Hot and Humid

It has been hot and humid here. The farmers have been harvesting wheat. Here's what we've been up to since I wrote last.

HAITI
Ben's trip to Haiti headlines this edition. We dropped him off at the airport early on Tuesday, the 12th, and picked him up Wednesday of the next week (the 20th). To give a brief itinerary, they flew all the way to Port au Prince the first day and then to Jeremie the next. Their team happened to arrive when another Mt. Carmel team, that ran a dental clinic the previous week, was leaving. The mission for Ben's team was to work with the kids at Emmanuel Children’s Village as well as the surrounding area. They led a Vacation Bible School, a sports camp, and taught some basic English while there. Additionally, they had a birthday party and visit to the beach for all the kids at Emmanuel.

Ben's take on the trip is very interesting and something that reveals a lot about his character. We hear of many who go that find it difficult to be without the amenities of home for very long even though they are aware of the vast differences between the two countries. Ben really didn't mention any of these things much, and when asked just seemed to pass it off as "Why would I expect it to be different?" This is not to say that I don't think he was affected by his experience there…he was. He was simply taking everything as it was and finding happiness in the place he found himself.

From the sound of it, Ben was a hit with the kids there, especially the little girl we sponsor, Mitiana. We got several neat pictures of the two of them doing things together (such as jumping rope, and interesting picture given how much Ben towers over her) and the shot of their parting as he left to come home will melt your heart. I think she touched a place deep within him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben goes back some day.

ANNIVERSARY
Life was pretty normal for the rest of us here at home while Ben was away in Haiti. One thing that was special was that Vicki and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago (the 18th). Given that both of us had to work and we had weekend trips coming up, Vicki picked me up after work and we headed to Hillsboro Village to see Won't You Be My Neighbor, the documentary on the life of Mister Rogers. This film was very well done and we highly recommend it. After that we ate supper at the Grilled Cheeserie. The whole evening was a very enjoyable date.

CHURCH CAMP
So two weekends ago, the five of us went three different directions. As I mentioned above, Ben came in from Haiti on the 20th. He had one day at home (and for Vicki to do his laundry) before he and Nate headed out with our church youth group to Student Life camp. They stayed at Orange Beach, Alabama.

From the sound of it, they had a good time there, enjoying the camp activities as well as time on the beach with other kids from church. They returned home a couple of Tuesdays ago (the 26th). Nate was the only one in the group to come back with a sunburn.

OHIO
While the boys were in Alabama, Jenna and I headed north to the Akron, Ohio, area. You may recall that my cousin, Grant, visited us from there back in March. When he was here he mentioned that he was teaching Hebrew classes that enabled people to sightread Hebrew in only three lessons. Intrigued, Jenna and I decided to schedule a trip to visit Grant and learn how to do this. So, we left after dropping the boys off at church for their trip and arrived home a few hours before the boys did last Tuesday.

Sure enough, Grant has a brilliant method for teaching Hebrew. Now that I'm home it's up to me to practice what I learned, but as we finished our lessons I could slowly sound out Hebrew words and even read Genesis 1:1 aloud in Hebrew.

While there Grant and Robin did a lot of fun things with us. Grant and I went biking down a stretch of the Erie Canal towpath one day. Another day, Grant, Jenna, and I drove down to Amish country south of Akron where we visited the Warther Museum and Gardens, visited a cheese factory, etc. Jenna also enjoyed spending time with Grant and Robin's daughter, Lindsay. We also got to visit with Grant's brother, Bryan, and his wife, Mem, and their family.

GIRLS TRIP
Not to be outdone by the rest of the family, Vicki scheduled a girls trip to Gatlinburg last weekend. They left last Friday and came home last Sunday. Unfortunately, Vicki experienced a little food poisoning, but mercifully this passed fairly quickly and she was able to enjoy most of the trip with her friends, Tracy and Angi. From what I've heard they did a lot of eating, shopping, and laughing.

COTTERS VISIT
With all our running these past few weeks, we were able to stay home and host Jim, Dianna, and their boys as they came up for a quick visit last weekend. They arrived Thursday afternoon and returned home Sunday. The boys spent a lot of time together as they usually do. They certainly aren't too old to have a Nerf gun battle or two. They also went to play in the river at Kilgore Park a couple of times. We also took dinner over to Mom's house Friday and Saturday.

In addition to enjoying family time we went shopping at Trash & Treasures in Cross Plains where there were a few treasures to be had this year. I found a small bandsaw for $5. I wound up spending $35-$40 more on a new blade and other parts and now I have a bandsaw that runs like a champ!

LONG OVERDUE
I like Pixar movies, and for me the The Incredibles was the best flick they've produced. I also enjoy Toy Story and understand the appeal and why they would make sequels; however, I've been disappointed that the Parr family was left to languish with only one film. Almost fourteen years later Incredibles 2 is out and it was good to reunite with old friends on a super adventure. We went to see this after church on Sunday. A very fitting end to a fun weekend with family.

A QUIET FOURTH
We had a very enjoyable Fourth of July, though I could have done without the 108° heat index. As is our tradition, we went to the Kilgore Remembrance Ceremony at 9:00. Jenna spent about three hours the day before baking cookies for folks to enjoy, and given how few were left, I think they were a hit.

That afternoon we were invited to a cookout and swimming party at Kenny and Lori's. It was a pleasure to visit with everyone, but a struggle to stay cool. Morgan had purchased an inflatable bull for the pool and it was a lot of fun to watch everyone try their hand at bull riding.

We had thought about going to Cross Plains for the fireworks, but after coming in and cooling off from the party no one wanted to go back outside. We stayed in and watched the first installment of the The Incredibles on DVD.

2018, PART 2
As of Tuesday we are now in the second half of the year. School starts in a little over four weeks now. When I go to work Monday it will feel like we don't have enough time to get everything done before our students return. I have a Peanuts comic book which is aptly named Summers Fly, Winters Walk.

Shalom,

Joe