Moving closer to Departure Day!

How many yard sales does a missionary have in a lifetime? I would really like to know! I have had more than I would wish to have! I mean, why do I buy things, only to have to get rid of those things.

Our apartment community designated last Saturday as the one day this year to have a sale. I am so glad I was able to take advantage of it. We are really growing weary of paying for a large storage unit for 4 years, coming home for a year just to put everything in storage again.

This sale cleaned me out! I was surprised at how much traffic I had. There are 240 units here in the complex. I hear everyone did well.

Renee and I had a meltdown at the end of the day when the last piece of furniture left. It was my last piece from our Springfield, Missouri days. It effected us deeply. We cried.

Missionaries are minimalists. We can own very little or just enough to get by and be okay with it. One of the reasons Denny and I don't have much is because we have no where to put it! I have sold 2 grand pianos in my life to get to the field. I don't suppose I will ever own another. But that's okay, at least I don't have to sell another!

Yard sales are hard. You know what you paid for an item and a person comes along and says, "will you take a quarter?" You have to say yes because you know another person may not come along, and if they do, they may only offer a dime!

After a sale, I always say, "I will never do another sale in my life!" They are so much work for little reward, but hey! at least the stuff is gone!

There is no furniture in the apartment now, only our beds. Thank God the kitchen appliances belong to the apartment, I can still cook for the month of July!

Renee ~our dancer!

I am not sure how many dance recitals I have been to in my life as Renee's mom, all I know is there have been many and I have loved every one! I love the music, the dances and the costumes! Renee started ballet, tap, and jazz when she was a tyke! Denn was pastor of Calvary Assembly in Irwin, PA when we found our first teacher and dance studio. She was hooked!

When she was 4 we moved to Springfield, Missouri and found a new school with many teachers, Sunshine Dance. She danced ballet, tap, and jazz there for 8 years. Then in Jamaica, those 3 distinctives were shelved and she danced Jamaican! That was a whole new style she had never seen before. She learned it well.

Since we have been in the states a year, she has completed a year of getting back into ballet and actually re-learning and pulling her classes from her childhood back into focus! It has been fun. I am so proud of her.

The Kimberton Dance Academy is a brand new school with a beautiful founder and teaching staff. The year end recital was spectacular to say the least. I enjoyed the preparation, the shows, and the excitement!

Renee loves to dance. I have always told her that I wish I had had the opportunity when I was a little girl to learn poise and confidence through dance. I am reminded of the scripture in Zephaniah that God dances over us with singing. I won't be dancing on a stage, but I will continue to dance in my spirit when I think about how much God has done for me and how He loves me so much!

Monday, June 3...

The girls at work are so awesome. They didn't want Renee to be home alone on her birthday, so since she wasn't scheduled to work, Miss Faulkner asked Renee to come to her class, the 3 year olds, and use her photography skills to take pictures of the children.

They gave her a gift, made her cards, and treated her to Chick-Fil-A! She had a wonderful day.








Then after work I took her to On the Border for Mexican. I think that makes for a pretty good day!

Taking time to smell the roses...

When we left Hershey we decided to take the scenic route rather than the expressway. It was so exciting to stumble upon the Teen Challenge in Rehersburg. This was David Wilkerson's flagship Teen Challenge. The campus was so beautiful. Guys were playing basketball, guys were sitting near the lake, there were people walking. It really is in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. What it must have felt like when David brought the city drug dealers and users to this facility for redemption. I cannot even imagine it! God is so good. Ryan told me he sang there a couple of times with the VFCC choir. What a special place.






We continued our drive and came upon Blue Marsh Lake. So pretty, so peaceful, wish we had brought a picnic!

Renee is 17. What a special year for a young lady!

Daddy celebrated Renee's birthday before he left on May 5. When her actual day was getting closer, she was sinking deep into sadness. She was feeling homesick for Jamaica. She was missing her daddy and brother. She felt like her special day was going to be a real downer. A couple weeks before June 3, I began to pray. I felt like the Lord would help me to come up with something special for Renee's 17th. He never disappoints. Hershey is only 64 miles away. Why not go to the land of chocolate! One of a girl's favorite things! The candy gram was delivered and off we go!







When I was growing up in PA I remember going to Hershey. The one thing I will never forget are the streetlights! Hershey is a small town, yet right in the center of town down Main Street are the kisses!





We had a lovely day in Hershey. The trolley ride through the factory is so much fun and oh! the smell of chocolate! Heavenly!

A new addition to the experience is the 4D movie. Sights, sounds, smells, air blowing through the floor, bubbles, confetti, the works. It was fantastic!

Our motel was even on Chocolate Avenue! What a great overnight excursion!







After the trolley ride, the attendant gives you a Hershey's bar. When you go through the kisses area, they attendant gives you 2 samples of different kinds of kisses. When we came out of the movie, the attendant gave 2 samples of a new mint they are promoting. It was really cool to munch on chocolate throughout the experience!



Only in Hershey!



They say everything is bigger in Texas, they haven't seen this syrup bottle!

The Reading Phillies...

Reading PA is a cool city. Truly the only thing I knew about Reading was the Assemblies of God church, Glad Tidings! It is a great church, with a wonderful missions emphasis. They take teams every year to evangelize, build, and support the missionaries they support.

Now I know something else about Reading! On Friday we went with Calvary Assembly to the minor league ball game. We had so much fun! Not only a ball game but fireworks, one of my favorite things! I told Renee they were a pre birthday surprse. An amazing firework show just for her! There was a negative however, the Phillies lost. Oh well, not the end of the world. We had a ball!

..give your gifts away....

God has given all of us gifts, talents, special uniquenesses that make us individuals. He didn't give us these beautiful traits to waste away or consume unto ourselves. If we do, we become stagnant and a muddy reservoirs. We miss out on many joys and memories that our gifts generate in others.

Renee is an artist. Her art work travelled across the island of Jamaica. Her dream is to go to art school. In the meantime, you will find her drawing, painting, making unique treasures. Since she has been at the daycare, she has fallen in love with the children. One little one really has her attention!

Little Ezra. She found a photo of Ezra on his mommy's facebook page. Last week she began to draw his little face. What a treasure. On Monday she presented the drawing to his mom. She loves it!