Anticipation is one of the "spices of life" I think. If life gets a bit humdrum at times, it is good to have something to look forward to. At this point in our lives, we do not have time to feel like life is humdrum. Every day seems to bring its share of special things to do and sometimes excitement. What we look forward to is an occasional day when we do not have to follow anyone else's schedule and just do our own thing. We do not get bored - there is always someone to call or to receive calls, some errand to run, letters to write and receive, people stopping by, etc. Each week we look forward to jail ministry and to AWANA and church all day Sunday and Alliance Women and/or men's breakfasts, and the list goes on.... And of course we are always anticipating with joy a letter or phone call from any of you kids and our grandchildren. Someone just called and invited us over for breakfast tomorrow morning. We love having our small group each week, which begins again next Monday.
We often hear the comment from friends and observers, "You are the youngest (most involved, active, etc.) old people we have ever met! We have kind of gotten a reputation for that here in Toccoa among people who know us. People cannot believe Dad is actually 83 and still doing things like subbing at the high school - as he is today! Part of what has kept us happy and (usually) healthy is, I think, anticipating all the good things and situations God brings out way each week! Without anticipation in our lives, life might get dreary and boring.
From childhood, I have been part of a "moving" family. And we kids were full of anticipation ahead of time for each new thing that was happening in our lives. We were not "static" people, and no doubt you remember from your childhood all the things we looked forward to and talked about ahead of time when you were children. Anticipation in a child - or an adult - seems to give good emotional health, in my experience. If you never have anything to look forward to, your life can soon become dreary.
Remember how you used to look forward to the bush trips we took. You kids loved those more than I did. You loved having a new set of friends in each village where we visited. For me, those bush trips were necessary and I loved the people and meetings and classes - but could have done without the dirt and dust in those busy villages where we worked!
Remember how you looked forward to a day at the Guinguette? And it was really a memory when we went and camped out with other firends and family for a week or more. Holidays and birthdays were also full of anticipation beforehand. When you were away at boarding school, you were full of anticipation for the visits we made at the school to take you out for the weekend. Sometimes Albrights, Kennedys and we all went at the same time and had great times together as family. You looked forward to the fun things we did and the special foods we would make. I usually had brought a large tupperware full of Yusufu's homemade potato chips - which you all loved!
You also counted the days before coming home for vacation from ICA! And we were full of anticipation as we waited for the train to pull in to the station and you were all aboard. Going back to school again after vacation had the anticipation of seeing friends there again - but that was a bit overshadowed by the regimented life you faced.
We were all full of anticipation when furlough (Home Assignment) time was getting near. There was the plane trip to enjoy and a new home for a year, returning to the Nyack School system and furlough friends, the visits to relatives and Grandma Pierce's pretty house and swimming pool. The down side of furlough was Dad's being on tour for so many weeks, but we all survived! Dad wrote me every single day of tour, and I anticipated that letter being in the mailbox each afternoon! By the end of a year, we were anticipating getting back to Africa again, which was our real home.
Then as you grew and finished school, there was the anticipation of College and meeting your life mates. There were the weddings and later the births of our grandchildren - all giving us much anticipation beforehand and joy as they happened. Now the family is growing older and a new generation is bringing new anticipation in our lives! Mates for your children and our grandchildren have given us much delight. Now those grandchildren are beginning to produce a new generation as the family expands.
And even in our old age, we continue to have events which we anticipate with joy and expectancy. Each week we look forward to ministry in AWANA and the jail. We were blessed this past week with having missionary friends from Mexico in for a meal and tomorrow Uncle Dave and Aunt Margot are coming for his birthday. And above all, we have the special anticipation that is building as we make our wonderful trip back to Burkina and to Tunisia, thanks to all of you!
So instead of moaning about growing older, we accept life as it comes and enjoy every day, and of course at the end of our life, there is always the greatest anticipation of all - HEAVEN!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
THE BLESSINGS OF LIFE'S STAGES ....................................
We had a wonderful and very blessed Christmas week with Mark and Katy and family plus John. Elizabeth and Chris also came to visit which was so special. Since I was not involved in doing much but enjoy grandchildren and watch them in their activities, I had lots of time to reflect on the special blessings of family - our family.
I remembered when Milt and I were just the two of us on our first Christmas, and then what fun it was to have Cheryl as a baby of six months the next Christmas in our marriage. The baby stage of our children is one to be cherished - it lasts such a short time and is filled with such love and wonder on the part of both parents and children. By the third Christmas of our marriage, we had another baby and our toddler. This added to our family joy and Christmas fun. Christmas in Burkina was different from the States, but always enjoyable with large crowds of people in our mission yard for the annual Christmas conference. We all participated in that also.
And so it has gone through the Christmases of our marriage - first, as each of our children joined us and then as one by one those children grew and married and produced children of their own - who are also part of us. And now at this stage of our lives those children's children are producing more babies - our GREAT grandchildren!
Each stage is special - babyhood, childhood, young adulthood, courtship and marriage, new marriages which in turn produce children....and then the process continues. What a delight it was when Sarah came to visit in Toccoa bringing her precious Levi, our first great gransbaby. What a beautiful child! And how precious it was to hold him and hug him and watch his smile and hear his infectious giggle.
As I sat in that comfortable Pierce home in Connecticut, surrounded by our wonderful family, I reflected on each stage of family and how full of life each stage is: babyhood, toddler years, growing children, teenagers, college students, the choosing of lifetime mates, marriage, more children - a lifelong cycle which constantly is repeating itself in the world. And what a special privilege to be a part of this cycle within a Christian family like ours. We are indeed blessed.
Duriung our Christmas celebrations in Connecticut, we were a part of the many phases of family life - our grown sons, beautiful Katy, our daughter-in-law, growing children with their bursts of energy and fun, a visit from Elizabeth, our college graduate, with her friend, Chris, and phone calls from several parts of Africa from grown children! As I reflected on all of this abundance of family, I felt so blessed by God, who from the beginning established us in families.
It was a fun week together and now we are returned to our comfortable Georgia home, just Dad and me, with local friends and work to do here. But the blessing and fragrance of the presence of family lingers on from that wonderful visit in Connecticut. Thank you, Mark and Katy!!
I remembered when Milt and I were just the two of us on our first Christmas, and then what fun it was to have Cheryl as a baby of six months the next Christmas in our marriage. The baby stage of our children is one to be cherished - it lasts such a short time and is filled with such love and wonder on the part of both parents and children. By the third Christmas of our marriage, we had another baby and our toddler. This added to our family joy and Christmas fun. Christmas in Burkina was different from the States, but always enjoyable with large crowds of people in our mission yard for the annual Christmas conference. We all participated in that also.
And so it has gone through the Christmases of our marriage - first, as each of our children joined us and then as one by one those children grew and married and produced children of their own - who are also part of us. And now at this stage of our lives those children's children are producing more babies - our GREAT grandchildren!
Each stage is special - babyhood, childhood, young adulthood, courtship and marriage, new marriages which in turn produce children....and then the process continues. What a delight it was when Sarah came to visit in Toccoa bringing her precious Levi, our first great gransbaby. What a beautiful child! And how precious it was to hold him and hug him and watch his smile and hear his infectious giggle.
As I sat in that comfortable Pierce home in Connecticut, surrounded by our wonderful family, I reflected on each stage of family and how full of life each stage is: babyhood, toddler years, growing children, teenagers, college students, the choosing of lifetime mates, marriage, more children - a lifelong cycle which constantly is repeating itself in the world. And what a special privilege to be a part of this cycle within a Christian family like ours. We are indeed blessed.
Duriung our Christmas celebrations in Connecticut, we were a part of the many phases of family life - our grown sons, beautiful Katy, our daughter-in-law, growing children with their bursts of energy and fun, a visit from Elizabeth, our college graduate, with her friend, Chris, and phone calls from several parts of Africa from grown children! As I reflected on all of this abundance of family, I felt so blessed by God, who from the beginning established us in families.
It was a fun week together and now we are returned to our comfortable Georgia home, just Dad and me, with local friends and work to do here. But the blessing and fragrance of the presence of family lingers on from that wonderful visit in Connecticut. Thank you, Mark and Katy!!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
HAVE PASSPORT- WILL TRAVEL............................................
Travel has always been a part of me. I guess I came by it naturally, as my Dad loved to be on the go. Not my Mom, she loved to stay at home. But not Dad. Mention a trip to take, and he was the first to be there! And I am sort of like that too. Right now we have tickets for two trips - one to Connectivut for a family Christmas and another to Africa for a nostalgic visit to Burkina and a new country, Tunisia. If anticipation helps to keep you young, we will live forever! God has brought so many wonderful things into our lives already, and more are to come - as He allows us to remain on this earth.
I of course travelled extensively with my parents by car and train and ship, never by plane in those days. And my parents continued to be the reason for much of our travel right up to the time they went to be with the Lord. They moved so many times - Pennsylvania and various places in Florida and finally back to Pennsylvania and then to Colorado Springs. And of course visiting them in all those places was a priority for us when we were in the States.
Dad and I started out our life together travelling as we made that six weeks honeymoon tour through Europe and the Middle East! I think that was Dad's first passport, but I had travelled with my parents and had my own passport when I was young. I have written already about that memorable trip - not evereyone can have a six weeks honeymoon in Egypt and Paris and Switzerland and such places! We traveled by plane and bus and car and even by camel at the Pyramids in Egypt and a river boat on the Nile River. Such great memories!
We travelled for years on missionary tours here in the States, in Canada and in Puerto Rico. We went by air or by car and saw some amazing scenery and met many wonderful people as we travelled for Alliance missionary promotion. One of our fun tours was after we retired and just before I had my brain problems, Dad and I were sent to California. We flew out and started out in Los Angeles, then were sent by train down the coast to San Diego. That was such a fun trip sitting in a comfortable train seat and riding right alongside the Pacific Ocean all the way down the coast.
Twice we made the trip by car clear across the United States from New York to California. When Uncle Jim and Aunt Donna were living in San Francisco, we got on route 80 and drove right across the country on that route, ending up at a big bridge in California. When we were travelling through rugged and mountainous country sometimes, we would think back to those early pioneers in our country and all they went through traversing the States in their rickety wagons drawn by horses! We made that cross country trip twice by car.
Soon after we retired, we were asked by Bob Fetherlin to do a job for the Alliance at national office and so we flew out there and spent a couple weeks clearing out files for them. We were asked not to talk to anyone else about the content of any files we found - and there were some very interesting ones - and so it was an unusual job. Every morning we would leave Kennedys (where we stayed) and spend the entire day at the office. We had to clear out all the old files of missionaries, some of whom were long dead! There were travel papers and all medical records and copies of letters, etc. As I remember, we filled fifty six of those large garbage bags with paper that were taken to be burned! In some ways it was a tedious job but in other ways interesting and it made us think of many friends whom we had in Alliance missions all over the world.
The trip to Nyack College with the Mark and John Pierces, by plane, was also fun when we were asked to go to ATS to be honored with doctorates of divinity for our missionary work. That was a fun surprise. The Pierce children were small and such good travelers. We rented a van at the airport in NY and drove to Nyack where we joined the Phenicies at the College. More recently we were asked to go to Nyack College once again for Dad to be honored as alumnus of the year, and again Nyack picked up the tab for travel and place to stay. Again it was a family affair as we were joined by John and Mark and family. And had the added delight of seeing Elizabeth and meeting Chris. Just the year before we were all at Nyack for the dedication of the Cheryl Phenicie School of Nursing and then a memory lane trip up to the old Pierce family homes in Connecticut.
Carlisle was our destination for many trips, both to see Grandpa and Grandma when they lived there, and then later to visit Grandma Kennedy. Every three months or so we would head for PA. and Carlisle to see Grandma. We were so thankful for the good care she got there. Each time we would take her out to a restaurant to eat as a treat, and she loved that, We would have to take her wheelchair, but it was worth it to get her out in town and the fresh air. But that became harder for her, and since she did not live in the side of Carlisle where they have a nice dining room, we would take her there to eat. It gave her a chance to see old friends and also helped her to eat what she needed , as she had no teeth to chew by then. We got to know Carlisle well in those years. Our dear friends, Mac and Helen Sawyer, were such a blessing in those days as they had a lovely guest room and bath where we could stay with them and enjoy their company.
A year ago we took a long trip from here to Florida, stopping to see several friends along the way. Ending up down in Ft. Myers with Tim and Ruth. That was almost our last trip as Dad fell asleep at the wheel one morning (he has never done that before!) and I screamed and saved the day in wakening him and we got back on track, after a few shaken moments sitting by the road!!
They say anticipation prolongs life, and we should live a little longer with the anticipation of some fun trips in the next couple of months. First to Connecticut for Christmas with Mark and Katy and our four youngest darlings plus John. That is next week and we look forward to that, plus seeing Elizabeth and Chris for one day! And then our wonderful February-March trip to Africa is still ahead of us! How blessed we are, and how grateful we are to all you kids who take such great care of us - even from a distance!
So travel will no doubt continue to be part of our life. We are both glad to be well and able to continue a normal life - whether here in Toccoa or on the road or in the air!
I of course travelled extensively with my parents by car and train and ship, never by plane in those days. And my parents continued to be the reason for much of our travel right up to the time they went to be with the Lord. They moved so many times - Pennsylvania and various places in Florida and finally back to Pennsylvania and then to Colorado Springs. And of course visiting them in all those places was a priority for us when we were in the States.
Dad and I started out our life together travelling as we made that six weeks honeymoon tour through Europe and the Middle East! I think that was Dad's first passport, but I had travelled with my parents and had my own passport when I was young. I have written already about that memorable trip - not evereyone can have a six weeks honeymoon in Egypt and Paris and Switzerland and such places! We traveled by plane and bus and car and even by camel at the Pyramids in Egypt and a river boat on the Nile River. Such great memories!
We travelled for years on missionary tours here in the States, in Canada and in Puerto Rico. We went by air or by car and saw some amazing scenery and met many wonderful people as we travelled for Alliance missionary promotion. One of our fun tours was after we retired and just before I had my brain problems, Dad and I were sent to California. We flew out and started out in Los Angeles, then were sent by train down the coast to San Diego. That was such a fun trip sitting in a comfortable train seat and riding right alongside the Pacific Ocean all the way down the coast.
Twice we made the trip by car clear across the United States from New York to California. When Uncle Jim and Aunt Donna were living in San Francisco, we got on route 80 and drove right across the country on that route, ending up at a big bridge in California. When we were travelling through rugged and mountainous country sometimes, we would think back to those early pioneers in our country and all they went through traversing the States in their rickety wagons drawn by horses! We made that cross country trip twice by car.
Soon after we retired, we were asked by Bob Fetherlin to do a job for the Alliance at national office and so we flew out there and spent a couple weeks clearing out files for them. We were asked not to talk to anyone else about the content of any files we found - and there were some very interesting ones - and so it was an unusual job. Every morning we would leave Kennedys (where we stayed) and spend the entire day at the office. We had to clear out all the old files of missionaries, some of whom were long dead! There were travel papers and all medical records and copies of letters, etc. As I remember, we filled fifty six of those large garbage bags with paper that were taken to be burned! In some ways it was a tedious job but in other ways interesting and it made us think of many friends whom we had in Alliance missions all over the world.
The trip to Nyack College with the Mark and John Pierces, by plane, was also fun when we were asked to go to ATS to be honored with doctorates of divinity for our missionary work. That was a fun surprise. The Pierce children were small and such good travelers. We rented a van at the airport in NY and drove to Nyack where we joined the Phenicies at the College. More recently we were asked to go to Nyack College once again for Dad to be honored as alumnus of the year, and again Nyack picked up the tab for travel and place to stay. Again it was a family affair as we were joined by John and Mark and family. And had the added delight of seeing Elizabeth and meeting Chris. Just the year before we were all at Nyack for the dedication of the Cheryl Phenicie School of Nursing and then a memory lane trip up to the old Pierce family homes in Connecticut.
Carlisle was our destination for many trips, both to see Grandpa and Grandma when they lived there, and then later to visit Grandma Kennedy. Every three months or so we would head for PA. and Carlisle to see Grandma. We were so thankful for the good care she got there. Each time we would take her out to a restaurant to eat as a treat, and she loved that, We would have to take her wheelchair, but it was worth it to get her out in town and the fresh air. But that became harder for her, and since she did not live in the side of Carlisle where they have a nice dining room, we would take her there to eat. It gave her a chance to see old friends and also helped her to eat what she needed , as she had no teeth to chew by then. We got to know Carlisle well in those years. Our dear friends, Mac and Helen Sawyer, were such a blessing in those days as they had a lovely guest room and bath where we could stay with them and enjoy their company.
A year ago we took a long trip from here to Florida, stopping to see several friends along the way. Ending up down in Ft. Myers with Tim and Ruth. That was almost our last trip as Dad fell asleep at the wheel one morning (he has never done that before!) and I screamed and saved the day in wakening him and we got back on track, after a few shaken moments sitting by the road!!
They say anticipation prolongs life, and we should live a little longer with the anticipation of some fun trips in the next couple of months. First to Connecticut for Christmas with Mark and Katy and our four youngest darlings plus John. That is next week and we look forward to that, plus seeing Elizabeth and Chris for one day! And then our wonderful February-March trip to Africa is still ahead of us! How blessed we are, and how grateful we are to all you kids who take such great care of us - even from a distance!
So travel will no doubt continue to be part of our life. We are both glad to be well and able to continue a normal life - whether here in Toccoa or on the road or in the air!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
CULTURE SHOCK .....................................................
People have always talked about - and experienced - what they call "culture shock" when they go to live in another country. I never had that expeience going to Africa. Even though I had been living for some years of my education and early marriage in the United States before we went to Africa, once we got to our village in Africa, I was content as can be. Loved the little village, the scantily dressed people, the heavy rains and the sameness of the weather every season. I was not bothered by hearing another language, as everyone spoke Jula to me and I could do that..... I think often Dad must have wondered how on earth I could be so content in that small village with no mod cons, as everything was so strange to him! He knew no language , the people were so poor and lived in extremely extenuating circumstances (from his viewpoint) and he was supposed to live here and be happy for the rest of his life??? No way! But you know how quickly and well Dad adapted and loved his long life in Burkina Faso.
More recently here in the States I have been going through what I finally recognized as culture shock!! Not just the fact of coming back to live permanently here in the USA - although that too has been difficult! But in these past months being associated with a totally different people from any I ever knew in my lifetime. This group of people is those associated with our jail ministry. It almost seems to me like they come from a different planet. There are areas in Toccoa - and Dad seems to know them all! - where unshaven, unkempt people roam the streets or stumble through the piles of refuse to get into their houses. Years of abusing their bodies through drugs and improper eating habits has taken its toll on their looks. Their hair is brittle and stringy; they have few, stained teeth in their mouths; often their clothes are baggy and need to be washed.
If you visit in their homes, they are heavy with cigarette - or drugs - residue smoke, Dirty dishes abound in the kitchen sink. The chair cushions are not clean. It is difficult to walk through the yard to get to the side door as the refuse is so deep. There is an overlaying odor over everything in the house. And there is usually a very large screen TV blaring at any time you choose to visit. Which they seldom turn off, so you have to listen and talk above the noise!
Sometimes I say to Dad, "Why do they do this or that - or why can't they change their ways?" And his answer is, "They have always lived this way!" When we are invited to a block party by these people, they lavish money on expensive gifts and grill steaks and chops (which we can seldom afford). But this is part of their culture. They will borrow money for a big party, money that they will probably be unable to pay baack any time soon!
When you visit these people in jail - because so many of them seem to end up there - they are the nicest people. Of course, there they all wear the same garb - orange, yellow, green or black stripes, the color signifying the type of crime they have committed. But almost without exception they are just the sweetest people to talk to. They love to sing Gospel songs and to ask questions about the Bible. But some of them are charged with murder, theft, drugs, all kinds of crimes!
Just yesterday we went to court for a girl I have made friends with in jail. They brought the prisoners in first yesterday and there were many of them - only one female and this was my friend, Crystal. We were in court with her one other time recently - her husband wanted to divorce her and this happened right there before our eyes. She has custody of her ten year old daughter. They bring the prisoners in, dressed in their (mostly dirty and unkempt) prison outfits. They are brought in heavily guarded by officers with guns in their belts. They have a hard time walking correctly as they are heavily chained. Their wrists are chained together and they are chained around the waist with the long chain hanging down in back. We were sitting with another friend from our church and Crystal's mother, and Crystal smiled at us as she shuffled to her place beside her public defender, a very nice lady. She has been in jail for most of a year, and so after some admonitions, the judge pardoned her and she went out of the courtroom free!! She was jailed for passing an enormous amount in bad checks. So now she will live in town with her parents and her little girl but she has to find a job (in this bad economy) to pay back the money she stole through the bad checks. And somehow worm her way back into civilization again.
And so I am going through my culture shock a little late in life! But it is real nevertheless. Some days I feel like I am crying on the inside. Other days I can handle it all OK. But I finally realized that this for me is the first culture shock I have ever experienced in all of my long life! And it is not comfortable - yet!
More recently here in the States I have been going through what I finally recognized as culture shock!! Not just the fact of coming back to live permanently here in the USA - although that too has been difficult! But in these past months being associated with a totally different people from any I ever knew in my lifetime. This group of people is those associated with our jail ministry. It almost seems to me like they come from a different planet. There are areas in Toccoa - and Dad seems to know them all! - where unshaven, unkempt people roam the streets or stumble through the piles of refuse to get into their houses. Years of abusing their bodies through drugs and improper eating habits has taken its toll on their looks. Their hair is brittle and stringy; they have few, stained teeth in their mouths; often their clothes are baggy and need to be washed.
If you visit in their homes, they are heavy with cigarette - or drugs - residue smoke, Dirty dishes abound in the kitchen sink. The chair cushions are not clean. It is difficult to walk through the yard to get to the side door as the refuse is so deep. There is an overlaying odor over everything in the house. And there is usually a very large screen TV blaring at any time you choose to visit. Which they seldom turn off, so you have to listen and talk above the noise!
Sometimes I say to Dad, "Why do they do this or that - or why can't they change their ways?" And his answer is, "They have always lived this way!" When we are invited to a block party by these people, they lavish money on expensive gifts and grill steaks and chops (which we can seldom afford). But this is part of their culture. They will borrow money for a big party, money that they will probably be unable to pay baack any time soon!
When you visit these people in jail - because so many of them seem to end up there - they are the nicest people. Of course, there they all wear the same garb - orange, yellow, green or black stripes, the color signifying the type of crime they have committed. But almost without exception they are just the sweetest people to talk to. They love to sing Gospel songs and to ask questions about the Bible. But some of them are charged with murder, theft, drugs, all kinds of crimes!
Just yesterday we went to court for a girl I have made friends with in jail. They brought the prisoners in first yesterday and there were many of them - only one female and this was my friend, Crystal. We were in court with her one other time recently - her husband wanted to divorce her and this happened right there before our eyes. She has custody of her ten year old daughter. They bring the prisoners in, dressed in their (mostly dirty and unkempt) prison outfits. They are brought in heavily guarded by officers with guns in their belts. They have a hard time walking correctly as they are heavily chained. Their wrists are chained together and they are chained around the waist with the long chain hanging down in back. We were sitting with another friend from our church and Crystal's mother, and Crystal smiled at us as she shuffled to her place beside her public defender, a very nice lady. She has been in jail for most of a year, and so after some admonitions, the judge pardoned her and she went out of the courtroom free!! She was jailed for passing an enormous amount in bad checks. So now she will live in town with her parents and her little girl but she has to find a job (in this bad economy) to pay back the money she stole through the bad checks. And somehow worm her way back into civilization again.
And so I am going through my culture shock a little late in life! But it is real nevertheless. Some days I feel like I am crying on the inside. Other days I can handle it all OK. But I finally realized that this for me is the first culture shock I have ever experienced in all of my long life! And it is not comfortable - yet!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
RETIREMENT..................................................
The Psalmist says, "Many, O Lord, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us no one can recount. Were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare!" This has been the story of our lives....God has blessed us in so many ways - too numerous to recount them all.
But after a lifetime of doing God's work in another country, there comes a time which we call retirement. Much as we tried to put it off, it eventually caught up with us, and in 1998 we were scheduled to retire from overseas ministry. So we had to seek a resting place in the States. The usual retiral age in Alliance missions is 62 for singles and 65 for marrieds. In our case, Dad was 72 and I was 67 when we officially completed our ministry in Burkina Faso. We really had not planned ahead for where we wanted to live on this side of the ocean - and it was during our last year, as we were working hard to finish up the Bible and other jobs, that we both came to the idea of retiring in Toccoa - since both of you boys lived here then. It had to be of God, as we had had no experience of Toccoa and had only ever made a couple of fleeting visits here during the years. But in retrospect we see this was God's will for us, and we have become transplanted Southerners!
We had been assigned to tour in the North and so lived that first half year in a missionary apartment on Nyack campus. Then headed South in December - that famous trip when I went to sleep at the wheel and ran off the road into a shallow gully. I almost didn't need a place to retire! But God spared me and we eventually got to Toccoa and settled in.
We were assigned to a Spring tour as well, and then IM sent us back to work in San Pedro for that one year. An interesting, eventful year - again in God's providence we were able to put the finishing touches to the Bobo Bible that year and also write a teaching manual for the pastors to use in teaching their people. As well as receiving people from forty different missions and churches as guests at the San Pedro Guest House which we managed. Then back to Toccoa again.
A little later on, we again were asked to go back to Mali for a year, this time to direct the work of that field. Our home did not remain empty during that time, but was a refuge for other friends who were between houses or jobs. And so the Shadys, Strongs, Wahls, Michael Albright and Mark Pierce's have all made a home here for a while. I wish I had kept a guest book of all the people who have come our way - many for meals, some for a longer stay. We have been blessed by all of them.
For some years, after being officially retired, we went on regular missions tours in the United States and even in Puerto Rico, which we loved. This helped to bring in a little money. I taught one year of French at TFC and enjoyed that. We both began subbing in the public school soon after our return from overseas. We started out in the Middle School and then went on to sub at the high school. I was curtailed in my subbing when I had my brain tumor, but Dad still gets called in from time to time. Not bad for 83 years old!
There are also lots of opportunity for ministry here in Toccoa. Occasional teaching at Toccoa brings us in contact with students, and we continue to have students in our home for meals. Those who examine candidates for overseas ministry in this district have also involved us on many occasions to help examine candidates for ministry. This helps to keep our hand in missions also.
Dad was involved in sponsoring an inter-denominational fellowship of churches here in this city, and this has brought us into contact with many people outside of the Alliance. We have a number of black churches here in town and the surrounding towns, and we have frequently visited them. Dad is honorary pastor in a couple of them, and they greet us as one of them when we visit. For a while we went to early service in our church and then visited one of the black churches in town each Sunday. Dad is also a member of the anti drug coalition here in the area and meets regularly with them. Each year we participate in the anti-drug march here in this town. So our lives are full of variety and we have many friends, both at our church and in the local community. All of this adds a certain richness to our lives.
Getting involved in working in the jail has been an additional ministry - but I will talk about that next time. Suffice it to say, we live rich, interesting lives and praise God for His care for us each day!
But after a lifetime of doing God's work in another country, there comes a time which we call retirement. Much as we tried to put it off, it eventually caught up with us, and in 1998 we were scheduled to retire from overseas ministry. So we had to seek a resting place in the States. The usual retiral age in Alliance missions is 62 for singles and 65 for marrieds. In our case, Dad was 72 and I was 67 when we officially completed our ministry in Burkina Faso. We really had not planned ahead for where we wanted to live on this side of the ocean - and it was during our last year, as we were working hard to finish up the Bible and other jobs, that we both came to the idea of retiring in Toccoa - since both of you boys lived here then. It had to be of God, as we had had no experience of Toccoa and had only ever made a couple of fleeting visits here during the years. But in retrospect we see this was God's will for us, and we have become transplanted Southerners!
We had been assigned to tour in the North and so lived that first half year in a missionary apartment on Nyack campus. Then headed South in December - that famous trip when I went to sleep at the wheel and ran off the road into a shallow gully. I almost didn't need a place to retire! But God spared me and we eventually got to Toccoa and settled in.
We were assigned to a Spring tour as well, and then IM sent us back to work in San Pedro for that one year. An interesting, eventful year - again in God's providence we were able to put the finishing touches to the Bobo Bible that year and also write a teaching manual for the pastors to use in teaching their people. As well as receiving people from forty different missions and churches as guests at the San Pedro Guest House which we managed. Then back to Toccoa again.
A little later on, we again were asked to go back to Mali for a year, this time to direct the work of that field. Our home did not remain empty during that time, but was a refuge for other friends who were between houses or jobs. And so the Shadys, Strongs, Wahls, Michael Albright and Mark Pierce's have all made a home here for a while. I wish I had kept a guest book of all the people who have come our way - many for meals, some for a longer stay. We have been blessed by all of them.
For some years, after being officially retired, we went on regular missions tours in the United States and even in Puerto Rico, which we loved. This helped to bring in a little money. I taught one year of French at TFC and enjoyed that. We both began subbing in the public school soon after our return from overseas. We started out in the Middle School and then went on to sub at the high school. I was curtailed in my subbing when I had my brain tumor, but Dad still gets called in from time to time. Not bad for 83 years old!
There are also lots of opportunity for ministry here in Toccoa. Occasional teaching at Toccoa brings us in contact with students, and we continue to have students in our home for meals. Those who examine candidates for overseas ministry in this district have also involved us on many occasions to help examine candidates for ministry. This helps to keep our hand in missions also.
Dad was involved in sponsoring an inter-denominational fellowship of churches here in this city, and this has brought us into contact with many people outside of the Alliance. We have a number of black churches here in town and the surrounding towns, and we have frequently visited them. Dad is honorary pastor in a couple of them, and they greet us as one of them when we visit. For a while we went to early service in our church and then visited one of the black churches in town each Sunday. Dad is also a member of the anti drug coalition here in the area and meets regularly with them. Each year we participate in the anti-drug march here in this town. So our lives are full of variety and we have many friends, both at our church and in the local community. All of this adds a certain richness to our lives.
Getting involved in working in the jail has been an additional ministry - but I will talk about that next time. Suffice it to say, we live rich, interesting lives and praise God for His care for us each day!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thanksgiving blessings..................................................
Darrell and Cheryl, you are such intrepid workers in living the Gospel among Muslim peoples. And you keep on keeping on. We are so proud of you. May your tribe increase!
Steve and Debbi, we admire your perseverance in ministryand your proficiency in communicating through words and actions to all levels of West African society, with good success. God bless you in this new venture which you are undertaking!
Joel and Elin, you are such a great team as you complement each other in reaching an unreached level of African society - again! You have persevered under hardship. May God continue to give you wisdom!
John, you have shown perseverance and grace as you have endured much hardship without giving up. Your resiliece amazes us! Know that we are always here for you and we know God has special blessings ahead in your life!
Mark and Katy, it is a delight to us to see you combining your gifts and your training as you teach and train those four beautiful children and succeed in business. May God's face continue to shine upon you!
We are the luckiest parents in the whole wide world!
Steve and Debbi, we admire your perseverance in ministryand your proficiency in communicating through words and actions to all levels of West African society, with good success. God bless you in this new venture which you are undertaking!
Joel and Elin, you are such a great team as you complement each other in reaching an unreached level of African society - again! You have persevered under hardship. May God continue to give you wisdom!
John, you have shown perseverance and grace as you have endured much hardship without giving up. Your resiliece amazes us! Know that we are always here for you and we know God has special blessings ahead in your life!
Mark and Katy, it is a delight to us to see you combining your gifts and your training as you teach and train those four beautiful children and succeed in business. May God's face continue to shine upon you!
We are the luckiest parents in the whole wide world!
THANKSGIVING ...........................................................
THANKSGIVING - It's a time to reflect on God's goodness and a time to give thanks fot the sunshine and the rain which He allows in all of our lives. As human beings, we love the "sunshine", but God knows we also need the cloudy weather and the occasional storm to make us more dependent on HIM.
As I reflect on our life, past and present, I am thankful for:
- Our parents
Who taught us to love God .......
Who cared for us through the good and the hard times ......
- Our siblings
Dedicated to the work of the Lord in various ways and several denominations
- Our college years
My four great years at Houghton College where I had little money but many friends,
where finding a dime in my coat pocket for a cup of coffee was a bright spot for
this poor college student!
We are thankful also for Nyack College which brought us together as God had
planned long ago.... That was an exciting year - met in November, engaged in
February - and married in June! WOW!
- Our fifty six years of marriage to the same partner - a rarity in today's social climate
even for Christians it seems.... for Dad who prepares breakfast for me every
morning and showers me with his love and blessing!
- For God's gift to us of forty three years of exciting - and sometimes challenging -
overseas ministry.
- For providing a comfortable home here in Georgia, where we have adapted in part to
being good Southerners! For giving us a ministry even here.
- For First Alliance church where we worship and have fellowship with other believers
as well as ministering through this church to the local community. We are also
thankful for Long Hill Chapel and Marion Hill Alliance who supported us through
prayer and giving during our lives in West Africa.
- For many friends in several different countries and for Facebook and SKYPE which
keep us in contact with them even today.
- For good health again after two years of illness...God needed me here a while longer!
And above and beyond all these personal blessings, we are most thankful for you five special children, you are the greatest! And so are your spouses, whom we think of as our very own. Your children and their spouses are all so special to us....and we just wished we lived a little closer to that darling Levi, our first great grandchild!
So many desciprtive words come to my mind as I think of you all.......
generous - fun loving - devout - faithful - understanding - happy - loving - caring - intelligent - supportive of us and each other - kind - empathetic - innovative - articulate - the list could go on and on..... You are the greatest!!
How often we hear from other peopl the word, "You have a wonderful family!" And we echo to ourselves, "Amen!"
As I reflect on our life, past and present, I am thankful for:
- Our parents
Who taught us to love God .......
Who cared for us through the good and the hard times ......
- Our siblings
Dedicated to the work of the Lord in various ways and several denominations
- Our college years
My four great years at Houghton College where I had little money but many friends,
where finding a dime in my coat pocket for a cup of coffee was a bright spot for
this poor college student!
We are thankful also for Nyack College which brought us together as God had
planned long ago.... That was an exciting year - met in November, engaged in
February - and married in June! WOW!
- Our fifty six years of marriage to the same partner - a rarity in today's social climate
even for Christians it seems.... for Dad who prepares breakfast for me every
morning and showers me with his love and blessing!
- For God's gift to us of forty three years of exciting - and sometimes challenging -
overseas ministry.
- For providing a comfortable home here in Georgia, where we have adapted in part to
being good Southerners! For giving us a ministry even here.
- For First Alliance church where we worship and have fellowship with other believers
as well as ministering through this church to the local community. We are also
thankful for Long Hill Chapel and Marion Hill Alliance who supported us through
prayer and giving during our lives in West Africa.
- For many friends in several different countries and for Facebook and SKYPE which
keep us in contact with them even today.
- For good health again after two years of illness...God needed me here a while longer!
And above and beyond all these personal blessings, we are most thankful for you five special children, you are the greatest! And so are your spouses, whom we think of as our very own. Your children and their spouses are all so special to us....and we just wished we lived a little closer to that darling Levi, our first great grandchild!
So many desciprtive words come to my mind as I think of you all.......
generous - fun loving - devout - faithful - understanding - happy - loving - caring - intelligent - supportive of us and each other - kind - empathetic - innovative - articulate - the list could go on and on..... You are the greatest!!
How often we hear from other peopl the word, "You have a wonderful family!" And we echo to ourselves, "Amen!"
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