If you've kept up with my blogs you will remember that one of my favorite verses is "You have not because you ask not" I believe for the most part we are not bold enough with our prayers. What child does not ask his parents for his needs and wants? God is our Father and He loves His children.
Grace of Giving, the group we support and go with each year to build houses, is building a church in Terlingua. This is a big project with building groups going down over a period of about 3 months. First group went this week, second group goes next week. The group supposed to go next week was not able to go so five of our "experienced builders" were asked to help. Terlingua is near Big Bend and one of those places you miss if you blink. I was asked to do some research on the motel/hotel situation. I found several and gave the guys the information. None were "chain" and reviews were mixed. One of the guys started calling and because next week is Spring Break, everything was booked. He was able to get the last two rooms at Best Western in Alpine - about 75 miles from Terlingua - at a cost of about $1300 (2 rooms, 6 nights). This would mean driving 75 miles each way every day.
Sunday night, our pastor and the men joined in prayer and asked the Lord to provide housing - affordable housing close to the building site. Monday our pastor made a call to a guy he knew in Terlingua. The man called back and said he had found a man who had a double-wide trailer, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, with 4 beds and a couch. The trailer is 1/4 mile from the building site and will cost $350 for the week!!
And all we had to do was ask God to provide! We serve an Awesome God!!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wedding - the rest of the story
Here's one picture from the wedding. After I get more uploaded on Picasa I'll post a link.
Saturday morning, Ben and I met with some of Ben's for breakfast. Then it was off to the house to load up the girls and their "stuff" and head to the church. Ben and I went back to the hotel where I posted my blog and checked out of the hotel. We went the church where the women were all getting primped, pampered and preened for the wedding (self included!)
About two the photographer came. I thought it was funny, but totally typical, that the photographer wanted the guys to not get dressed up until he had some "before" shots of them horsing around, playing basketball in the gym. Then the guys dressed and had their pictures made. All this in about 30 minutes while the girls were STILL getting ready after 4 hours! :-)
We had the "before wedding" bridesmaid's pictures and some with the family and Jan's bridal pictures which she had not been able to schedule before.
People started arriving for the wedding and I was out in the foyer greeting people (at least the ones I knew) :-) and shuttling a few back for a sneak peek at Jan.
Precisely at 4 the procession began. Let me explain that Doug's mother passed away when he was in high school and her four best friends "adopted" him so we had a lot of mothers in the wedding party. The pedestal on the right had a picture of his mother and during the mothers' processional, the best man walked down the aisle and laid a white rose by her picture. On the left was a candle and each mother laid a small rock on the pedestal as she entered. As Doug and Jan wrote in the wedding program "God is our rock and our foundation and our parents are representatives of that foundation here on earth. They have been our rocks when we needed them, and they push us into God who is our ultimate Rock."
The bridal party entered to "Falling in Love at the Coffee Shop" which if you know Doug and Jan's story makes sense. :-) Ben says that Jan was just fine until she heard that music and then she said "Uh oh" (meaning, "I'm going to cry!") And cry she did as she walked down the aisle on Ben's arm - emotion and happiness overflowed and spilled out.
After giving her away to Doug, Ben prayed for them. Doug and Jan's minister then pronounced a blessing over them and gave them communion after which we all joined in signing "Revelation Song". Then the minister from our home church did the marriage vows. No more tears! Only smiles, grins, sometimes a laugh, as well as the solemnity of the vows prevailed. Personally I loved it when the time came for Doug to say "I do", he looked Jan directly in the eye and emphatically said "I.....DO!"
When they kissed to seal the deal, Doug bent Jan over backwards! Surely the photographer got that one!
They exited to "I'm a Believer" and the wedding party danced down the aisle.
The reception was beyond fabulous. Food was out of this world - plentiful and delicious!
Doug and Jan entered and introduced at Mr. and Mrs. Doug Jefferson and the dancing began. I have never seen a bride and groom so THOROUGHLY enjoy themselves! They can really "cut a rug". And the 40 year old wedding dress was up to the task (fortunately!) :-)
The crowd was given small bottles of bubbles to sendi the happy couple off to their honeymoon. Doug swept Jan off her feet and carried her to the Carriage, i.e. pickup truck! :-)
They arrived safely in Orlando and are having a great time.
We cleaned up the reception and headed home. I washed off my makeup. My manicure is beginning to chip off but the memories will always remain.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wedding - so far so good
Jan, bridemaids and I had a very nice luncheon Friday. Then we went for our manicures and pedicures. Yes, I had both and boy, do my nails look GOOD!!! And yes, I do have pictures which I will post later - probably on Facebook. We all had a blast. I may not be young but I'm definitely young at heart!
Then to the church for the rehearsal. Went through it twice and the second time was as perfect as you can get! Then to the rehearsal dinner. Beautifully decorated with candles everywhere (pictures later) Fajitas and tacos. Wonderful dinner. Had some good toasts and yes, Ben teared up in his toast and that made Jan cry! :-)
Women went to the house and worked on the programs. Guys went who-knows-where. Ben went back to the hotel :-) About 10 I headed to the hotel. We both got a good nice night's sleep except of course, I had a weird dream - the upshot was we left before the reception and I was soooo upset when I realized that. Then I could remember nothing about the wedding! I promise you that will NOT happen today! :-)
This morning we met Ben's niece (Doug and Jan's matchmaker), her husband and granddaughter, Ben's sister and niece from Amarillo for breakfast. We then came back to the hotel to get all our "gear", check out and of course, do a post :-)
We will be heading out to the church soon for grooming, dressing, pictures and .....then......THE WEDDING!!!
Then to the church for the rehearsal. Went through it twice and the second time was as perfect as you can get! Then to the rehearsal dinner. Beautifully decorated with candles everywhere (pictures later) Fajitas and tacos. Wonderful dinner. Had some good toasts and yes, Ben teared up in his toast and that made Jan cry! :-)
Women went to the house and worked on the programs. Guys went who-knows-where. Ben went back to the hotel :-) About 10 I headed to the hotel. We both got a good nice night's sleep except of course, I had a weird dream - the upshot was we left before the reception and I was soooo upset when I realized that. Then I could remember nothing about the wedding! I promise you that will NOT happen today! :-)
This morning we met Ben's niece (Doug and Jan's matchmaker), her husband and granddaughter, Ben's sister and niece from Amarillo for breakfast. We then came back to the hotel to get all our "gear", check out and of course, do a post :-)
We will be heading out to the church soon for grooming, dressing, pictures and .....then......THE WEDDING!!!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Motel 2 (not even Motel 6!)
What I usually say about hotel rooms is "All I want is a clean room, good bed and clean bathroom". Well, that's what we got this trip. We exited the interstate to find a hotel for the night. Realized we had stopped in this town before. (I really need to get a notebook to keep track of hotels, gas stops and restaurants between here and Nashville) We had been here in June stopped at one hotel but when I saw a posted note about mosquitos I quickly left and we went to the hotel next door. Road construction was underway in June and as far as I could tell, there had been NO headway made since then! Because of the construction, we missed the entrance to the hotel we previously stayed in so decided to go over the overpass to get dinner at McDonalds. Missed the entrance to McD's because of construction. Turned in to make a U-turn and saw a motel right there. Looked passable so we gave it a try. My first clue should have been the several posted signs in the lobby "NO REFUNDS. NO EXCEPTIONS" but we got a room anyway. Well! The paint scheme was, uh, "interesting" to say the least. I'm not sure how it was done but it looked like the walls were painted with a roller that "textured" the paint to give them a camoflague look. The sink area was beige/lilac. Bedroom was beige/lilac/black (really cheery!) Bathroom walls were "tomato soup".
Of course, the painters didn't remove the wall outlets or light switch covers so they were very well hidden!! TV set worked well enough - probably about a 23". No coffee maker. Shampoo was little individual packets. The lights over the sink area were about as bright as a night light. In fact we left them on AS a night light! Every time I walked to the sink, I reached to turn on the light only to realize the light WAS on! We had two double beds and the bedspreads didn't match. The phone was labled in marker Room #242 which was OK, except for the fact we were in Room 125. Also the "information" on the phone was handwritten and had gotten wet and the ink ran so it was unreadable!
However, the beds were firm, and we did have hot water! And the cost was $42 (which explains a lot)
About 5 miles before the exit to the town we passed a brand new Super 8 Motel. Hopefully I'll remember that if we need to stop in that vicinity again!
We just had a good laugh. Ben thinks we have stayed in worse before. I can't remember that far back!
I will have to say that on the way to Nashville, we stayed at a new Comfort Suites and it was a huge room, VERY nice, and the bedspreads did match. However, it was not $42! LOL
Of course, the painters didn't remove the wall outlets or light switch covers so they were very well hidden!! TV set worked well enough - probably about a 23". No coffee maker. Shampoo was little individual packets. The lights over the sink area were about as bright as a night light. In fact we left them on AS a night light! Every time I walked to the sink, I reached to turn on the light only to realize the light WAS on! We had two double beds and the bedspreads didn't match. The phone was labled in marker Room #242 which was OK, except for the fact we were in Room 125. Also the "information" on the phone was handwritten and had gotten wet and the ink ran so it was unreadable!
However, the beds were firm, and we did have hot water! And the cost was $42 (which explains a lot)
About 5 miles before the exit to the town we passed a brand new Super 8 Motel. Hopefully I'll remember that if we need to stop in that vicinity again!
We just had a good laugh. Ben thinks we have stayed in worse before. I can't remember that far back!
I will have to say that on the way to Nashville, we stayed at a new Comfort Suites and it was a huge room, VERY nice, and the bedspreads did match. However, it was not $42! LOL
Saturday, October 3, 2009
"You have not because you asked not"
One of my life verses now! Of course, I had prayed about our trip - for God's favor on travel and all we would see - that He would show us his most amazing creations. The first camp we saw lion paw prints but no lions. The second camp was more of a "nature camp" so no lions. Chamu, our trip leader, had told us of all the poaching in Africa - rhinos are practically extinct. Male lions are being killed (the lion population is low because when a male is killed, the new male who takes over has to kill all the cubs to insure the female's loyalty to him. Females produce 4-6 cubs every two years, so if would take a long time to recover) Anyway, everyone was talking about lions, especially us, so one day in the second camp, Chamu asked me "If you don't see any lions, will it still be a great trip?" I said "No. It will be a good trip but not a great trip." We had already seen several animals who are endangered and seldom seen, specifically wild dogs that are extremely rare to see but I told Chamu that, right or wrong, Americans equate Africa with lions and if I went home and said I had not seen lions, everyone would be shocked. Well, obviously later we saw lions and a good many of them.
However, the point of all this is that after two camps without lions, I began really praying that God would show us His lions. I then added leopards (which are also very rare to see as they travel alone and are hard to spot). THEN, praying "you have not because you ask not", I asked to see a Rhino!!
In our last camp, we started the morning drive out spotting a female lion under a tree. She walked into the bush and the guide said there was a male there too but all we could see were ears and a tail now and then. You have to have your eyes closed on safari if you don't want to see elephants and cape buffalo - they are everywhere!!! Leopards and Rhinos complete the Big Five (leopard, rhino, lion, buffalo and elephant) Some travelers see all five, some don't. So, on our afternoon game drive, our guide gets a transmission that a leopard has been spotted in a tree but he is very far away (several kilometers) so we are told to "hold on tight" (realize we are in an open land rover on rough, sandy roads). Off we fly - sometimes at 40K on roads meant for 10-20K. We found the leopard sitting on a large branch, out in the open, just posing for us. He was beautiful!!!
After about 20 minutes, he climbed down. We then drove off for our "Sundowner" where we "say goodbye" to the sun. On the way, another transmission came in saying a rhino was in our camp!!! So we u-turned and sped off again over the same tracks racing back to camp. By the time we got there it was dark. The guides followed the rhino's tracks and using night spotlights found the rhino. Using the lights and binoculars everyone was able to see the rhino!! No pictures of course :-(
When we got back to camp for dinner, it hit us that we had seen the Big Five - all in one day!!!! Our guide said that had happened to him only three times in eight years!!!
We indeed serve a Mighty God!!!
However, the point of all this is that after two camps without lions, I began really praying that God would show us His lions. I then added leopards (which are also very rare to see as they travel alone and are hard to spot). THEN, praying "you have not because you ask not", I asked to see a Rhino!!
In our last camp, we started the morning drive out spotting a female lion under a tree. She walked into the bush and the guide said there was a male there too but all we could see were ears and a tail now and then. You have to have your eyes closed on safari if you don't want to see elephants and cape buffalo - they are everywhere!!! Leopards and Rhinos complete the Big Five (leopard, rhino, lion, buffalo and elephant) Some travelers see all five, some don't. So, on our afternoon game drive, our guide gets a transmission that a leopard has been spotted in a tree but he is very far away (several kilometers) so we are told to "hold on tight" (realize we are in an open land rover on rough, sandy roads). Off we fly - sometimes at 40K on roads meant for 10-20K. We found the leopard sitting on a large branch, out in the open, just posing for us. He was beautiful!!!
After about 20 minutes, he climbed down. We then drove off for our "Sundowner" where we "say goodbye" to the sun. On the way, another transmission came in saying a rhino was in our camp!!! So we u-turned and sped off again over the same tracks racing back to camp. By the time we got there it was dark. The guides followed the rhino's tracks and using night spotlights found the rhino. Using the lights and binoculars everyone was able to see the rhino!! No pictures of course :-(
When we got back to camp for dinner, it hit us that we had seen the Big Five - all in one day!!!! Our guide said that had happened to him only three times in eight years!!!
We indeed serve a Mighty God!!!
Lions
See the next post for a description of these "action shots"
Here she comes
She coming my way?
Flirting
Aftermath
Here she comes again.
Uh oh! Elephants. Think I'll just go over here.
Back to the bush
Whoa!!!
Getting out of Dodge
Here she comes
She coming my way?
Flirting
Aftermath
Here she comes again.
Uh oh! Elephants. Think I'll just go over here.
Back to the bush
Whoa!!!
Getting out of Dodge
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Here We are Again
Well, who would think that a town as big as Victoria Falls would have interent problems for three days? But then again, we are in Africa. Apparently the town also had electrical outages. At least the hotel had generators. Since my last post we have had three days of great experiences. Will post about one of them in another post but on one day we discovered a female with a male lying nearby. They were in the mating season and apparently mate every 15 minutes for several days. Seriously! Anyway as we sat there the female got up and went and "flirted"" with the male. Finally the male got up and mated with her. We were right there - probably 30 feet away. Obviously got great pictures. But of course, I forgot I had video on my camera. *Sigh* Anyway the funniest thing was their reactions after the 20 second mating. Pictures will follow.17 minutes later they were starting again but elephants came along and chased (yes, chased) the male lion off. Amazing!!! Well, the next post will have to wait because apparently we are boarding our plane very early. Not sure what's up with that. It's 8:25 and the flight is to leave at 9:20 so they are loading us. Guess I should say we are in Johannesburg headed for London and then on to DFW tomorrow.
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