catedral de san francisco ... downtown santiago ... it's REALLY dark inside ... but it is the oldest ... uy ... not sure if in the city ... don't think in the country, though it MIGHT be ...

jimmy and his (now) father in law, Jorge.

pretty cool to think we are now related. :-)

these are the bell towers of the monastery ... at los dominicos ...

this is my current desktop picture. these are the mountains i grew up looking at. they helped remind me that there is something bigger than i am ... something bigger than 'man' in the corporate sense ... things we have to work around ... things we have to climb, things that will keep us from seeing what is beyond the horizon ... yada yada :-)

seriously.

mountains give you a sense of perspective that is hard to get from hills and trees.

this was my first afternoon there ... at Los Dominicos, a folk-art center, where i basically ended up sitting at an outside cafe table while everyone else came and went, or stopped for a snack or a drink or a sandwich ... that's most, if not all the group ... i hadn't slept since wednesday morning ... this was thursday afternoon ... :-)

jimmy's all 'when is this going to be OVER so we can get to the honeym ... the reception! yeah, that's the ticket, the RECEPTION'

apparently, what i'm seeing on my laptop isn't completely true to what is actually happening ... for example, right now, all i can see of the picture to the left is the top of the picture down to about my eyes ... everything else stops there.

so this is us ... Lolly, Karen, me and Becky, with jimmy and mane sitting, of course ... does the joy we feel come across in the picture??

aaargh .....

i'm at the library, and the broadband wireless is SUPPOSEDLY working ... and i've got the pictures loaded onto either the hard drive or on CD ... and i go through the steps ... and nothing ... can't get them uploaded ...

will keep trying ...

grace & (relative) peace

Kenny

addendum --

it posted! it posted! momma and daddy NEVER dance ... i suspect their laughter was at THEMSELVES as much as anything else ... but i LOVE this picture ... David Mussiett took it and sent it to me monday evening. what a blast.

Please read this:
If you want to read the blog the author keeps, go here:

Either way, I hope you won't be dissappointed ... I don't think you WILL be ...

grace & peace

Ash Wednesday

Drove into Richmond this morning to attend the chapel service at BTSR with Leslie. The Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Richmond, Francis X. Dilorenzo (Most Reverend Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, D.D. Bishop of Richmond, Cathedral of the Sacred Heart) came and spoke, and also did the imposition of ashes for those who came forward (along with a woman minister ... not sure who she was) ... but it was a neat service ... stayed and attended Dan Bagby's Pastoral Counseling class with Leslie, and ate lunch with her and then came on back ... this evening we wrapped up the study of the book of Hebrews, and segued (sp?) into the Lenten Season. I offered the imposition of ashes, and most everyone who was there came forward. it was neat to be able to share that.

grace & peace

spent the day in virginia beach ... or for a while, off the COAST of virginia beach. took a whale watching tour on a boat from rudee inlet ... windy ... cold ... sunny for the most part ... and angela ended up getting a little seasick ... but not much ... didn't see any whales :-( did see a bunch of seabirds ... then went back to CiCi's at Haygood to eat pizza (Scott, Becky and the kids came with us), then back to grana and graddaddy's for cake and ice cream. fun day. LONG day, but good, all around ...

grace & peace

'THE BIG SNOW'

well, kinda. the predictions were pretty dire. when we finally went to bed last night it was just getting started. still worked on the message, but wondered if it would be delivered ...

as it turned out, it was enough snow to call off the day's activities (we had an encuentro scheduled for this afternoon). the kids got out and played in the snow for a while this morning, and caleb stayed out and made a second snowman, then i joined him to build a third. FUN.

So we were only out for a few minutes, but just enough to get winded and cold ... and wet ... but still .... LOTS of fun.

we're going to need to run out and retrieve the caps and scarf here before too long.

Jimmy gave me the hat a couple of years ago ... and it really DOES make a difference - especially last night in the rain (before it turned into snow)

Come to think of it, i think it was lolly who gave me the hat.

quick update ... they moved into a house today. big house. lots of room. away from where they were. quiet.

not too terribly far from here. :-) and God was in it.

grace & peace

Kenny

another interesting couple of days ...

yesterday, Edith and family (pedro/mario, jose gaspar, luis & magdalena and a couple of as-yet unidentified housemates) moved in across the street. this is a good thing. hopefully it will get them out of the 'corridor' where the rougher crowd runs -- the ones who dedicate saturdays and sundays to BEING drunk ... and get them sobered up and ... well ... clean. this afternoon we had a memorial service for vivian (the woman who owned and shared her house with them). there were about 8 or 9 people there, including edith and luis (her son) ... the rest were co-workers and neighbors and friends. it was small, but relaxed and ...

Holy.

i robed, and Leslie brought her (only) stole in and draped it over my shoulders ... don't think the color goes with the season, but that's okay ... we're not that strictly following the church year anyway ... well, we're FOLLOWING it, but not to that degree ... colors come into play for the decorations in the sanctuary and things like that ... usually, if i wear the robe, it 's JUS T the robe.

after the memorial service, i ran up to montross to meet one of the women of the association with her son-in-law and a refrigerator in the back of their pickup and unloaded it at the trailer of a couple of couples who were in need of one, and will soon be in need of a couple of full size beds and a couple of twin sized beds ... i've got the twin sized bed lined up for pickup tomorrow afternoon... it should fit in the van without too much trouble.

this evening, we hosted a game night for the 'college and career' aged class -- Leslie and Jay teach it together. we played balderdash. had a LOT of fun. then, about 9 pm i got a call from jose and patricia ... they'd been broken into again ... (had their baby boy on the 3rd of december, and about two weeks later these boys tried to break in, but jose managed to scare them off ... this time they were a little more intentional. brought a shotgun and a gun ... they initially scared them off, but when they (the robbers) realized that jose and his brother in law didn't have anything to fire back at them with, they came back -- jose peeked out his window, and they saw each other at the same time ... he just managed to tuck his head back inside before the shotgun shot took out the window he had stuck his head through ...

long story short, we have 6 guests sleeping downstairs. 5 adults and an almost two-month old precious baby boy. When the call came in, Kelly and Steve and Anne and Jay were still here. they offered to help do whatever needed doing, and helped us get the downstairs straightened up and cleaned up so that they could come in and not have to climb over toys and stuff to get to their beds and the bathroom.

interesting the way things work out. this afternoon i got a call from another couple who were looking for a house to rent, and whom i'd put in contact with a man from northern virginia who had a couple of properties to look at ... they ended up renting a house in montross -- newly renovated -- and from the look of it, almost historic -- small (two bedroom) -- but quaint looking ... will be looking around for some living room furniture for them. that same couple had first called me about an ad they'd seen about an apartment for rent for $500/month. it turned out to be too far down THIS way for them to really be interested in it ... originally they were going to meet the landlord this morning at 9, but decided yesterday that they were just going to concentrate on what they could find in westmoreland.

with this being the second break-in attempt for jose and patricia and company, they are ready to be out of the house TOMORROW. so i called the other man, the one with the apartment, and have set up a meeting with him and them at the apartment at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. the catch is this. i have already told a woman who has a twin bed for the two couples and the two single men (where we dropped off the refridgerator this afternoon) that i would be by HER house between 2 & 3. I may give her a call to see if i can swing by there earlier -- around 1, as soon as i can get away from church, to pick up the bed, then do the meet at the apartment, THEN deliver the bed, THEN ...

oh yes ... leslie is going to be teaching an ESL class tomorrow afternoon at 4. the kids and i are going to irvington church to share supper with them ... and to sit in for a few minutes on their business meeting ... i have NO idea why john (the pastor) wants me there ... but i figure, if he wanted me to bring the whole family it wouldn't be for a raking over the coals for something ... right? :-)

did i mention Leslie starts back to classes at BTSR this coming wednesday, and will be driving into richmond on wednesdays and fridays ... and I'M going to be taking two intensives at Leland as well -- 4 weekends spread out from the end of february to the end of march ... (24-25th, then 10-11th, 17-18th, then 31-1st (march-april) that means i go up on a thursday evening, attend class all day friday and all day saturday, do anticipatory reading and papers as needed both before, between and after ... then return ... in this case a month later for the first intensive (preaching) and the next week (for the christianity and culture class in the middle of march) ...

oh ... did i mention we will be presenting the RBA model at the 21-c conference at the beginning of february -- in fact --- NEXT SATURDAY OMG!!!! so i need to get the power point queen to working on that ... :-) or i guess i could ... but i'll be driving into richmond on thursday evening to be there for the conference to start on Friday morning --- bright and early.

that friday is also the court date for marie ... the young woman who landed her car in the front yard of the church last saturday ... hmmmm ... that makes two fairly exciting saturdays in a row!

life in the country ... so ... idyllic ...

yeah RIGHT!

:-)

one final note ... i don't have to prepare a message for tomorrow -- it's men's day at jerusalem!!! i DO, however, have to get up at O'dark thirty and get over to the fellowship hall to start the coffee percolating ... we're having a men's breakfast at 7:30 ... eek.

not that there's anything WRONG with that ... :-)

grace & peace

This was what was in our front yard looked like EARLY this morning. I dragged the Crepe Myrtle (sp?) off the driveway to let the tow truck pull in to load up the car last night ... it was squarely across the driveway after the car took it out... happened just before 1 AM, and thankfully both girls inside were fine. The car apparently slid across our front yard sideways, hit the crepe myrtle, and then when they hit the timber on the edge of the driveway it flipped -- missing both marker posts at the end of the driveway as well as the bucket o' flowers near the head of the driveway on the church side. The car ended up right side up, both front tires deflated, in reverse, engine running. The airbags deployed, and I THINK they were both wearing their seatbelts ...

(left) the car ended up in the background -- top right of the picture -- the dark patches in the grass -- nose down in the ditch, perpendicular to the road.

(right) I can't quite figure out how the two sets of tracks were made ... anyone got any ideas?

(below) The long shot -- from where the car first went off the road on the right side (seems there was some critter in the road that they tried to avoid hitting), overcorrected, and spun over onto the left side. Good thing nobody was coming in the other direction.

Of such things ...

Our children graced us with a "romantic evening dinner lunch" today. Caleb and Judson dressed up in white shirts and dark pants, (caleb wore a vest and was the cook), Hannah also dressed up as the hostess, and Judson provided the entertainment. the menu offered a wonderful selection -- PB&J with chips, Club sandwich with chips, turkey sandwich and chips, baloni [sic] and chips; snack special: flavored pretzels; drinks: milk, ice water, coca-cola, gingerale; Chips: BBQ chips, Corn chips; Deserts: Cookies.

They set up the living room as the dining room, the piano bench became an intimate little bistro table for two, two stools from the coffee table downstairs became our chairs ... and candles ... they set up a candle on the table, and beside the table another higher table with another bunch of candles on it.

Leslie selected the PB&J, I chose the sub sandwich with turkey and cheese and mayonnaise, and we both had barbeque chips. For refreshment, we selected the Emmerton Well '06 (chilled), but opted for no 'desert'.

During the meal, Hannah serenaded us with 'I'll Love You Forever', by Paul McCartney and John Lennon (I think), and Judson did a more dynamic performance which included a couple of flying leaps onto the couch (the second AFTER he'd been told not to do it again).

Oh. Did I mention both boys had mustaches? (They're coming off now ... they are both in the tub)

Of such things are precious memories made.

Oh God please help us not to forget them!

grace & peace

Hard to believe we're already two weeks into the new year.

Update since last post: Annie Lee Coates passed away on Thursday the 29th of December. We were in Kentucky on vacation, but in touch with the family. We had already planned on coming back to Virginia Beach on Friday to spend New Year's with Leslie and her family. Three other area Pastors were asked to lead the funeral, so I drove up for the visitation on Saturday evening, and then back down to Va Beach to ring in the new year with the family.

We went to Thalia Lynn on Sunday morning. It was good to see all the folks who helped form us and give us ministry experience (even though sometimes they didn't know it) :-). The message was good. I needed to hear it. About asking God, not being AFRAID to ask God for things. Need to remember that God is not only GOD, but Daddy as well.

While I was here on New Year's eve, I stopped to visit another member who'd been getting progressively worse over the last couple of months. I'm glad I did. I got the call Sunday morning from one of her sons letting me know that she'd passed away as well.

We got back late Sunday night, and Monday and Tuesday were spent working out the details and preparing for and carrying out her funeral. Wednesday we did a quick study in Philemon, and Thursday we had a Sunday School Council meeting as well as a Youth Committee meeting.

I'm sitting here putting down calendar events and not what I had hoped this would have been originally -reflections on events that happen. Celebrated communion this past Sunday, and took it to one of our shut-ins yesterday. There are a couple of others to whom I'll be taking it next week.

Oh! Caleb!

Caleb had a headache that started last friday, and it kept coming back and kept coming back... Monday Leslie took him to the Doctor, and she gave him a shot for the pain, and recommended that if the headache persisted we should take him to the hospital. It did, and we did, on Tuesday evening. He got a CT of his head, and discovered that his synuses (sp?) are small, and deep in his head, and filled with fluid ... apparently enough so as to cause the headaches. The Doctor said there was nothing that could be done for THAT directly, but to treat the symptoms. So we sent some children's motrin with him to school the next day, along with a permission slip so the nurse could give him some if he needed it. She DID give him some on both Wednesday and Thursday, and it DID stop the pain. I'm not looking forward to the bill from that CT. We HAVE insurance, but it's not very good... and we've just sent in the application to change it to what will hopefully prove to be a better provider.

more later.

grace & peace

Interesting last 24 hours. Drove to Kilmarnock for the visitation for Ralph Dameron, Hilda (Bronner), our organist's brother. It was pouring rain and COOLLD. After the visitation was done, I drove on down to White Stone to spend a few minutes with a couple of the guys there, then headed back home. Got back shortly before 10.

Watched a little TV, went to bed, and got a call at 2:20 from Jose and Patricia, who just had their son a week ago this past Saturday (C-section). She was having some awful pains in her abdomen. Met them in front of El Charrito, and they followed me to Riverside's ER. Pulled in at 3 AM sharp. She got a CT scan, and then had an ultrasound to confirm, but they found her to have gallstones. She didn't need to be operated immediately, but it IS somewhere in the relatively near future. Her potassium level was low, so they gave her 3 bags of it ... each took 2 hrs to drain ... we ended up leaving the hospital about 11:00 ... got home shortly before noon -- I stopped to visit Miss Annie at WHCC, she's had a rough week. But then, every week is a wonder, really, considering she is 104 years old.

Got home, threw together the Woo Stew with a TON of help (chopping) from Soozin, and then jumped in the shower and headed down to Ottoman to Corrotoman Baptist Church for Ralph's funeral. Then got home shortly before 4 and got to work cleaning up the study -- actually finished doing the last things i WAS going to do to it shortly AFTER start time for the open house, 6PM. The last folks just left about a half hour ago, maybe a little more. Had a wonderful evening, and the Woo Stew (otherwise known as the beef vegetable stew i made that got Leslie's attention -- hence, i WOOED her with the STEW) turned out pretty darn good, even if i DO say so myself.

the top picture is from the front end of the hall looking towards the back and right side, the second is from the back end looking forwards.

This past Sunday evening we celebrated Las Posadas with about 130 folks from our local hispanic community. The plan originally was to serve the meal here at the parsonage, but more practical minds prevailed and we hosted the gathering in the fellowship hall over at church. It made things a LOT easier, in terms of serving, seating, and cleanup, but it also gave people a chance to sit and visit and not be cramped into the space they were sitting in. Had SEVERAL folks there we've either never seen before or had only seen briefly in passing at other occassions or in other locations. At the end of the meal, I read the Nativity story from the Gospel of Luke, and led in prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of God's son, our Savior. It was a precious, precious evening.