Whoo…it's another sweltering, hot, South Dakota summer day. The temps are soaring in the high 90s. I walked outside and it was as if I had walked into a sauna-it literally takes your breath away! We've had a wonderful time of ministry in Wisconsin. We left Tomah and headed out to Grantsburg, Wisconsin for a weekend of ministry. Grantsburg borders the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. We went by way of Minneapolis and dropped off Myanna to spend a weekend with her Mommy and brother. Myanna is always...
Greetings from the breathtaking state of Wisconsin! The rolling hills, streams, dairy farms polka dotted with Holstein cows, towering corn fields...oh...it's just beautiful. We are enjoying every inch of the area.
We journeyed last week from South Dakota to Minneapolis where we spent two days taking care of business which in turn allowed Myanna to spend two days with her mom and brother. Larry and I had a pleasant surprise as well. We were able to see our daughter, LaShawn, who stopped in Minneapolis for a few hours on her way from the East coast en route to Calgary Canada. We only had four hours with her, but it was a wonderful four hours. Every minute we can spend with our family is special.
We journeyed last week from South Dakota to Minneapolis where we spent two days taking care of business which in turn allowed Myanna to spend two days with her mom and brother. Larry and I had a pleasant surprise as well. We were able to see our daughter, LaShawn, who stopped in Minneapolis for a few hours on her way from the East coast en route to Calgary Canada. We only had four hours with her, but it was a wonderful four hours. Every minute we can spend with our family is special.
Greetings from Sisseton! At 7:45 AM this morning, our phone rang. I answered and the voice of a desperate person pleaded, "Do you take prayer requests?" "Yes, we do," I responded. With his voice trembling, he implored, " I need prayer. I'm a single parent. I am separated from my little daughter and I am severely depressed." Cautiously, I interjected, "Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?" Reluctantly and regretfully, he said, "I gave my heart to God years and years ago, but I've fallen away. I want to get back to God-would you pray with me?" I acknowledged, "I would be happy to!" I took a few minutes at first to encourage him and then he prayed with me.
Let's see...where am I today? HA! This past week once again has been a whirlwind. June 28th was Larry's 64th birthday. Wow...those years roll around in a hurry! Someone once said, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes." It seems like just yesterday we were teenagers in our home church in Sisseton, SD, teasing each other, then we fell in love and now we have spent 41 of his birthdays together.
It's been another wonderful, eventful, hot, windy week. The temps have been in the upper 90's. Whew!
We left the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota last Friday morning and headed across the prairie land west of the Missouri River. We continued on to the east side of the river to Whitlock Recreation Campground where we were special guests for the Gettysburg, SD, Grace Bible Church Family Camp. What a refreshing time we had with this wonderful group of people!
We left the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota last Friday morning and headed across the prairie land west of the Missouri River. We continued on to the east side of the river to Whitlock Recreation Campground where we were special guests for the Gettysburg, SD, Grace Bible Church Family Camp. What a refreshing time we had with this wonderful group of people!
Greetings again from Keystone, SD! Larry and I have our motorcoach nestled among the beautiful towering pines in a RV park owned by our friends, Duane and Laura Pankratz. They've been so gracious to allow us to set up base camp here for a week and a half while we've had services in the Black Hills area. The view of Mt. Rushmore from our couch is absolutely breathtaking! If you ever get a chance to visit South Dakota, be sure to take in Mt. Rushmore, one of the Seven Forgotten Modern Wonders of the World.
Greetings from beautiful Spearfish South Dakota! What a breath-taking part of western SD! It has hills, streams, pines, canyons, and myriads of wild flowers. The residents here tell us, "If you want to learn fly fishing this is the place to give it a try." Last Sunday morning after church, I was visiting with some of the locals who were bragging about their great trout streams and trout farms around here. In the course of the conversation they asked if I like to fish, to which I responded, "Yes...if I could catch one." I chuckled and shared with them about an experience I had about 25 years ago when our girls were in their early teens. We ventured out on a four day camping trip in Woodland Park outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. My children and Larry were teasing me about my lack of talent in catching fish. I couldn't even pull in one fish!
We are on the road again! We began our journey last week by going for our annual dental appointments...only it was a bit more involved than I had anticipated. I was scheduled for a skin graft taking skin from the roof of my mouth and grafting into my lower right gumline. Dr. Carlson from Brookings, SD, did a great job. As a result, it has been a long week of liquids, mouth rinses, antibiotics, hot packs, discomforts, as well as a full weekend of ministry, singing and speaking. I praise God...I made it! This past Tuesday, I had the stitches taken out and I am trusting God for a speedy healing.
Another great action-packed week has passed filled with graduation, open houses, family gatherings and Memorial Day activities all wrapped up in three days. It was an emotional weekend. Larry and I are usually on the road for most holidays so we were thrilled to be able to attend two grandnieces' graduation and open houses which brought a large number of family, friends and relatives together. Of course, with those ingredients we also had lots of laughter and lots of delicious food.
OUCH! Does your calendar look like ours? Yes, I am sure most of you can identify. I always plan my days but they never go as planned! HA!
Somehow through the years, I hoped that when I came off the road, I could just putz around doing just the things that I enjoy. My dream bubble burst however, when all of the "have-to's" escalated to the top of my to-do list successfully bumping my "want-to's" further and further down the list. Several years ago, I was kind of whining and expressing this disappointment to a friend. She tossed back her blonde hair, placed her hands on her hips, and sarcastically, yet humorously, said, "Why do you think you should be able to come home and do nothing when everyone I know including ME can't? We even live at home all the time!"
Somehow through the years, I hoped that when I came off the road, I could just putz around doing just the things that I enjoy. My dream bubble burst however, when all of the "have-to's" escalated to the top of my to-do list successfully bumping my "want-to's" further and further down the list. Several years ago, I was kind of whining and expressing this disappointment to a friend. She tossed back her blonde hair, placed her hands on her hips, and sarcastically, yet humorously, said, "Why do you think you should be able to come home and do nothing when everyone I know including ME can't? We even live at home all the time!"