November 16, 2015 Madison, GA. It Makes Me Sad

There have been times in my almost 70 years of life when I have been sad about things I did or failed to do; sad about events out of my immediate control which changed the direction of my life; sad about things which happened to others which changed their planned course of action and hurt them tremendously.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, the almost daily news of violence against innocent people, the state of our political and judicial system, the radicalism we are seeing in "religion", the decline of the moral fiber of our country and world and the things we call entertainment and for which we pay an ever-increasing price; these things make me sad. We claim to be united in our abhorrence of violence and hate, yet we are becoming a more fractured country and world, with more people determined to hold on to their material goods, with an "over my dead body" attitude, and it makes me sad. There is so much sickness and disease, the cost of some medicine is outrageous and many people are giving up on the good programs and people who are committed to helping and being compassionate and many of them are walking away from their profession or volunteer activity.
I don't profess to have an answer or solution other than trusting God, depending on a strong faith, and trying to be around people who are optimistic and eternally directed, but that too can sadden me when they, or I, yield to worldly forces and temptations.
Let's all resolve to start anew, right now, to fight the spiritual fight, stand up for what we believe and Who we believe in and live with a resolve that "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world." God is faithful and He can, and will, turn sadness into joy and mourning into gladness. Thank You, Lord for the Hope we have in You.

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November 13, 2015. Madison, GA. Old Stuff

In the grand scheme of God's creation we are not very old, but in the smaller scheme of our immediate sphere of influence and the things we use in our daily life, we are pretty old. The Passion Play has been around for less than 50 years and Source of Light Ministries has been here for just over 60. Some of the stuff we use and some of the people we work with are getting on in years, have been with these ministries most of their life, and after many repairs, replaced parts, operations and body parts no longer functioning as they were originally designed to, we are more and more realizing that old stuff needs old, experienced people to keep functioning properly.
Today I was going to start the leaf gathering operation using a rebuilt tractor-style mower with a gas-operated leaf-rake attached. The mower needed to be jump started, the leaf rake with a pull-cord needed a few shots of starter fluid and on the first pass of the area, a pulley holding a belt broke and the mower ground to a quick halt. Upon further investigation, Marvin, a 40+ year maintenance man here at SOL discovered a host of problems which will need to be addressed before the leaf gathering can proceed. But Marvin, nearly 80 years old and a machinist and "fixer" most of his life is confident he will be able to fix the pulley, replace the worn belt, repair the mower blade shaft, key way and spindle, repair the leaky fuel filter, reattach the mower deck and be up and running early next week.
Marvin, like many of the "old timers" we worked with at the Passion Play and here in Madison, have "been there and done that" before and in his quiet way keeps the old stuff, and himself, running to do the work The Lord has put before him. I did not grow up in an environment where we fixed what broke. We found someone else to do that and paid them for their expertise and willingness to help. It's eye opening to me as we travel and volunteer our non-technical skills, to see how people have lived off the land, raised the animals or hunted for what they will eat, are able to fix things which break, build their own houses and barns and keep the old stuff, and themselves, running. We have been blessed to know such people and hear about the lives they have led and The Lord they give all the glory to. We hope to be able to continue to serve as we have, acquire new skills and hopefully pass on our experience and experiences to those who come after us. Discipled, so we can disciple others. Thank You, Lord.

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November 10, 2015. Madison, GA. Sunshine and more

About noon today the sun snuck through the clouds, the clouds disappeared and it has been rainless for the first time in over two weeks. The forecast for tomorrow is another sunny, dry day. The local residents are ecstatic that the rain has stopped and it will be an opportunity to get outside and start the task of raking up all the leaves the rain knocked off the trees. The ground here at Source of Light is covered, but the trees still have a lot left on them, so the leaf-gathering will not be completed quickly. I will be part of the crew which is assigned to leaf duty over the next month or so. A chance to get back on the mowers and tractors. Thursday it looks like we will be back in the print shop for collating some Bible Lessons to be sent out to SOL students.
Karen has already boxed up all the 2013 accounting paperwork, making room in the cabinets for the 2016 files and doing something with the 2014 and 2015 papers so they can be available for tax time and other needs. We are both back into the "routine" and it is good to be here. We have been to church, had a get-together for lunch Sunday, dinner with another group last night and will be going to Veterans' Day activities tonight and tomorrow at the High School and here at the Mission. We've already been to the Verizon store with questions on our new phones and the Walmart is only two miles away instead of ten, so we have been there a few times in our first five days. Don and Sonja (my book suppliers from last year) have already given me a book to read (The Price of Freedom) and I look forward to it and the others yet to come.
Yes, we have settled back into our "winter" home. The bins are all cleaned out and reorganized, the lady bugs seem to be on the wane, the mice hopefully are gone and life is good. The sun is behind the trees out our front window and it is not a "rainy night in Georgia". And, we rest on God's assurance that the best is yet to come. Thank You, Lord.

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November 7, 2015. Madison, GA. Rain (and more)

As we approached the western suburbs of Atlanta it started to rain, sometimes heavily, and it has been raining, on and off ever since. Back in Eureka Springs they had heavy rain and threats of severe weather just after we left and we have been told here in Madison, that it has been raining on and off for something like 40 days and 40 nights. We parked the "ark" where we were parked last winter, and will wait on the ground to dry before we move to the "to be completed" RV site up the hill near the Mission building. I'm sure I will be involved in the work to complete the two sites there.
In the meantime, we are renewing friendships, resting up from our 750 mile jaunt, and getting back into the atmosphere of Source of Light Ministries. A different atmosphere from The Great Passion Play, hard to .........hold on.........(interruption for another mouse capture. There seems to be a pattern developing: Eureka Springs(11/2)-evict mouse family from bin, blog that day, Tupelo(11/4)-catch mouse while blogging, Madison(today)-catch mouse while blogging).
This blog will be posted, but the thought interrupted will have to wait while Karen and I tgo on mouse patrol while the rain has stopped. I guess God didn't want me to blog on the "different atmosphere" theme just now, or maybe at all...........so........see you later............

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November 4, 2015. Tupelo, MS. In Transit

Last night we arrived in Searcy, AR for a scheduled RV repair, were able to hear some bluegrass music at a BBQ joint with one of our repairmen in the group, have the repair finished this morning and were on the road before noon. Tonight we are in Tupelo and settled in for our first Walmart stay in many months. We are not surrounded by semis and other RV'ers and are down to only a few lady bug encounters. The most hearty of the bugs did manage to cling to the windshield, some rode sidesaddle and a few stayed with us indoors. But it seems that the worst is over and we can only anticipate what the next critter assault will be.
We have been able to speak with a number of Vietnam vets in the past few days about VA benefits and give them encouragement that there are benefits available to those who served and have health issues as a result of Agent Orange exposure. We have been so blessed by the VA benefits, the change it has made in our lives and we feel the need to share what we have been through with those who have served and now suffer. 2 Corinthians 1, speaking of God's compassion and comfort to us is what we strive to pass on to others so they may be blessed too with that same compassion and comfort.
Either tomorrow or Friday we will be back in our winter "home" in Madison, Georgia, reunited with Hugh and LaVon and so many others we worked with before at Source of Light Ministries. Karen has been contacting many of our friends and letting them know our whereabouts and whatabouts and it feels very natural for us to be between assignments and back in a "Walmart RV Park". Thank you, Lord for blessing us so abundantly and giving us an enduring peace we have not experienced before. I say it again.........GOD IS SO GOOD.



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Noah Only Had Two

November 2, 2015. Eureka Springs, AR. Take A Break

Karen is known here as the "energizer bunny" for her always-in-motion style of work and the pace at which she gets her short legs moving. Most of the young people she works with are amazed at her stamina and work ethic. The only way I can get her to sit in one place for any amount of time is to let her know it's time to drive somewhere and then she gets behind the wheel of the motor home or car and for the next number of hours she can "take a break" and stay in one place while the vehicle becomes the bunny.
Today is our final day in Eureka Springs. Karen is busy moving inventory and "winterizing" the gift shops while I am readying the motor home for the road and trying to keep the lady bugs from coming with us. The pill bottle and vacuum cleaner are working hard and I am taking a semi-break to write and have a few moments of relief from the frazzling I feel when the bugs seem to be getting the upper hand. I did manage to dislodge a family of mice from one of our storage bins and prevent them from moving to Georgia with us, but the lady bugs are a major nuisance and a smelly one to boot. I used to think lady bugs were cute, but not so mush any more.
It has been a blessing to be part of the Passion Play again, and we will be back next Spring, God willing. We are ready for a break and a change of scenery. I've made a preliminary itinerary, Karen will get behind the RV wheel for the first time since June 16th and we'll soon be on the road again. Thank You, Lord for traveling with us and allowing us to travel with You. It' great to travel together. We trust You for the ultimate itinerary and destination.


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