September, Where did you go?

We arrived home from our West Coast trip on Sunday, August 20, now suddenly it’s October! And, in two days I’m heading out again on a church mission trip. I am updating this blog before any more time goes by, however, there is no way for me to be as fulsome as I’d like … at least not at this time.

When we arrived home from California we had two weeks to prepare for our trip to Israel. It was so nice to arrive at my sister-in-law’s apartment in Georgetown. She always has our room ready for us. So thankful for that! Over the next few days we unpacked, rested and packed for Israel. Of course, Dale worked. Someone has to pay the bills! Ha.

Israel

We headed to Israel on Wednesday, September 6. This was our first trip to Israel, and our first group tour experience. We had a large group, most of whom we know from our church. I will not even attempt to go into detail about the trip at this time. I have so many photos to sift through before I do an official blog about all that we experienced.

On the last day of the trip Dale got sick, then on the evening we arrived home I got sick. We were both sick for almost two weeks! Even now, Dale is still in healing mode. And we were not the only ones to get sick. Israel was impactful in more ways than one! The biggest disappointment was not being able to go visit the grandkids. We haven’t seen Carrie and her family since we left in May. God willing, we will spend time with them when I get back from Spain.

Anniversary Celebrations

This past Saturday we hosted a big 60th anniversary party for Dale’s parents. That was an exciting event with almost 100 people! Then on Sunday we celebrated our church’s 30th anniversary. It’s just one big party around here!

Spain

Now, I’m preparing to cross the Atlantic again as part of an eight-person mission team from our church, who will serve “pilgrims” hiking the “Camino de Santiago”, which is a 500-mile journey that ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, located in Northern Spain.

Since the Middle Ages, this spiritual pilgrimage has drawn people from all over the world who are seeking something … whether it is peace, purpose, healing, or in memory of loved ones. There are many reasons. The hearts of these pilgrims are ready to hear about Christ.

Our team will be running a “hostel” which provides rest, refreshment, and a place to sleep. For five days I will be cooking, cleaning bathrooms, changing sheets, shoveling cow manure, whatever needs to be done. I will also be talking with and praying for the pilgrims.

Future Plans

We will be in Texas for the rest of 2023. You can see our calendar here. We will be actively looking for a home in Central Texas. We trust God to guide us in this big decision.