July 2008

We had a full July. It started with our good friends, Mark and May getting married in our church in London. It was a fun day, celebrating God's goodness in bringing this couple together. We were thankful to have a small part in it.

The day after the wedding we headed for New York City to help with MTW's Prefield Training. This is a month long training for all new candidates going to the field. We were asked to mentor two families each. It was a great time of getting to know them and encouraging them through the different things they needed to do and write while in New York. We stayed in a little apartment in upper Manhattan in a predominately Dominican Republic neighborhood. It was interesting learning how to maneuver on the subways after London's underground system. Most of our time was spent in Queens so we learned that route really well. Our days were spent working in the churches we were assigned to with our families and interns, going to different training moduals in the afternoons and spending time with the families or others in the evenings. We tried to see a bit of the city on our days off. Here's a picture of everyone who was there. If you would like to see more, you can go to this website: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52855&l=c6599&id=624702564

From PFT we went to see my sister and then my Mom. It was a short visit with Mom but I was very encouraged with how much stronger she was then the last time I saw her. It thrilled my heart to kneel down next to her and say, "Surprise, Mom!". She was so excited to see us--took my face in her hands and just giggled. We had a nice walk around the garden outside, ate lunch together, and had some ice cream. It was only a few hours but I am so thankful for even that.

Paul's his "family historian" so on our way to Canada to spend a few days with my sister Sally, husband Paul and daughter Becky, we stopped in Baldwinsville, NY to do some research. He found the house his great grandparents lived in and we spent the night in an Inn that used to be the mill owned by his great grandmother's brother. It was pretty cool seeing stuff and learning some more of the history. On our way back from Canada we visited a graveyard that had 8 or 10 of his relatives buried there.

Being in Canada was wonderful. We spent our honeymoon there, at my brother-in-laws family cabin, and went back again in 1975. That's the last time. We had such a good time with Paul, Sally, and Becky. Paul and Paul went fishing, Sally and I read a book together while we sat in the sun. We played games, talked, ate, went on boat rides and hikes, picked blueberries and made pies--it was great. After a busy month in New York City, it was nice to just relax and be with family. On our way back to the the Newark airport to head home, we spent the night with my sister, Margie and Bob and got to be there for Bob's 60th birthday celebration!

But it is always nice to get home again. So we are back in London looking forward to visits from Anna and Meg in the next few weeks.