Half Time

Our newest great-granddaughter, Kiara

Last week, we were on the Polar Express with our California family, including our newest granddaughter, Kiara. Yes, we had to show her off to the whole world as the proud grandparent bug has bitten us! We reached the halfway point in our five-month tour visiting our supporting churches. We decided that since we are traveling so much anyway, we might as well board the train and see the North Pole. Sad to say, once we arrived at the “North Pole,” we could not get off the train and visit Santa’s workshop! Fortunately, Kiara and Elias (our two great-grandchildren here in California) did not realize they were missing something!

Thanksgiving

Elias, 3 years old, was our first great-grandchild. If you think he looks like a bundle of energy, you would be right!

This is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving, and we have so much for which to be thankful. The first leg of our Journey of Grace tour took us to our youngest daughter’s, Rachelle's, home in Ohio, where we spent the Labor Day weekend visiting our beautiful grandchildren and newest great-granddaughter.

The second leg of our Journey of Grace tour took us to Colorado, where we spent seven weeks reporting to our home/sending church, Calvary Community Baptist Church, and several other faithful supporting churches, and friends. Colorado in the fall is amazing, and we enjoyed staying with very special friends who loved on us for all that time!

The third leg of our trip took us to the San Francisco Bay Area, where our daughter, Kim, and all her family live. Kim has been spoiling us for four weeks as we visited our Bay Area churches to report on God's grace during over 50 years of missionary service. We were able to be with our two great-grandchildren almost every weekday during our stay, as Kim babysits for Ashley’s (our beautiful first granddaughter) two children, Elias and Kiara.

We left the SF Bay Area for the fourth leg of this journey to the beautiful Central Coast of California. This letter is being published from Santa Maria, where we spoke at First Baptist Church on Sunday and then in the combined junior and senior high school chapel during the week.

Pine Grove Baptist is the next church on our schedule before we move further south down the coast of California, which marks the next leg of our trip. Many in our country will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day next week, and we will be celebrating that special day with dear friends near Vista/Oceanside, CA. From there, we anticipate the last leg of our California tour to Brawley and Newberry Springs. Then, we drive back to Kim's house in the Bay Area to celebrate Christmas with our family.

We could not post this blog or send this letter without expressing our heartfelt thanks to each of you who share your love for us with your prayers, financial support, and great encouragement. We are enjoying the happiest and most blessed furlough ever, and we are overflowing with joy as we continue to meet friends who have been with us for so many years, as well as new ones. The Lord is good, and we thank Him above all.

We pray that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas, and a fruitful New Year.