Some Fall Colors

Haven't been able to capture many photos of the fall colors.  The top two I took today at the Iowa welcome center along the Mississippi River.  The bottom two I took about 2 weeks ago in North Carolina.  The best color we've seen has probably been here in Iowa.  I hope to get a few pics of color while we're here in western Iowa, although there are more corn fields than forests.

It was a 450 mile drive today.  We're enjoying the fellowship of Beth's high school English teacher and high school cook!  Bill and Treva Turpin are a very special couple who are also ministry partners with us while they too are missionaries here in the grain belt of western Iowa.  They founded and direct Bethany Farms (a Christian camp) and have a variety of Bible studies and Kids For Christ meetings going on all week long.  They have amazing energy for being in the upper 70s and are still serving Christ with all their heart.  We're so blessed to know them.

Tomorrow, we'll break the fast in the morning and then Bill will guide us over to a small town not far from here called Elk Horn.  There is a working, authentic Dutch windmill there.  Although due to the expense of repairs, they don't run it much if at all.  It is the last Dutch windmill ever to enter the USA and maybe it was the last one to ever leave Holland.  That was back in the mid-1970s.  Holland passed a law to prevent them from leaving the country lest they end up becoming rare in the land for which they were created.  Anyway, it's a neat thing to see.  I recall there being some pretty tasty Danish pastries worth exploring and I suspect I'll not spare the coffee either.

We'll have a farmer's style lunch in Atlantic, IA and probably get to meet with Pastor Al from the Atlantic Evangelical Free Church as well.  That's a different post though so I'll save that.  Tomorrow evening we'll have dinner with the younger couple who are running a lot of the camp activities here at Bethany Farm.  Looking forward to getting to know them better as well.  What a neat place this is out here.

If you don't remember, Bethie and I were here without the boys in June 2010 to share missions with the kids here one week.  It was a super experience for us.  Here is the link to our first day of ministry here that week which contains some photos of the place if you care for a reminder.

Vengeance in Iowa?

Home Assignment Update - Michigan (in 3 days or less)

Michigan was our last victim for our home assignment visits.  Thanks to Beth's cousin Matt & his wife Shari and their "big kids" (teens) for sharing their home with us for a few nights while we visited with them, a few other Hanna cousins, and uncles and aunts, and Beth's grandmother too.  We met some other friends and visited two of our supporting churches, one of them rather unexpectedly.

How does a missionary "unexpectedly visit" a supporting church?  It's a long story...I'll try to explain via the very short version.

Due to some logistic changes after we arrived, the only way to meet with one of Beth's uncles and aunts was to meet them for lunch on Sunday around noon.  That meant we'd have to leave the supporting church we were visiting after the Sunday school hour in which we were presenting.  They were graciously understanding of our situation and so we stayed as long as we could in between Sunday school and the service and we awkwardly left as the service was getting underway.

As we drove away from Rollins Christian Fellowship, it occurred to me that our other supporting church in Michigan was only about 10 minutes away and was on our way back for our lunch appointment.  I also realized that since it is a very small church and that it was just after 11 a.m., perhaps they would not mind if we just walked in, gave a short 10 minute update and then went back out on our way for our lunch appointment.  I don't know what possessed me to think such thoughts on a Sunday morning but I do hope it was the Holy Spirit!

So, we did just that and when we arrived and peered in the glass door, I could see a man at the pulpit praying.  Ahh...this might be a good transition time.  Then, I noticed on second look that another man was about to lead in a song.  So, we walked into the foyer, I spied the pastor on the front row, and I purposefully walked up to the front row and shook his hand and whispered the "plan" in his ear.  He nodded and smiled.  Whew!  So, after the song and a brief song from a few little children, I was up on the platform and giving a brief (I know that seems unlikely to those who know me) update.  It was brief though and I was relieved that this seemed to fit seamlessly into their service.

I figured they would continue with the rest of the service and the preaching would ensue after I asked the pastor to pray for us and figured we'd make our "getaway" when he said, "Amen."  What I didn't expect was that when he ended his prayer, everyone left their seats and headed for the parking lot!  Well, in God's providence, the service was actually coming to a close there at 11:25 a.m.  I discovered later that the service at Colfax Community Church normally ends at 11 a.m. (before we even arrived) but that since they'd had an earlier presentation from a missionary with C.E.F. they had run over by about 15 minutes.  That gave us just enough time to get in and to share our update of what God is doing in the ministry in Mexico.

Who could have planned such a thing?

Of course...God!

(we even made it to our lunch appointment a few minutes early!)

CAM's New Name

Coming Spring 2012...

CAM INTERNATIONAL WILL BECOME CAMINO GLOBAL.

After more than a year of focused study, prayer, and audience research, CAM International's Board of Directors adopted the name Camino Global to refresh the mission's identity.

The name Camino Global reflects the fact that our ministry remains focused on Spanish speakers, but also the reality that Spanish speakers are no longer limited to the Western Hemisphere and Spain. Spanish speakers are on the move globally. As they move, we will move with them, inviting them to join the journey of spiritual transformation (Camino is a Spanish word that means journey, path, or way).

We highly value the 121-year history and legacy of CAM International, but the name CAM no longer reflects the global scope of our ministry in the 21st century. We know we stand on the shoulders of generations of faithful servants who have laid our foundation. This change is not about turning our back on our rich heritage and legacy of impact in Latin America and Spain. Rather, CAM is entering a new season in our journey with Spanish speakers everywhere.

The new identity of Camino Global, including a new logo and website, will take shape over several months, launching in Spring 2012.

Read the Press Release and Frequently Asked Questions at introducing.caminoglobal.org.

 

Written by: Phil O'Day

Director of Organizational Development and Communication

(taken from CAM's website: http://www.caminternational.org/index.cfm?go=page&pid=568)

Home Assignment Update - Travel Day Ohio

We left Parkersburg, WV today encouraged and blessed and with a little tiredness after a few days of constant activity and numerous conversations and presentations.  It was great.

I left this day as a travel day as we head to Traverse City, MI.  It's about 550 miles and some folks might do that in one day but I wanted to leave it open to whatever we felt up to doing.  With the rain and heavy winds (gusting 40 mph) and getting packed up and saying goodbye at nearly noon, we were all content to turn in at Findlay, OH after only 4.5 hours on the road.  Tomorrow we'll still have about 6 hours of driving.

We're in a very comfortable room and enjoying a few hours of down time with the boys.

This hotel has a nice indoor/outdoor pool and Dayton and I spent some time enjoying the pool and the hot spa as well.  In the pool Dayton had his first experience of swimming under the divider and popping up outside with a 40 degree temperature and strong, gusty winds.  

We played a few games.  One was a simple swimming race from inside to the outside wall.  I gave him a good head start but even as a poor swimmer, I beat him handily.  

He said, "You only won because I'm so slow."  

Yup, that's my smart homeschooled kid!

We then played tag and he was having a hard time tagging me.  Finally, he feigned injury (which didn't work) and then he raised his arms and said mournfully, "I need a hug."  Nope.  Didn't fall for that one either, but I did get some good laughs.

Home Assignment Update - West Virginia

Once again I find it a challenge to post more than about once a week.

We're in Parkersburg, WV as I write this post and we've been here since Saturday afternoon.  We've been participating in the missions conference of our sending church, Bethel Baptist Church.  The theme has been..."How to Be a Sending Church" or something close to that.  (see how close I read things)  BBC graciously accepted us as members in 2003 (I think it was) so that we could have a sending church (our previous sending church was going through some very difficult circumstances and just couldn't commit to sending and supporting us).  We were the first missionaries BBC had ever commissioned to an overseas mission field and this was new for them just as much as being missionaries was new to us.  Now they're in the process of sending their associate pastor and his wife and children (Jamie and Mandy Smith) to Zambia as missionaries.  The theme for this conference is à propos for the church and for us too.  The renewed fellowship and sharing has been encouraging and helpful.

On Saturday the missionaries were treated to a very nice multi-course dinner along with the missions committee, the church leadership, and our hosts/hostesses for the week.  A number of teens served us with a great spirit and a sacrifice of their Saturday evening.  

On Sunday the morning session was mostly a historical review of BBCs commitment to and involvement in outreach and missions.  The Sunday school hour was devoted to Wendy Heinzman (spelling?) who is a single missionary in France and has ministered to women there for 14 years.  

The presentations from her and all of the missionaries were to contain a cultural representation of what we experience routinely back in our ministering countries.  Wendy had us (the audience) participate in a "Christmas Tea" which was a novel (for France) approach to making acquaintances and building relationships at Christmas time.

Sunday night we were in charge of a kids' presentation for ages 2 up to grade 5!  What an age spread!  Gratefully, we had a number of teenagers helping us with the kids.  We were to share a Bible story or some sort of Bible-based story from our culture in Mexico.  We adapted that idea to share an untrue story because in Mexico, that is the story that gains the most attention, the most followers, and affects the reasons why we minister in Mexico more than any other culturally based story.  That would be the story of Juan Diego (the Indian peasant) and the Virgin Mary's appearance to him.  We made sure the kids understood that this was not a true story but it is the story the every Mexican knows.  They did some coloring and received some pin buttons.

At that same time Randy and Cari Woughter were sharing their ministry in Nicaragua.  They propped up tables on their sides all around a small rectangular area and made all the chairs form very tight rows with very little space in between rows and no space in between the chairs (from side to side).  Except for the dirt floor, the roaming dogs, chickens, and pigs and many ambiant noises, it was just like a church service in Nicaragua!

Last night was our turn to present and we shared an update of our varied ministries as we sat in a U-Shape.  This was to represent how we often meet in our house church plant on Sunday mornings.  We then had four of the church members read a first-person testimony and prayer request of four of our house church members.  We had to write these ourselves but we did our best to make these as "non-fiction" as possible.  They were brief but it was great to see the church members listen and take to heart the grace of God in how He saved the core of our small group.  One of the ladies who was waiting her turn to read a testimony seemed in awe of the testimonies.  She asked Beth (who was sitting next to her), "Are these real?!?"  Yes, they are real...God is real...these dear friends are real...their stories are real...and God is really changing lives in Mexico!  We only wished they could be here with us to share their testimonies in person.

Tonight we'll be "visiting" Colombia with a young couple (the Breyers) who are raising support to serve at a camp there.  We'll conclude tomorrow night with our keynote speaker, Mike Allen, who is a Captain and Chaplain in the National Guard and also serves several times a year in Romania in a ministry there in leadership training.

Small world: Captain Allen went through chaplain school at Fort Jackson (?) with our good friend and fellow chaplain, Mark Olson.  Also, on Friday night we stayed in Beckley, WV with and old college friend and she and her husband asked us if we knew Mike Allen who they knew was from this area around Parkersburg.  I wasn't sure if we did or didn't...but we surely do now!

This morning we were up and at 'em at 6 a.m. (and that's not normal for us night people!).  We and the other missionaries were special guests in 4 different high school classes and were given 45 minutes in each class to present cultural and language themes to each class.  We enjoyed that experience and it was  a familiar feeling to walk into a large school once again and drink in the hallways and classrooms and the presence of all those students in one place.  I must admit, teaching just gets in your blood and it's not something you ever really lose even though it has been 10 years since I taught in a formal classroom on a permanent basis.  Well...not so "permanent" since I'm not doing that now!

We conclude tomorrow evening during the AWANA time and will be with a group of kids during their counseling time.  I've not been in too many AWANA groups over the years so I don't even know what a "counseling time" is but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

We load up the van and hit the road again on Thursday; destination Traverse City, MI.  Not sure of our route yet (I've looked it over on Google Maps more than once already).  Not sure where we'll stay on Thursday night.  We'll figure it out I'm sure.  We're scheduled for Rollins Christian Fellowship, Manton, MI for this Sunday morning (combined Sunday school).  If you're near there and want to join with us, I think it starts around 9:45 if I recall correctly.

Still not doing a good job of taking photos.  I'll post some eventually.  Keep checking in and thanks for your patience.  We greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue to travel and share and talk and talk some more and talk yet even more.  Whew!  (good thing we're pretty good at talking!)  Dayton has had a cough/cold since we left Mexico on 9/23 and today seems to have a fever.  You can pray for him.  I've not felt too well but I think it's sleep apnea.  I didn't snore last night (says Bethie), and I do feel much better today even on 6 hours of restless sleep.  

We're eating well...too well or perhaps too much as is often the case on home assignments!  If you've ever seen the animated flick, "Despicable Me," I've changed a favorite quote to: "I'm so fluffy...I think I'm gonna die!!!"  (a few of you might get that)

Chattanooga Scenes

On our way out of Tennessee we couldn't resist a quick diversion to downtown Chattanooga (a.k.a. Chattaboogie and Chattanooger and Chatty) where we walked across the Tennessee River over the Walnut Street Bridge and visited a favorite pizza place (Mellow Mushroom).

The leaves were just beginning to turn.  We were a little early for peak colors but seeing red and yellow leaves has been such a treat.  I remember seeing the Delta Queen on the Ohio River as a kid.  On one of those occasions, my family and I watched from just a few feet away as it traversed the Cannelton Locks.  I remember a passenger at the front of the boat stepping off as the boat moved through the lock and then stepping back onto the Delta Queen just before he became a new local resident.

Home Assignment Update - Tennessee

After 7 nights with our good friends on Dayton Mountain, we're just about to leave Tennessee.  We've enjoyed seeing many old friends in this area around Dayton, Tennessee.  If you're wondering, yes, our Dayton was named after this meaningful place where Beth and I first met.

Friday and Saturday was the annual homecoming for our alma mater, Bryan College.  It was the first time we'd been here for that in 16 years.  It was my 22nd year and Beth's 20th year.  Attendance seemed a bit sparse but we really don't know what to compare it to.  We were glad to see a few friends from years ago.   We did think back to what we gained through our education here so long ago and how God has used our experiences and learning here to bring us along our lives' journey to where and who we are today.  I'm sure we could never have written this life's script the way God has done.  What an adventure!

Yesterday, we attended our former church here, Westminster Presbyterian Church.  Yes, it may seem odd that a couple of "Baptists" would have been members of a Presbyterian church but our couple of years of fellowship here continue to be very special to both our memories and our foundation in Christ.  We enjoyed sharing with them how God is working in our lives and ministries in Mexico.  What a sweet time it was.  I ran over by almost 15 minutes but considering I could have easily shared for another hour or more, I guess it wasn't too bad.  We hope at least a few of our brothers and sisters there will come down and visit and minister with and to us in Mexico.  There was mention  from our English teacher friends of a "Shakespeare Camp."  Now THAT would be cool!

The leaves are turning and we're seeing more yellows and reds with each passing day.  I hope to get a few pics on our way out to Georgia today.  I'll post them if I manage to take any.  Seeing the fall colors is one of the highlights of the trip.

Here are a few pics from the Bryan College campus and a few old friends from Homecoming.

Home Assignment Update - Indiana (part 1)

I see it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted anything from our road trip.  Since our last post, we've traveled through southern Indiana where we visited with my oldest brother, attended the wedding of one of his sons (all three are now married within the past year or so), and somehow managed to not take any meaningful photos throughout that weekend.  I guess we were just enjoying ourselves.  I also figured there were some other cameras snapping shots so we were covered.

My other brother and his wife came up from South Carolina for the same wedding so we enjoyed a reunion of the McManus boys for a brief day and a half.  It was the first time all three of us were together in the same room since summer of 2003.  Wow...how time flies.

Next post...Tennessee.