Losing A Friend

I haven't mentioned it before, but we lost our best friend a couple of months ago. Lady Di was our Chow Chow and we had 12 and a half wonderful years together. She was suffering from severe arthritis and hearing loss and poor eyesight at the end. We couldn't stand to see her suffer any longer. I was working out of town and Jackie called me sobbing. Lady was dragging herself around the yard, whimpering and crying. She called the vet and brought her to the hospital. Everyone there said Goodbye. I cried over the phone.

We still are not over grieving and I haven't been able to bury her ashes yet. I still want to have her around for a while. We have been looking for a new friend, but we are looking in a shelter or rescue home instead of a pet shop or breeder. I have bought Mark Levin's book , Rescuing Sprite, for my wife as a Christmas present. I hope she can read it without getting too upset. After she reads it, I'll try.

I rescued a kitten from a New Orleans Park last February and he has grown up into a fiesty little one-eyed fury. His name is Tyler and he is black and only has one eye. The vet said the other eye was gouged either accidentally or on purpose. I hope it was an accident. Anyway, it has not stopped him from being a hunter. He is amazing at catching dragon flies and lizards. He has to have his early morning ear rub before I can leave every day. When he gets enough he starts biting my hand and scraping my arm with his back feet. For the most part he helps us keep our mind off of Lady.

Almost Christmas

Well, its almost Christmas. I turn another year older and probably a little fatter. Today is my granddaughter Savannah's birthday. She is eight. She told me last night that I needed to grow my beard out ( it's mostly white) and get a Santa Claus suit. LOL. Maybe next year.

Also, Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law John.

Post mission trip

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support. Thanks for your generosity and love, your kind letters and notes, your encouraging phone calls. We had great success on our mission to bring God’s love and message of salvation to the children of the Dominican Republic. We ministered to over 300 children on a daily basis. Over eighty percent of all these children are under the age of eleven. Most of the rest are under the age of sixteen. We brought the love of Jesus, some food, some clothes, some toys and small gifts to a group of kids with nothing much more than meager shelter. We played games and sang songs. We witnessed to the parents and adults. There were several that gave their life to Christ.

What I thought was remarkable is the smiles and hugs that we received from these kids every time we showed up. They were eager and enthusiastic. I could hardly wrap my mind around the concept of their happiness without having all the “stuff” that we surround ourselves with. I felt shame and humility and even sometimes guilt that I have so much. I will carry these memories around with me for a long time.

These kids have a church and a missionary, Angela Gutierrez, who loves them. But they are still without a building for their church. Logistics and resources prevented us working on the building, however, we were able to give Angela enough money for materials and labor to finish the first floor. Her hope is to build three floors total because there is no room to build outward beyond the walls that are already up. This small piece of land that the church is on is all that is left of the surrounding property that used to be hers. You see, Angela is ministering to the children and grandchildren of squatters who took over her land. Her heart is not to reclaim the land, but to claim the souls of this community for Jesus Christ. She calls their ministry “Evangelizando los Ninos” or Evangelizing the Children. I thank God that I was able to be a part of this great work and I will continue to pray and support this mission.

Thanks to all of you again.

Thanks Pop and Katie!

I am so grateful to get the money you sent. I called Jackie and bawled my eyes out. Thanks so very much. We still have a ways to go on fund raising but every little bit helps. My family has really came through for me. Thanks again to Pam, Jennie, Martha, and my mother-in-law, Betty. I will add more names when more comes in. God Bless you all.

Rain, Rain , GO AWAY!

What can I say, the rain is murder. I can't seem to finish a job. We having weekly meetings about the missions trip now. Only about 45 days left until we leave. I need to wrap up some projects before I leave. We have about 30 people going altogether, so we hope to do a lot of outreach.

Our latest fundraisers are a BBQed chicken sale and an all day carwash. I can go for the chicken. Prayers and support are always needed so keep them coming.

Gulf Shores Vacation

Just returned from our vacation to the beach. The weather was excellent even tho' a little hot. I enjoyed visiting with my family . We had 14 family members in one house.(always an adventure)
My brother, Merle, and his family, My sister, Jennifer, and her family, My sister Katie,and my sister Pam . My wife, Jackie, my granddaughter, Savannah and me. I would list everyone's name but you know what happens if you forget someone. :( I miss everyone already tho'.

Missions Trip to Dominican Republic

We are having our first fund raiser on May 5 for our missions trip to Dominican Republic. We hope to raise in all over $ 50,000 by early September to fund the trip and buy building materials. The purpose of the trip is to complete the roof and floor of a building that the local people are using for a church and school. As of now, it is only partially roofed with no walls or floors. Over 300 children attend Sunday School and learning activities on a regular basis. We hope that we can be a blessing to these people and be able to offer them ongoing support in the future.

Current Projects

Just returned from Houston. We installed a custom graphic pool entry for a subdivision.