Global Warming?

Just my luck - I typed a whole segment with cold hands and then my save "failed."  So, I am going to write it again.  I doubt it will be nearly as well-written, interesting or funny this time.  My excuse, anyway. 

I am writing from my bed with blankets piled up around me.  If this winter weather is due to global warming, I wish they had given it another name.  There's nothing warm about it all the way to Texas!   My friend in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, and I compared notes yesterday so now I really hate to complain, but complain I must!   Betty said it was -37 and a "bit chilly."

We went to bed last night with rain and the temperature about 40, knowing that some pretty bad stuff was heading toward us from "up north."   About 3 a.m. I woke up cold and heard the sleet on the rooftop.  I added another layer of clothes and climbed back under the warm covers.  It continued to sleet until about 6 or 7 a.m.  There's hardly anything on the ground (it all blew away!) but what is there is a sheet of ice.  The streets of Dallas and Fort Worth were paralyzed this morning with a few motorists creeping about as 18-wheelers were seen stranded on the sides of the road.  The airport was shut down except for one runway.  How they can fly with wind at 40 mph and gusts up to 50 mph, I do not know.  I guess they got a good tailwind if they could get it behind them. 

It has been 20 degrees all day with the wind rocking the RV.  We have propane for cooking but trying to conserve it so we won't run out.  It's a small tank.  We have an electric heater on high and it's keeping the front room at 54 degrees.  We have an electric blanket on the bed so the bedroom is without heat.

Recently, Ronald, our son in China, wrote about their cold weather and told us he purchased a small heater for his room.  However, it never got above 50 degrees.  He said he had layers of clothing to keep warm and a heavy comforter so he slept warmly. 

We all need to go through this to really appreciate having heat, warm showers and the basics of life.  The poor orphan children spend an entire winter without heat and often do not have hot water, cannot take showers or ever get warm.  Their bodies are always cold.  They sit in cold classrooms and return back to a cold orphanage.  You know how cold a house is inside when it's cold outside and there's no heat!  They leave windows and doors open, thinking the fresh air is good for their health, even though the air is polluted. 

You ask why we don't put heat inside the buildings?  Many years ago, Chairman Mao made the rule that anything south of the Yantzee River should not have heat but any building north of the River could have heat.  They still follow that rule to this day.

We have sat in meetings in government buildings in March or November when it really felt cold to us.  I cannot imagine how it must feel in January and February.  With no heat in any other building, including schools, we can't have heat for the children in the care centers.  It would be even harder to adjust back and forth from heat to cold.  They have lived their entire lives this way so they have adapted and expect it.  We, spoiled Americans, cannot imagine doing this.  Yet, looking back to our ancestors, not very long ago, they lived much the same way with little or no heat.

Our weeks are rather routine.  During the weekdays we are working on our computers handling the work.  On Saturday, we do cleaning, washing and preparing for Sunday and the coming week.  Last Sunday, we got up early to move the RV to the back parking lot to free up the senior parking spaces.  We left early to drive one hour to the church in Lewisville (north of Dallas) to pick up blankets the ladies had ready for us to ship to China.  From there, we drove to Argyle (north of Fort Worth).

The folks at Argyle were very friendly and very interested in our work, which is usually the case because few people know what is going on in China.  We went to lunch afterwards with one of the elders and his wife and another two couples. 

We drove a short distance to give a report to elders at the church in Keller that afternoon.  They said we definitely could return and give the report to their members whenever it fit into our schedule. 

We returned to the RV and had a 30-minute rest until we drove to Ennis.  The church is actually at Bristol but their mailing address is Ennis.  We didn't expect to see anyone we knew but we got to meet Tracie Willis for the first time.  She has sponsored a child for two years but we know of her for another reason.  Two years ago, while in Beijing, we got a call from a young man named Kee Willis.  He was coming to Beijing University and needed a place to stay for a week until he could get into the apartment he was sharing with two other students.  We had about two weeks left in Beijing before David and Ya Ning returned so we told him we had a spare bedroom and he could stay with us. 

Tracie expressed her gratitude for our helping Kee.  I told her I could understand how she felt with her boy going so far away and what a relief it must have been for a Christian to meet him at the airport and give him a home for a short while.  All of the congregation knew we had done this so they were all thanking us for taking care of Kee.

After the service, we had soup and sandwiches in another part of the building and got to know these wonderful people even more.  They will help with our work in China and for that we are very grateful.

The roads should be clear by Sunday.  We have below freezing temperatures until Saturday, however.  Sunday morning, we will drive two hours to Palestine and Sunday night we will be in Mesquite, two hours' drive back north toward Dallas.  The service is at 5 p.m. Sunday night so Ron is planning to return to the RV and drive on to Austin for one night.  We do not normally drive the RV at night but it's a straight two-hour drive south.  Why are we leaving Sunday night?   The Super Bowl will be playing while we are in church so we want to get ahead of the crowd that might be going south that night.  If they all leave the next morning, we will still be ahead of them as we drive on to San Antonio.

Of all the "attitudes" we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing."   Are you counting your blessings?

Another busy but good week in Texas

I see that I misspelled the name of the city we are in.  Not only did we pronounce it incorrectly, I can't even spell it correctly!   It is Waxahachie.  We still have to stop and think to say "Walksahachie."  

Other than routine computer work that is constant in our work, we took time to go to a class here on Wednesday taught by Walter Buchanan, the minister at the church in Italy.  We went to lunch with him and his wife, Billie, that day.  They left early this morning to go to Freed-Hardeman lectures and then on to Orlanda for a week.  What a wonderful couple!   Walter hugged me and said they felt like they had known us forever.  We feel the same way about them.  Some folks are so easy to meet and friendship is instant.

Wednesday night Ron spoke at the church in Red Oak, just a few miles north.  People are always interested and amazed at what is happening in China.  Few know that any work is being done in China. 

Tommy Medford, who is retired but works endlessly at the church with the food program and other things, has been so good to us.  He took us to Ryan's for lunch yesterday.  An hour later, he brought us a bag of frozen fish he had caught while fishing.  He said he would not be seen around the church building as much when fishing weather arrives.  He's bringing something that Ron needs today.  If he thinks we need anything, he's right there to take care of it for us.  What a special guy he is!

Speaking of weather, we are having a delightful break from cold weather but it's coming again on Tuesday with possible snow or sleet.  It will be 70 today.  Although our nights are still cold, the warm sunshine and beautiful days are so enjoyable.  I know most of our country is still covered in snow banks with more winter storms still coming.  We count our blessings these days in terms of warm sunshine in Texas.

Ron has booked appointments all the way through February.  This Sunday morning, we will leave very early to first go by the Lewisville church building (an hours' drive from here) to pick up blankets the ladies have made for the children in China.  At the morning service, he will speak for the church in Argyle (30 minutes north of Lewisville.)   At 1:30 p.m. Ron has a meeting with elders at Keller (a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth).  At 5 p.m. we will be at Ennis, where Ron will speak that night.  January is going out with a big bang with much accomplished. 

The first Sunday in February, we will be at Crockett Road in Palestine, TX (two hour drive southeast) and then north to Mesquite for the p.m. service.  Mesquite is near Dallas.  That concludes Ron's appointments in the Dallas area for this trip. 

We will leave Waxahachie on the 7th and go first to San Antonio.  After we complete appointments in that city, we will go to Corpus Christi and other cities south and complete that general area by the first of March.   Hopefully, most of the winter will be past by the time we head back into the western part of Texas.

When we leave one area, we honestly miss the people we met along the way.  It is good to meet such wonderful people; people dedicated to serving Christ.  It is difficult to remember names after a while but we never forget the people.

We watched a PBS special on Happiness last night.  It was very interesting but not especially informative to those of us who have lived a long time.  The bottom line is that happiness is what we make of things but all things pointed to relationships.  If we have good relationships, nothing else brings happiness to any degree (it is all fleeting) but if we have bad relationships, no amount of money, jobs, power or prestigue will bring happiness.  So true!!

"Money will buy you a bed, but not a good night's sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend."

Wonderful day - Miserable night

Wow, the wonderful day we had on Sunday made up for the night when I could not sleep.  We awoke early Sunday morning to move the RV to the back parking lot at the College Street church in Waxahatchie (I have learned that it is pronounced "Walksahatchie").  We use up several "Senior" parking spaces where we park during the week to plug into power.  We move the RV so the older people are not inconvenienced with no parking places and have to walk further on Sunday morning.  It takes time to secure everything on the RV, unplug and get it moved.  Yesterday, the RV did not want to start because of the cold weather, so Ron had to jump it off with the car.  He will check to see if he has a dead cell in the battery.

We were at Italy, TX on Wednesday night and enjoyed our time with Christians that night.  Walter Buchanan, minister, suggested we go to Bardwell Sunday morning since we did not have an appointment elsewhere. 

Bardwell is a small town about 20 miles southeast of Waxahatchie.  What a delightful day we had there.  The 100-year-old building is beautiful.  I need to start taking my camera because I never have it when I have an opportunity for a good picture.  If anyone wants to see this church building go to http//bardwellchurchofchrist.weebly.com.  The congregation is mostly made up of relatives of each other but the building was full of children and people of all ages.   We were treated to an excellent Sunday school lesson from a former preacher of more than 60 years.  Unfortunately, I don't remember his name.  Charles Hodge (author of many gospel books and writer for the Gospel Advocate) preached a touching sermon.

Everyone greeted us warmly and Royann Farmer, one of the elder's wives, invited us home with them for lunch.  Charles Hodge and his wife, Helen, also went.  Following a very delicious lunch, we spent hours around the kitchen table getting to know each other, talking about the church, former gospel preachers and the interesting history of the Bardwell church.  Royann gave me a cookbook the ladies put together.  In the front of it, a history of the congregation lists many well-known gospel preachers from the past.  What a colorful and exciting history this congregation enjoys. 

Ron spoke at the Westhills congregation in Corsicana Sunday night.  We were greeted warmly by many of their members and there was a lot of interest in our work in China.  It is always good to see a large number of teenagers present and they seemed interested in Ron's presentation.  It helps young people in America to appreciate the many blessings and opportunities that are often taken for grated in this country. 

The congregation at Corsicana had a small group meeting after services and we were invited to join them for sandwiches, chips and dessert supper.  It was delicious but I make the mistake of drinking a cold drink that was not caffeine free.

We arrived back at the RV about 10 p.m. and had to move a cold vehicle back to our regular parking spot and get it plugged in.  We were very tired and although the RV was still cold, we fell into bed and got warm quickly.  Then the hours began ticking away without sleep.  The last time I looked at the clock, it was 2:15 a.m.  The caffeine had done it's trick and kept me awake for four more hours.  I was awaken at daylight by the garbage truck emptying the dumpster near us.  I didn't get much sleep after that.

Our nights in Texas are still near the freezing point (or below some nights) but the days are in the 50's with warm sunshine.  I love working with the sun streaming in on my computer.  With my cold nature, it warms my body and with my bad eyes, it provides good lighting.  Sunlight is a winter blessing that people in China do not often enjoy because of the pollution.  Anytime you have sunshine, count your blessings and thank God.

Ladies at Lewisville have a dozen or so blankets ready for us to pick up.  They plan to make 100 quilts/blankets for us.  This morning, I talked with a lady here at Waxahatchie and they will also get busy and make some for us.  Women are touched when they hear that there's no heat in the care centers.  They want the children to sleep warmly.

Life on the Road

Ron and I stay busy almost every day we are not traveling because of our computer work.  Ron is on the computer keeping  in touch with workers in China and handling any questions or problems there.  He is on the phone making appointments to give reports.  He spends a lot of time following up with calls and meeting with people.  His sales experience has paid off because he is persistent and never intimidated by someone saying NO.

I continue to oversee and help with the orphan program.  Leigh Ann (our daugher) and Paige Peterson work with me from their home offices.  Our work is divided up by individual care centers so we do not overlap in our work efforts.  Paige is in charge of getting reports and childrens' letters to sponsors supporting children at John Connor Brown, Wesley's House and North Canton Christian Care Center.  Leigh Ann handles Refuge of Grace (with new children continuing to arrive there), Neil Taylor Christian Care Center and Jackson Family Christian Care Center.  I handle the foster care areas of Guilin, Xi'an, Yongshan and Biyang and work with Leigh Ann and Paige in the overflow of their workloads. 

By the way, although I'm getting used to life in an RV, that pickup truck outside the window does not belong to me!
Our life has been very busy since the middle of December.  We left the RV park at Lewisville, TX and drove to Greenville, TX a few days before Christmas.  We had a few repairs that needed to be done on the RV so we parked in the RV repair shop back parking lot.  We stayed there until after Christmas because it was a convenient location and the owner of the shop said we were welcome to stay there. 

We had a couple of dinners out with a sponsor in Greenville that we have grown to love.  Wayne Childers lost his mother in October so this was his first holiday season without her.  We went to a new Chinese buffet restaurant and it was delicious.  He called and invited us to go to the home of Henry Sherwood on Christmas Eve for dinner.  Henry's daughter from Birmingham, AL was visiting.  She has always wanted to go to China so we told them about our work in China.  She is doing her internship to become a cardiologist.  We had a wonderful evening.  The dinner was delicious, all prepared by Henry.  Henry read us the Cajun Night Before Christmas book and we laughed and laughed.   Henry had invited two others and we all had a good evening together.  On Christmas Day we went to IHOP with Wayne. 

I told Leigh Ann about the funny Cajun Night Before Christmas book and she ordered it for me.  Now I've got to learn to pronounce the words with a Cajun accent.  Lisa Johnson told me they read this book every year on Christmas Eve because she is actually Cajun.  As they say, we learn something new every day!

We have spent many Christmas holidays in foreign mission fields but it's still lonely not to be at home and have the family gathered around.  We have spent some of those Christmases having others over (just like Henry) who have no family to be with them.  If you are ever unable to spend holidays with family members, reach out to others who have no family.  It will really help fill the void in your own life.  There are so many people who find holidays depressing because they remember the years past when all the family was together.  Maybe even when we are tucked in our cozy homes with our families, we should seek out those who are all alone and invite them in.  Isn't this what Jesus taught us to do?

We left Greenville, TX and drove to Texarkana and stayed in the Hampton Road Church of Christ parking lot for a few days before we left for Atlanta.  We left the RV parked there a week while we returned home.  On January 1st, we drove to Florence, Alabama.  We spent two nights with a dear, long-time friend, Martha Brooks, who lost her husband in September.  When we arrived, she told us another friend was having a soup and salad supper.  We didn't even change clothes from our traveling because these are our dear friends from the 1960's as well.  When we arrived at B.J. and Jan's house, which is on a hill overlooking the river, we realized that it was not a simple soup and salad supper (although that is what she served) but a dinner party for 20 people.  It was mostly B.J.'s hunting buddies and their wives.  We knew about half of the people there so it was a very delightful evening.  Her house was decorated beautifully and the food was delicious.  There were about six pots of different kinds of soup, all very delicious.  Since we had been away from family and parties this year, it really "hit the spot" for me to attend this dinner party and spend time with Martha.

Sunday morning, we attended worship at Sherrod Avenue, a very old congregation in Florence.  We met other friends there that morning.   Martha, our hostess, prepared a delicious lunch for us and her son and his family (Alan, Alicia, John Allen and Allie).  We spent the afternoon having a great time with them.  Sunday night, Ron spoke at Mars Hill and gave a report on the work in China.  Friends from two other congregations came to hear Ron and went to dinner with us at O'Charley's afterwards.  It was like old times to be together with these wonderful friends from days past.

Monday morning, we left to drive to Atlanta.  We spent the week in Woodstock with our daughter, Leigh Ann.  It was so good to be with her although we were busy the whole time.  She and I got out the tax letters to our sponsors and Ron went to our house in Sharpsburg to correct a plumbing/septic tank problem.  We had a lot of things to do in one short week.

That Sunday, Ron gave a report at the Peachtree City Church of Christ (our sponsoring congregation).  They had designated it as China Day.  David Langley, minister of the Beijing congregation spoke at the class period to give an update on the church in China.  Afterwards, we had a wonderful potluck lunch (many delicious Chinese foods prepared).  Ron met with the elders privately for a few minutes and then we left to drive back to Texas. 

A bad winter storm was already moving into Texas.  I let it slip that morning and said something like, "I hope we make the trip HOME safely."   It was the first time I had referred to Texas or the RV as home.  I guess that shows I am truly settling into this lifestyle.  Of course, Ron picked up on me saying that.  He may not listen to half of what I say, but he heard that!

It was hard to say goodbye to Leigh Ann as she left to return to Woodstock and we left PTC for Texas.  The winter storm was on it's way and predicted to hit there in a few hours.  Leigh Ann wanted to get home before precipitation began and we wanted to get as far south as we could to avoid the bad weather.  We drove to Montgomery, then to Selma and hit rain before we got to Meridian, MS.   The rain intensified into freezing rain as our journey continued.  We finally made it to Jackson, MS before stopping for the night.  For about l-l/2 hours, we watched ice build up on the mirrors, windshield wipers, bridges and sides of the road.  In the headlights, we could see the white trees, laden with ice.  After a good night's sleep in Jackson, we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  By the time we arrived in Jackson (around 9 p.m.) Sunday night, everything was closed.  There was no restaurant open so we had no dinner that night.  The roads were dry from Jackson, MS to Shreveport but when we turned north toward Texarkana we hit very icy roads the rest of the way.  None of the roads had been salted or scraped.  Ron knows how to drive on ice if cars are not in his way (experience from living in Montreal seven years). 

We were happy to arrive safely in Texarkana.  Afer a few days of rest, we drove to Waxahatchie, just south of Dallas.  Ron has appointments in this area until Feb. 6th.  We will go to San Antonio on Feb. 7th or 8th. 

This past Sunday morning, we attended church at Italy, TX (about 20 miles from Waxahatchie).  They asked Ron to tell about our work during the class period and have now scheduled him to come back this Wednesday night to give the power point presentation.  The minister, Walter Buchanan and his wife, Billie, took us to lunch and invited us to their home for a visit that afternoon.  It was a very delightful visit and time spent with them.

Sunday night, Ron spoke at College Street C of C in  Waxahatchie.  We went with three of the elders and others to IHOP afterwards.  One of the elders told Ron that it was the very best mission presentation he had ever seen.  They will review their budget to see how they can help us but they have a big, new building to pay for.  Their help may be limited to allowing us to use their power for our RV while we are in this area.

Ron has appointments at Corsiana, Argyle, and Mequite before we leave this area.  When we head toward San Antonio Feb. 8th, we will go further south to Portland and the Corpus Christi area, where it will be warmer.  In March, we will probably go back up toward Abilene and the western cities. 

There are so many churches to visit in Texas.  Texans are telling the truth when they say Texas is BIG!

Keep us and our work in your prayers.  God bless you all.

Dogs vs. Cats

You will really think I've lost my mind from being cooped up in a small space when you read this.  This has absolutely nothing to do with our work in China!  It is merely a sideline to our daily madness living in a motor home (remember I said before it's not an "RV = recreational vehicle" because there's no recreation to it.

As I mentioned in my last segment, campers seem to love having their pets (dogs in particular) with them.   There is a small camper next to us and this afternoon Ron told me to look out the window.  A big white dog was sitting in the driver's seat looking straight out the windshield.  I ran to get my camera to get a picture for this blog but by the time I got back, the dog had moved.  What a great picture that would have been!

We marvel at the time spent walking dogs.  People are coming in and out of their RV's and campers all day long with dogs on leashes.  Ron asked me why you have to walk dogs and not cats.  Of course, the obvious answer came from our daughter, Leigh Ann.   Small dogs have small bladders and must go to the bathroom every few hours.  But carrying this mystery a bit further (no I wasn't particularly bored yesterday) I sent an email to Ronald, our son in China. 

When Ronald was young, he kept two big dogs for a minster while the family went on vacation.  The dogs slobbered all over him several times (did you ever see the movie with Tom Hanks and the big slobbering dog?).  The dogs also barked and kept him awake.  He said he would never have dogs and he never has.  He's been a cat person all of his life.  My mother let me have cats growing up because she thought they were easier to care for so I always liked cats too.

Anyway, I knew what Ronald's answer would be but I didn't expect an email this morning with such a profound explanation of why you don't have to walk cats.  I know this is going to generate a lot of animosity among my friends that love dogs but you can send me an email and debate the subject by giving me a full reason why dogs are better than cats.   

Here is Ronald's reply: 

Cats are sophisticated and competent in life. They do not need us; they are simply smart enough to let us feel like we have domesticated them in order to get what they want and need which is shelter, food, and water. They can get these things on their own but they are not too proud to take hand outs. They are more advanced than dogs in that they know where waste should go and will even cover it up. They bathe themselves regularly and do not need to go to the groomer to have this done. The are so efficient that they can sleep and relax the vast majority of their time and still achieve their goals in life. Many people see them as aloof and unpredictable, however they simply choose to agree to our lifestyle and demands only when it is in their best interest.......ah, so smart!

For you who love dogs and cats, I'm sure their individual qualities make them all special.  

I just had to post this for my laugh of the day.

Good week in Lewisville, TX

This is us parked at the RV park in Lewisville, Texas.  We can barely see the Lewisville Lake behind us.

The week went well for us.  We are doing fine.  Tuesday night, I gave a 20-minute power point presentation to the Lewisville C of C ladies at their holiday party.  I've never been asked to be a guest speaker at something like this so I was excited to do it.  My theme was "How we can make a difference in someone's life."    My focus was on the six orphanages we operate in China and the change of life for about 600 children.  They come from extreme poverty and sometimes abusive homes and they now live in a building that is like a five-star hotel with friends and people who love and care for them.  There was a lot of interest in my talk and it was so good to meet some of the childrens' sponsors and make friends with some other wonderful ladies. 

Friday night we went to dinner with Greg, Paula, April and Curtis, members at Lewisville.  We met them at 6:30 and were driving back to our home at 10:30 p.m.  I could not believe we spent that much time together.  We had a lot of interesting conversation and it was so good to get to know these two active and wonderful couples who are deeply interested in mission work.  They have been to Africa and India on mission trips (probably other places as well).  We shared a lot of funny stories about our travels.

A lady who works in the camp office owns a very big dog (the biggest dog I have ever seen).  She lives in a small camper nearby, so I think the dog takes up about half of the space inside! Yesterday morning a coyote came around the office and she was out calming her dog down. She said she didn't know which was the most scared of the other - coyotes run when they see this big dog but the dog is also very fearful of the coyote. Almost everyone in the park has one or two small white dogs.  I've never seen so many little white dogs in one place in my life.  I saw a man walking a small solid black dog so maybe he is like the "black sheep" in the bunch.   

When we were waiting for repairs at Camping World, a man and lady came in the waiting room with three small dogs. I think that's a bit much for one of these mobile homes. One thing for sure, dogs don't mind where they live or what the circumstances are. They are always happy. Wish I could be as contented. On Friday afternoon it was about 70 here so I took advantage of the warm afternoon and walked all around the park. I saw people cooking out. It's a bit more trouble than I want to do, however.

I did count my blessings on my walk this afternoon, however. Past the trailer park, there are camping grounds all around the lake. I saw one man and his dog with a tent (he had an outside fire going - perhaps cooking some food). I didn't get too close and didn't take a picture because I didn't know if he was a friendly sort of person and I was a bit isolated in this section of the park and didn't want to be the next casualty of someone disappearing in a park.

It is a bit cold at night to be sleeping in a tent. Although it's been in the 40's the last two nights, it will dip back down to the 30's Saturday night. Perhaps the tent camper is just here for a couple of nights while the weather is nice. On the other hand, he may live here full time. It's probably better than being homeless.   When we parked at the Waterview church last Sunday night we were told they had a night watchman. Actually, they have a man who lives in his car that parks in their lot every night. We didn't see him. however.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why anyone would leave a nice home to live in a camper. I have not yet seen the benefit for anyone but us.   It is saving us money in the long run because of the expense of hotels and eating all meals at restaurants.  I know people say they love to go places and see things but when you park in an RV park and just stay there most of the time, they aren't seeing very much. 

Most of the people who do this are as old as dirt!   They are in their 70's and 80's (grey hair, grey beards, walking sticks, etc.). Maybe they are just escaping very cold weather. Many of the campers seem to be settled in for a long time. I think some are winter campers (from NY, Colorado, Washington, but a lot from Texas). 

On my walk this morning to mail a letter, I went past one RV that has an outside storage shed, a pavilion to sit under and eat, with an outdoor stove (stacks of firewood nearby), a grill, and all the comforts of a backyard patio.  They have bird feeders, flags, trinkets in the yard, etc.  There are outdoor rugs, chairs and stuff around their campers that look like they have been there a long time or plan to be here a long time.  I'm not even sure how they close it all up to go empty their black and grey water tanks. The RV's have to do that but maybe these "snow birds" use portable sewage tanks that they hook to their vehicle to take it to the dump.

Since we've never done this before, I guess it is very interesting and sometimes a mystery to me.  It is a totally different life-style than what I have always known or dreamed about.  I have never thought of myself as a camper.  We went with our children a few times but they never seemed to get into it very much.  It was a lot of trouble and we ended up with mosquito bites and little sleep. 

Well, I guess that's enough for me to sound off about the life of campers.
 
We will continue to visit churches in the Dallas area for several more weeks.  Ron is getting some appointments to speak but when we don't have an appointment we just visit a different church.  They are always asking what brings us to Dallas so it opens up a door to tell a little about our work in China. 
 
Wednesday night we went to the church in Colleyville and we met several very interested people.  They want Ron to come on a Wednesday night to give a report on our work.  That's the way it works sometimes when we just "visit" a congregation.  We have actually been to a few where they asked him if he could give his report right then. 
 
Continue to pray for our success in raising funds for the work in China.  It takes a lot of money to keep it going.  The sponsors pay for the support of the children but we have to come up with money to pay the 100 or so workers we have in China who care for the children at the different locations.  If you had 100 children, you can imagine that you would need 12 people to help you care for them.  It is a very big family and it takes a lot of money to maintain the buildings and pay the power bill also.
 

Thanks to my wonderful readers for your interest and love for our well-being.  May God bless you this holiday season with a lot of joy, good health and good family times.

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.