend a one hour per week group counseling session and religious and moral values must be part of the mentor’s agenda with no restrictions. I spoke on setting priorities for your life based on Matthew 6:33 and then invited them to services on Sunday when I will be speaking.  Chris then spoke about the Biggest Problem in the Philippines (and the world)-Sin. There were 29 adults present with 4 of us teaching.

Jamie, Dana, Celine and Jake had a group of 31 children that they had Bible class with and sang then played games with. 

6:00 PM

We attended the birthday party of Cookie Cruz who turned 42 at her home.  This might not be such a big deal, except when she was born her mother was told by the heart doctors she would not live to age 30!  She has lived 12 years beyond the most optimistic prediction and is a very active Bible teacher.  When we sang Happy Birthday to her before the birthday supper, she just sobbed.  She said, “Happy tears”. Her mother spoke very emotionally about her daughter living long enough to accept and serve Jesus Christ. A very touching time. Jamie had found some earrings for her and she was so proud and said she would wear them on SundaysJ I had to leave about 7 PM to return to Lisland for another appointment.

7:00 PM

Chris and I had a chance to meet with a Filipino preacher and his family to discuss some future plans for the Lord’s work in Pangasinan.  These preacher’s and their families are very dedicated and really recharge me and encourage me on each trip.

10:00 PM

Left the restaurant and went to bed after a very satisfying first week!

 

UP AND RUNNINNG AND GOING STRONG!

Philippine Mission Trip

CRANKED UP AND RUNNING!

Don, Jamie Walker and Chris Gerber

April 25-May 14, 2013

Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

9:00 AM After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we headed out.  Chris and Arnold were working in Pao and Asingan this week while Jamie and I were working in San Vincent teaching a VBS at sister Reggie’s house.  She is a new Christian from Urdaneta and hosted them at her home.  The first day they were very prepared and had name tags and coloring sheets for the children.  Jamie took the young children in the back and Richard took the high school age.  They had 64 children with 7 adult helpers. I was on the front porch and had 5 mothers of the children who I had Bible Study with. Our study was on God’s Expectations for Man from Genesis.

11:30 AM We went to the Magic Mall to meet Arnold and Chris and eat lunch. 

2:30 PM Our VBS was in Inamotan organized by sister Bren who is a public school teacher. When we arrived at the field with the mango tree, there were 22 children and 9 adults. It was a good session with very high temps and very little breeze. 

4:00 PM All three of us met with Arnold in a field in Mabanogbog (a barangy of Urdaneta)  with a group of government beneficiaries who Arnold is mentoring with advice on budgeting, life choices and moral issues.  I spoke on Making Good Decisions for our Children.  Chris then spoke on Sin, Grace and Faith.  After Arnold concluded his remarks we left. There were 17 adults, 19 children and 11 assistants and teachers and 8 chickens and 2 goats.

We returned to the mall and went to supper with our team of adult leaders at Shakey’s Pizza and then headed to the hotel for a nice night of rest.

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2013

 

9:00 AM After a good night’s sleep (the best since Wednesday before we left) we ate breakfast and headed out into the heat.  Heat index was already over 100 F by 8 AM! Jamie and I went to San Vincent and sister Reggie’s house for VBS.  When we arrived there were already a large number of children assembled.  There were 75 children in the two classes and I had 9 ladies in my adult Bible study.  We had 8 helpers besides Jamie and me.    

11:00 AM We went to Pao to have a Bible study and a fellowship lunch of Mongo Chicken and rice. There were over 35 adults and Jamie had about 15 children and we had about 10 helpers.  It was very good to get back together with those sweet folks.  There were a number of new babies last year and it is wonderful to see life going on!  I saw my little buddy, Daniel, who I loved and really enjoyed being with last year.  He was about 6 months old and I held him most of the time I there.  Today he was a little scared and didn’t have much to do with me….maybe SundayJ.

2:30 PM We went back to Inamotan for the VBS under the mango tree.  We stayed for about 30 minutes and sang with the children then I left the 25 children with Jamie and went to San Jose for a Bible Study.  It was with 5 Christians including at 97 year old brother who was nearly blind.  We had visited him before and his health was better this time.

4:00 PM Jamie and I reunited and headed to another field in San Jose for another meeting with Arnold’s government group he calls PPPP (which means something in Tagalog J) I spoke on God’s Plans for your Life to 38 prospects while Doc Blaise, Dana Zambrano, Jamie and Irene Ojerio taught 17 children in a mango tree.

6:00 PM We had supper at Chow King with the group and returned to the hotel for a night of rest.

 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2013   

 

9:00 AM Susan’s car had mechanical problems today so Carlos our driver did not come but Celine picked us up in her truck with J.M. to go with us.  We went to San Vincent and sister Reggie’s for VBS.  They had 89 children with 3 adults helping while JM and I had 9 mothers for our Bible class. After a very good class, we headed to the SM Mall at Roaslies to purchase Bibles and snacks for VBS tomorrow.

12:00 We shopped at the National Book Store at SM Mall and got all the Taglog New Testaments they had in stock and ate lunch at Max’s in the mall.  Jamie and I were treated to Buko (Coconut milk) in the shell.  Quite interesting and very healthy!  And a lot of fun tooJ.

2:30 Went to Inamotan for VBS again that was organized by Bren.  Jamie had 28 children in class and was helped by Richard.  I had a Bible study with 3 adults with two babies and Celine and JM to assist me and translate. 

5:15 PM   We went to 168 which is a kind of open area in a mall but with just stalls set up with about anything you can imagine for sale! We looked around for a while and bought a few things and then headed to meet the Zambranos for dinner. 

After dinner we returned to the hotel and ate then turned in after a very hot day!

 

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

 

9:00 AM Celine was driving again and we started the day at San Vincent with our VBS at sister Reggie’s.

Jamie had so many that they divided her class up and they had over 90- children.  I had 7 mothers present for my Bible study and got down to serious discussions today. I gave out the Bibles that I had purchased for them.  We had our most engaging study as there were a number of questions about various religious practices.  It continued until almost 11:30 and only broke up because of the invasion of their childrenJ.  Looking forward to what tomorrow brings!

 

12:00 PM Team met at Magic Mall for lunch together at Chow King and a planning session.  Also ate with MaryVic and Caesar as it was her birthday.  Jamie had her eyes examined by Dr. Blaise and got some suggestions for her vision since her previous eye doctor, Dr. Wessel’s, has passed away.  Dana and Blaise have taken such good care of Jamie!

 2:30 PM Were delayed heading to Inamotan as the President of the Philippines was appearing at a campaign rally beside the mall and it had traffic in a terrible mess.  Jamie and Richard taught one class while Blaise and Dana taught the other children’s class.  After a few minutes of singing, the skies clouded up and then the bottom fell out with a huge thunderstorm with hail.  Jamie and Richard had their class under one carport, Dana and Blaise had theirs under another one and Chris, JM and I taught our Bible study with 7 ladies on a porch during the down pour!  The greatest thing was it cooled things off for a while.  It still heated back up and the heat index was 115F at 8:30 PM.

4:30 PM We left Inamotan after VBS and headed to the By Pass Road and stopped and looked at the property we are making an offer on to build a church building on.  It is about 1.8 km out of Asingan and about 3.5 km from Pao so it is a nearly perfect location and a beautiful piece of property.  It is 1000 square meters and should serve the congregation for many years.  We are praying that the deal can be worked out.

6:00 PM Midweek services at Urdaneta.  Richard led singing and Chris spoke on A Christian’s Armor. 38 were present. 

8:15 PM Back to the hotel and we ate supper with Arnold, Dana and Daniel Zambrano before making a few phone calls, checking and e-mails and Facebook.  I got a good report from Mom about Dad.  She said the nurses said he had a good night and was getting stronger and waking up more.  He is still very ill and needs a lot of prayer but we are confident that things will work out for the best.  Heading to be and getting rested for another day tomorrow.  Sure am blessed to get to do this type of work in the Lord’s kingdom!  Thanks to all who are praying for us and helped with this mission trip!

Philippine Mission Trip

Getting to Work!

Don, Jamie Walker and Chris Gerber

April 25-May 14, 2013

Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines

SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2013

3:00 AM All three of us were awake by 3 AM after heading to be at about 10 PM.  Welcome to a little jet lag. J   Chris went to the empty restaurant at about 5:15 and we joined him at 6:00. After visiting we had coffee and pandesal before Arnold and his family picked us up at 6:30 AM for 7:00 AM worship in Asingan.  That might seem early but it has been extremely hot and projected to have a heat index above 115 F today so finishing by 9:30 is not such a bad idea. 

Don with a little friend!

We went to the Ramos Elementary School in Asingan and were blessed to meet and greet many old friends from previous trips. It was exciting to see new babies born since last year and to see how much the children had grown. 

Jamie teaching the children

Jamie would go with several of the young ladies to teach a children’s class of about 15 under the 5^th grade.  Her class met under a tin roof of a small hut near one of the classrooms.

Chris teaching in Asingan

Chris taught the adult class and did a wonderful lesson on “Why I Left the Dutch Reformed Church and My Family’s Traditions”.  Nico did the translating for him and does a fine job!

Song books sent from Trenton

Zake leading singing

Zake Santiago leads the singing and really does a good job.  The congregation is using the old song books that we shipped to them and they are quite proud of them and the singing is very good. 



Chris showing bro. Willie pictures

Don preaching in Asingan

I spoke at the worship hour and my lesson was on Pleasing God and Not Man.  It was a bit of a follow-up on Chris’ lesson.  After services we spent nearly an hour visiting and loving our family here that we had not seen in a year. Chris got to show brother Willie Ojeiro the pictures of the beans he grew on Sand Mountain with seeds Willie provided him.  Willie was quite pleased!

After leaving the service, we went to a large outdoor public hall for a wedding reception for the daughter of one of the members at Asingan.  After about ½ hour, we concluded that things were running late and we were brought by to the resort by Arnold. 

We changed clothes and ate in the resort restaurant, Bai Marin, for lunch. Jamie had a Greek salad while I had Lechon Kawali. Mine was grilled pork belly then crispy fried with rice.  Quite a good meal.  Chris ate the fried chicken with a fruit plate.  Jamie and I got our fruit via a banana and watermelon shake.  Amazing the fresh fruit combinations here …. that are delicious!

We all had an afternoon nap before a Bible study scheduled at sister Vickie’s house.  Unfortunately due to our alarm being set at 4:30 AM instead of PM J we hurried out of the cabana just as Chris pulled off with Arnold.  So a little blogging time…..

Supper time and the temperature was 93F but the heat index is 115F!  We have been cautioned and it is all over TV warning folks over here to drink lots of water to stay hydrated during this heat wave…and it is not letting up this coming week.  Time for my evening refreshment….mango and watermelon shake while Jamie, always the traditionalist J, sticks with mango and banana shake!

11:00 PM We just had shakes for supper as we liked them so muchJ  During supper got word from Mom that Dad was in ICU in Shands.  He either has an infection, an abscess or a leak where his colon was reattached.  Worse case scenario is having to reconnect his colon because of a leak.  The abscess and infection both can probably be treated with the antibiotics. Tough day-- being 10,000 miles away from your Dad and Mom during this but she sounds upbeat and have been in communication with our girls and they are keeping in touch with their Nana!

Still hot as it is 99F heat index at 11 PM! VBS and Ladies’ Bible Class for Jamie tomorrow at Binalonan!

MONDAY, APRIL 29

3:13 AM  Was lying awake and in the bed after a night of short bursts of sleeps dreaming about growing up and time with my dad. The phone rang at 3:13 AM. Got to know when the phone rings at 3 AM it’s not good news or it’s a wrong number. It was not a wrong number.  It was Ginny, my sister calling from outside the ICU at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The news from the Critical Care doctor was not good.  Dad was septic and not responding to antibiotics.  Infection was all through his body and they had to find the source.

Mom called about 4 AM here and said the radiologist was getting ready to drain the abscesses in his abdomen and allow them to heal.  He perhaps was a little more encouraging.  He did tell them that the healing process for older patients would be slow but he felt good about the procedure.  Of course, there is still the problem of having kidney, liver and proper blood function.  But right now that is all they can do. We have been praying about him and his care with everyone we can and we know there are many folks praying for him around the world. 

Mom and I also talked about how that Jamie and I being here on the mission trip and Walker and Elizabeth (my nephew and niece) working in China are exactly what he would want us to be doing and actually what he would love to be doing.  Two of our daughters, Laurie and Leigh were on their way to Gainesville from Montgomery and the last I heard, Louise was trying to decide with Ethan whether to go or not.  Melissa Lee Hicks,  a lifelong  best friend of Laurie’s was going to go to Gainesville to keep Ethan and Ellie while Louise was there, if she decided she could come.  It is great to have friends that stick by you.  Sure love and appreciate Melissa! (among many who have been so kind to our family)

As sunrise approaches, Jamie and I are planning to go ahead and conduct the VBS at the Binalonan church of Christ, while Chris will work with Arnold in the area around the Asingan church of Christ.  I am going to try and focus on the tasks at hand here, all the while with my heart back with Mom and Dad, my sisters and my daughters in Gainesville. 

Philippine Mission Trip April-May 2013

Philippine Mission Trip

Don, Jamie Walker and Chris Gerber

April 25-May 14, 2013

Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines

THURSDAY, APRIL 25 (all times local)

6:40 AM Chris and Karen Gerber picked up Don and Jamie Walker at their house in Trenton and headed for the Chattanooga Airport.  Sister Karen dropped us off at the gate and we checked in.  Don and Jamie had one of the benevolence suitcases that was 2 pounds too heavy but had another that was 3 pounds under weight so the Delta employee helped us shift that around to avoid any fees. We then cleared security and at about 8:00 AM and a few minutes before 9:00 were seated and departed Lovell Field on time on Delta 5533 in a Canadair Regional Jet that carried about 50 people and it was full as most all flights are these days.

9:45 AM After a very short flight, we landed in Atlanta and found our gate for Korean Air 36 set to depart at 1:15 PM. 

1:15 PM We were on board and the KAL 777-300ER departed on time for the 14 hour and 40 minute scheduled flight to Incheon, South Korea.  We had prayed for the conflict between North Korea and the world to calm down so we would not be delayed or rerouted and thankfully we were not. The flight was very calm and uneventful and we arrived in South Korea a little before 4:50 PM

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2013

4:50 PM Since we crossed the International Date Line, when we landed in Korea, it was Friday afternoon, local time, which was just before 4 AM Friday morning in Trenton. In the Incheon airport they have a wide variety of food and stores, so we had a very pleasant 4 hour layover that included coffee and shopping for Jamie.  After looking at a lot of things priced in Korean Won (which the exchange rate is currently 1091W to the dollar) and a couple of cups of coffee and a short nap for Jamie, we were back on the plane at about 9:15 PM for the final leg of flying. 

9:40 PM We had boarded Jin Air 3 on a 737 for the nearly 3 hour flight from South Korea to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.  Since the US pulled most of its military operations out of the Philippines, Clark has now been converted to a civilian international airport and for us could not be nicer.  After an easy flight that included our 4^th dinner since leaving Atlanta, we arrived in the Philippines just after midnight on Saturday morning.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2013

12:30 AM We got off the plane and walked down stairs and across the tarmac to the terminal in a warm but breezy Philippine night.  We cleared customs and got all our bags in the baggage area and were out of the terminal at about 1:00 AM.  For those who have been through customs and baggage claim in Manila, imagine it just 10x smaller.  Ours was the only plane to arrive and there were 5 customs agents checking papers and we were though customs and waiting on our bags in less than 20 minutes after landing.  Our bags were all there, which is always a blessing.  This one was even better since we had to have our bags checked (without having to handle them) in Atlanta but it went off without a hitch.

1:30 PM We walked out of the terminal and were met by Susan Boniel, Celina Gallardo, Nico and our van driver, Carlos. After getting out of minor congestion around the airport, we headed to the Lisland Rainforest Resort in Urdaneta.

3:15 AM (3:15 PM Friday EDT) We arrived after a 97 km ride (about 65 miles) at the hotel and after waking the desk clerk from his apartment, we got checked in and settled at about 4:00 AM.  This was about 33 hours after we left our house in Trenton.  That sounds like a long time, and it is a long day, but for coming here, that is about as good of connections as you can make.  I would certainly recommend to other missionaries working in Luzon to consider flying in to Clark or Disopapa Magacapal, as the Filipinos call it.  It is very convenient and it avoids the inevitable delays in Manila traffic, besides being over 120 km closer.  At the end of a long day of flying from the US, it is nice to eliminate 3 or more hours in a van!

4:15 AM We had checked in and immediately went to sleep, thankful to be here safely and excited about the next three weeks.

11:00 AM Jamie and I woke up in our cabana (a duplex) after a very restful 7 hours! After getting ready, we met Chris and Nico in the restaurant. Chris had already been out with Nico walked to the mall and got some pants and did a little shopping.

 After a good lunch of cheeseburgers and chips with a mango and cantaloupe shake (don’t knock it if you haven’t tried itJ) the clerk gave us a tour of the newly refurbished hotel on the other side of the pool. They are very nice rooms with two twin beds and will be very effective for us as our group increases in size as the cabanas only have a double bed.  

1:00 PM Susan B. took us to the Magic Mall in Urdaneta and Jamie and went to CBS Salon, which is owned by one of the elders in the Urdaneta congregation, Arnold Zambrano.  While Chris waited and visited with Susan, Celina and Bennie, Jamie got a haircut and treatment with a massage and I got a haircut and a massage! I have had a lot of good haircuts in the States but none ever included a massage! After we finished there, Chris, Nico and Arnold went to a Bible study with some unfaithful members at the home of sister Vickie Lee.  As normal, Chris went expecting a private study and there were 24 present!  They had a good study and joined us at the hotel about 7:00 PM.

7:00 PM Jamie and I had made arrangements and had a private room reserved for a dozen and that’s what we had to arrive. Chris, Jamie and I were joined by Dana and Arnold Zambrano with their son Daniel, Susan and Butch Boniel, Celina and Bennie Gallardo, Mico and then Jake Zambrano.  Nico and Jake completed their studies at PTC and now are employed as the ministers at the Asingan church of Christ.  After a very good couple of hours in the meeting, we adjourned about 9:30 and headed to bed.

A Year Already.........?

December 7, 2012

Has it Really Been A Year?

What a year it has been as it has blown by! We have had a blessed year in so many ways.  In the first quarter of the year we were very involved and concerned about Dad's re-occurrence of cancer.  After a number of meetings with doctors and planning he had surgery in April at Shands in Gainesville, FL while Jamie and I were on the mission trip to the Philippines.  It seemed as though it went well though he took a while to recover in Gainesville.  He lost down to about 153 pounds from well over 200 and had some really challenging days.  But by the middle of May he was able to return home. 
He and his nurses and chauffeurs (Mom and Karen, Ginny the driver) made numerous trips back and forth to Shands and were treated like kings there. 
He has two bags now since the cancer attacked his bladder and colon and he and Mom and Karen have made the adjustments to life with bags and he is doing well.  Just in early December, he went back to his oncologist in Valdosta and was told he was strong enough to start back his chemo.  He began the treatments again on December 5 and all is well so far!  Mom has been amazing getting up every three hours since he came home in mid-May to dump his bags!  she is truly one of my heroes in this endeavor!
Jamie and I were in the Philippines in April for my 56th birthday and a group of our Filipino friends carried us out to a wonderful dinner to wrap up a great trip.  We were so pleased to see the progress at the Pao/Asingan church of Christ.  It had grown from the 34 that we had baptized in 2011 to nearly 200 some Sundays!  It was wonderful for Jamie to get to return to the Philippines for the first time in over 40 years!  She was a great asset to the work as she fell in love with the children and the children loved her! 
We had a wonderful summer that included the annual Palmer Reunion that Jamie and I were the hosts of for the third time.  It was at Pickwick State Park and is always great to get to see many of our extended family members. 
The church at Trenton continued to grow and now appoaches 80 on Sundays and just grows closer to one another each day.  It is truly a blessed group to be a part of on the way to heaven.   We have had 5 baptisms since August and they have been mostly as a result of studies begun by our members. 
As fall approached we learned that Lousie and Dirt would have another child in April.  A few months later we learned it would be a boy and that his name is Eli.  He is slated to make his arrival in early April just before Jamie and I return to the Philippines for our annual mission trip.  It is hard for me to believe it will be my 11th trip!  What a blessing it will be to take pictures of Ellie and Eli to our friends in the Philippines.

During the fall I continue to do the broadcasts of the Dade County High School sports on WKWN AM/FA and Channel 7.  We began a new update as we began to broadcast the Softball and Football games back to the local access channel via Skype.  It was pretty cool to have video as well as audio.  It culminated with the Cinderella run of the Lady Wolverines softball team to a State Championship.  It ain't ESPN but it looked pretty good, I think!  
Now as we move toward the end of another year, we look forward to being with the kids the week of Christmas and getting to see Mom and Dad again.  I pray his chemo will be easy on him this time.  
As we look to the New Year, we have made reservations for another mission trip to the Philippines in April with brother Chris Gerber.  We also have reservations for a cruise our children gave us slated for mid-march to the Bahamas.  We will, Lord willing return from the cruise to be home a week and then go with our young people to Nashville for the Lads to Leaders Convention.  After that in less than a month we'll head for the Philippines again, so as you can see, God is blessing us in so many ways.  

I have intentions to be more regular in posting to my blog.  It is a good thing for me to do just for me.  If anyone else reads and enjoys it, all the better!  If I don't get back on before December 25th, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  

It Was a Wonderful Year!

I am not sure if my inspiration for this blog title was Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year" or Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" but I truly feel both of the feelings.  When I was 55, it was a very good year and truly it was another part of the puzzle of my life that has been a wonderful life! 
As 2011 sprints to an end, and if the Lord wills, 2012 stands anxiously on the horizon, I am reflecting on what a blessed year it was.  I am resting and enjoying the hospitality of my newest son in law and oldest daughter, Matt and Laurie in Montgomery as Jamie and I enjoy the holidays with our children and grandchild.  We were very blessed this year end to have Jamie's mom with us at home for a few days and then she rode down here with us.  We had our Christmas gift exchange at Louise, Dirt and Ellie's on Sunday night after worshipping Sunday night at the University church of Christ in Montgomery.  The kids went way over the top for us as, after all the gifts had been exchanged, we were later told that we had received nothing from them.  But after all were opened, they handed us two shirt sized boxes that when we opened them had a couple of souvenir magnets and an ornament of a cruise ship.  We had been talking about taking a family cruise, next year so we though that tied in with that. In the bottom was a group of papers that had a cover sheet saying basically that "since you missed your honeymoon 32 years ago, we have purchased a Bahamas cruise for you two.  And we can't think of any one who deserves it more!"  Neither Jamie or I could read it out loud and I'm not sure I would completely agree with their judgment on who's most deserving, I sure appreciate it and love the sentiment and love they feel for us. So we are looking for dates next year to sail out of Port Canaveral on our honeymoon!
So that is our big news from the kids for our Christmas!  Jamie gave me a new laptop (so I would leave hers alone, I think) and I gave her some gold earrings, a stand of south Pacific pearls and put a year of DVR service on our TV.   I think she may have liked that best of all.  No missed "NCIS" or "The Good Wife".  If I can be trained to use it....(which is questionable) I may find a few shows that I'd record too!
Tuesday we are heading to Birmingham to meet Ted and Peggy so they can take Jenet back to Jackson to have some time with her.  We are going to go by to see Louise and Ellie on the way out and then pick up Leigh at her house to go with us to meet Ted.  
One of the blessings I can count at night (besides my sheep) are Leigh and Nate.  Our family grew this year as on August 27 Leigh and Nate Woodring married in Montgomery.  They had a lovely ceremony at the University church and than had a nice honeymoon on a Bahamas cruise.  They got back and went back to work where Nate manages a Tire and Auto Repair shop in Montgomery and he does an outstanding job.  (In Montgomery, if you need tires or car repairs of any kind, DON DUNCAN ALL AMERICAN TIRES-downtown. Great prices and service~)... Leigh continued working at Faulkner University as a Student Recruiter who was responsible for GA, the Carolinas, Virgina and east Tennessee.  We of course loved that because it meant about a monthly visit but she traveled so much it was not ideal for  a new marriage.  She will start a new position in January as Visit Coordinator. The new job will involve much less traveling She also will begin working on her master's degree in January.   They live in a lovely house in the historic Capitol Heights district in a historic home.  
Our family expansion continued just 28 days letter as Laurie married Matt Morris on September 24 back at the University church.  She and Matt honeymooned in Jamaica and then returned to Montgomery and went back to work at Wilson and Wilson were they met.  Laurie is a customer service rep and salesperson there and Matt is the Industrial Services Manager.  They have purchased a home out the Atlanta Highway about 7 miles past where Louise and Dirt live.  All of them live within about 15 minutes of each other and have remained very close attending church services and usually eating together several times a week. We rejoiced greatly this summer as Matt obeyed the gospel and was baptized by Dirt.  That was truly one of the highlights of a great year.
It wasn't new expansion but certainly loved growth was taking place in Louise and Dirt's life as Ellie turned one year old in September . Of course there was a party and all of us enjoyed it as much or more than Ellie did.  Dirt changed jobs inside the state and now works in a job appointed by the governor in the health care area and seems to be settling in and liking it.  He has had to travel to Washington, DC for several trips and apparently more are on the horizon in 2012.  Louise continues to keep children in her home so she can be home with Ellie.  She is great and really enjoys it but especially seems to enjoy the days off! Ellie is now 15 months old and has begun really developing her personality and freedom as she has learned to walk. 
Jamie and I close the year very blessed also.  She started walking on a very regular basis in May and has since lost over 40 pounds!  I am so proud of her and she is feeling so much better.  Recently she even saw her eye doctor and he commented on how much better her eyes were since she is so much healthier.  The big news was though, that her doctors have released her to travel to the Philippines and Lord willing she will go with me on the mission trip April 12-May 1. She is still working to raise her money but I am certain she will handle that after everything else she has overcome to get to make the trip.
At the church we have has a wonderful year that came at us like a whirlwind.  On April 27 three tornadoes touched down in Dade County and did a major amount of damage.  We lost 8 trees in our yard but virtually no damage to the house and we were all safe.  Several members had damage and one family's home was completely destroyed.  The church rallied together and will help from other congregations and individuals, reached out in a huge way to the community that was damaged.  We were blessed to study with several and had 3 baptisms as a result of those we helped after the storm.  As the year ends, we had 12 baptisms and 17 new members begin to work and worship with us at Trenton.  We have seen great growth in both numbers and contribution but also in love and the participation by our members.  We look forward to a great 2012!
It has been a wonderful year for us and thanks to all of you who had a part in making our lives so blessed!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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!