Weekend with Family

Although Ronald and Gigi visited us last October, it seems like a long time since we saw them.  They completed their travels to report to churches in AL, TN, KY, GA and FL.  Ronald's last presentation was Sunday morning at Leigh Ann's congregation, Pinellas Park church of Christ in Clearwater, FL.   We were all present and enjoyed his report for the work in the Philippines.   He also gave an update about our work in ASIA as he will now report on both mission works in the same presentation.   He did an excellent job.  We are very proud of him.   We give Gigi a lot of credit because they are a perfect team, providing a nice display for the foyer table, sign up sheets and brochures about the work.   Traveling for two months has not been easy and they have driven many miles, staying in hotels and snacking.  

Ronald said my breakfast Saturday morning was the best breakfast they had had in a very long time.  We ate out for lunch on Sunday at Cheddars (our treat for everyone's birthday lunch). 

 

Leigh Ann and I prepared the Sunday evening meal that we had here at our house.    They showered me with birthday gifts Sunday afternoon.   I am blessed to have reached this birthday with relatively good health.  But, the pictures reflect our age and often I feel it too!

Ronald and Gigi will return to their home in the Philippines on Thursday morning.   It is a long 24+ hour trip.   They will face a load of work when they get back.   Things are not usually kept up the two months they are away and school is out next week.   Gigi will be busy keeping the kids busy all summer with activities.  Ronald wants to get the crew back on the construction work to finish their learning center that will be operational by fall.  

They sold their house in Woodstock, GA to the very first buyer the first day it was on the market.  They moved their things to storage until they return in the fall and look for a condo to purchase as their home.  Gigi's VISA has to be renewed on their return trip and they must have a permanent address in the U.S. for it to be approved.  

The large number of new girls are moving into safe house rooms that have been rented for them in two new areas of Nepal.   Some of the girls are 6 and 7 years old but they are eager to live with other girls in a safe house with plenty of clothing and food and get to go to school.    We have many graduating from high school and leaving other safe houses so the new girls will be assigned their sponsors.    

We have been blessed with good workers and enough income to carry on the work without too many difficulties.   One girl has chicken pox and has been taken to the hospital to isolate her and provide better care for her as she is also running a fever.

They are having a 3-day gospel meeting in one area of Nepal and our girls that live there are preparing for a Bible quiz.   

They are taking food they will serve all of the people in these pictures.  How would you like to attend a 3-day meeting in the open area of Nepal?  Everyone will probably sit on the ground (probably sleep on the ground also).   

Our friend, Ellen Mao, will be our next guest, arriving in early July.    She's booked a 2-hour dinner cruise for us around Clearwater and the islands close by.   We will enjoy the beautiful sunset and dinner if the weather cooperates.

We are still praying for our friend, Polly, who will have surgery this week and Malia, who still has a few more chemo treatments before surgery. 

We wish everyone a nice summer and good health.  

May is here with some rain in Florida!

It has been very dry and hot lately but we got a good shower this morning with more rain predicted tonight.

We have a new patio added to our condo which is very nice.   

One of the elders at Leigh Ann's church built the patio and did an excellent job.   I have herbs and a few flowers growing well in the flower beds along the wall.  Leigh Ann gave me some solar lights and lantern for Mother's Day and it looks so pretty lit up at night.  When the earth rotates more and we have a little more shade, I think we will use the patio more.

We have added a new safe house in Nepal with about 13 new girls.   

They are very young and poor.  Their village is in the Himalayan mountains where they can only grow corn.   For six months, with the dry season, they cannot produce crops and they nearly starve with little money and no other jobs available.  The local church of Christ minister and his wife will oversee the girls and see that they get an education and provide Bible classes for them to learn about Jesus.   The picture below is a typical house where they lived and the picture on the right is where they have rented rooms for the girls to live near the minister.   

Ron's sister, Gayle Goad, who lives in a retirement village in Ft. Myers, came for dinner a few weeks ago.  

We were happy to see her after at least five years, along with her friend who also lives at the retirement home. 

Ronald and Gigi have been in the U.S. for two months but they will return to their orphanage in the Philippines next week.    They have been visiting supporters and congregations in AL, TN and KY on this trip to give an update about their work.   They have found warm Christians everywhere they visit.

Ronald and Gigi will arrive in Florida on Friday afternoon and be with us through the weekend.  His last presentation about the mission work for this trip will be Sunday morning at Pinellas Park church of Christ, where Leigh Ann attends regularly.  

It will be great to see them on this trip as they will be away another six months before they return in the fall.   They will probably visit churches in TX and MO on that trip so we may not get to see them.  They sold their house in Woodstock, GA where we lived.   They plan to buy a condo in the fall so they will have a base home in the U.S. to comply with Gigi's VISA requirements.

Jackie, our SAS worker who lives in Memphis, TN, has returned from a trip to Asia.   He and his wife went to China to visit their family and then traveled to safe houses in Thailand, Laos and Nepal.  I know it was good for them to meet the SAS workers and see some of our supported girls for the first time.

Ron and I will travel back to the Mayo Clinic in July for a follow up health check-up for Ron.   It will be a short trip over a weekend but a nice get-away since we have been at home so closely for many months.

We have friends dealing with cancer and prayers are needed for Polly Alexander as she has a kidney removed next week and Malia Huff who is going through chemo prior to surgery for a tumor.   

A dear friend in Aransas Pass, TX lost her 97 year old mother-in-law and her husband, Charles, within the past month. 

Heather cared for both of them for many years so her life will be very different and vacant now.   She is blessed to have her daughter's family next door with two little grandsons to keep her happy.   This picture is of Heather's husband, Charles, his mother, daughter and grandchildren taken a few months ago.

Continue to pray for us as we are getting old.   I will be 86 in 10 days and Ron will be 87 on June 29th.