Long Lost Relatives Found

I have a computer program that helps you do a family genealogy and took some time off the other day to see how far I could go with it. It turns out that my wife comes from Pilgrim stock and that a group of her relatives from the early 1800's were from New York state. I looked up the little town of Bolton, where they were buried, and it was only an hour from the missionary apartment we are staying in. So I decided to take a little side trip and pay our respects to Tina's great-great-great-great grand parents. The cemetery is just a spot alongside the road out in nowhere, just a bit south of Fort Ticonderoga on beautiful Lake George. We took lots of pictures of tombstones and felt awe-struck, touching those stones and walking between the engraved names of these early pioneers who payed such a heavy price looking for a better life for themselves and their families.

After that we lightened up a bit and had some ice cream and a nice walk past an old fort that was made famous by James Fenmore Cooper in his Deerslayer novel.

Other news: I met a number of pastors at a missions conference in Akron, NY that may schedule us for some future meetings. Also, we have bought our return tickets to Puerto Rico. We will be leaving for the field May 22. Come and visit! We stayed with so many folks here, we will look forward to returning the favor!

Quote for today from our ex-intern Leann: "You can't change the wind, but you can adjust your sails."

Hope some of you will sail our way soon!

Pause in Perth, NY

We are now in Perth Bible Church, in Perth, New York, about 40 miles west of Albany. We will be here in a missionary apartment for all of April and use it as our center of operations as we visit churches around New York state. We may even get a chance to rest before our next meetings in Florida!

Furlough Advantages: Washington DC Field Trip

Inside the Smithsonian we saw some amazing things, but some fun stuff too. The ruby slippers from "The Wizard of OZ," the first Apple computer, the Wright Brothers Airplane, hundreds of stuffed animals, even a 12 ton elephant! There was even a moon rock that we got to touch!

DC is a city that is wonderful to visit, but most every thing was open from just 10-5, giving us only 7 hours a day to see so much. I would like to return and see some of the things we missed, the National Art Gallery, a few more Smithsonians and a visit to Mount Vernon.

I saw a statue outside the National Archives with these words engraved on the base: "The Price of Freedom in Eternal Vigilance." If that is so, then maybe the price of eternal freedom is supernatural vigilance! Please pray for us on our travels and that we may be a blessing to the various churches we are visiting

Furlough Advantage: Super Field Trip

We got up bright and early and got on the DC Metro Subway ready for another big day. We arrived during the peak of the cherry blossoms, but before the festival, so we were fortunate to avoid many of the expected crowds. We walked everywhere that day. Our feet paid a heavy price, but we saw a lot of great stuff: The Smithsonian Museums of Natural History, American History and Space and Technology, the National Archives with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc. and close-up looks at the Washington Monument and Capitol Building, not to mention the worlds largest McDonalds! Almost all the stuff in DC is FREE, but the motels and food seem to make up for it. I am not complaining, an expensive cheeseburger is a small price to pay for this educational, patriotic and emotionally impressive experience!

Furlough Advantages: Extra Special Homeschool Field Trips

We were just a few hours from Washington, DC so we decided to take Sarah and Kristin to see our nations capitol. They were born in Costa Rica and raised mostly in Puerto Rico, so we wanted to show them some impressive things in the US before we returned to the field.

We stayed in Frederick, Maryland and drove 20 min. To the DC Metro station and took the DC Subway into the heart of Washington. The first day we took a night tour of the monuments and memorials. I always find the Lincoln memorial impressive, but this was the first time I saw the WWII memorial, the FDR memorial and the Vietnam memorial.

All these places are very touching and impressive. The most beautiful was the new WWII, with many fountains. The Jefferson memorial is good too, especially the view of the Washington monument reflected in the bay that separates them. We were very tired, but each place was fascinating and drew us to explore till we took the midnight train back up the line to the Shady Grove station and drove back exhausted to our hotel in Frederick, MD.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

We drove by Hershey, Pennsylvania on the way to a meeting and took a few hours to visit Chocolate World. Impressive! They had a little car you go into and it takes you past singing cows and you enter a ride/demonstration exhibit of how chocolate is made. You get free samples and then of course there is the gift stores and food area full of chocolate goodies everywhere. The entrance and exhibit is free, except the 3D corny movie, but that was well worth seeing. I think it was better than the Disney 3d we have seen. It was a nice two hour side trip on our 7 hour drive to Perth Bible Church, about 40 miles W of Albany, New York.

Furlough means Family

Our daughters, Sarah and Kristin, got a chance to met their cousins, Emily and Sarah. Our thanks to Wendy and Keith and our aunt Marlene for the hospitality and family fun we had during our meetings in Pennsylvania.

Signs of the Times?

Pennsylvania apparently has a sense of humor. We saw many odd signs. One official sign read "Seat Belt Zone: Next Million Miles" We saw many Amish buggy warning signs. The oddest signs were these signs directing folks to the towns of Paradise, Panic and Desire. Look where we ended up!

Family Time: Cousin Reunion: Groundhog Greetings

My cousin Wendy and her husband Keith put us up and put up with us for just over a week. It was a lot of fun seeing them and being shown around the sights of central Pennsylvania. We saw lots of Amish folk, and of course the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil!

Pennsylvania Passage: Ministry and Family Time

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (Groundhogs Day Capitol) is near the town of Dubois. We presented our field at First Baptist of Dubois. The Pastor and church made us feel right at home. I have an aunt and a cousin who attend, so it really was a great blessing to see them all. They took us to see the groundhog and we spent a wonderful week with them all in central Pennsylvania

Niagara Falls Between Sermons

We spoke at two churches pastored by a very busy pastor, Jose Rodriguez. He has two churches, one in Buffalo and another in Rochester New York. He preaches two services in Buffalo, first in Spanish and then in English during the next service. Afterwards, he drives to Rochester and preaches a third time in both languages, translating for himself as he goes. I got a real work out visiting and ministering with him recently. And in between services, they even took us to Niagara Falls! No siestas that Sunday afternoon!