News Notes

Christina was baptized on Sunday! She has long waited for the opportunity, but for a myriad of reasons it never worked out. Finally, happily she was able to make a public allegiance to Jesus - the true and better Priest, Prophet, King and Sacrifice. The water was freezing cold, but the moment was refreshingly warm. Afterwards we threw a big celebration with family and friends to help set the memory of the occasion in stone.

Daniel is less than a week away from flying out to Colorado for a year of study at Timberline Lodge. Selling a car, purchasing tickets, working out connections, gathering wilderness gear and school supplies, saying goodbye has been on his unwritten “to do” list. “Timberline Lodge is one of twenty-six Torchbearers schools located in twenty countries. The original school began in northern England at Capernwray Hall in 1947 when Major W. Ian Thomas, a British Army officer, returned from the war, and with his wife, Joan, opened their hearts and doors to European young people. Major Thomas taught, ‘when you and I received Christ as our Redeemer, He gave us, through His Holy Spirit, the fullness and power of His resurrection…Grasp this well, for otherwise your Christianity will remain boring, sterile, and impersonal. Christ Himself is the very life-content of the Christian faith.’”

My dad and mom made a trip from Volunteer Country to Mountaineer Country this week. It was the first time in almost five years they have stayed with us in our home. We had a good family reunion made even more special by showing them around our new place which is a tour we want to take you on soon. A highlight was our evening games of croquet in the back yard.

One thing I didn’t mention about Christina’s baptism day was the additional excitement the day provided. Diana was up early that morning peeling potatoes – lots of potatoes, over twenty potatoes to be exact. Putting the peels down the disposal became not such a good idea. My friend Google told me not to fear that potato peels are often a culprit of food disposal drain problems and that I need only take the trap off and clean it out. The trap was metal and rusty. It was also stuck. You can guess the rest. Potato juice went squirting everywhere so the remainder of our day became a blur of preparing food, entertaining guests, celebrating baptism all around the constant work of Eddie, our friendly plumber. What a memory.