Visit to the Wards March 2008

I've had the wonderful privilege of being with Kirk, Sarah and Joanna for the birth of Samuel Paul, March 26th. I was there for three weeks--one before the birth and two after. It was a special time of caring for Sarah, playing with Joanna, talking with Kirk, and witnessing Samuel's birth. I thank the Lord for this new little grandson and for the family He has placed him in.
It was a crazy time, in some ways. Anna came up for about five days over Easter and was there to care for Joanna when Sarah went into labor. I was so happy to have some alone time with her while others were napping or doing this or that. God has carried her through some hard times these last few months and it was neat to hear how He has been caring for her.

Paul was the next to visit. Thanks to some FF miles he was able to come for five days. He arrived about a week after Samuel was born. He was able to help fix a few things around the house as well as get some good Grandpa time with Joanna and Samuel. We took Joanna to the zoo one day and that was really fun.

Rinnie also came for a quick visit to meet her new nephew and see the rest of the family. We had some great time together. I know Sarah enjoyed having her there too.

I just loved getting to know Joanna better. She's verbally expressive and loves to sing. I miss her numerous hugs and unending "What happened?"s. We read books, sang songs, cooked, did dishes, played, went shopping, and the list could go on. I'm grateful to Kirk for putting up with his mother-in-law for all that time. The weeks hold special memories for me for which I am very thankful. And a big thankyou to Sarah for her tenderness and love. I loved just being together. If you would like to see more pictures of Samuel and these weeks together go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36153&l=710f5&id=624702564

Christmas, 2007

Almost all our family was able to be together for Christmas this year. Wil and Amy joined us for a few days at the end of our time. We are thankful to Missionary Care Ministry that has a home available to missionaries free of cost in Athens, GA. We began planning this reunion a year ago and were able to book the whole house then. It has six bedrooms, two kitchens, two living/diningrooms, 11 acres of wooden land, a playground, and a wonderful, generous hostess there to be sure all your needs are met. We were totally overwhelmed with the graciousness shown to us and our children. We were there from Dec. 21-Jan.1. It was a wonderful time of reconnecting as a family and getting to know our grandchildren better. Here's a picture of the whole gang.

Besides celebrating Jesus' birth and having a traditional Christmas dinner, we enjoyed just being together, playing games, cooking, eating, looking at old slides, and the list could go on. We also went to Stone Mountain Park for a picnic with my sister, Sarah Taylor, and family. After that we went to an Ethiopian restaurant. It was Kirk's (Sarah's husband) first experience. It's one of our favorites so we really stuffed ourselves.





Another highlight for the grandkids and their Grandpa was a train Paul and I found right before Christmas. It actually is really fun and the girls just loved it.

Well, lots more could be said but they say a picture speaks louder than words so if you would like to see more pictures of our time together you can go to these two websites and check them out. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27900&l=7c436&id=624702564
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27903&l=fc480&id=624702564

October to January

Paul and I spent October through December in the States on Home Ministry Assignment. We were able to visit 11 of our supporting churches and many friends and supporters. We were also able to attend Mission to the World's Global Missions Conference, help with a training for Pastoral Associates for MTW's teams, and be small group leaders at Living in Grace, a training that all MTW missionaries must go through. We saw both our Mothers and all our siblings and many of their spouses and some of our nephews and nieces. We are very thankful for my sister and husband, Paul and Sarah Taylor, who allowed us to go freely in and out of their home in Atlanta.

In October we went to see Kirk, Sarah and Joanna. This is a picture of Joanna helping Paul build a top for the bed of our pickup. It was a great few days of being together.

In November we celebrated Anna's 23rd birthday with her and Wil and Amy were able to join us. We also joined Paul's Mom and all his siblings for Thanksgiving. It was a special time since we don't have the opportunity to see so much family all at once very often.


End of November we had a quick visit with Wil and Amy and then on down to Florida, stopping in to see Erik, Rinnie, Lauren, Meredith and Coriena on our way to Marco Island.

Sarah and Joanna came with us to visit my Mom and that was a very special time. Sarah hadn't seen her for 3+ years and Mom had never met Joanna. Joanna was so sweet calling my Mom "Great Granny" and wondering where "Great Grandpa" was since he in heaven now. She loved Mom's walker and was friendly with all the old folks where my Mom is.

In January, all my siblings, their spouses, Paul and I celebrated my Mom's 85th birthday together. It was a special time of each of us telling my Mom how much she meant to us and sharing memories together. My Dad's sister and husband (the only living relatives besides my Mom on either side) were also at the party along with two of my cousins.

Christmas will have to be another blog entry. But just as a preview, we were able to gather at one place with all our kids over the holidays. More on that and pictures to come later.

A week with Rinnie and family

I just got back from spending a week at Rinnie's in Orlando. There's nothing like coming off the plane after flying all day and hearing "Granny!!!!" from across the airport lounge and having two granddaughters come flying into your arms with a third not far behind. And, of course, my daughter, Rinnie, as well.

It was so good to spend time with Rinnie. She's always been a real encouragement to me and a great friend. She's so sensitive to things of the Lord and is a real example of a Godly wife and mother.

I had a great time with her girls, Lauren (5), Meredith (3), and Coriena (18 months). We went swimming, to the Science center, to Kelly park tubing, went through the Wordless Book, made a cake, read many books, told lots of stories, walked, went to the play ground, watched Lauren play soccer, and just had tons of fun. Here's a few pictures of our time together but also a link to more if you are interested. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15365&l=e30ee&id=624702564

Holiday Bible Club

This year's Holiday Bible Club studied the Wordless Book. Those of us who grew up in the US as Christians grew up with this "book" but it hasn't been used so much here in England. It is such a great tool to use to share the gospel with kids. We averaged around 40 kids and only five were from our church. The rest of the kids came from the neighborhood. Our theme was "Code Breakers" and the code was gbrwg. Can you break the code????? Following are some shots from our time with the kids. Paul worked with grades 1-3 and I worked with grades 4-6. Notice the relay he came up with...the little boy is wearing Paul's motorcycle jacket!!
We studied a different color each day and so the leaders tried to wear those colors. Here's Paul and Chuck dressed for "black day".

At the end of the week we invited parents to come and see what the kids were learning and stay for a picnic. We were so pleased with how many came. We were able to sit around with them in the garden and chat about the week and invite them to come to church. A few did come the next day.

Meg's Visit in August

Meg came from Tanzania to visit for two weeks. The first few days Kirk, Sarah and Joanna were here and we celebrated Meg's birthday. Among other fun stuff, Rinnie sent her a box of blowpops (Meg's favorite lolly) and Sarah crocheted her a new hat.

It was a great visit together. Meg teaches history in an international school in Tanzania so wanted to check out some historical sites while here. We concentrated on the Middle Ages and went to places like Battle to see where the Battle of Hastings took place, Rye-a coastal town founded during the Middle Ages, and biking in the New Forest-established as a hunting ground by William the Conqueror. Meg left to go back to Tanzania yesterday (14th) and after a month of having some of our family here, we are once again alone. As much as we love their visits, it's ok to be just us again.

If you would like to see more pictures of our time together go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10893&l=755aa&id=624702564

Wards come to London

Kirk, Sarah, and Joanna came to London as part of a group from their church to work with the World Harvest team. We had the privilege of caring for Joanna off and on during that time and then they stayed with us for a few days afterwards. Here's a few photos of our time with Joanna.

One thing Joanna loves is fish so since we have seven in our garden pond, she loved feeding them with "BaBa".

Rinnie gave us a child bike seat so Paul put it on my bike and that was another thing we did together.

But mostly we just went for walks, played with toys, read books and had a wonderful time. If you would like to see more photos you can follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=9829&l=5b48c&id=624702564

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

On Friday, 20th July, we were hoping to visit some friends and colleagues about three hours west and a little north of us. We'd been planning for ages to go on the motorcycle but it was raining, with no indication it would stop, so we took the car. When we saw this sign, we should have realized it's warning.... As you can see, the water levels were really high, even on the main road going through town but we were doing fine until a bus passed us and caused a wave of water to cover our hood. The car sucked in water instead of air and that was it for our car. We couldn't get it started again. Paul got out to push it to higher ground and ended up part of a crew that pushed other's cars as well. Here's some pictures of what it was like.


All this happened about 2pm. We called the RAC (equivalent to AAA) and began to wait. The local pub gave about 30 of us a spot on their floor with blankets for the night. We finally heard from RAC at 1:30am telling us they wouldn't make it, roads were closed. The next morning people started leaving our room around 4:00 since the roads were clearer in some directions but since our car was dead, we tried to sleep more and finally gave up trying around 5:00. We waited for the pub's office to open to use their phone and began trying to call RAC again. After what seemed like hours of waiting we were told that most likely it wouldn't be until midnight that they would get to us. We sat in our car, walked up and down the main street, had some lunch, walked some more, waited, wondered how the day would end up knowing God already had it planned, learned that a watched cell phone never rings, thought about Noah being stranded for a year... At 3:00 we noticed a RAC van in the parking area where we were. Paul asked if they were looking for our car but we were told we weren't on his list. But, he said he'd take a look at the car and within 10 minutes, he had it running! As he was working on the car we noticed the sign on the building behind where we had providentially pushed the car.

Our God-send mechanic, David, probably wondered at our celebration when he got the car going. We had been told it was probably a "write off" and RAC was not even sending a recovery van to see if they could get it started but a tow truck. So, we got home early evening on Saturday. Paul was to preach the next day and I was doing Children's Worship. Guess what we were reviewing....Noah and the Flood! I realized how impatient I felt during those 24 hours of waiting, compared to Noah who waited over a year to be rescued. I do thank the Lord for a husband who does stay calm and confident in the Lord's care during times like this. Looking back we see why there was such a delay in the tow truck coming. We give thanks to the Lord for not answering our prayers the way we wanted (bringing the tow truck) but giving us needed grace to wait for what He had planned. It reminds me of a favorite quote from the book Peaceful Living in a Stressful World, "I am not designing a day but discovering a day He has already made."

35 Years of Marriage

We had a great time celebrating 35 years of marriage with a trip to Scotland. A lady in our church owns a home in Nairn and that is where we headed for a week. We'd "won" a week there through an auction our church had to help raise money for a team from the church going to Ethiopia. Nairn is a little town along the coast near Inverness. We actually have MTW missionaries there so it was fun to visit their church and visit with them.

We followed some of the history concerning the Covenanters and went to places like John Knox's house and the church where he preached. We especially enjoyed seeing the oldest Presbyterian church in Scotland as well as many other churches. Wandering through their graveyards and reading the markers made me so aware of "that great crowd of witnesses" waiting for us in heaven. We biked, walked, and drove...it was great.

We also enjoyed visiting the Cawdor Castle, Fort George, the Isle of Skye and searching for Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. Actually just driving along the four Lochs (lakes) was incredibly beautiful. We had time to read about some of the martyrs during the Covenanter days and the history so tied to us as Reformed Presbyterians. We biked around 20 miles one day and that was really fun (except for a path we took that turned out to be overgrown and only for walkers).

It's good to be back in London. We are thankful for the work the Lord has for us and are continuing on...

Last Meiners Graduates From Covenant

On May 5th Anna graduated from Covenant. We were very proud of her as she was one of three who finished with a double major. She is working for New City Fellowship in a leadership role with Chattanooga Sports Ministry, helping to mentor young inner city girls through teaching them soccer skills.

All our kids (except Meg in Tanzania and Rinnie's husband, Erik, who had to work) came to Chattanooga for part of the time we were there. One day we all went biking with our four grandchildren being pulled in two bike trailers. It was a really fun time together even though Anna's chain kept coming off her bike.
We got a pretty nice family picture that day.














Now we are back in London. No more sleeveless shirts and shorts for a while. It's been in the low 60's or lower since we got back except for a few warmer days. As I got ready to bike to the bank I actually thought about getting out my winter coat again! With all the rain, at least my garden is growing well.

Spring 2007

We've had such lovely weather here in London. The leaves are finally coming out on the tress, flowers are in bloom and the weather is warm and sunny. Last November our daughter gave us a box of tulip bulbs and it has been such fun watching them come up and bloom. I have a great view of them out my kitchen window. Thanks so much, Sarah.

The blue bells are also in bloom so with them, the tulips and our fish, we are really enjoying our little garden these days. We've been busy preparing the soil and planting some annuals--a nice project to do together.

Yesterday we went for a long walk and picnic along the Thames with Hampton Court Palace in the background. It was great being with old friends. Our schedules often do not put us in country at the same time so this was a special day.

Battle, England

On Monday, Paul and I went by motorcycle to Battle where the Battle of Hastings took place. It was a three hour cycle ride, much of it through the country. The sun was shining and it was fun, at least most of it was fun. The ride back on the motorway at 70+ miles per hour in gusting wind was a little unnerving and I found myself praying, singing hymns, reciting Scripture, all in an attempt to stay calm. It really struck me what little protection we had and I had a very real sense that we were in the Lord's hands. I was so relieved when we got into the city and were able to slow down and be surrounded by buildings, blocking the wind. Paul admitted he was a little scared at times too so I didn't feel so bad.

Anyway, back to Battle. William the Conqueror built an abby as a monument to the thousands who died during the battle of Hastings in 1066. Although it is in ruins, you can still see much of how it must have looked. Here's Paul standing on the spot where, traditionally, it is said that Kind Harold of England fell during the battle.

It was a facinating audio tour as we walked around the battle grounds, learning the differences between how the Normans and English fought and how the day of battle progressed. It did seem the English had the advantage and were well on their way to victory when William came up with a way to trick them and the English soldiers fell for it. It is said that this is the most famous and most important battle in English history. Here's a picture of us in front of the Abby sitting in the battlefield.