it's been a long week... a long COUPLE of weeks. Last sunday, our neighbor across the street lost her husband. he was a member of JBC, but hadn't attended in years. he had moved to philadelphia a married and worked his entire career there, then retired back to his "homeplace". he was diagnosed with throat cancer last september. loretta asked me to do the funeral. i'd visited them a few times, but hadn't really had an in-depth discussion with either of them, to the point of being able to say that i knew them well. it still came out well. the funeral was tuesday, primary day here in virginia, and since the fellowship hall at church is a designated polling place, it was not available to host the family after the funeral, so we gladly offered the parsonage for the event. that was really cool. to be able to open our home to the community ... leslie is an angel ... we were up until 1:30 the night before cleaning and straightening up. :-)

THIS week has been odd. busy, definitely, and eventful, but still a little discombobulated. visited margaret in the nursing home that is located on the 2nd floor of the hospital, and had a good time there, ran into charles, who's wife stacy was back in because she'd aspirated some blood when she bit into her tongue while having a seizure the night before ... (32 and has a tumor growing in her brain ... they have a 2 & 1/2 year old daughter)...

yesterday i drove into richmond to visit johnny at st mary's and nellie at home. johnny was in for back surgery, and nellie is losing her vision. she lives in richmond, has for 42 years, and has never moved her membership. every other sunday she drives back here to go to church. on the other sundays she goes to FBC in town.

as i was approaching richmond yesterday, my phone rang, and it was Valentin, he'd just gotten back from mexico, and was at the bus station. i picked him up, did the visiting, then brought him home to have supper with us, shower (he'd been on a bus from brownsville since monday), and then took him home after the deacon's meeting was over with.

this evening we had the group of guys from white stone, including valentin, and cecilia, grisel and manuel and berenice and brenda over for supper. we were GOING to rehearse the songs that the choir will be singing, but decided against it, since we'll be able to do it on sunday at the gathering at upper essex. cecilia let us know of ruben rubio, a friend of theirs (manuel had lived with him for 2 years before moving to heathsville) who had been working construction - roofing- in fredericksburg, and died in a fall yesterday. his wife is expecting their third child, and they have an 18 month old and a 5 yr old.

they had spent the afternoon, if not the day, driving around to people they knew or who knew ruben, and had collected money to send to his wife and his family.

busyness stops dead in it's tracks when we are confronted with ... mortality, among other things.

O God, help me be you to these people.