September has come and gone since my last blog post and it was marked by highs and lows, joys and sorrows. In Cynthia Heald’s book A Woman’s Journey to the Heart of God, she writes a parable of Joy and Sorrow journeying together. When Joy asked the master why Sorrow had to come along, he answered, “Without Sorrow, you would never know Joy.”
So, so true. Sorrow adds definition to the experience of joy, and joy gives hope in the dark valleys of life.
Our month started with the joy of hosting our very dear, chosen family friend Dawn for five days. We hiked, floated in the pool, had one more 75th birthday celebration for Paul, sipped coffee, and just enjoyed being together. We also went to the premiere of Focus on the Family’s newest production, “Truth Rising,” which was co-produced by Os Guinness, one of the greatest theologians of this century. It can be live-streamed here and is well worth watching. Our visit with Dawn was delightful in every way and we were truly refreshed by it.
One of our favorite days with Dawn was spent hiking at Great Falls on a gorgeous waning summer day.
Os Guinness co-produced “Truth Rising” with Focus on the Family and was at the premiere launch at Immanuel Bible Church.
The day after Dawn left, Sept 7, we were on our way to a magical four-day 70th birthday celebration for me, planned and hosted by our dear, also chosen family friends, Doug and Julie. In what could've been only imagined in a dream, we spent three days in Disney parks in Orlando—Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom—and we had as much fun as any 5-year-old. We went on every ride in each park, made possible by not having to wait in lines—another fantasy come true. We went on a Safari Trek, during which we got fairly “up close and personal” with the hippos. We ate yummy food, including an extravagant evening at “Victoria and Alberts,” and enjoyed thoughtful touches along the way, like birthday cakes at the end of several meals. And we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is surrounded by animals roaming on the savannah. Epic.
It soared well beyond any imagination or dreams, making for a truly unforgettable culmination of this year-long celebration of my 70th birthday.
It was magical in every way!!
It was during that magical adventure at Disney World that we received word of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and we were reminded of the very fine line between joy and sorrow. Our hearts have been broken by the tragedy and it has weighed heavily on us ever since. What satan intended for evil, God will use for good. (Genesis 50:20) It has been immensely encouraging to hear the gospel being proclaimed in unusual places in the aftermath and to hear stories of many finding hope in Jesus. All praise is His!
From Orlando, we drove to Satellite Beach, FL, and spent the next four days speaking. Trinity Church of Wellspring put together a creative marriage conference held Thursday evening, Sept 11, Friday evening, and Saturday morning, ending before lunch on the 13th. Their team did a great job of planning the event, decorating for it, and feeding the attendees. We loved partnering with them!
Kristian and Lydia Eikevik, pastor of students, and Jason and Lisa Carter, lead pastor, were delightful to work with.
Longtime friends, Dave and Kathleen Sherman, flew in from Colorado to attend the conference (and to visit their grandchildren. :) )
A great crowd gathered for their first marriage conference.
An added bonus for our days in Satellite Beach was spending a full day with Dick and Becky Molenhouse. Becky and Paul went to "Orientation for New Staff” for IVCF back in 1972 and we’ve been very much a part of each other’s lives ever since. Becky’s best selling book, Out of the Saltshaker, has been instrumental in shaping evangelism worldwide since its publication in 1979. It was such a joy to have them attend the conference both Thursday and Friday nights as well as to spend the whole day with them on Friday. Friends as such add so much value to our lives as we solve both world and domestic problems during hours of talking.
Dick and Becky Molenhouse attended the marriage conference and spent a day with us connecting over many important issues.
Saturday night, after the conference ended, Jake and Kaylee Gosselin hosted a small group of 12 couples for an evening of fellowship and wisdom gathering. Each couple was instructed to come with a question about family or marriage, and after eating dinner together, we spent about an hour and a half having a stimulating time of Q and A. Very thoughtful questions were posited and all agreed it was an evening well spent.
Jake and Kaylee Gosselin hosted an evening of dinner and conversation for about 12 couples and we had a great time of fellowship.
To round out our week in Florida, we were honored to be invited to teach at Rock Harbor Church in Melbourne that Sunday, Sept. 14. This is Jake and Kaylee’s home church and it truly was a privilege to partner with their robust ministry. Both services were very well attended and the congregants were very engaged.
A highlight for us was having Adam and Christy Zulim with their two teen children attend the service. Adam served on our camp staff in 1999, and that summer was pivotal in setting the ministry trajectory for his life. We’ve only seen Adam a few times since that summer and imagine our surprise when we found out that the Zulims had moved from Utah to Florida just weeks earlier. It was a gift from heaven to reconnect with them!!
Jake and Kaylee hosted the service at Rock Harbor and did a great job.
Jake and Kaylee were the quintessential hosts, taking care of everything needed with love and creativity.
Adam and Christy Zulim and their kids came to hear us teach at Rock Harbor and that was such a gift to us!
In a very rare “divide and conquer” plan, Paul and I flew to different destinations on Sunday after we finished at Rock Harbor. Because both of our sons-in-law were meeting up for a ministry retreat in Montana, Paul flew to Oakland, CA, to be Kari’s “wingman” for the week and I flew home to support Julie. There’s nothing we like more than being with our kids and grandkids. it was a great week for all of us, even with 3K miles between us. Paul did a lot of “Uber-ing” the kids to practices and events as well as doing a few projects around the house, and I helped out where needed with Julie. I also hosted David and Emily Hazlebeck and their three Littles for two nights as they wrapped up a trip to PA to see family and to DC to appeal for resources for "Global Algae Innovations.” We love the Hazlebecks!!
Rachel picked the only two zucchini Paul’s garden produced this year! Though we figure they each cost about $50, they were sure good baked and stuffed!
Nate is all about football these days and is loving playing his 4th season with the “Patriots."
David and Emily Hazlebeck with their three and “Mimi Debbie” joined me for a couple of days and fun was had by all.
Meanwhile in CA, Papa treated the Garcia crew to chicken sandwiches at “Lovely’s.”
All three Garcia grandkids are in to rock climbing. Papa was happy to watch and take photos.
The second deep sorrow in the past month came with the passing of Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. Another bold giant of the faith, Voddie’s relentless commitment to strengthening the body of Christ with gospel-centered teaching has impacted hundreds of thousands over the past three decades. His voice will be missed.
The days we’ve been home in September have been filled with counseling, writing (Paul is working on his next book), preparing for future conferences, and enjoying friends and neighbors. We were really happy to host Harry Choi, the son of a dear friend, who spent the night of Sept. 27th with us as he drove from Boston to Raleigh, NC. It was such an encouragement to get to know the young man we’d been hearing about for years from his mom and to have him share his heart for the Lord with us.
Harry Choi spent the night with us and then joined us for church on Sunday. We loved having him!
And then . . . the calendar page turned to October! This month has started with one of our favorite things…speaking at a family camp. For the second year, we were privileged to return to Alpine Retreat and Camp for their third annual “Fall Family Weekend.” Once again, under the direction of Christi King, program manager, a full-of-fall-fun weekend was designed. Christi’s creative team did a great job of developing a western theme with skits that coordinated with the curriculum Paul developed, focusing on the life of Daniel. It ran like a well-oiled machine.
Paul developed and led all-family devotions at each of our four sessions and he never had trouble getting volunteers from the younger set to help with his illustrations. He has an amazing gift of conveying truth in a way which engages the youngest to the oldest. Besides the all-family devotions, we spoke to the adults only on marriage and that was a well-received session. Many fun games, crafts, a square dance, and a real live country fair were enjoyed by all at this beautiful camp.
We really love partnering with the leadership at this camp.
We especially enjoyed some time brainstorming and visioneering with Micah and Cassie Van Stetten, (program director and donor relations coordinator for Alpine). Cassie’s father, Gabe Valencia, received his call to ministry back in the late 70’s at CBS when Paul was directing camp, so we have a deep connection and love for this family. It’s so heartening to us to see the faithfulness of God in their family line as they intergenerationally minister together.
Stan and Angi White, former directors of Alpine and current board members, came up Friday night to hang out with us and that was such a treat. It was also a treat to have our daughter Lisa spend Friday afternoon and evening with us there. So blessed!!
Lisa, Stan and Angi White, and we had a great time together over dinner.
The skits at each of the large group sessions were a hit.
A time of worship was had at each of the sessions.
Our dear friends, Brian and Sue Fox, drove up from Redlands to spend an hour with us Saturday afternoon. We loved connecting with them.
The families enjoyed working together on the devotional activities.
These three young volunteers were the lions in the story of Daniel.
These three families came to camp from Las Vegas and for two of them, it was their first family camp, They assured us it wouldn’t be their last!
We wrapped up at Alpine Sunday early afternoon and drove back down the mountain to hang out with Lisa. A hike up Mt. Rubideau under the “Super Moon” was a perfect end to a wonderful weekend.
Hiking with Lisa is always a joy, and having the Super Moon illuminating the night was an extra bonus.
Monday, the 6th, we were fortunate to spend time with two of our three treasured “elders.” Our dear friend, Wendy Turney, drove to Riverside for a couple hours of catching up in the morning and we drove to Fullerton to have lunch with another dear friend, Carol Kraning. Much to our disappointment, our plans to connect with John and Grace Tebay were canceled when Grace became ill. How blessed we are to have these “seasoned saints” in our lives.
Our lunch with Carol Kraning was so sweet, though the joy of being with her always carries the sadness of missing her beloved Bob.
We’ll be on the road most of the next two months doing what we love to do. Thanks for your prayers and support, your love, and your encouragement. We are truly most grateful.
