Tornados and Flooding

The weather has been really scary in this part of the country.  After we left the Valley and arrived in Joshua, Texas (near Fort Worth) storm warnings started. Canton, Texas (about 60 miles away) was hit hard by a tornado. We and the Gees talked about going to Canton, but because of the warnings, we decided not to. It ia windy and cold here right now. In NW Arkansas (Prairie Grove where we are going) had 7-1/2 inches of rain since Friday. A person could not get in or out of town because of the flooding.  Our daughter could not go anywhere as her road is flooded, as many were in the area. We just talked to her and all the water has receded so we should be able to get to her house by tomorrow. Please pray for all of those in the path of the storms - the families of those who lost their lives in Canton, as well as all of those who suffered other loss.

our daughter's road in Arkansas - impassible

We prepared to leave the Valley on Friday after we went to the colonias as the ladies there wanted to give us a little party before we left. It was a brunch type thing, with beans, potatoes fried with eggs, fried cactus with veggies, a small tortilla filled with a meat mixture/and or eggs, Mexican pastry, and a chocolate flan.All of it was delicious - we were presented with a beautiful card from the ladies, signed with personal Scripture verses, and a McDonald's gift card to help us on our way. We did finally get out of Alton by 10:15 and arrived in Joshua about 7:45. The drive was not bad - traffic was slow in spots because of accidents and road construction, but all went well. Before we left the Valley, I checked the turtle eggs - no change at all. I suppose they will hatch while we are gone. I did see a large turtle across the street - wonder if it was the mother checking on her eggs, or perhaps laying more???? 

Hopefully we will leave here tomorrow and arrive sometime later in Arkansas as we do some visiting along the way. We have enjoyed the time with Roy and Paula Gee - especially seeing their family, including their 2 year old twin great-grand kids - Mac and Mallie. We all attended church this morning - I had forgotten what it was like to have little squirmy ones in church - but they were very good. After church we all went to a Mexican restaurant for a wonderful buffet.

This morning's sermon at Lane Prairie Baptist Chuch asked us the question - what does it take to be Christlike?? You need to lead a risen life. God needs to be first place in your life. Because He is the Lord of everything we have everything. He has commanded us to share the Word with everyone by calling us to be His witnesses. When you talk to any one about Him, all you have to do is tell them what He has done in your life. He will do the rest. We will never reach the world until we leave it because we overcome the world through Jesus. If Jesus is not the Lord of all, He is not the Lord at all.  How do you live a risen life??

1) the reminder - when you are saved, you  are baptized and raised with Him. But remember, you do not have to be baptized to be saved - it is just through faith that you choose to be baptized.

2) responsibility - seek the eternal things- the things of this world are temporary.

3) resource - Jesus is the resource - He will never disappoint us.

4) reason - our life is hidden in Christ  Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ

5) revelation -  Christ will come again.

Believe all of these things and you will indeed live a risen life.

Remember this week to pray for those who have lost so much in tragedies and stormy weather.

 

Count Down

This is the week that we begin the countdown to our travel to Arkansas and Wisconsin. Not really a lot to prepare, as we leave the electricity on and just need to cook up everything in the refrigerator that could spoil, but a lot can stay until we return - freezers should be OK unless we have a have a power outage - plants are going to be watered ( not too many of them) important mail will be forwarded, otherwise junk mail can stay here!!! A bit of packing to do, last minute ends to tie up.

It was pretty chilly this morning as we went off to church - then met fellow chaplains  for lunch in McAllen - wonderful meal of salmon and veggies. Then a trip to the pharmacy to pick up last minute prescriptions, and one last stop today for 50# of 1015 onions. The onions are staying outside to dry a bit and not smell up the house.

Pretty quiet here in the park as there are just a few Winter Texans left - some waiting for the doctor's OK to travel, some just waiting for the weather to warm up there in the North. We very seldom see a out of state license plate now - although we did see a Virginia one this morning - a rare one for this area. Only saw Hawaii once though. I remember when we used to travel with our folks as little kids - they always had a tough time keeping us entertained as we traveled from destination to destination. We played the incense game, the color game (I see something blue - what is it) the alphabet game, etc. Little did we realize that we were learning as we went along - and observing what we saw rather than fighting. Remember these words "You had better behave or I am going to smack you". And then trying to dodge the hand coming from the driver's seat trying to find us while concentrating on the road. Guess we did get a bit out of hand at times (no pun intended).  But perhaps you all were little angels on trips, right????

Friday we are going to the colonias for the last time just before we leave - we were not going to go, but the ladies wanted to have sort of a party for us before we took off. It will be so relaxing knowing that Cy will have everything under control until we return in July. I would like to take a video on Friday, but am not sure how that will go. Brenda (the lady whose property the new building is on had her trailer moved to the back of the building so that it would be more convenient to distribute the food - the yard clean-up will take a while though I am afraid. The new building has given the folks there a sense of pride and we have noticed an effort to clean the yards a bit - hopefully it will give them a better sense of community and the desire to improve their area.

It is ironic that as we leave to visit family and friends that this morning's sermon revolved around family. Pastor Robert and his wife had taken a short mini-vacation, so Pastor Ricky delivered the message taken from I Corinthians 13:1-8a. Yep, the love chapter - geared to family. Family is truly  gift from God, be it just spouses, children perhaps, siblings, and in some case parents. God developed the family for the building blocks of society. So many do not come from a traditional family group, or perhaps a very dysfunctional family.  Families come in all shapes and sizes, all with one parent two parents, blended families, adopted families, surrogate families, etc. There are four practical principles that apply to families. #1 is an enduring commitment to your partner. Family is not a matter of chance but of choice. Families are built on promises - all of which are a part of the commitment and choice. #2 is mutual respect. Family is not about power and control. There is no pecking order in a family or certainly not supposed to be. Family unity depends upon how authority is used. #3 is good effective communication. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Three things to remember - our communication depends on what we say, what we think we say, and what other think we say. Communication is listening carefully an clearly, We certainly cannot read other people's minds - so clearly speak what you  mean, and clearly listen to what others have spoken Use the "I" statement - "I heard you say... .., yes, that's right, I am grumpy, yes, I feel upset, etc." 
"Know this my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger". James 1:19. Remember this verse always.  #4 is problem solving abilities Conflict has three levels: difference of opinion, which leads to a attack on the other person, which questions the relationship.
Never let problem solving go past the first stage - we all need to practice the ability to solve family problems. Amazing grace holds families together. A family is a fragile thing, handle it with care.

As I write this I thank God for my family - all of my family. Think of your family as a fragile pie of pottery and treat it with care, love and understanding.

He is Risen

What a powerful message!!! This message was presented in church this morning as we as Christians celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We sang this song, which always fills me with promise and hope. I am starting out with today's message from Pastor Robert, as I feel this is the most important event of the past week. On Friday, Jesus died. The hopes and dreams of the disciples died with Him.  On Sunday He came back. Jesus took all of our sin and brokenness to the tomb. God does not want our outward changes ( all dressed up in Easter finery, new haircut, new car, etc.)  but only our inward changes. He took our worst (all the sin of the world) and brought it back clean. There is no more separation, only hope for us all. Let God empty us of all our sin so we can be resurrected into a new creation. Ebrace all that God has for you.

Well, I am back  - bet you did not know I was gone. I had all the intentions of finishing this blog early this afternoon, but we had unexpected company. Now, after supper and dishes, I am here.

On Thursday we attended a reenactment of the Last Supper - actually a reenactment of Leonardo De Vincchi's Last Supper Painting. It was so good - the table was set in De Vincchi's time with Jesus and His 12 disciples present. The actors were frozen in time, just as if they were the painting, never moving at all. Each Disciple was featured, where he told his story of walking with the Lord, and asked the question, "Is it I Lord, who will betray You"?. When it was Judas' turn, he tried to explain away his actions, It was really so real and brought more meaning to that Last Supper in the Upper room.

this was the first disciple speaking - James the Lesser -

                                   

This is Jesus speaking - see how the actors hold their pose

                                                                                    

      This has been a pretty busy week here at the park - due to the new road going to be put in on our side of the park, lots of moving has been going on. One of the homes was sold and moved out of the park. It was totally amazing to watch the workers disassemble parts of the car ports and patio covers, then separate the shed from the house, and move it and the house down the road.  The second home was just moving to another site in the park - a lakeside site that became available. This was a much larger home and took three days to finally get put into place. First the shed went out, then it rained the next day - finally after a bit of trouble and maneuvering that house went on down the road. There are three more homes to be moved  but have no idea when that will happen. I just hope that the road will be in and done while we are gone on vacation.

 two different movers showed up at the same time - both working on 2 different house

 taking down the car port and separating the shed from the house

 in addition to the house moving, this guy was running back and forth hauling dirt for a cementing project on another street

 ready to load the shed

 the shed is on the way

hooking up the house - axles and tires were added

pulling out the first house

 and down the street it goes

it looks like it was never there

starting to work on the big house

taking down one of the two car ports

out goes the shed

now this is a BIG house

he had to back up a few times to get around a light pole

At least we got two things off the list this week - trailer revamped and quilt for our  great-grandson, Milo, due in June,  is also completed. Time is winding down. Need to make another trip to Mexico for supplies, take Miss Opal to the courthouse to get her passcard, take a neighbor to the eye surgeon in Harlingen, Fred starts mowing again for two weeks, packing, etc.

The blogger is acting quirky tonight - cannot download any other pictures - but things otherwise are going well!!! Our next door neighbors planted tomatoes and have already left for their Northern homes, so I picked a few tomatoes for fried green tomatoes - they were sooooooooooooo good!! God is amazing - He provided so many wonderful things for us to grow and eat.

I have fought with this computer long enough - I pray that your Easter was blessed as you remember that  "My God's Not Dead, He's surely alive, He is living on the inside, roaring like a lion!!!"

Answered Parayers

They say good things come in threes. Within the last year, we have had 3 big prayer requests, the first being a trailer to help with the produce for the colonias. Because of the love and support of our home church., Prairie Grove Christian Church, we were able to purchase a simple utility trailer (which Fred is going to modify to fit our needs) that has doubled the number of families we can serve!!! We had been praying for someone to come alongside us to deliver produce to "our people" while we are gone from the Valley for two months. We went over our list of possibilities many times, asking a few we thought would commit to the job, but to no avail. Then, from seemingly no where an amazing man with a heart for missions came into our lives. Nope, we did not know him before this - a complete stranger to us who had heard about us and became curious. After going along with Fred twice, God laid it upon his heart to be our stand-in. Two prayers answered so far. We were also praying for the funding to build a small building in the colonias to store commodities, produce, clothing, etc. so that we would not have to make two trips a day to the colonias. One kind lady in the colonias offered her property to place it on, and the Lord brought folks to us who wanted to donate to the project. We acquired 3/4 of the money for the project, the other 1/4 was supplied by a division the Baptist Association of Texas. This last week, the building was up - not totally completed (needs painting, eventually dry wall, etc.) for all general purposes, it can be used. It was used this last Friday for the first time - praise God. All three prayers answered. This building will also be used for Bible study, sewing and cooking classes - whatever is needed. By placing the building in the colonias, it gives those who live there a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. They are proud of the building and are looking forward to lending physical labor to complete it.

beginning of construction

20 x 10 with a porch overhang

hard at work in the heat of the day

two windows and a door

siding on and ready to distribute

                                      

blessing of a trailer

                                     

a bounty of vegetables this day

                                      

everyone takes a part in unloading

shingles waiting to be put on

getting ready to fill boxes - look at the wonderful homemade bread

boxes filled and ready for distribution - 110 for the day

cactus pads - these are handled very carefully with tongs - to prepare them,  they are held with a clothespin, skinned with a very sharp knife and fried - either with vegetables or eggs

Miss Opal joined us on Friday, as she made this quilt for Ida, as a thanks for her dedication to Caring❤'s Ministry

Miss Opal tries to make friends with the family horse - this is right next to the family home

My amaryllis is blooming again, but the poor Easter lily got lost somewhere in the weeds (I love flowers but hate to weed and/or take care of them). The oregano plant is flourishing, even though I often forget to water it. Even my cactus blooms without my help. Am I committing plant abuse?

 even it is growing in a pile of weeds, it is brilliant

 the cactus and it's beautiful flower

a large leaf oregano

As this is palm Sunday, we were presented with a fresh palm leaf as we entered church. The palms grow everywhere here, so we got fresh leaves, not the dried ones we used to receive years ago. These were the fronds that were laid at the foot of the Savior just a week before the Lord was crucified.

fresh, green palm leaves

The sermon this Palm Sunday was based on a sin-filled cross. In Jesus' time, the cross was a symbol of death. It was likened to our modern day electric chair. We see the electric chair the same way - as a form of punishment. Why was Jesus destined to die such a barbaric death on a cross that was designed for torture and shame? In the beginning, man sinned by disobeying God. Every opportunity to separate us from God became a reality because the full weight of sin fell on the Lord. But God had a plan to save us from sin. Jesus. He took the full weight of  man's sin - the cup He did not want to bear, because His Father could not look upon sin. He no longer was perfect - He was seperated from God for the first time. The full weight of sin died on the cross. It took Jesus' perfection to rid us of our imperfections. In order for the full weight of sin to die, Jesus had to die. Because of this we have hope. Jesus had to die for us to be saved-  remember the price that was paid.

I want to take this time to pray for those who are caught up in the trap of drug addition. Everyone of us knows of someone who is lost in the fog of drugs, be it friend or family. That person is not the same person Jesus formed in the womb - the person is a slave to drugs which overtake their whole person. We may think that this is our friend or relative, but it is not. It is the terrible addition of drugs. Please pray today and everyday for those children of God to accept the fact that they can only be healed with treatment and prayer.

Miss Opal

There is an amazing lady here in the park with a heart for missions. She told us that she wanted to be a missionary ever since she was 13, and now feels that being involved in Caring💕's Ministry has fulfilled that dream. Miss Opal's real name is Lynette Opal Womack, from South Carolina who moved here  after her husband BR (Billy Ray Womack) passed away. She is now a full time resident here in the park, as also is her sister and brother-in-law. We call her Miss Opal as a sign of respect and she loves it! Miss Opal attends church with us every Sunday wherever we go, allows us to share in her Costco card, shares my love for sewing, and of course, thinks Fred hung the moon!!! She is a very special lady who uses her talents to help others. So far she has made 9 quilts for the ministry, helps Fred bag beans and rice, and just is fun to be around. This last week she wanted to send her friends an e-mail and pictures of what she does here in Texas, so I helped with the pictures and sending the e-mail. Her sister and sister's husband, who help her with computer work, are on vacation now and since Miss Opal has not yet quite mastered the computer, I stepped in to help her complete her wish..

Miss Opal has turned her bedroom into a quilt pinning area (she sleeps in her Texas room porch and loves it there). She is pinning a donated Christmas quilt top.

another donated top getting ready to "sandwich" and pin

front and back fabric for the quilt

She is  machine quilting a quilt for Ida, a lady with a heart for missions, who is our wonderful contact in the colonias. Notice the beautiful view from Miss Opal's home - the lake in the background where she can watch the birds and enjoy her spot here on earth.

Lots of activity here in the park, as many residents are leaving and some visitors for just a day or two as they head back North from the deep South of Mexico. There are going to be changes as the owner is adding a road on the west side of the park as an access road to his flea market next door. When the flea market is open, the traffic is stalled on the frontage road to the point that sometimes we cannot even get into or out of the park. As a result of this change, some homes on the west side fence are going to have to be moved, sold, or just torn down. Some folks are moving to a different lot, some are moving out of the park, some just sold out and not coming back due to health or other issues. Our one neighbor is also moving to a vacated lot on the lake, a few other homes have left the park. It is going to be difficult to keep track of everyone. Every year brings some sort of change.

We are so looking forward to our 2 month vacation the end of this month - getting to see new family members, renewing friendships, etc., as well as attending our home church in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. We will enjoy it even more sa we are content in the knowledge that someone is going to take over for us in delivering fresh vegetables and other items to the colonias while we are gone. I have not been going along on Friday as Cy has been training with Fred, but will go the next few weeks, because I really miss the  families we serve. God has been so good to bless us with the ability and health (even when Fred broke his leg) to be able to serve others as He has commanded each and every one of us to do. Some many folks are involved in and have supported this ministry that we are certain this is the path He wants us to follow right now.

As we journeyed along the theme of The Power of the Cross today in church we explored the meaning of the "proving spear". In this day and age, we all are in search of the truth - we want to know what is real - we want the facts, the proof. What did the spear prove?? Jesus was already dead so none of His bones were broken which fulfilled prophecy. The spear in His side proved that he was dead - if He did not die He could not rise again. The spear proved Jesus' deliverance - Scripture was fulfilled.  God was at work then  and is at work today in all circumstances. He is in control!! He will bring light to our brokenness. In John 19 verse 35, John reported what he had seen. Something strange had happened and John thought it important enough to write about it. It was not a normal situation when blood and water poured out of Jesus' side when He was pierced by the spear.It proved that Jesus was God. Before He was Resurrected, His death and divinity was proven.

Pray for safety and travel mercies for all of those traveling now and throughout the summer. We all want to visit family and friends, but travel is getting to be such a danger - either flying or driving. Keep safe.