Wow. What a week full of blessings this has been. Some weeks are mundane and routine; others are full of adventure. For me, this week has been the latter--full of adventures and of memory making. Here are five things, Five Faves, that stick out to me from this past week. That Five Faves link will take you to Susanne's blog where you can join in with us to share your five best blessings from the week.
1. The Professor and I drove to Orlando last Wednesday and Thursday. There is always so much beauty mixed in with the boring miles of freeway.
2. We spent four amazing days with former colleagues from our Indonesia days. Some of the attendees at the reunion were people we had never met but had known by name and reputation; others were close friends. For example, the doctor who spent a few months with us on the island of Java in Indonesian language school and who now lives just 1/2 hour drive from us! (Yes, we are planning to get together!) The pilot and his wife and son who have remained friends with us through the years. We met an older man who was an MK (missionary kid) but before our children's time. We just hit it off with him and his wife, having so many things in common (like she KNITS!). Our hearts are so full!
3. I don't know if anyone reading this blog has ever heard of or read the book Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson. Don's son Steve was the host of our reunion, the president of Pioneers, a mission organization whose home headquarters is in Orlando, Florida (and where we held our meetings). Lords of the Earth is the biography of several people who were killed or died in accidents which brought a very violent and antagonist tribe of Papuan people to become Christians. Some of the people who spoke during sessions of the reunion had first hand stories of their experiences with the Yali tribal people. I would encourage you to read Lords of the Earth; the stories in the book are true and riveting, and I know some of those people!
4. After the reunion, The Professor and I drove over to a town on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida. My cousin lives there and we spent two days with her. It was so lovely to spend that precious time with her.
5. Of course, a visit to Florida needs a visit to the beach, too. We enjoyed the drive to St. Petersburg and then from St. Pet's to Fort DeSoto on the gulf shore. The weather was hot and humid so we didn't linger on the beach, but we did stick our hands into the fine white sands on the shore.
What a week full of blessings! And now we are home, having driven through the Appalachian Mountains today. What contrasts of terrain from the wet, mossy swamps of Florida to the the majestic heights of the mountains and valleys of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio.
Was your week blessed with routine things or crazy wild things?
