We finished our Sojourn at Mid-Western Children's Home on Thursday, June 18th. We had to head over the Lafayette, Indiana because I had a Board of Directors meeting at Shults-Lewis Children's Home on Saturday, the 20th. Following the meeting we had lunch with my sister, Charlynn and then we had dinner with one of our 6 year old granddaughters, Neo and her mom and dad (Kazumi and Steve). Then Steve and I (for Father's Day) went to see Jurassic World. It was totally predictable, but would you want, or expect anything different?
The board meeting went well Saturday, but it was l-o-n-gggg (9 AM - 1 PM). We headed to Lafayette and had dinner with Irene's sister, Kathryn and her children Kendra and Krista and her husband DC. That was nice (all except my forgetting to get back my credit card after I paid for dinner. DC had to go to the restaurant to pick it up this past Wednesday when I realized I didn't have it).
Sunday morning I preached in Frankfort, Indiana at the congregation I had preached at for years before we began sojourning. Following that we buzzed back to Ohio.
Our next Sojourn (and we are presently in the middle of it right now) is at the Groesbeck church of Christ in the Cincinnati area. Irene and I had gone over on the last Sunday in May to get "the lay of the land." At the time they had NO hookups of any kind. Hookups for RVs consist of:
1. Electric - 30 or 50 Amp depending on what the needs of the RV are.
2. Water - most RVs have an "on-board" water tank that's between 75 and 100 gallons. But that's only for use while traveling. Typically RVs hook up to a water line on site.
3. Sewer - Waste water. This comes in 2 forms: Gray Water - this is from the sinks; shower and washing machine and; Black Water - from the toilet(s).
Well, the church building had ZERO hookups. They did have a breaker box in the basement 140 feet away from where we would be parking. However, they didn't have any kind of outside water bib or a "clean out" that we could dump in. They did say that before the sojourn began they would put an outside water bib in and pull electrical line from the breaker to our parking area. OK, let's do it!!!
When we arrived there on last Sunday the electrical and water hookups were in - GREAT! Er, not so fast. It ended up that the 140 feet of wire had a 13 Volt line loss. At our rigs we were getting 105 Volts. OUCH! Nothing will burn out an RV A/C air conditioner faster than low voltages. Try as we may, try as we might we couldn't get the voltage up. Also, the hose that was run back to the rigs was not potable water hose. That could be easily fixed. So, after a great deal of trying to work on the voltage, the decision was made to move back over to Mid-Western Children's Home and commute over everyday for the sojourn. We felt bad because the church had done all they could to try to make it happen there, but we couldn't take the chance of burning up our rigs electrical system.
Today the Hughes and we went to the "Creation Museum" over in Northern Kentucky just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. It was pretty nice. It had some beautiful gardens. The museum itself was pretty good. I wasn't particularly impressed by their emphasis on proving that dinosaurs actually existed. I (JIM) have a different view. I believe fossilized dinosaur "bones" are red herrings placed in the ground so those that don't want to believe in creation can have a grand time "chasing their tails." As it says in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 -- "and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Irene believes that dinosaurs lived prior to the flood. She disagrees with my view as stated above.
We start our VBS (Vacation Bible School) Sunday night. It runs through Wednesday night. Then we will head to Lafayette for the 4th of July weekend and an eye exam for me to see if I'll need to get another shot in the eye. That will happen on Monday, the 6th. The next day we head to Middletown, NY for our next sojourn. Life is great! Our God is great!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Watch the Birdie OR "Momma go git me my Gun!"
We left Kayenta, Arizona on the 17th of May and took 7 days to drive across the nation to Durham, North Carolina to visit our oldest son, Junzo (and his family - his wife Emma, and children Maeda (age 6) and Rowan (age 3)) and our youngest daughter Fumiko. They are both at Duke University. Junzo is the head of the GYN radiation oncology section and Fumiko is just finishing her "internship/transitional year" and about to begin her residency in Radiation Oncology.
Irene is a retired radiation oncologist (I guess I should make sure you know that a radiation oncologist is a Medical Doctor that treats cancer with differing types of radiation). She has had 3 of our 7 children "follow in her footsteps." Kazumi (our next to oldest daughter) is also a radiation oncologist. In fact after she finished her residency she moved to Lafayette, Indiana and joined Irene's practice there. After Irene retired and we started full-time RVing, Kazumi became Co-Director of the department there.
On the way to Durham we stopped for one afternoon in North Wilkesboro, NC to visit Irene's sister, Carolyn Marion. She got hold of her son Doug and wife Rebecca near Winston-Salem, NC and they came up, so we had the pleasure of seeing them for the first time in quite a few years. That was nice.
We got to Durham on Friday, May 23rd and stayed until the 28th of May. We had a great time visiting with the grandkids (yea, ok, with the parents too! LOL). Since it was Memorial Day weekend, Maeda didn't have school on Monday (She is a kindergartener now). We played in the back yard with them and Irene did some crafting with them. It was just a good, relaxing time.
After we left Durham, we stopped in North Wilkesboro to spend the day with Carolyn again. It just so happened that her other son Mike and his wife Becky and their 2 children Joey and Reagan were there. HOT DOG!! It was great to spend some time with them also.
We left that evening (the 28th) to head north to our next sojourns both of which are near Cincinnati, OH. We got to Mid-Western Children's Home on Friday the 29th in the afternoon. We got set up and ready for our Sojourn here which began on June 9th.
On Sunday the 31st we drove over to the Grosbeak church of Christ in Northwest Cincinnati to go to church there. Our next sojourn, which begins on the 22nd of June is at this church. They are having us hold a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for them. Since the church has never had a sojourn before we wanted to go over and meet with them to assess what they need to do to prepare the way for us. I think we accomplished a great deal. We've given them a list of suggestions which will (hopefully) make for a more successful VBS.
We had the week off from the 1st-6th of June. We were parked at Mid-Western already so we wouldn't have to move until at least the 18th of June. Time for some Scrabble tournaments.
The couple that converted me to Jesus while I was in the Air Force and stationed in Minot, North Dakota, Larry and Jan Long, now live in Centerville, Ohio just south of Dayton, Ohio. Larry was actually the one that talked me into signing up to lead the sojourn at Mid-Western. They had applied for sojourns for a couple years in a row and no one signed up to lead them, so they couldn't be done. Larry mentioned this to me when we visited them last year and I told him I'd lead it if they would apply for one, so........ here we are.
One of the things they have here at Mid-western is a pretty large lake on the property. There are about 4 or 5 pairs of Canadian Geese that have decided to make this their home too. From 1918 Canadian Geese have been covered by the Migratory Bird act as an endangered species. About 10 years ago Irene's department had a pair of honkers decide that they wanted to make one of their department's parking lot dividers that had a tree and some bushes and grass in it their nesting area. They called the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and were told that they were a protected species and the nest could NOT be moved; the geese could NOT be bothered in any way and the area had to be left untouched until the goslings were grown and the whole family flew away. Well, the conservation efforts in behalf of the geese were effective. This led to them finally being removed from the protected species list in 2011. So, the next time you see one of these avian beauties and think "I wonder if those birds taste good." Just go over and TRY to grab it (Geese are M-E-A-N!!!) and wring its neck and cook 'er up for dinner. You won't be committing a Federal crime anymore (though you will be committing a State crime if it isn't Goose Hunting season!
Here's a pic of one set of proud parents and their brood:
We also have a Grey Heron that has visited the lake 3 or 4 times in the last couple of weeks. I managed to snap some pictures of it was taking off one day:
On a different note - I once had a skunk as a pet. It was a descented skunk purchased from a "skunk farm" in Illinois. Skunks are a cross between dogs and cats in their behavior. They are VERY clean (like cats) yet they are very friendly (like dogs). It is reallllllly important to get the skunk before they are weaned by their mother so they "imprint" on YOU instead of on her. In many states it is illegal to have non-domesticated animals (skunks, racoons, etc.) as pets.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Wow look at all this stuff OR Beauty is in the eyes of THIS beholder
We left Tucson, AZ on the 1st of May and arrived in Kayenta, AZ on the 2nd of May. Kayenta is a city in the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation's reservation includes much of Northeast Arizona; Northwest New Mexico and Southeastern Utah. It covers 27, 425 square miles making it slightly larger than the state of Massachusetts.
The land there is lovely. Barren to a large extent but amazing in its beauty. Monument Valley is on the Navajo Reservation. It is actually a Navajo Nation Park. Here are some pictures. (Many of them may seem familiar. John Ford used to shoot many of his westerns in Monument Valley.)
Another beautiful area is Canyon de Chelly. Below are some pictures of this "Mini Grand Canyon."
We also had the opportunity to go to the Navajo National Monument. This is the site of another, much larger, Anazasi ruin. Two pictures are below.
The land there is lovely. Barren to a large extent but amazing in its beauty. Monument Valley is on the Navajo Reservation. It is actually a Navajo Nation Park. Here are some pictures. (Many of them may seem familiar. John Ford used to shoot many of his westerns in Monument Valley.)
Another beautiful area is Canyon de Chelly. Below are some pictures of this "Mini Grand Canyon."
Also in Canyon de Chelly is an Anazasi ruin (a tribe that lived in the area BEFORE the Navajo). I got one picture of this ruin:
Here are some other pictures from the Navajo National Monument.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
They took the whole Indian nation, put us on this Reservation
We left Tucson Saturday morning and got to Kayenta, AZ about 3:30 in the afternoon. We are going to be here until the 15th of the month. The first week we are going to be visiting individuals that, for one reason or another, have left the church or, in some cases, visited many times and shown an interest in learning more about the faith. Only Greg and Cathy Ryznar and Irene and I are here. We enjoy one another's company quite a bit so it will be an enjoyable sojourn.
I've had a soft spot in my heart for American Indians since I was in college. My roommate at Central Washington State College was a Makah Indian. (The very tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state is there reservation). The plight of the American Indian is a tragic situation. Conquered, Lied to Repeatedly, Often Displaced from their homelands and placed on reservations UNTIL that land became valuable to others also - at which time they were involuntarily moved again. Unemployment is rampant on reservations. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is always through the roof. It such a sad, sad situation.
Kayenta is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It is the largest Indian Reservation in the United States. It covers portions of 3 states: Arizona, Utah and New Mexico:
In the Arizona Region of the reservation the land is mainly sandstone. This leads to some spectacular scenery: Monument National Park is on the reservation (in Southern Utah and Northeast Arizona); Four Corners is on the reservation (the point at which Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado all meet). It completely surrounds the Hopi Indian Reservation.
I've had a soft spot in my heart for American Indians since I was in college. My roommate at Central Washington State College was a Makah Indian. (The very tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state is there reservation). The plight of the American Indian is a tragic situation. Conquered, Lied to Repeatedly, Often Displaced from their homelands and placed on reservations UNTIL that land became valuable to others also - at which time they were involuntarily moved again. Unemployment is rampant on reservations. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is always through the roof. It such a sad, sad situation.
Kayenta is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. It is the largest Indian Reservation in the United States. It covers portions of 3 states: Arizona, Utah and New Mexico:
In the Arizona Region of the reservation the land is mainly sandstone. This leads to some spectacular scenery: Monument National Park is on the reservation (in Southern Utah and Northeast Arizona); Four Corners is on the reservation (the point at which Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado all meet). It completely surrounds the Hopi Indian Reservation.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
A funny thing happened on the way to Copper Basin Bible Camp OR The laws of Physics are immutable
Irene and I left beautiful Mardon Estate in Mission, TX on Wednesday, April 8th. It was a 2 day drive to Tucson and our visit with baby Bela and her parents. We had a wonderful time with her. She is one of the smilingest kids you would ever meet. It's always great to see your children "walking in the truth." Joshua preaches at the Old Spanish Trail church of Christ in Tucson. He does a great job.
We were in Tucson until Saturday the 18th. It was an easy 5 hour drive over to Copper Basin Bible Camp in Prescott where we would be involved in a physical sojourn doing mainly painting to get the Camp ready for its summer Camp sessions.
We left Voyager RV Resort (highly recommended if you are an RVer and need a place to stay in Tucson) at about 9:00 AM. Even stopping along the way for lunch we would get there by 3:00 PM easy-peasy. We were not quite to Phoenix when Greg Ryznar called and asked what time we were going to be arriving. I kind of jokingly asked "Is there a spot for us?" He replied "Yep, I got one saved for you guys right beside us." "Cool, sounds great" I replied.
Then about an hour later Del Ray, the team leader for the sojourn called us when we were already north of Phoenix.
"Hi, this is Del Ray. Are you guys on your way here already?"
"Yep, we are already north of Phoenix and should be there in about 1 1/2 hours."
"Well, here's the thing: I don't think I have a spot for you."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
"Really? We just spoke to Greg Ryznar about an hour ago and he said he had a spot for us right beside him."
"REALLY!" he replied. "Well, let me talk with him and we'll get back with you."
(I guess here is where you should be told that when a location asks for a sojourn the application asks SPECIFICALLY "How many RVs do they have room for?" Then THAT is the number of lines that are put on the request form for the sojourners to sign up on. The sojourn is "FULL" when that many Sojourners have signed up for that sojourn. So, theoretically, it should be impossible to ever hear: "I'm not sure I have a spot for you.")
About a half-hour later Greg called us back. "Yep, there's a spot right beside us. I do need to tell you though that there is a wash you'll need to go through with about an inch of water in it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker weighs 45,000 lbs (as in 22 1/2 TONS). What you talkin' 'bout a "wash with 1inch of water in in?" The LAST THING you want to do is sink 22 1/2 tons of RV up to the axles in mud or sand. The hairs on our neck stood up.
The next thing Greg told us was "We are going to put some boards in it to raise it up so you can get across it without dragging. There's a bank you have to go down into the wash and last year even in our 40 footer we drug the rear hitch going through it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker is 45 feet long. As in 5 feet LONGER then your 40 foot rig. If you dragged as you went through it we could get our rear end ripped off, destroyed or we could get stuck so our front end would be in the bank on one side and our rear end (which extends 8 feet PAST our rear tires) stuck into the dirt and all 8 wheels spinning in the air. YIKES!
So, Irene and I decided we should drive to the Walmart in Prescott; drop the Ford Flex; leave the Trekker at the Walmart and drive the Flex the 8 miles to the camp and take a look at the situation ourselves.
When we arrived we were, what's the proper word: shocked, NO, aghast, NO. Heck I don't even know what to call it.
The wash with 1" of water in it was the LEAST of the worries. The "wash" had concrete poured in it and could have easily handled the weight of the Trekker. The slope down into the wash was mild enough to make it down into the wash. The REAL problem was the grade OUT of the wash on the other side. It was a steep enough grade that I can guaran-ding-dong-tee you we would have caused major damage to the rear cap of our rig if we had tried to go up it. But for the moment I'll humor you and say we could make it.
The bigger problem was, how could we get into the camp itself. Have you ever seen the sign on a tractor trailer truck that says "This vehicle makes WIDE right turns?" It's because of the length of the trailer (usually 54 feet). The trailer (or in our case the RV) has to drive until its REAR wheels are past the corner or building or tree BEFORE it can start its turn or BAMMMMM! the truck trailer (or our RV) creams the side of the building, tree or the pedestrian that was standing near the curb it just jumped up onto.
You see there were these trees next to the turn-in to the camp. The turn-in to the camp that is much to small for a 45' rig to turn into without the tree on the driver's side removing the final 10 feet of the driver's side of the Trekker. Apparently whoever planted these tree had never heard of the law of physics that "No two pieces of matter can occupy the same space at the same time" and this tree already has THIS space occupied. It was making the entrance to the RV area impassable to us in our 45' rig. When the camp was opened the longest RV was probably only 30' long so there wouldn't have been a problem.
We spent about an hour calling RV camps around Prescott and driving to them to see if one might have an opening for the 2 week of the sojourn. No such vacancy existed. So sadly we had to leave and not participate in the sojourn. We also called Camp Bee and told them that there needs to be a place on the application for a sojourn and on the sojourn sheet that states the MAXIMUM length of a rig that can get into the camp, church parking lot, etc.
So, we have come back to Tucson to spend the 2 weeks that we were supposed to be at the Copper Basin Bible Camp with our grand daughter beautiful Bela. It's given us time to prepare for our sojourn coming up in Kayenta and our Sojourn in Cincinnati, OH.
We leave this Saturday morning for Kayenta AFTER Josh and I go see Avengers: Age of Ultron Friday night.
We were in Tucson until Saturday the 18th. It was an easy 5 hour drive over to Copper Basin Bible Camp in Prescott where we would be involved in a physical sojourn doing mainly painting to get the Camp ready for its summer Camp sessions.
We left Voyager RV Resort (highly recommended if you are an RVer and need a place to stay in Tucson) at about 9:00 AM. Even stopping along the way for lunch we would get there by 3:00 PM easy-peasy. We were not quite to Phoenix when Greg Ryznar called and asked what time we were going to be arriving. I kind of jokingly asked "Is there a spot for us?" He replied "Yep, I got one saved for you guys right beside us." "Cool, sounds great" I replied.
Then about an hour later Del Ray, the team leader for the sojourn called us when we were already north of Phoenix.
"Hi, this is Del Ray. Are you guys on your way here already?"
"Yep, we are already north of Phoenix and should be there in about 1 1/2 hours."
"Well, here's the thing: I don't think I have a spot for you."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
"Really? We just spoke to Greg Ryznar about an hour ago and he said he had a spot for us right beside him."
"REALLY!" he replied. "Well, let me talk with him and we'll get back with you."
(I guess here is where you should be told that when a location asks for a sojourn the application asks SPECIFICALLY "How many RVs do they have room for?" Then THAT is the number of lines that are put on the request form for the sojourners to sign up on. The sojourn is "FULL" when that many Sojourners have signed up for that sojourn. So, theoretically, it should be impossible to ever hear: "I'm not sure I have a spot for you.")
About a half-hour later Greg called us back. "Yep, there's a spot right beside us. I do need to tell you though that there is a wash you'll need to go through with about an inch of water in it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker weighs 45,000 lbs (as in 22 1/2 TONS). What you talkin' 'bout a "wash with 1inch of water in in?" The LAST THING you want to do is sink 22 1/2 tons of RV up to the axles in mud or sand. The hairs on our neck stood up.
The next thing Greg told us was "We are going to put some boards in it to raise it up so you can get across it without dragging. There's a bank you have to go down into the wash and last year even in our 40 footer we drug the rear hitch going through it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker is 45 feet long. As in 5 feet LONGER then your 40 foot rig. If you dragged as you went through it we could get our rear end ripped off, destroyed or we could get stuck so our front end would be in the bank on one side and our rear end (which extends 8 feet PAST our rear tires) stuck into the dirt and all 8 wheels spinning in the air. YIKES!
So, Irene and I decided we should drive to the Walmart in Prescott; drop the Ford Flex; leave the Trekker at the Walmart and drive the Flex the 8 miles to the camp and take a look at the situation ourselves.
When we arrived we were, what's the proper word: shocked, NO, aghast, NO. Heck I don't even know what to call it.
The wash with 1" of water in it was the LEAST of the worries. The "wash" had concrete poured in it and could have easily handled the weight of the Trekker. The slope down into the wash was mild enough to make it down into the wash. The REAL problem was the grade OUT of the wash on the other side. It was a steep enough grade that I can guaran-ding-dong-tee you we would have caused major damage to the rear cap of our rig if we had tried to go up it. But for the moment I'll humor you and say we could make it.
The bigger problem was, how could we get into the camp itself. Have you ever seen the sign on a tractor trailer truck that says "This vehicle makes WIDE right turns?" It's because of the length of the trailer (usually 54 feet). The trailer (or in our case the RV) has to drive until its REAR wheels are past the corner or building or tree BEFORE it can start its turn or BAMMMMM! the truck trailer (or our RV) creams the side of the building, tree or the pedestrian that was standing near the curb it just jumped up onto.
You see there were these trees next to the turn-in to the camp. The turn-in to the camp that is much to small for a 45' rig to turn into without the tree on the driver's side removing the final 10 feet of the driver's side of the Trekker. Apparently whoever planted these tree had never heard of the law of physics that "No two pieces of matter can occupy the same space at the same time" and this tree already has THIS space occupied. It was making the entrance to the RV area impassable to us in our 45' rig. When the camp was opened the longest RV was probably only 30' long so there wouldn't have been a problem.
We spent about an hour calling RV camps around Prescott and driving to them to see if one might have an opening for the 2 week of the sojourn. No such vacancy existed. So sadly we had to leave and not participate in the sojourn. We also called Camp Bee and told them that there needs to be a place on the application for a sojourn and on the sojourn sheet that states the MAXIMUM length of a rig that can get into the camp, church parking lot, etc.
So, we have come back to Tucson to spend the 2 weeks that we were supposed to be at the Copper Basin Bible Camp with our grand daughter beautiful Bela. It's given us time to prepare for our sojourn coming up in Kayenta and our Sojourn in Cincinnati, OH.
We leave this Saturday morning for Kayenta AFTER Josh and I go see Avengers: Age of Ultron Friday night.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
A Virtual Potpourri!
Let's start with a tech note. I got a new laptop about 3 weeks ago. It is an Apple MacBook Pro 15" with 500 GB SOLID STATE memory. Talk about blazing. It take 10 seconds from being Powered Off to being Turned ON and up and running. Everything loads SOOOOOO quickly. It's amazing to work with. PLUS, it has the retina display on it. I have NEVER seen a screen that is so sharp. Everything seems to just POP off of the screen. I highly recommend solid state memory in your next computer. If you don't like Apple you won't be able to get Retina Display. If that's the case then get a PC notebook with a video card that is 4k UHD (Ultra High Definition).
I think I've shared on this blog that I am a LITTLE BIT of a TV-aholic. So, when the 1 to 8 splitter (1 HDMI input, 1 HDMI output and 7 CAT6 outputs) that was fed by our Winegard DirecTV Trav'ler antenna went bad it was "Katie bar the door time." I got hold of David Bott (an A/V genius) that is also an RVer to get a handle on what to do. It necessitated my ordering a replacement splitter from Tiffin. I also replaced both of the HDMI cables that went from the sources (the DirecTV antenna and the BlueRay DVD player) to the 2 splitters. Now I'm happy again.
While we have been here in Tucson, AZ, I also have taken the opportunity to wash the Trekker. We used the formulation given to us at Tiffin for our washing solution - 4 ounces of Baby Shampoo; 4 ounces of Vinegar in 5 gallons of water. The rig just shines. It's such a beautiful home to live in and to drive down the road. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E we see (even other Tiffin Owners) comments on how "lovely" and "unique" our rig looks. "They all look so much the same, but yours is beautiful." I think anyone that gets a customized paint job (like us and the Botts got) gets more compliments about our rigs and the way they look. Today, I took about an 1 1/2 hours and cleaned the aluminum wheel rims and shined the tires. POP! POP! POP! Looking sharper than sharp.
On to our Port Lavaca church of Christ sojourn. We had a great team of 11 sojourners. The dates were from March 16th to 26th. On the 21st they had a Ladies Day at which Irene was the primary speaker. The theme she developed was "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)." They also wanted to have a Gospel Meeting from the 22nd - 25th. I taught Sunday morning class and preached both sermons on Sunday. David Johnson preached the Mon, Tues, and Wed night sermons. They were all based on the names of well known Hymns. Mine were titled: Holy, Holy, Holy; Why Did My Savior Come to Earth and Nothing but the Blood. David's were Jesus Loves Me; Old Rugged Cross and He Lives.
The Ladies Day attendance was knocked down some because of torrential rains they had in Port Lavaca that morning. Those that did make it had glowing, rave reviews of the material that Irene had presented. The gospel meeting was VERY well attended. The church there is growing and doing an excellent job of presenting a positive image of Christ to the community.
We leave Friday or Saturday for Kayenta, AZ. This is a second time we will have been there. We worked with the church for 2 weeks in 2013. It is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. We will be with Greg and Cathy Ryznar there. They are 2 of the sojourners we are closest to. They are very loving, focused, humble and willing to serve. It's always great to be "in the building" with them.
I think I've shared on this blog that I am a LITTLE BIT of a TV-aholic. So, when the 1 to 8 splitter (1 HDMI input, 1 HDMI output and 7 CAT6 outputs) that was fed by our Winegard DirecTV Trav'ler antenna went bad it was "Katie bar the door time." I got hold of David Bott (an A/V genius) that is also an RVer to get a handle on what to do. It necessitated my ordering a replacement splitter from Tiffin. I also replaced both of the HDMI cables that went from the sources (the DirecTV antenna and the BlueRay DVD player) to the 2 splitters. Now I'm happy again.
While we have been here in Tucson, AZ, I also have taken the opportunity to wash the Trekker. We used the formulation given to us at Tiffin for our washing solution - 4 ounces of Baby Shampoo; 4 ounces of Vinegar in 5 gallons of water. The rig just shines. It's such a beautiful home to live in and to drive down the road. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E we see (even other Tiffin Owners) comments on how "lovely" and "unique" our rig looks. "They all look so much the same, but yours is beautiful." I think anyone that gets a customized paint job (like us and the Botts got) gets more compliments about our rigs and the way they look. Today, I took about an 1 1/2 hours and cleaned the aluminum wheel rims and shined the tires. POP! POP! POP! Looking sharper than sharp.
On to our Port Lavaca church of Christ sojourn. We had a great team of 11 sojourners. The dates were from March 16th to 26th. On the 21st they had a Ladies Day at which Irene was the primary speaker. The theme she developed was "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)." They also wanted to have a Gospel Meeting from the 22nd - 25th. I taught Sunday morning class and preached both sermons on Sunday. David Johnson preached the Mon, Tues, and Wed night sermons. They were all based on the names of well known Hymns. Mine were titled: Holy, Holy, Holy; Why Did My Savior Come to Earth and Nothing but the Blood. David's were Jesus Loves Me; Old Rugged Cross and He Lives.
The Ladies Day attendance was knocked down some because of torrential rains they had in Port Lavaca that morning. Those that did make it had glowing, rave reviews of the material that Irene had presented. The gospel meeting was VERY well attended. The church there is growing and doing an excellent job of presenting a positive image of Christ to the community.
We leave Friday or Saturday for Kayenta, AZ. This is a second time we will have been there. We worked with the church for 2 weeks in 2013. It is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. We will be with Greg and Cathy Ryznar there. They are 2 of the sojourners we are closest to. They are very loving, focused, humble and willing to serve. It's always great to be "in the building" with them.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
I hear the clamor
My "Peeps" are in rebellion! The horde is charging the gates! The clamor for another posting has become so loud that I fear for my life?
Well, 3 or 4 of you all have asked "Do you still have your blog?" or "I miss your blog posts."
Thanks to each of you, your check is in the mail.
So, what have Irene and I been doing since December 18th?? (Wow, even I didn't know it has been 4 months.) Let's see.....
We moved into "Mardon Estate" (the name we have given our home) our "winter haven." As you may know from previous posts we purchased a winter "base of operations" in Retama Village in Mission, Texas. We spent January unpacking and trying to find a place for the stuff we shipped down from Lafayette, IN. And OH, that's right, in January we also had 2 sojourns we were involved with:
1. San Benito, TX - Sunny Glen Children's Home
2. Pharr, TX - North Church of Christ in Pharr, TX (the "HOME" church of Irene and I now that we've moved to Mission, TX.)
So, no TIME (or strength) to write blog postings in January.
We didn't get quite finished moving into the new house when .... (Insert the descending "duh, duh, duh, duh" organ music from the silent serials of long ago HERE) we got the "South Texas Crud." That upper respiratory infection that won't go away and always gets named after wherever you are living: i.e. "Indiana Crud;" "Southern California Crud" (Oh, no, that's smog), er, ah - "Florida Crud" etc. For some reason no one's figured out this is the "Universal Crud." However, it wasn't the Flu, since Irene had gotten the "Government Formulated and Approved" Flu Shot this year like every other year. BTW, the words "Government Formulated and Approved" are the reason why I have N-E-V-E-R gotten "the flu shot." Being a Jeffersonian Conservative I have an innate distrust of ANYTHING the government wants to control beyond what the Constitution says they can control. "That Government which governs least, governs best" as Thomas Hobbes said. (This has been an unpaid political endorsement for small government!)
Anyway we were laid waste for the month of February. We just laid in front of our 65" Samsung TV in the Living Room of "Mardon Estate" and watch all 7 seasons of "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgewick in it. We'd never even seen one episode before but with Amazon Prime it was an inexpensive undertaking. Just reclining on our couch watching something is easier than having to do all of the thinking and typing necessary to write these blog posts. So in February we were to SICK to write any blog posts. Though I did have to slog through finishing out the inside of a shed at Joel and Brenda's new abode in Odessa, TX. THAT was a real nightmare.
March came and we were getting over being sick but we had to prepare for the 1st Sojourn for which I would be team leader. This was in Port Lavaca, TX. If you are a follower of this blog from the beginning you will remember that we were at Port Lavaca last year also. Port Lavaca's sojourn finished on the 26th of March and we drove back to Mission, TX that afternoon (about a 6 hour drive). We had from the 27th of March to the 1st of April to hit it hard and get ready for the bulk of our Sojourning year.
The first week of April we spent back in Lafayette, Indiana. I am on the Board of Directors for Shults-Lewis Children's Home in Valparaiso, Indiana and we had a board meeting on the 4th of April. We flew there on the 2nd of April and flew back to McAllen on the 7th of April. During that time we spent most of our "Free time" with our granddaughter, Neo (yes, and her parents Kazumi and Steve also). We got back to Mission on the 7th and "hit the road" the very next morning.
If you've actually looked at our Website: www.JITrekking.com - you can go to the tab Our Sojourns and see our schedule for the year. You can see that our first "out of Texas" sojourn began on the 18th of April at "Copper Basin Bible Camp" in Prescott, AZ. This gave us the opportunity to see our newest grand baby - Izabela Rain Gordon (and her parents, our son Joshua and Cristina Gordon). We got to Tucson, AZ where they live on the 10th of April and were supposed to be in Prescott, AZ on Saturday the 18th. SUPPOSED TO BE...... we will leave that for another posting. Let's just say for now that we are back in Tucson, AZ and visiting with Bela some more and are leaving this coming Saturday for Kayenta, AZ.
We left Retama Village on the 10th of April and will not return to Mardon Estate in Mission, TX until AT LEAST the end of October (after the Camp Bee workshop) and quite probably the middle of November (if we need any work done on the Trekker at Red Bay) following this year's Sojourning season.
I'll give you the run down on the Sojourns we've had so far in separate blog postings. Hopefully, not that far in the future.
Well, 3 or 4 of you all have asked "Do you still have your blog?" or "I miss your blog posts."
Thanks to each of you, your check is in the mail.
So, what have Irene and I been doing since December 18th?? (Wow, even I didn't know it has been 4 months.) Let's see.....
We moved into "Mardon Estate" (the name we have given our home) our "winter haven." As you may know from previous posts we purchased a winter "base of operations" in Retama Village in Mission, Texas. We spent January unpacking and trying to find a place for the stuff we shipped down from Lafayette, IN. And OH, that's right, in January we also had 2 sojourns we were involved with:
1. San Benito, TX - Sunny Glen Children's Home
2. Pharr, TX - North Church of Christ in Pharr, TX (the "HOME" church of Irene and I now that we've moved to Mission, TX.)
So, no TIME (or strength) to write blog postings in January.
We didn't get quite finished moving into the new house when .... (Insert the descending "duh, duh, duh, duh" organ music from the silent serials of long ago HERE) we got the "South Texas Crud." That upper respiratory infection that won't go away and always gets named after wherever you are living: i.e. "Indiana Crud;" "Southern California Crud" (Oh, no, that's smog), er, ah - "Florida Crud" etc. For some reason no one's figured out this is the "Universal Crud." However, it wasn't the Flu, since Irene had gotten the "Government Formulated and Approved" Flu Shot this year like every other year. BTW, the words "Government Formulated and Approved" are the reason why I have N-E-V-E-R gotten "the flu shot." Being a Jeffersonian Conservative I have an innate distrust of ANYTHING the government wants to control beyond what the Constitution says they can control. "That Government which governs least, governs best" as Thomas Hobbes said. (This has been an unpaid political endorsement for small government!)
Anyway we were laid waste for the month of February. We just laid in front of our 65" Samsung TV in the Living Room of "Mardon Estate" and watch all 7 seasons of "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgewick in it. We'd never even seen one episode before but with Amazon Prime it was an inexpensive undertaking. Just reclining on our couch watching something is easier than having to do all of the thinking and typing necessary to write these blog posts. So in February we were to SICK to write any blog posts. Though I did have to slog through finishing out the inside of a shed at Joel and Brenda's new abode in Odessa, TX. THAT was a real nightmare.
March came and we were getting over being sick but we had to prepare for the 1st Sojourn for which I would be team leader. This was in Port Lavaca, TX. If you are a follower of this blog from the beginning you will remember that we were at Port Lavaca last year also. Port Lavaca's sojourn finished on the 26th of March and we drove back to Mission, TX that afternoon (about a 6 hour drive). We had from the 27th of March to the 1st of April to hit it hard and get ready for the bulk of our Sojourning year.
The first week of April we spent back in Lafayette, Indiana. I am on the Board of Directors for Shults-Lewis Children's Home in Valparaiso, Indiana and we had a board meeting on the 4th of April. We flew there on the 2nd of April and flew back to McAllen on the 7th of April. During that time we spent most of our "Free time" with our granddaughter, Neo (yes, and her parents Kazumi and Steve also). We got back to Mission on the 7th and "hit the road" the very next morning.
If you've actually looked at our Website: www.JITrekking.com - you can go to the tab Our Sojourns and see our schedule for the year. You can see that our first "out of Texas" sojourn began on the 18th of April at "Copper Basin Bible Camp" in Prescott, AZ. This gave us the opportunity to see our newest grand baby - Izabela Rain Gordon (and her parents, our son Joshua and Cristina Gordon). We got to Tucson, AZ where they live on the 10th of April and were supposed to be in Prescott, AZ on Saturday the 18th. SUPPOSED TO BE...... we will leave that for another posting. Let's just say for now that we are back in Tucson, AZ and visiting with Bela some more and are leaving this coming Saturday for Kayenta, AZ.
We left Retama Village on the 10th of April and will not return to Mardon Estate in Mission, TX until AT LEAST the end of October (after the Camp Bee workshop) and quite probably the middle of November (if we need any work done on the Trekker at Red Bay) following this year's Sojourning season.
I'll give you the run down on the Sojourns we've had so far in separate blog postings. Hopefully, not that far in the future.
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