Fake HIV/Aids drugs!!!

All ya'll concerned with the well-being of the other half of the world might find this piece of information interesting.
I have this Ugandan update web-site as my homepage so I can kinda know what's going on in that part of the world my Compassion child is from. This was today's front page story... check it out.

broke

And it's gonna be okay.

Musing the Wonderment of love

Had a splendid time with the Springang yesterday. Sorry no pictures... BUT Had a beautiful breakfast feast of chocolate pancakes and scrambled eggs with coffee and smiles. Adon was able to join us as well!!! I haven't seen him for around six months... what are the chances that both he and I were in town for Connally's only day off this week? I will never forget that warm little kitchen, with the girls busily cooking and dropping food onto the plates of the three guys around the smallish table, chatting over coffee about school, plans, and life in general. A little family with nothing better to do than be together.
We played one of my favorite games after hearing a wonderful love story before Adon had to skat, but the fun didn't stop there.
"thrown rolls" to eat. It's crazy that through all the years having lived here I never had eaten there before.... I don't know how I missed it; all my family and friends have gone different times. In any case, it's just ironic that now that I don't live here, I go.
To top off the outing we all headed to the new hipster coffee shop down town that Honey now works at. All their coffee comes from Haiti. I had what's called "Haitian Dreams" a latte made with Haitian vanilla... so beautiful to taste!!
We played Apples to Apples and laughed a lot.
Headed home and lazily sat around the apartment and hung for a while before skyping with Connally's sister from a far away land. Oh the wonders of technology.
Thanks God for friends that never fail to bring a smile and a refreshing look at life when I get hung up on one side.

Pit Stop of Life

I am now a professional traveler... it's official. Considering I've just done my first solo major trip/"move". Today I completed the North to Midwest commute in a two day period. Summer is gone like the wind! I can't believe the time is over and school is upon us. I'm only taking a short time in this place that was once home to tie up a few loose ends with my car. Catching up with a few close friends is just a perk of being gone for so long. Has it really been almost three months? And three before that!
I hate to even unpack stuff from my stuffed vehicular device, but I must for a short time since I'm staying a few days. It took me a good day and a half to pack it up from my Summer Home residence and fit it into my poor litt

le "Amy"

This is only the beginning I can tell.
There are going to be many more of these travels... Thank God for traveling mercies.
See if you can keep up!

Hebrews 10:23

Rainy Day.
Low on gas, but still using what's left to get away.
Coffeeshop.
Grande Pike's Peak with sugar, honey, and cream.
Window seat.
Watching the fog tear away from the dark mountains.
I don't know what I have more in common with right now;
Clouds or Mountains.
Clouds: rising from the earth to a white sky, leaving behind the known solid ground only to drift... leaving their tears behind.
Mountains: standing strong on their foundations despite the storms washing around them. Dark against the white sky, seeming mournful to see the clouds fly away.. not wanting them to go, but knowing they must.
Or
...
Was it the Rain?
There is one thing that Rain makes me think of... Gratitude. I've spoken of it before, but just to remind, it is a song about Taking what God has given as provision and Thanking Him for it even though it may not have been the way You thought He should have provided. Understanding that He has the BEST understanding of needs... NEEDS (not wants).

God's Gift

Listening to the overflow from the spring house, pouring onto the rocks…. Distant birds calling and fluttering… a small frog chirps alone in the ditch… ever so often the dew drops fall from their resident leaves, splattering on ones farther down the line…. The smell of wet moss and the musty trees, the warm though clean air, and hints of smoke from the fire pit.
It’s another new morning at the place we so lovingly refer to as “God’s Gift”. My Grandparent’s cabin is one of the most calming places I know that exists. Far out in mountain country, it is tucked away among the Silver Birch, Hemlock, and Pine Trees. There is a rushing Creek just a walk away that facilitates hours of swimming, stone skipping, and of course Creek Sneaking. Now, not to be confused with Robinson Crusoe, we are not in the middle of the wilderness apart from all humanity. There are plenty of neighbors just a stone’s throw away… both two and four-legged alike… oh, the Black Bear stories we’ve heard. The road is just on the other side of the trees and corn field where mostly motorcyclists frequent. Just a quick trip down and around the corner is Becky’s Sunset Ice-cream shop. I always get the same flavor there, Teaberry, mostly because I can’t seem to find it anywhere else than in this part of the country!

Oh the times I’ve spent here as a little boy… The campfire dog roasts, the long walks down the gravel road… I remember when my dad and grandfather put up the swing-set for us three kids; just board across two Silver Birches, rope, and board seats…. A child’s freedom. This is where I learned how to roast the perfectly browned marshmallow for the perfectly sticky s’more. This is where I learned to bait a hook with the night crawlers we bought at the country store… the same store we got a bag full of penny candy each visit. This is where I learned how to differentiate Hemlock and Pines, and probably more importantly, what poison ivy looks like… though I still have trouble with that one.

But of all things big and small, the theme that this place sings with every creak of the floor boards or old screen door hinges is “Togetherness”. It’s because of togetherness that the life I have is the way it is… because my grandparents decided that togetherness is better than not … for 50 years. The cabin has been in the family for nearly thirty years now, with at least ten more to go I would say. The older I grow, the more I reflect on these times and places, realizing that it may be a few years before I return… but for now I thank God for the time I have and have had.

Thank you Lord… Thank You for this wonderful Gift.

Tears of Joy and of Pain

It seemed so far away. For so long there was no date… just an idea. For so long Summer seemed forever away… but it is almost over. For so long they had packed and stored and sold… and it’s all gone.
I told my Grandfather as my parents drove away “I’ve never been on this side of the van.”
My parents are in route to Mozambique, Africa!!! And the rest of us are left here to praise the Lord for all He has done and pray for all He will do.
I have some really amazing parents. My friends have already told me this over and over again but it was always one of those things that it takes time to realize for oneself. Ya, my parents are amazing.
Pillars of Faith in Jehovah Jirah.

I’m so proud of them.