Pictures From Waaaaay Back

We finally got high speed internet -- at our house in Lebanon. So I decided to upload a few pictures. We were able to see cactus in bloom. Beautiful! These prickly pear cactus were across the road from our RV. The blooms do not last very long -- one to three days.

The Rio Grande Gorge in northern New Mexico near Taos. That little strip of water is 650 feet down there. The Rio Grande begins in SW Colorado a couple hundreds miles north of here. By the way, most of the people in this area pronounce the "e" in "Grande."

The entrance to Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. This picture shows the walkway zigzagging back and forth from ground level down to the actual entrance and then on down into the cave (notice the people walking down). This cave is awesome. I walked down and met Joyce at the bottom. She went down the elevator.

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. These sands make it look like you are at the beach. They go on and on and on -- but no ocean.

Logs in the Petrified Forest National Park in NE Arizona. These are spread all over the park.

Friends we met in Albuquerque: L to R: Dennis and Sandy, Joyce and me, Vern and Pam. We enjoyed Easter with them and then again a few days later at Vern and Pam's house for pizza.

This Was A Really Great Week

Last Sunday I was just arriving at Fir Point Bible Camp. Korak was just barely home from the hospital. Jana, Ginger, and kids were on their way to L.A. A short summary of the week is simply, it all went well.

Fir Point Camp was great. We had about 44 kids in the younger group. Many of them made decisions to follow Jesus. Joyce and I taught the Bible lesson which was based on the events surrounding Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Jana did most of the planning and was set to be a large part of the presentations. Because she wasn't there, we made some last minute adjustments and recruited Connie be be our helper. Connie has been coming to Fir Point Camp for lots and lots of years. She is the treasurer and in charge of crafts so she was free during the time we did our Bible story. During the first part of the week it was hot -- maybe low 90s. Wednesday evening it rained -- thunderstorm, big rain drops, lots of them. It came after dinner while we were painting ceramics for craft --outdoors. All the kids picked up their craft and headed for the lodge building. The rain didn't hamper activities very much. After that, it was cooler. The camp leaders changed the schedule this year so our last Bible presentation was Thursday morning. Because of the rain they changed the schedule even more. Instead of presenting the lesson three times with the kids coming on a rotating basis, we did it only once Thursday morning to the entire group (this was crossing the Red Sea so it worked really well for a large group). This meant Joyce and I could clean up our teaching space before we left for Grants Pass and her doctor's appointment. Anyway, it was a good week.

As I said in my last blog, Jana got home okay. Korak is doing fine. Ginger flew home Wednesday. Debbie met her at the Portland airport and drove her to Lebanon to pick up her car. She had left it in our "new" garage. By the time she got home, she was tired but everything worked out okay.

We are in Grants Pass to do a few things on the house, get packed, and load the pickup to "move" to Lebanon. This morning we attended church at Allen Creek. It is different. 'Nough said. Trevor and Shanette handled Lebanon on their own. I talked to him a little while ago and he said it went okay. Did I mention we have music? At least for awhile. A lady named Linda is back to play the piano and another Linda is singing.

We go back to Lebanon on Wednesday. I'm kind of anxious to get back and get into a routine.

All's Well

Just a quick update. Korak is home from the hospital. He sounded like his normal self when I talked to him this afternoon. Jana, Ginger and the kids arrived in LA safely. I don't know a lot of details but I do know that he will be taking it real easy for at least a week.

I made to Fir Point Camp about 4:30 Sunday. After church I packed up the RV and made a stop at Trevor and Shanette's for a hamburger -- they were having an open house so people could see the new carpet. We did a little set up last night for our Bible presentation and finished it up this morning. This afternoon the kids arrived and we presented Day 1 to three different groups. It featured Moses and the burning bush. It is hot -- somewhere in the 90s. Good thing the burning bush didn't produce any heat!!!

God is good.

Lebanon, Oregon

Today is Saturday, the first day of August. My, how the summer has gone by so fast. My calendar says Mars is supposed to be really close to the earth this month. I read that it will look as big as the moon. I don't believe it! But I am blogging today because I probably won't have internet connection for a week.

About Lebanon? I can say it is hot!!! Although not any hotter than it has been all over the northwest. Records fell all over the place last week. We had about 4 days of 100* plus -- I think the high was 103*. In Grants Pass it hit 108*. Fortunately the RV is air conditioned. I was at the church most of each day; the main office and the pastor's office are air conditioned. I have set up "camp" in the room connected to the main office. It is sort of a work room with storage for all the paper and similar supplies, plus the copier is in there. There is also a nice desk. I let Trevor have the pastor's office. Some of the cool air filtered over to my side so it wasn't too bad. Joyce, Jana and the kids spent a lot of time down by the river. Tuesday evening, it was so hot we drove to Corvallis to see a movie. It worked out that we got to see "G Force" in 3-D. Kind of expensive but it was really good, especially with things flying out of the screen at you. The kids really loved it.


Joyce left me Wednesday. So did Jana and the kids. I get them back tomorrow. They went home to make the final preparations for Fir Point Camp. We are teaching the Bible story again this year. This meant the RV was quiet and cool (with the air going), so I came back here each afternoon when it got really hot and worked on my sermon in a little more comfortable style. I'm preaching tomorrow.

I started to tell you about Lebanon. It is a small town -- about 15,000 population. Corvallis (home of Oregon State University) is about 15 miles west and Albany (larger) is about 15 miles NW. We have a Super Wal-Mart, a nice Safeway, lots of fast food places, and a few nice sit-down restaurants. Plus lots of churches. I'm anxious to post some pictures. We are going to get high-speed internet at the church so I can use that -- maybe a month away. Lebanon is about 170 miles north of Grants Pass -- straight up the freeway and 8 miles east. It is about 30-35 miles south of Salem -- right in the heart of the Willamette Valley. A lot of grass seed is grown in this area.

We had a little scare this week. Jana's husband, Korak, is back in LA working. He had been feeling a little chest pain so finally went to the doctor. They ran him through the treadmill test which he passed easily. Then did an MRI. It showed some occlusion in one the blood vessels around the heart. So yesterday they did an angiogram and found it was 95% blocked. They put in a stint and will run some more tests on another blood vessel they couldn't see very well. He spent the night in the hospital and goes home today. Jana felt bad that she couldn't be there but Korak's mother is in LA to give him lots of TLC. We considered flying her back for the weekend but that presented it's own set of problems so they elected to let Jana comfort him long distance. He is supposed to fly up to join us next Friday and we're hoping that will still be possible.


Oops. Just got word that changes the above paragraph. Jana really wants to be with Korak -- and she should be. He is spending another night in the hospital. Roy and Twyla came to visit just before Ginger got here. After lots of phone calls and a little encouragement from dad, Jana is driving home tomorrow. Ginger was going to have dinner with me tonight and attend church tomorrow. But now... a change. Roy is taking her to Grants Pass and she will help Jana drive back to LA. Then help her sister with the kids for a few days. She'll fly back to Portland in the middle of the week and bum a ride down to Lebanon to get her car. This means we won't have Jana to help at Fir Point but we'll manage -- probably get someone to take her place. It also means I don't get to hug Jana, Josiah, and Lilly again before they go back.

Trevor and Shanette moved into the parsonage last week so they are having an open house after church with hamburgers and hot dogs. I'll preach, grab a quick bite, hook up the RV, and head south. It is about 150 miles down the freeway to Glendale where the camp is. Joyce will get a friend to take her to Fir Point.

And speaking of houses -- we got one. Well, one to rent, that is. It is a duplex in a really nice complex of townhouses and duplexes. Our back deck (very tiny) looks out over a small canal. They do all the yard work!!!!!!! We take possession today so we are now looking for furniture to put in it. Getting it now means I don't have to pull the RV back up to Lebanon to live in while we continue to house hunt. Our neighbor on the other side of the duplex is an elderly lady so she probably doesn't throw any late night parties. I hope. We are keeping our Grants Pass house so will have to go back occasionally to check on things.

Probably this blog sounds a little disjointed because I typed it at various points throughout the day. And plans kept changing throughout the day. But you get the idea. And you know what to pray for.

Getting Acquainted

Just to put your mind at ease, the music was good today; so was the preaching. Sunday #2 went a lot better. We had Joann come to play and lead music. Joyce helped her sing. We served communion and Trevor preached on "Such a Day as This" from the Book of Esther. He did well. We are trying to get acquainted with everyone and some people seem to delight in making it difficult. We are asking everyone to put on a simple paper name tag; some won't do it. Oh well, eventually it will all come about.

Most of this week has been taken up with working at the church and looking for a place to rent. As for the church, I've been getting acquainted with where things are and with people who drop by; and then also just being there. House hunting is a different matter. We have driven by dozens of places -- and just kept driving. Some were not in a good area, some were too run down, some were on a busy street, some had no parking, and on and on. We toured two and made application for one. We should know by Wednesday if we will get it. It is a two-bedroom duplex in a complex of duplexes and town houses. Nicely landscaped, lots of trees, and quiet. The person on the other side of the duplex is a very elderly single lady. This is the first time we have rented in 17 years. When we first moved to GP we rented for 10 months.

Saturday, a girl in the church got married at her parents home in the country. The former pastor joined them in marriage. The day was hot but it was all under the trees in the shade so was real pleasant. It was planned very well. They had the ceremony in one place, then we walked a short distance, passed the guest book, went through the receiving line, got a cold drink, then found a seat at a round table. When the time came, we were dismissed to go through a buffet line to get our food. While we were waiting and eating, the bride's brother took a microphone to various people who said something nice (or funny) about the bride or groom -- or both. It made the waiting time go by quickly. After the cake cutting, the bride and groom -- assisted by the parents -- brought cake to each of our tables. A nice touch.

Friday we moved from Mallard Creek to Gill's Landing. This is in town so closer to the church and everything else. It is also cheaper -- er... less expensive. It is owned by the City of Lebanon and is very well maintained. The Santiam River, with a real nice beach, is directly across the road. The kids love playing there. The biggest drawback to being here is that we are not in very much shade and it is hot -- supposed to hit 100* in a couple days. But we have air conditioning and are usually down by the river or somewhere around town. My cousin Melode and her husband Ric came to visit today. Saying Melode is my cousin is a way of simplifying it. Her great grandfather and my dad were brothers -- you figure it out. We had a great, but too short, visit. They are on their way to Anaheim for a Creative Memories Convention. Tonight they had to be in -- isn't this ironic? -- Grants Pass! They have a friend there to visit and originally were going to visit us there also. Until we did this Lebanon thing.

So, enjoy your week. Stay cool. We'll try.

Grandma H. & Grandma M.

Well, yes. We did that and now we are doing this. Nothing boring in our lives. Last Monday we left the 100* weather of Grants Pass for the 95* weather of Detroit Lake. Not much difference. We were up there at a really nice cabin with a super great hot tub overlooking Detroit Lake. The lake is behind a dam on the Santiam River east of Salem. Did I mention they have a hot tub? This was the site of Camp Grandma!

I suppose it all started in 1975 when we moved to Newberg. We became friends with a family who had two children just a little younger than our ours -- a boy and girl. They lived near us, so these 4 kids sort of grew up together -- well, grew up until we left Newberg when ours were in late grade school. But we have remained friends over the years. In the course of time and romance the kids grew older, got married, and had kids of their own (each have a boy and a girl -- except Ginger, of course). The other grandma in this scenario wanted to do a Camp Grandma to allow her four g-kids to get better acquainted because 2 of them are missionary kids in Japan. Right now they and their parents are home between assignments. And it so happened that our two g-kids would be here on vacation at the same time. So grandma H. cajoled grandma M. into helping her and making it a 6 kid, 3 night sleep over (without parents). Me? I'm the token grandpa who only had to do a wood craft with the kids. Yeah, right! And organize the treasure hunt which ended at the ice cream shop. And help transport kids down to the lake to play in the water. And lift this. And lift that. And carry this. Oh yes, and sit with them in the hot tub in the evening when it cooled down. Oh my, what misery. It was an outdoor tub overlooking the lake with lots of little jets for the person sitting in the King's Corner. Someone had to do it. Just as well it was me. I'd hate to have the grandmas subject themselves to that kind treatment.

But the kids did have fun. They made some crafts Joyce had, the bird feeder I'd planned, they got to eat mostly finger food, they did NOT have to make their beds, they had lots of free time to play together, had morning devotions and an evening story, and the daily trips to the lake. This turned out to be daily because it was so hot and down there they could play in the water.

Friday morning all this fol-de-rol came to an end. We loaded up our two grandkids and met Jana and Ginger at Enchanted Forest. Did I mention that we had our RV up there? Anyway, we traded the kids and all their stuff for more room in the RV. We headed out for Lebanon; Ginger Jana, and the kids went off to have their time together. We are presently camped just outside of town at Mallard Creek Golf and RV Resort. Pretty upscale. Everyone golfs. Except me. That's why they go there. You should see some of these classy motor homes!

Now let me introduce you to our first Sunday at the Lebanon Free Methodist Church. First of all, this is a great church with lots of good history and lots of good people. Except the "lots" have been dwindling over the past couple years. In the past, music was led by the pastor, his wife, and one other person. So we knew that would be a big hole to fill. Trevor and Shanette tried to get every friend they ever had, or wished they had, to come and be the music for even one Sunday. Nothing. So I arranged for Joann (the grandma H.) from above to come and lead us in some hymns and a maybe a couple of older choruses -- because that is what she knows. Then Friday, Trevor calls and tells me they have made contact with a guy who is willing to come, play the guitar, and lead in some choruses and hymns. Great! I cancel Joann. Saturday we all meet at the church, decide on the songs, and practice a little. He agrees to come early Sunday to go over the songs again. Sunday morning, no song guy. Time for worship. No song guy. So we do the right thing. We panic. Trevor talks to some people and what we end up with really wasn't too bad. Two ladies led us in one hymn and three choruses, all a'capella. Hey, that's the way the church used to do it. The congregation did well. We had special prayer for a man with cancer, the church prayed for us, I preached, then there was a finger food reception for us. Ginger, Jana, Josiah and Lilly were here. That was great. And that's the way it was, as Mr. Cronkite used to say.

Next Sunday, Trevor preaches. This week we get better acquainted with the church. Stay tuned.

(P.S. I still don't know what happened to the song guy)

A Good Week

Wow, the week really goes by fast with family to keep up with. Korak went home Monday. We all miss him but he'll be back the first part of August. This week Rogue Valley Heating and Air came to install a new heating and air conditioning system in our house. This is the first time we have had a central system and we really needed to update. The old (dirty, smokey) wood stove will come out but we will still have a fireplace. Also the old wall mounted air conditioner will come out when Korak comes back. He is going to take it home and see if he can install it in his house. Then I'll have to figure out a way to fix the hole in the wall!!! The Rogue Valley guys had to crawl around in the attic during 85* days. They sure sweat a lot. We have been able to use the air conditioning for 3 days and we love it. Of course, this winter when it is cold we'll be up in Lebanon and not able to enjoy the nice warm not-wood-stove heat. Oh well.

While this was going on (including the inspections that followed) one of us had to be here. Usually that was me while Joyce and Jana ran around collecting the things we will need for kids camp at Fir Point in a few weeks. We worked on the planning for that -- we are doing the Bible lesson again this year -- along with the planning and preparation for Gramma's Camp. That is next week and I'll tell more about it next time. I am the token male (grandpa) at this camp and have been given the task of doing a craft with the kids. I made up a bird feeder and spent part of the week preparing the material so we have nice little kits for the kids to nail together.

While working for Wycliffe in Tucson last winter we made some really great friends. On Friday Gene and Linda stopped by for dinner and an evening of catching up on each other's lives. They used to live about half way between here and Crescent City so were on their way to visit old friends there. Their home is in Boise now. It is amazing the close friendships we made in only a couple of months. It must have something to do with that common bond we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yesterday our local public safety station (fire station and police substation combined) had an open house. This is a new building about a couple miles from our house. Jana and I took the kids. It was a really super open house. The kids got to sit on the fire engines, ride up on a rescue hoist, sit on the police motor cycles, and have their pictures taken with SWAT team vests and helmets on. I'll try to download some pictures but I'm not very hopeful. We got a tour of the whole place plus a hot dog lunch. The kids loved it and they got to meet firemen and policemen (in this case they were all men) and learn that they are not scary people. It was a good experience.

Today we worshiped at Jerome Prairie Bible. I led the communion part of the service. This evening we took the kids to a park to have fun on the play structures and run in the fountain. Then they were all wet so we had to go back home for dry clothes before we could go to Sharis for soup and pie. It was a good day. And a good week.

Family. Wonderful.

This has simply been a week of family. Korak, Jana, Josiah and Lilly arrived Monday afternoon and we have been enjoying every minute of it. The kids are having fun playing in the back yard and going for bike rides. Wednesday was Joyce and my anniversary so Korak and Jana took us out to dinner at a new restaurant on the bank of the Rogue River. Really nice. Actually we combined celebrations for Father's Day and our anniversary.

Friday, Korak and I put in some round stepping stones and gravel to kind of "finish" the back yard makeover. I was grateful for his help but we almost had a tragedy. I borrowed the neighbor's small utility trailer to haul the rock. Because it is old I didn't want to load it too heavily so we made three trips. On the second trip it came off the hitch and scooted along the pavement until the trailer hit the hitch ball and stopped. The scary part is that the safety chain broke so it could have gone anywhere it wanted but it stayed right behind the pickup. This happened just around the corner from a very, very busy intersection. I left Korak to direct traffic and made a quick trip home to get bottle jacks. It didn't take very long and we had the thing hooked back up and were on our way. The local policeman who stopped by didn't even offer to help lift! Oh, did I mention we were having a heat wave. The temps hit 99* that day! We drank a lot and sweat a lot but we got it done.

Saturday was Independence Day. Happy 4th, by the way. A little late. Anyway, we left early in the morning, drove to Salem, had a picnic lunch with Ginger, her clients, and their families. Then went down to the the riverfront park to let Josiah and Lilly enjoy some carnival rides. The park also has a permanent, really, really nice carousel and the kids love riding on it. Only 75 cents!

We were back home in time to light some fireworks on the street in front of our house. Of course, you understand we did this for Josiah and Lilly's benefit. Actually Lilly didn't like it because some of them were too loud but Josiah loved it.

Today we went to Worship in the Park at Riverside Park in Grants Pass. This was a community event with most (or at least many) of the churches participating. Fortunately, the weather was a little cooler and we also found some shade. Couldn't see too well, but we had shade.

Tomorrow, Korak goes home to work to pay for all this vacation stuff. But Jana and the kids stay here. So stay tuned. More family coming up. And pictures when my connection will allow.