Spring has greeted us at every turn . . . but the roses we saw in California were show-stopping.
Roses, Rancho, Rosemary, Retirement . . .
That’s a lot of “R’s”!
It’s been quite a month as we’ve trekked from Massachusetts to California to Mexico to Massachusetts to California to Virginia to Massachusetts.
We’ve been on the move and are catching up with ourselves as we spend a few days in Bedford before we return to California next week.
The beginning of this trip found us in Granite Bay, California, presenting a workshop for Bayside’s Thrive Conference. After having missed three Thrives due to covid restrictions (2020 and 2021) and a scheduling conflict (2022), it was a delight to be back at that very energetic, alive conference where we were feted with great teaching, inspiring worship, and encouraging fellowship. A bonus was getting to spend time with a number of very dear friends and we left after three days with full hearts and tired bodies.
The time of corporate worship and teaching was powerful.
For over four decades, we’ve been cherished friends and effective ministry partners with Ray Johnston, the brains and visionary behind the Bayside family of churches.
Our workshop on marriage was well attended and only briefly interrupted by Ray when he came in to affirm our teaching.
Dave and Diana Watts are such dedicated friends and servant-hearted humans as they take care of our book table at any event within a reasonable distance of Granite Bay. We are so grateful for them!
Post-conference dinner with the Johnsons was a blast and a perfect ending to our three days there.
Next stop . . . Rancho Abierto! For the third year in a row, we were honored to speak at the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) family DTS base “Rancho Abierto" in “Nowhere, Mexico.” Seriously. Situated about 1.5 hours southeast of Ensenada, and nine miles from the closest paved road, this is not your luxury-vacation-in-Mexico spot. Put the thoughts of Cabo San Lucas or Puerta Vallarta out of your mind. Rancho Abierto has a collection of small cabins with no plumbing, and electricity that works when the solar energy powered system has enough “juice” . . . which usually meant about 8 hours a day (when you really didn’t need it). Picnic tables inhabit the common outdoor dining area and the limited-but-enough kitchen is housed in a yurt. The open-air “Ohana" pavilion has been paved since last year and serves as the all-family worship space as well as the adult classroom for the DTS (Discipleship Training School). Dirt is the flooring throughout the base and warm days are followed by very chilly nights. Internet service is very unreliable and limited at best.
And we love it there.
After getting picked up in San Diego, we crossed the border into Mexico and arrived at Rancho Abierto 7 hours later.
During our stay there, we taught on Christian marriage and family the first week and on Christian worldview and parenting the second week to the 11 couples who were part of the family DTS. We thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with all of the families, and I especially enjoyed the challenge of brushing off my Spanish skills and communicating with the three Latino families. Unfortunately I’ve lost more than I’ve retained from majoring in Spanish a few years ago so we did have to speak through a translator.
In addition to speaking from 9 to 12 each morning, we spent hours counseling couples two on two, we spoke to the Jr/Sr high class two afternoons, Paul did children’s devotions at the campfire one evening and during worship one morning, and we pulled off the iconic “Family Game Show Night” which was truly enjoyed by all.
We did manage to fit in our five-mile daily walk and only encountered two dead rattlesnakes over the course of days.
We felt very met by God every day and left May 20 with grateful hearts for the privilege of partnering with Brian and Sue McCoy, the founders and directors of RB. We’ve been in each others’ lives for over 25 years and love and respect them deeply.
Sue McCoy makes a few announcements prior to our daily teaching.
Paul leads a devotional time for the families, with a couple of eager helpers.
He leads another family devotional to start the day.
We had the honor of spending a couple of afternoons with the Jr/Sr high class teaching on relationships.
The chilly mornings gave way to warmer afternoons.
Brian and Sue McCoy are long time friends and the founders and directors of Rancho Abierto.
The family game show night was a blast and the guy with the lei did a fantastic job of hosting it.
Of course, he couldn’t have done it without his faithful sidekick, who stands here with Aleida.
The game show contestants were full of energy and competitive spirit.
The community made “a proper fuss” over the birthday of RB’s lunch cook, Blanca. She is also the mother of year round RB staffers, Adan and Aleida.
Driving out in the early morning of May 20, this was our send-off . . . early morning clouds rising above the “super bloom”, agricultural fields, and gentle foothills. Adios, until 2024, Lord willing.
We actually flew home that night and spent a few days in Bedford, doing counseling, catching up on mail, office duties, friends, and hosting two sets of house guests, before turning around and flying back to California. After all, it’s not every day that you have the opportunity to celebrate a very dear friend’s 99th birthday!
Rosemary Dougan is in a league of her own. Our relationship spans 45 years, and for 20 of those years, Rosemary and her husband Garth (who passed away 8 years ago) spent summers with us at Campus by the Sea as the “Senior Mentors” for our college-aged staff. The Dougans are "chosen family” and it was our great joy to “make a proper fuss” over this milestone birthday for this very special lady. The gathering facilitated reconnecting with all of Rosemary’s extended family whom we hadn’t seen in far too long, as well as several family campers-turned-friends.
Rosemary is a class act: a faithful, kind, wise woman of God whose well-lived life has impacted so many.
Dear friends, the Andersons and the Hitchcocks, shared a table with us at the party and we had a great time catching up.
Carter and Tracey Welch hosted us for our short stay in Santa Rosa, and their son Turner and his fiancée Tamara joined the party over breakfast.
While in the Bay Area, we also managed to have a picnic reunion with our best friends from our seminary days, Johnny and Lori Potter.
Next stop, Oakland, where we spent one and a half delightful (though too brief) days with Kari and Gabe and their three “not so Littles.” A delayed celebration of Kari’s birthday, a Memorial Day cookout, and a day at the zoo with the kids filled the time quickly. How we love to be with them!
Dinner out in honor of Kari’s birthday was a treat.
The day at the zoo was very engaging as the active animals entertained us in a mesmerizing fashion.
It was a bit sobering to acknowledge that at 12 years old, Brandon already exceeds the height of both Papa and Gigi.
We clicked our heels together and were transported by air from San Francisco to Virginia for another very big event: the retirement ceremony for Vice Admiral Yancy Lindsey from the US Navy. Yancy and his wife Stacey were in our Sunday school class at Grace Chapel in 2002–2003 while he did graduate work at Tufts. We became close to them, keeping in touch through the years, so we were delighted when they invited us to this major milestone event in their life which was held at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC.
It was deeply moving for me to attend Yancy’s retirement, as my father, a Rear Admiral in the US Navy, had retired in June, forty years ago, at the very same location. I experienced all the nostalgic feels of my patriotic heritage, my father’s exemplary career, and my (mostly) positive memories of military life. The brass band, the well-honed protocols, the in-sync marching. It was all so familiar, stirring the pride I’ve always carried as the daughter of a Naval officer who risked everything to defend the freedom of our nation. My father’s loyalty to America was superseded only by his loyalty to his faith and his family.
Yancy was the same kind of officer. A man of faith, committed to his family, and then to his country. The accolades given him were reminiscent of those said of my father, making this day imbued with deep meaning and reconnecting me with the legacy of my parents that I treasure greatly.
We were so blessed to celebrate with Yancy and Stacey and their daughters such a significant day in their family history.
Attention! Yancy is the third from the left.
We were so honored to be able to celebrate with Yancy and Stacey this really big moment in their lives.
The bonus of “making a proper fuss” for the Lindsey’s retirement was getting to hang out with Julie and Derek and their “still Littles.” Three days of relaxing, walking the dog, enjoying perfect weather, attending church with them, spending an afternoon at their community pool and meeting some of their best friends, eating yummy meals, and just enjoying one another. The times are too few and far between, but we’re so grateful when these reunions happen.
S’mores anyone?
All dressed up and to church we go.
Fortunately, Nathan hasn’t passed up either Papa or Gigi in height. Yet.
We had a lovely meal with Rob and Gabby Warren on our way to catching our flight out of BWI on Monday night (and uncharacteristically, I failed to get a photo), and then we were home, June 5.
We are so very thankful that all of these tracks have taken us places where we’ve connected with many people we love and where we’ve had opportunities to do what we love to do. We have experienced God’s presence and His favor abundantly, and for that, we are most grateful.
And so we press on. Making more tracks, directed by His will. All praise is His.
