Shepherd Group - Another Kind of Adoption

Glenn and I spoke at the Miller's Sherpherd Group while attending Reston Bible Church Mission Conference several weeks ago.  Since that time, we have been

"adopted"

  by this young and energetic group as their missionaries.

I look forward to receiving the benefits of their prayers, friendship and even field visits in the coming months and years.
  Thank you for your prayers and enthusiasm for us.

~J

What "TYPE" of Person is This? :)

Yes, this is a manual typewriter.

Glenn and I stopped by the Calvary Home Retirement Community to visit with Pat H. 

Pat helped Glenn's parents along with several others in the translation of the Mazahua New Testament.  Pat hugged us.  She prayed for us.  We are blessed to have prayer warriors like her on our team.

See my Nov 3 blog for more information about the Mazahua NT

We also ran into Glenn's old High School Spanish teacher from his Boarding School days at Ben Lippen High School, Mr. Jackson.

and E Crichton, Moody alumni and friend.

I just love it when we have the privilege and honor to reconnect with our friends who have faithfully served in so many ways.

~J

Good 'N Plenty

 On our 2 day trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we had to make a trip to the historical Good 'N Plenty Restaurant.

Check out the link to this Pennsylvania Dutch Restaurant

It is a family style Restaurant.  We sat next to a couple that had driven over from Philadelphia. They were celebrating the husband's 60th birthday.  They said, "We splurge once a year and drive over to eat."

 Anybody else tried this restaurant? 

It's pretty good.

  
Or course we passed the traditional horse and buggy on the road.

We also got to visit some dear friends.

I'm thinking, this is a pretty good Blog post, seeing that it is the 'day after Thanksgiving!

~J

Guatemalan Jackie

Meet Jackie.  Her parents adopted her from Guatemala 2 years ago.  And in the process of adoption, we hosted her parents in our home on several occasions.

Precious Smile!

Here is Jackie 2 years ago with her Foster mom!

Glenn and I enjoyed a weekend with Jackie and her Guatemalan adopted brother, Jonathan, and their parents.  They loaned us a van to use while in the DC area.  What a special blessing!!

  Thank YOU A and C!

No Socks?

As we were waiting for the wedding to begin, Glenn and I looked over to Dave's isle.  

What, no socks?

 The Story goes, Dave was doing all those "last minute runs" before Sharon's wedding, so much so that he forgot to bring some socks! 

You gotta love it!

Kathy, on the other hand, did a fantastic job with her homemade Wedding Cake.  Beautiful! 

I just love the green and purple.

~J

Sharon and Joshua

A few Friday nights ago we attended Sharon and Jordan's wedding.  

Beautiful!!

Sharon's dad and Glenn grew up together in Mexico.  Matter of fact, we love Sharon's dad so much, that we named our son, Gary, after him.

 The two Gary's

{picture taken in 2008}

Glenn and Gary

{photo taken by sitting in my wheel chair - bad angle}

~J

Pastor Jeff

Jeff is now Director of Church Relations with South America America
and serving as mission pastor of Grace Bible Church.

We needed a good laugh.  It is quite comical to Glenn and me these days.  Glenn pushing in the wheel chair, crutches off to the side.  It takes extra amount of time to get around these days, to get ready in the mornings and just to go anywhere. 

Several weeks ago, while in Florida, we had 2 extra days with our dear friends Jeff and Kathy.  And what dear friends they are.  We always can remember Kathy's distinct laugh.

They tried to get me laugh, but I just didn't like the DVD/movie "Nacho Libre".  What is so funny about it?

Pastoral Care, even in DC

While attending RBC Mission Conference last week we got an email that CAMex Missionary, Rich, happened to be with a group of young people from Nebraska on a school trip to the DC area and had suffered a something like a stroke and had been admitted to the hospital.

We made some quick calls and made connections for Sara to stay with some friends after she flew in from Nebraska.  Glenn wheeled me into the hospital and make a visit with Rich and his wife.

Again, this is one of those times that we are thankful we could care for the missionary family, even while we were attending a mission conference.  Since we had the Kraft's van for 2 more days, we were able to minister to Sarah by helping to drive her to and from the hospital.

Continue to pray for Rich and his recovery.  Rich and Sara hope that he will be released from the hospital on Friday and they plan to fly back to Nebraska, where they are on home assignment, as early as Saturday. Please pray that Rich will stabilize completely, that he will continue to improve and that their costs will be covered.

~J

G Verwer

Over the past few days, Glenn and I have had the wonderful privilege to participate in the annual mission conference at Reston Bible Church.

Key note Speaker, G Verwer, with his dear wife

Decked out in his traditional world map jacket and holding his inflatable globe in his hands, George challenged the congregation of RBC

to pray. 

To pray for the nations of the world.

To pray for givers in the kingdom.

  To pray for senders and more sent ones.

 George did not lack for enthusiasm and zeal!!

Go to George's blog to read more

or to read/see a Prayer for Guatemala click here

George and I served on the Moody Alumni Board together several years back.
As we visited with George, Glenn and I recounted our Moody and missionary connections. 

Glenn's grandmother,

known as Ma Gamble,

was the dorm mother for the men's dorm at Moody back in the 50's and 60's. 

Back then students would have room inspections, eat family style in the dinning room and had pretty strict rules to live by.  She had an eye for details and was known for her insistence that the guys have clean rooms.  She would religiously remind the young men to remake their beds, turn off the lights and pick up their clothes during their weekly Room Inspections.

George told us that he gave Ma Gamble "headaches" when she would come to his room for the routine room inspection - as he would often not sleep on the bed because his room was full of stuff to give to others.

Wow, what a rich history we have.  And we're thankful for men like George who have paved the way in prayer, who are sharing their excitement for evangelism and missions.
~J

Dr Pepper

"

"I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper, Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? 
"Drink Dr. Pepper

Drink Dr. Pepper"

Driving up through Waco back to Dallas last week, we stopped by the Dr. Pepper museum.

The museum was not very big, fancy or elaborate like the Coke Museum that we visited in Atlanta back in September.  Nor did they give away free Dr. Pepper samples. Instead, we purchased a Dr. Pepper Float made with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice cream.  It can't get better than that!

visit my Coke blog

Summary: 
Dr Pepper is still my favorite soft drink

Remember the Alamo

After visiting with several supporters and friends in the San Antonio area, Glenn and I spent 1/2 day in the Alamo City. 

We thought the best way to explore the River Walk would be to take the River Boat Tour.  Good idea, Glenn!

My memories of San Antonio

While still pregnant with Ellen back in 1982, Glenn and I hopped on a Delta jet for a quick weekend get-away about a month before Ellen's due date.  Glenn checked into a hotel right on the River Walk, specifically asking if the hotel had a pool.  I needed to "float in the water" and get out of the HOT Texas Summer heat.  The attendant said "oh, yes, there is pool on the 2nd floor".  We gathered our stuff, checked into our hotel room, then proceeded to the 2nd floor, only to find that the supposed "swimming pool" was actually a "BILLARD POOL" room... not what we were expecting.

A second memory of San Antonio was way back in 1984, when we had a short weekend visit with G'mommy and G'daddy after attending Eric and Susan's wedding in Austin and Ellen, only 2 years old, had her first ice cream cone.  We sat her down on the park bench and watched her delight, as she enjoyed her vanilla cone while the ice cream squeezed through her possessive little fingers and dripped down off of her hand onto the ground and her pink tennis shoes. 

The third highlight that comes to mind of memorable San Antonio experiences came while we were visiting friends in 2001. They took us to their church on a Wednesday night where Max Lucado asked visitors to introduce themselves. Upon hearing we were missionaries he called us forward and prayed for us. What a wonderful privilege!

"Remember the Alamo", 

after all, today is Veteran's Day.

~J

Fredericksburg, Texas

My nephew, Stephen, joined us for some delicious pie at the Fredericksburg Pie Company.  

We all shared shared some coconut cream, chocolate and cherry pie slices.  Muy sabroso!!

Check out their web site

Fredericksburg Pie Company

While visiting my sister in Fredericksburgs, Texas we stopped by my nephew and niece's elementary classes to speak about missions, life of a missionary and the culture of Guatemala.

We also spoke in the upper school Spanish Class. I see a Guatemala Mission Trip for High schoolers in the near future.

Check out the school web site.
Heritage Classical School

~J

Koffee Kup

The Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico, TX was recommended to us by the office staff at Dr. Bristow's office.  I must say, the onion rings were delicious.  And by this picture you can tell the hamburgers were huge and there was plenty left over.

Check out their website

Koffee Kup 

Anyone else stop by the place on their way to the hill country of central Texas?

Again, as Glenn and I travel, we have kept to our purpose of discovering the "off the road" spots in the small towns we visit.

~J

Payback Time

Back in May, as the CAG graduation was going on in Gauatemala, we kept Bob and Barbara.  They had flown down to be a part of their grandson's graduation ceremonies.  This was right during the mess of the volcano erupting and the massive landslides and rains that came during and after the eruption.  Bob and Barbara stayed with us until Bob had to have some medical attention.

Then we kept Bruce, their son and the graduate's uncle, in our home.  He told us then, "If you are ever in the South Florida area, you are welcome to stay with us. 

So, sure enough, we dropped by the other day while we were visiting friends in Florida. We enjoyed a delightful meal with them along with Steve before he flew back to Guatemala the next day. Before dinner and before we had a restful night's rest, Bruce took Glenn out in his boat that he had restored. It was a lot of fun, even crossing under a low train crossing bridge with the train going overhead.

 The Captain

~Glenn

Prior to visiting with the Osborns, we made a quick stop to see the Norwoods.  They are in the midst of seeking opportunities to serve over-seas.  Pray with us and with them as they seek the Lord's direction.

~J

Epcot

 Epcot

I had an electric chair, giving Glenn a break from pushing me.

I even had Mulan sign my "boot".

I was able to ride most of the stuff, but I couldn't get into the boat in Norway.  But I enjoyed Mexico's exhibition where you look for Donald Duck (Pato Donald).

I'm thankful to have spent a day at Epcot and I enjoyed the different cultures.

~J

Mazahua Scripture

While in the Orlando area we visited the Wycliffe headquarters.  We had an excellent tour of the facilities there.  If you are ever in the area, be sure and visit the 

Discovery Center.

Note:  The light green book on the top shelf is the Mazahua NT that Glenn's parents worked on for years.

While getting a tour of the Wycliffe headquarters we noticed a large bookcase full of Bibles that have been translated into local languages all around the world.  Looking on the shelf for Mexico, we found the green New Testament that Glenn's parents worked on for 30+ years with several other translators.  Wow, what a rich heritage we have.

~J