thankfulness for the simple things

It was a really good day today. Thanksgiving Day. A day for family, friends and feasting. For evaluating. For gratitude to the Lord for his goodness and His bounty. For laughter. For memories of past holidays with family who have gone on. For tears. For contentment with what we have. For peace of mind and heart.

Having recently returned from a mission trip I have noticed my personal "requirements" much less than they might have been before the trip.

Before: I'd have to have my brand of diet soda with lots of ice. After: clean water, preferably cold but not necessary.

Before: I had to have a perfect shower with clean, hot water. After: shower, cold? doesn't matter.

Before: I had to have my hair done just so. makeup perfect. the right clothes. After: clean hair. no makeup. comfy, clean, cool clothing.

Before: I was picky and sometimes complaining because of little inconveniences. After: not so particular and easily satisfied with much less than before.

There's something about not having every little detail exactly how one wants it, when one wants it, and not being able to get it, to help me realize just how little we actually need. Since the trip, I find myself much more content with way less than I thought was absolutely NEEDED. It's a nice feeling, contentment is. It feels safe and well-taken care of. It's an "I may not have all my wants and demands and it's perfectly fine with me. I'll substitute. I'll make do. I'll do without. And I'm good with it." Having said all this, then came Thanksgiving--

Most years at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I become very flustered and stressed out about family dinners and wanting every detail to be perfect, but it was different this year. The mood--ok, my mood--was more relaxed. Our meal today was delicious and abundant and even though my perfectionism gene was more laid back this year (maybe because of the mission trip), we had our usual T-day meal and it was a doozy: Roasted turkey breast, cornbread and herb dressing, mashed potatoes with cream cheese added, candied sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, gravy, fruit salad, green beans, fresh green salad, orange cranberry relish, rutabaga, rolls, butter and sausage balls, with Coca cola cake, vanilla ice cream, and 3 different pies (pumpkin, homemade sweet potato, and Dutch apple), peppermint bark, and pretzel bark for dessert. My girls and I pulled it all together. Yep. That was our outrageous, usual holiday meal. Such a list of foods and we still didn't have a couple of dishes we'd have had if Mom were still with us, but it all was tasty and I wasn't uptight about getting it all together this year. I started cooking the night before and worked steadily all day on the food. Byron helped me around the house so all I had to concentrate on was kitchen duty. He made the bed, picked up things, vacuumed the floor, took out the trash and just did whatever else that needed doing. What a great help he was! I'd have been a basket case if he hadn't pitched in to help.

The kids were happy and occupied with fun. Summer and Sid took a ride around the neighborhood on the mule (a vehicle, not an animal) with their Papa. He also let them drive it around the yard some and then they spent time in the coop with the chickens. Hannah helped in the kitchen with some of the finishing up details and watched a little tv on the side. Amy pitched in to get dinner on the table. We made Holly rest because she's still recuperating from her surgery a few weeks ago. The guys talked and played Wii and the atmosphere was fun and lively.

Even as I remember these things, they almost sound too good to be true, don't they? But, they're not. Our family has its share of trauma and drama just like every other family in the world, but on this day, with my kids and their spouses and their own kids, and Kayla and her dad, my brother, at our house, I was a happy woman.

I thank the Lord for these obvious blessings and I also thank Him for the ones that aren't so in my face. Oh, they're there, just not so evident to the whole world--like a peaceful attitude for me while getting ready for the festivities--a priceless gift in itself!

I hope you all had a great and gratitude filled day today, too. I'm very thankful for mine. It was a blast!

Thank you, Father, for this excellent day. I appreciate your presence that was so evident in our lives this evening and the lack of stress in my day today. Thank you for a delicious meal, for great dessert, for time with those I love so very much. Lord, I don't want to sound sappy, but I am ever grateful for each blessing you've supplied to us. What a great thing! The Lord and Savior of the whole world stooped down to help me today! I am gratefully blessed beyond measure and I love you for it. I love you so very very much.

Suz

Thursday, Friday, home!

The team came in pretty tired on Thursday afternoon. It was a day of finishing the project and tying up loose ends at the jobsite. The ground prep (including cutting down a tree) and forty foundation posts were formed and poured...and this is the short list. Add to this mix rain, slippery mud and a concrete truck with no four-wheel drive and I think you know where I'm going with this. It was a challenge to maneuver the truck through the mud to pour the posts and then get it back to solid ground so it could leave and I'm sure there were many other parts to the job I just don't know about. There was also some maintenance on the guest house, etc., that the guys pitched in and completed while we were there, but all in all, the stage is now set for the raising of the tabernacles for the Bible school, which was the main goal of our team. The work day- the work week- complete, everyone cleaned up and came to the house for a special dinner.

Supper time the church provided our team with a traditional African meal. It wasn't as much a meal as it was a feast! So much food! We had a labor intensive peanut dish that was a specialty with the Africans. I think that peanuts are roasted and ground for a long time which intensifies the peanut flavor. I thought it was only peanuts but someone said there was seafood in it. We also had red snapper with spicy greens, a gigantic pot of paella with lots of fresh seafood and yellow rice and vegetables, greens with seafood (many different types in this dish), yucca-two ways, plantains-fried and boiled, roasted blue fish, and fresh bread. Like I said, a feast! I tried a variety of dishes, only leaving out one or two of the strongest ones. The flavors were different than I am used to and some of them would have to be an acquired taste, but for me it wasn't about whether or not it was a dish I was crazy about. It was about a great deal of labor extended and an effort put forth to introduce a group of strangers to African food that they are very proud of. Thank you all so much for your hospitality and hard work!

Friday brought us to breakfast at 8:30 instead of 7:00 which was kind of nice. A little extra sleep. We had coffee and breakfast bars, or whatever we wanted to eat. There was no big amount of food on this morning. Everyone just wanted to back off the food train a little. We took care of last day instructions and found out the plans for the day. Everyone was to get ready to go do a little shopping and have lunch before coming back to the house to finish packing and getting ready to leave for the the Malabo airport at 9:30 p.m.

After taking care of all the 'housekeeping' details we had devotions and prayer for Pastor Carroll and Ms Gayle. We asked the Lord to keep them safe, to give them strength and peace and to bless them abundantly. It takes people who are clearly directed by the Lord to move away from church, family and friends to another country to do ministry. The Deals are surely people directed by the Lord and are a blessing to not only to Malabo but to us, too. We love them so much.

The Deals took us to a little place inside a fenced yard on a side street for our first place of shopping and we got some really interesting things there. Pastor Carroll and Ms Gayle helped us all bargain for a fair price and the owner laughed and enjoyed telling us we were getting these great deals because we had two good lawyers, the Deals. It was fun and, in the end, both the team and our seller got what they wanted.

Our second place of shopping was in the town itself where there was lots of downtown traffic. It had lots of interesting African carvings and lots of colorful African dresses. We were shopping and ooohing and ahhing when we looked outside the store to the street. I could not believe my eyes. There, right in the middle of the street, stopped by traffic, was a military vehicle with two soldiers in camo each sitting at a loaded machine gun as they drove through town. Now we know not to stare, or even look at some things that we see on our trips. We certainly don't photograph much of what we see and we never want to purposely draw attention to our team but it's hard to ignore 17 white people in a little African city. I was shaken for a few seconds and wondered if I should just go ahead and hit the ground! Oh yeah. That wouldn't have drawn any more attention to our group. Chubby, old, white woman landing on her belly in the middle of a group of Americans! Yep. No one would ever have noticed me at all.

Although the soldiers looked our way they soon moved along with traffic and we continued our shopping. Afterward, we went to a pizza place for lunch. The food was very good and more like what we are used to at home. It was a pricey lunch for what we ate but it sure hit the spot.

During our stay in Malabo we discovered that the military and police situation was a bit unnerving. The police are definitely not accommodating 'public servants,' and the military is a strong presence in the town with many manned check points around the city. They can and do stop anyone they want to at any time and can be very harassing to whomever they wish. I felt vulnerable to them and didn't like it at all. I learned to ask the Lord for favor with those we met around town and then to simply not look the African men in the eye at any time.

At one military check point that is just before the entrance to our job site, four of us women were stopped before entering the work site. On this particular day, we had earlier brought the team food and now the soldier wanted to know why we didn't bring him food because he was hungry too. Ms Gayle looked straight ahead and matter of factly told him we didn't have anymore food and that we needed to go to the site again. He continued asking for food.

While this was going on, Joyce and I were sitting in the back seat, trying to hide our cameras with our leg and keeping our heads down not looking at anyone or anything except our shoes. Marsha was in the front seat trying to hide her camera with her leg because she knew if he saw it he might want to keep it. Then a second soldier came to her side of the vehicle and was smiling. Marsha thought if she smiled it would diffuse any tension about us--but it did just the opposite. He liked her smile and opened her door! Now this was scary. He could have pulled her out of the truck and kept her there. Marsha was shocked at the opened door and quickly stopped being friendly. Ms Gayle immediately started the truck moving slowly and it made Marsha's door shut. We went quickly past the check point onto the property where the rest of the team was working. It was a nervewracking experience to be sure.

Anyway, back to Friday. We got back to the house and worked hard getting our stuff all packed up after our week there. It's amazing how sprawled out you can get in only a few days but we did it. We had a few hours before time to leave for the airport so Odis and I went to the kitchen to see what we could whip up for dinner. We didn't really want to cook more new food so we started heating up bowls of leftovers from our week there. It wasn't too long and we had a feast set before us once again. Chicken and rice, steak, pasta and sauce, rice and beans, bbq pork chops, mixed veggies, bread, tea, and we were all set. Everyone ate and cleaned up the kitchen and it was time to put the finishing touches on our packing. It was time to head home.

The airport experience wasn't awful and we got through with no mishaps and were soon on our 5 1/2 to 6 hour flight from Malabo to Madrid. That's when the "fun" began. It was a miserable flight partly because the seats are squished together, partly because I didn't get to sit with Byron and partly because some people on this flight were determined they were the ONLY ones flying to Madrid that night and that everything was about THEM! Byron and I were seated in the middle of a group of inebriated Middle Eastern men with him on one side of the aisle and me on the other. So, for this long, middle of the night, unable to doze off so the time would pass faster flight, we had loud talking, fighting, and arrogance all the way to Madrid. I was never so glad to get out of a place in my whole life.

We had about a 4 or 5 hour layover in the Madrid airport but it was really nice and new there. We got food and a little rest. The 9 1/2 hour flight from Madrid to Miami was a breeze compared to the first one. Byron and I had the two seats together on one side of the aisle. He had the window. I had the aisle. There was more legroom. We had movies and food and non-drunk people all around us. It was a good experience. Miami home, though a little delayed, was good too.

We landed safely, deplaned quickly and retrieved our baggage. Good friend Steve was there waiting for us and we got home by 10:30 pm Saturday night. Thirty hours home but oh, so worth it. As great and rewarding and adventurous our trip had been, there's really no place like home.

I learned many things while I was on this trip. Some of which I am already aware and some I'm sure that will surface in the coming days, months or even years. I think that when we stretch ourselves with such new experiences we always come away with something important learned. It changes our perspective on many of the things we do every day. It shapes who we are and who we become. What a great thing!

Father, Thank you for traveling mercies for our whole trip. Thank you for safety on the jobsite. Thank you for no sickness. Thank you for protecting us in every way. Thank you for the Deals and their hospitality. Thank you for their love for you and their obedience to what you want for them. Thank you for our brothers and sisters in Malabo who were so kind and warm to our team. Thank you for the team. What a wonderful group of your children. I love them all so much. Thank you for what you are showing me though the experience of this trip. I am so glad you took us on this journey. It was a blast! I love you so very much.

Suz

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Malabo...

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...it's already Thursday. The days are flying by and I haven't had time, energy, and often haven't had power or internet to post. Each of my days have been pretty much the same: I get up at 5:30 am, along with Odis and Myles when we walk over to the house and start breakfast for the team. Odis makes several pots of coffee and Myles fries a kilo of bacon. I start water boiling for oatmeal and crack a couple dozen eggs. Soon Marsha and Joyce come in and start cutting up and buttering bread for toast. It's a joint effort and by 7:00 am we have it all done complete with cut up fruit and juice.

After we eat we have devotions. Monday-Benny. Tuesday-Odis. Wednesday-Mike. Thursday-Myles. Friday-it's my turn. The subjects vary and whoever leads has freedom to share what's been on his or her mind during the week. They might be encouraging or emotional but they are always good. We sing a song or two and pray for the Lord to bless our day, give us strength for the work and keep us all safe from harm or danger. Our devotion time helps strengthen our team bond and it's a sweet time of worship.

Byron gives instructions for the work each day and afterward it's time for the workers to head out for the job site where they do all that is humanly possible to do to complete the tasks for the day. Our team is not a group of slackers. They really work diligently to get as much done as possible.

Marsha, Joyce and I have been staying at the house to do what needs to be done for team support like clean up, laundry and meal preparation. After breakfast we clean up the kitchen and not too long after that we start lunch. We've been making 20 or so sandwiches, packing up chips and cookies with them and taking them out to the site so not too much time is spent coming and going for lunch.

Somewhere in the middle of all the kitchen hub bub I take out what we're going to fix for supper that night. We've had some really good meals. Spaghetti, BBQ pork chops, pinto beans, rice, homemade biscuits, beef tenderloin steaks with roasted potatoes and onions, chicken and rice, mixed veggies, broccoli cauliflower, eggplant casserole, fresh salad with homemade french dressing. It's not often we have such a variety on a mission trip and it's been a blast cooking all this great food for the team.

Last night all the girls went to Central Church for the ladies service and Christy preached for us. She did an excellent job with her sermon about journeys--our journeys as women. We are all on the journey that the Lord has given us. Our unique journey and how it's not good for us to compare ourselves to one another and not productive for us to compare our journey to another's journey. We must trust the Lord to lead us however He sees fit for us, personally. It was an uplifting and encouraging message and the African women enjoyed it as much as we did. At the end of the service the ladies presented our ladies with two cases of Coca-Cola because they knew that some of us had been working out in the hot sun and they wanted us to have a Coke on them:) I love it that no matter where I go I see how women all over the world are not so much different than I am. We may look different. We may have different things. We may speak differently. Christy said that although there are differences, there are also similarities. We are women. We are sisters. We are wives. We are mothers. We are a lot alike despite our differences. The dear African sisters in the Lord blessed Christian women from Florida with a very practical gift. How like most any woman in the world. Women are nothing if not practical. What a great thing and what a nice gift!

We came home after the service and ate dinner with the guys who had gotten home just a little bit before we did. After clean up we called it a night and settled down for the evening. Many of us are very tired and need as much rest as is available. Bedtime is pretty early for most because it's not too long until it's time to get up again. AND that crazy rooster has his timer set to go off pretty much all night long! Crazy chicken! Speaking of chickens we have another mama hen with biddies. She has 7 babies of many different colors following her around the yard. They are teeny tiny and cute as little buttons but won't let anyone near them. Also, Pretty, the mother dog had five pups the other day and they are adorable. Cute black and white pups with the exception of one which is sort of brown-black.

It's Thursday morning about 10:30 am here. Breakfast is over and it will be time to fix lunch soon. Tonight a group of African women are going to bring us a traditional African meal for our supper. What a special night this will be! I'll fill you all in on the menu and how it tastes.

As a team, we are looking forward to completing the goals we set out to do. The work team dug 40 holes yesterday and formed them up for concrete today. These are the foundations for the posts for the tabernacles that will one day be a Bible and Training School for African pastors. This is an amazing project because when Pastor Carroll and Gayle came to Malabo 22 years ago there wasn't even one Assembly of God church here. Now there are 150 churches here and a Bible school on the way. What a legacy!

Each of us does what we are able to do on these trips. Some have lots of construction experience. Some have lots of muscle and grit to work hard. And some of us have care giving experience and we take care of those who are out there on the site working. It's all about our unique journey and what the Lord leads us to do.

Father, thank you for this trip and these experiences. Thank you for the unique journey you give to each one of us and for guiding us on it. It's a good day. I love you, Lord.

Suz

Sunday in Malabo

Sunday morning I walked out of our house at about 7:30 am to start breakfast at the Deals kitchen. As I walked across the yard I heard singing. I heard worship songs with deep African harmonies. There were no instruments. No drums. Only voices on the wind praising the Lord early on Sunday morning. It was a splendid moment and it was all mine.

We had a great day Sunday. We divided up about half and half for church service. Benny preached in Pastor Carroll's church in Moca and Ms Gail translated his sermon into Spanish for the congregation. Pastor Carroll translated for Pastor Gary in another church. I went with Pastor Gary's group. It was at the same church Marsha, Joyce and I had gone to the day before for the wedding. They had left all the decorations up and it was a very festive atmosphere.

Service started at 10:30 am so we got ready and were waiting around at the house for time to leave. It was 10:10. 10:20. 10:25 and we were still at the house. Pastor Gary asked Pastor Carroll if should go ahead and leave and Pastor Carroll said, "No. Church starts at 10:30." The church was about 10 minutes away so we left promptly at 10:30. Now one might think that if you are a guest at another church you'd want to be on time or even a little early. Not in Africa. We arrived to a packed house with worship in full swing. The music was lively and people were clapping and singing praises to the Lord. We were met at the front door by a woman in a beautiful green geometric style designed African dress with a matching headdress who led our team down the center aisle right up to the platform! We were all treated as guests of honor.

We sang a few praise songs: some in Spanish, some in English. Announcements were made in Spanish, translated into English and then into French. We were all introduced to the congregation and then it was time for the offerings. Yes I said 'offerings.' The church's pastor, Pastor Sam announced the call for the tithes and recited some of the same verses that Pastor Gary quotes at Glad Tidings every Sunday morning and it occurred to me that all over the world, in Ocoee, FL, and on the other side of the world in Malabo, that God's children are obeying Him in paying tithes and also depending on Him to meet our every need.

An usher brought a white box on a stand and set it in front of the pulpit. It was announced that the offering was for tithes. The music started and starting with the back rows people filed out of their row and lightly danced to the rhythm of the music down the outside aisle to the front where they passed in front of the box and dropped in their tithes. After they passed the box they went up the center aisle dancing all the way back to their seats. Row after row came down until the whole church had given their tithes. Now I really like lively worship songs and these were great! We clapped and sang when we could and even moved our feet a little. It was hard to stay still! and it was really hard not to join the tithe line. I know I wouldn't be able to dance quite like they did but I think it would be fun to try. Maybe next time.

Once the tithes had been given, we sang a song and the usher brought the white box out again. The whole process was repeated for the offering and then there were two more processions for missions, one from the men and one from the ladies. The men brought money for the box and the women did too but they also brought gifts of eggs, bottles of water and other staples. It took a long time and I don't know if it was a special way of doing things because we were visiting or just their Sunday morning practice, but it surely was joyful giving.

Pastor Gary did an excellent job preaching on the necessity of perseverance and how we can keep on going because of the good promise of what is to come and how we can come through it in victory because the Lord is on our side! During the sermon a lady got up a few times and walked down to the altar and then went back to her seat. From where I was sitting I couldn't see what she did when she got up front. I thought she was coming to get a Kleenex. I found out later that the custom is that if a preacher or a singer blesses you by what has been said or sung, you bring up an offering and drop it into the white box. Pastor Gary had at least 5 offerings brought up while he was preaching. Pretty good, huh?

We had a great altar service and I had opportunity to pray with two precious, young, African woman. Well, they were younger than me, anyway. We prayed and we cried and we prayed. When it was time to go we hugged and held hands. It was a great time in the Lord. When church was over we visited with the people and took photos and then went back to the house to meet with the other half of the team and get some lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon was a little rest for some and a little handyman stuff for some of the guys. The girls part of the house needed a little work on the water and electrical stuff so a few of the men worked on getting us set up for the rest of the week. Evening brought a trip to the airport to try to get the other suitcases but with little success. Two more bags were retrieved but there were still a bunch more to be gotten today.

Before dark someone yelled into the house for us to come outside and look at the bats. Of course I was the first one out the door! I couldn't believe my eyes. With one look up in the dusky skies I saw hundreds of huge (really, really big!) fruit bats. The sight was amazing and while most of them flew pretty high up, some swooped a little lower giving us just a hint of a shiver of fear! I loved it.

I left my pups in the good hands of the people at the kennel while we are gone and I left my chicks in the good care of Cody. I miss them all but the Lord is so very good to me even in the little things. Pastor Carroll and Ms Gail have a really sweet dog named Pretty and sometimes she licks my toes! It's not as bad as it sounds and she does it because she likes me. The Deals also have some yard chickens! One white hen has two little white chicks and another dark chicken has about 6 babies. There is also a colorful, Bantam rooster who has no sense of timing whatsoever. He usually starts crowing about midnight and then just gives us a booster crow to rouse us out of sleep every couple of hours--but I don't mind at all. He reminds me of home--and my chicks--my pups--and ultimately of my family and friends. Even though we have a great time doing good things and have unique, once in a lifetime experiences, to quote Dorothy, "There's no place like home!"

The day ended peacefully with some of the team sitting around the table, snacking and talking about the days events and laughing about good times we'd had in the past. We talked about our lives at home and what's going on there. The guys made their way to their side of the house and we girls headed into our part to settle in for the evening. The busyness quieted down and the girls and I prayed for little Noah's successful surgery. Lights out and we soon went to sleep ready to start fresh again on Monday.

Lord, everything doesn't always go well and circumstances and situations on our trips are sometimes hard and uncomfortable and inconvenient and it isn't easy for me to always adapt. I know I don't always cope as well as I could, but I feel very blessed to be able to do such interesting and exciting stuff for you! Thank you so much for the African pup and the chicks. Thank you for thinking especially of me. I love you with all my heart.

Suz

Orlando to Miami to Madrid to Malabo

Our flights to Africa went well with no real glitches. We flew to Miami, had a couple hour layover and flew all night to Madrid, the capitol of Spain. We spent the day on a guided tour of this beautiful city which is filled with, not only Spanish history, but of world history.

Our very knowledgeable guide, Cesar--pronounced Say-zaar--was great. Yes, he made us practice pronouncing it the correct way. Still, I'm sure I heard a couple of our ladies call him "Seezer," a time or two. We saw the royal palace from the outside, a great cathedral from the inside, the Plaza de Toro (the local bull fighting arena), street performers, great architecture, and royal parks. After our bus tour and a few stops to walk around a bit, Cesar, he took us to an area where we ate a delicious lunch at the Museo de Jamon (the ham museum). I was glad and a little excited to eat there as I had seen Andrew Zimmern go there on one of his Bizarre Foods episodes. It wasn't bizarre at all and lunch was terrific. We shopped for a short while before being shuttled back to the airport just in time to catch our night flight to Malabo, the final destination of our trip.

As we were loading into the plane we heard a commotion at the rear of the craft. A man was yelling something in Spanish and we could tell he was very upset and angry. A few of us were a bit upset thinking about getting into the air with a crazy, angry guy just a few rows behind us. We found out that he was being deported from Spain for not having a passport and that the two men with him were police officers. While that made me a little more comfortable it still didn't stop the thoughts of disaster in the air.

That's when an African man got up from his seat directly behind me and went back to speak to the man. He spoke to him in Spanish and said, "Look. We are on this plane and we want a good flight. Just because you are upset about being deported doesn't mean you should make the rest of us miserable. Now be quiet." Had we entertained angels unaware? Only the Lord knows for sure. The man still wasn't happy but he did get quiet and the last leg of our journey went off without a hitch. That is if you don't count the exception of many crying toddlers and babies and lots of loud women talking and laughing most of the night but somehow the noise wasn't nearly as disconcerting as the threat of a crazy man in the air. Resting in the hands of the Lord, I slept as we flew toward our last stop--Malabo.

Pastor Carroll and Gail were at the airport to meet us and he helped us get through customs. Pastor Carroll also guided our team members through the procedure for their missing bags. Dealing with airport security and the policia in a third world country can be a nervewracking experience. Hopefully everyone with missing luggage will get it by Sunday night and our trip can continue without any more drama!

We went to the job site today and the guys are working hard trying to lay out the details for the tabernacles to be erected while we are here. Ms Gail took us girls around to find a few necessities for a few who still needed some things we just couldn't share but before we went she made a stop near a church she and Pastor Carroll used to pastor and there was a wedding going on. We were given permission to step inside and photograph the festivities. It was wonderful! The ceremony was nearly over and the music was lively and fun. Women who were dressed beautifully brought their gifts down the aisle to the couple, but they didn't walk solemnly. Not at all. They danced their presents down the aisle to the beat of the live singers song. What a fun thing to do! What a true celebration! A wedding should be a happy event and I think all the 'bridezillas' in USA could learn a little something here. I wonder if it could ever catch on here?

We're cooking spaghetti for the guys tonight and I know they will be tired and hungry. I'm glad tomorrow is Sunday so they can perhaps get a little rest before work again on Monday. Church is tomorrow and Benny will be preaching at Pastor Carroll's church while Pastor Gary preaches at another church. I'm looking forward to whichever service I am assigned to. It will be good for sure.

That's it for today unless something remarkable happens tonight--and it could happen. I love you all and miss you. Above all, the Lord is good.

Father, we always ask your blessing and safety on our trips and you have never failed us. Never! I love how you protect us but also how you calm even your desperate ones who could have a way out but cannot yet see it. I think it's going to be a wonderful week and I can't wait to see what you show us. I love you so very much.

Suz