Our travels in Texas

We have visited churches in Waxahatchie, Greenville, Commerce, Wieland, Richardson and now we are in Lewisville, TX.   Our travels are going well.  Ron spends a lot of time trying to reach people on the phone to set up appointments.  His job is not easy.  If we don't have an appointment, we visit a church on the way and try to make contacts for the future.  People are very nice and interested in our work in China.

Sunday Ron spoke twice at the Wieland Church of Christ in Greenland.  We went to the home of one of the elders for lunch on Sunday.  The lunch was delicious and our time with this very special couple was very delightful.  Nearly everywhere we go, someone has a family member that has adopted Chinese girls so they are very happy to know of our work in China.

We usually park at church buildings.  They are always happy for us to connect to their outside power outlet and hose but sometimes getting the RV close enough to the building can be a problem.  I'm still learning how to direct Ron into tight places, watching for tree limbs on the top as well as canopies of buildings and such like.  I help guide him into the gas stations to fill up so he won't take out a gas pump by accident.  Wonder if there are courses on hand signals for directing traffic? 

Sometimes, the church power outlets are insufficient for the RV load.  We have not had problems until now when we have to turn on heat.  It is a pull on electricity but if we switch it over to gas, it quickly uses up what is in our tank and we have to locate another propane gas dealer.  We have thrown circuit breakers at churches a few times but no one seems to mind.  We are very grateful for the loving concern and support everyone gives us in our travels.

Today, we came to an RV park in Lewisville because the rate is $8 per night for seniors.  That includes a 50 amp connection so we can run heat, microwave or hair dryer without difficulty.  We have water and sewage connections as well.  We will be here a few days before we go to Lake Dallas on Sunday. 

Tomorrow night, I will have the honor and privilege of speaking at the Lewisville ladies annual holiday party.  I will give them a short overview of our work; in particular, the work with the orphans.  I hope some of them will be eager to sponsor orphans or devote themselves to some special projects to help the orphans.  In any event, I will enjoy meeting these wonderful ladies and being with them.  It has been several years since I've done a power point presentation but I was able to prepare it myself and I've worked on what I plan to say so I hope it turns out O.K.

We have had some nights below freezing.  The RV park is almost full.  The man at the front desk told Ron that people from North Texas had driven down to get to warmer weather.  I thought Dallas was North Texas!   I guess these folks are coming from the panhandle cities where it is colder but if I wanted warmer weather, I would have driven on to Houston.

The wind has been tremendous with the cold fronts moving through.   Some nights the RV felt like we were on rough seas.  The howling of the wind was loud and disturbed our sleep many nights.  It is now calm with cold nights and warm days.  We are awakened by the rise of the sun each morning and we open shades and enjoy the warmth of the beautiful sun.

RV's and trailers in the park are decorated for Christmas.  We see mirrors with Santa hats hanging on them.  Apparently some of these folks intend to stay until after the holidays because they have strung up lights, put wreaths on their doors and have Christmas trees in their small yard space. 

Ron and I have missed many Christmases, being away from family in foreign places.  It was great when our children visited us in the Caribbean for Christmas and we went sailing on Christmas day.  Three years ago, we spent Christmas in Beijing and the weather was extremely cold.  We went with friends to The Place (a very exclusive shopping area) where the decorations for Christmas were spectacular but we nearly froze walking around outside looking at everything.  I do not know where we will be on Christmas day this year but so long as everyone is well, we will feel blessed and happy.

We are not going back to Georgia until the first week of January.  We will stay with Leigh Ann, our daughter, in Woodstock.  We have doctor appointments and Ron has other things he needs to do while we are there.  I want to get into storage and bring back some warmer clothes.

The boy that had the Tessier Syndrome Palate surgery in Dallas several months ago went to our home to recuperate the first of October.  Judy and Aida, our Chinese workers have been taking care of him but a family in Buford, Georgia, has taken him to live with them.  They home school their children so it will be good for Hongsheng to have some schooling and spend time with these children.  I know he's been lonely for the past six weeks at our home with the girls busy working each day.  He continues to slowly heal but still has some infections.

Lankui, the little girl that came a year ago to have jaw surgery at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, will go home next week.  Ron talked with her on the phone today.  She's learned english with her host family as well as many other studies but she must return to China to be able to pick up her work there and be able to pass the test to go on to high school in a few years.  Her surgery was successful so she will return to China as a normal child again.  She has loved living with her host family so she's not eager to leave.  The Borck family has kept several for us so we know that anyone they help blends in as part of their own family.  We are so grateful to them for their support and help.

This brings me up-to-date for this time.  If anyone wants to write me, my email adddress is patbrown10@gmail.com.   We miss everyone and would welcome your emails. 

May God bless each of you with good health and holiday cheer.