Goodbye Helena!

We are safe but we endured 24 hours without electricity.   The winds were very strong and rain came in waves for several hours as the storm passed on north past the Tampa Bay.   There was still lots of damage in this area even with the storm about 100 miles out to sea.   It was a huge storm with powerful winds.   

The metal roof over cars in one parking area blew off and landed in our front yard and blocks out sidewalk.  But no cars were damaged.  It just blew off and part of it is standing up neatly near the trees.   We have limbs and debris all over the yard but our lawn service will probably have it cleaned up next week.

We felt safe in this condo   The only evacuations were for mobile homes, campers and the manufactures homes which are mostly house trailers on a foundation.    No one in our building left.   People along the waterfront had to evacuate due to an 8' storm surge in this area.   

Today, without power, Ron and I took a 30 minute walk, put a puzzle together and played a game of scrabble.   We took it easy since we were not pushed to work on the computer.   We needed the rest anyway. We will be back on schedule next week.    

Many people checked on us.  God is good and we are safe.  

Thank you so much!

Helena is not a welcomed visitor!

Other than preparing and expecting a hurricane, we are doing well. 

A Hurricane Watch for Helena has been issued for the Gulf Coast of Florida from Englewood northward and westward to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay.

With our condo in Dunedin just north of Tampa, we are a few miles from Tampa Bay so we watch the forecast for storms that head into this area.    Helena will intensify and become a hurricane before it gets this far north but at the forecast today is will pass along side east Florida and make landfall toward the panhandle which includes Tallahassee.    We will start having rain by Wednesday night and expect heavy rain on Thursday and Friday.   

I have brought in pots, plants, chairs and things from the patio that could be blown away.   We have plenty of water and food on hand with other storm supplies such as a weather radio, batteries, flashlights, etc.   Our building is inspected once a year for soundness and according to the long-time residents, it has never flooded.   

Leigh Ann's condo is in a flood plane so she would come stay with us if she receives an evacuation notice.  Tatum's condo in Tampa is not in a flood area. Leigh Ann has gone to stay with her in the past. 

Pray for us and others in the path of this strong storm.    After the storm passes, I will post that we are safe if we do not lose power.  God bless everyone.

Fall is near!

Fall does not appear anywhere in Florida except for a few Halloween costumes in Costco!   We are getting a lot of rain but it is in the form of late afternoon thunderstorms.   The grass is green and everything is lush with crepe myrtles still in bloom.   We are free of hurricanes for another week or so but they predict September and October to be more active months with the possibility of tropical storms.  

Ron has good days and not-so-good days but we feel the medication for Parkinson's Disease has eased some of the symptoms.    

We both keep busy with routine house chores and computer work to keep things going smoothly with our safe houses in Asia.   Ron is busy helping schedule appointments for Ronald and Gigi's October-December trip for them to report to supporters.     

Two weeks ago, we got up early and traveled to Central church of Christ in Winter Haven, FL.   We went to meet Bill and Joyce Perkins there.   Bill is one of the elders.   They actually live in Ft. Myers and drive 40 minutes to attend this congregation.    Bill and Joyce moved from New York to Florida five years ago to help Joyce's sister and brother-in-law.   We visited in their home in New York at least 20 years ago and they have supported our work ever since.   It was time for us to say hello again and thank them for their help.    We had lunch at a small but very good restaurant, and then drove back home.   It was about a 2-hour trip each direction.

Things are going along smoothly so I actually have no big news to report.   They say no news is good news and sometimes that is very true.   We like our routine lifestyle and appreciate the calmness and quietness of our home here in Dunedin.   Many in our building are away for the summer as they are winter occupants of the condos, leaving homes during the winter months.  There are no activities going on but we hear ambulances often as there is a nursing home across the street from us.   Someone said that is a convenient plus for us but I'm hoping that would be necessary.   

Leigh Ann comes (usually on Saturday) and we cook a meal together.   She and I go to our pool and swim and chat for a couple of hours.    There may be one or two old ladies to come to the pool but most days there is no one but us.   It will get busier when all the other occupants come back from up north but for the summer we almost have our own private pool.  It is heated all winter so some swim even on cold days.   

I keep a puzzle going on the end of the coffee table to have something challenging to do when I have a few minutes of free time.   

Our clubhouse is full of puzzles, games and books for anyone to borrow.  

Ron has stopped driving at night so we watch on-line services from different churches on Wednesday night and Sunday night (sometimes other nights during the week also).   When we lived in North GA, Ron insisted on us going out on Friday morning to do our errands and shopping and have lunch out.  Since we came here, we have not kept that practice but a couple of weeks ago, Ron told me to start getting my work caught up to take Fridays off.   

We don't go to the expensive restaurants but usually have a sandwich or salad at one of the fast food restaurants or bring home a precooked meal from Publix.  After running errands and unloading groceries, it is good to not have to prepare lunch.   

I know he does this for me but he also enjoys getting out since we stay home all week.

Just posting a small amount of nothing to let everyone know we are doing fine.   

Keep Ron's health in your prayers as he continues to face the progressive symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.     

Sending best wishes and many blessings from God to you with our thanks and love to all.

August brings more hot days!

Two weeks ago, we rode through tropical storm Debbie without damage here in our area.   We got heavy bands of rain for about 24 hours before it actually gained hurricane strength moving further north up the Florida coast.   We drove to church services with dry roads but as class was ending the downpours began.   When we left the building, we had only light rain all the way back home.   Our backyard puddled with the heavy rain but quickly drained away and there was no flooding    The pond where our drain water ends up is full up to the top of the bank.

There was heavy flooding in Sarasota, FL (south of us) in areas of large nice homes with water getting trapped and nowhere to drain.  People had to be rescued from their homes with streets submerged and cars under water.   Those people have it rough cleaning up their houses, filing insurance claims and getting back to normal.  

The latest development is now a hurricane on its way to Bermuda.   I hope the people there will be safe over this weekend.   We will watch the forecast for future storms as we are not yet into the peak of the season.   September is usually the month to really watch.

Our work is busy but progressing the same as before.  It is difficult for me to keep it current with too much flow of reports and things to do daily.   But, I have not been sick and am thankful I am able to do what needs to be done.

Ron, on the other hand, is struggling more with a recent diagnosis by the neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville starting him on medication for Parkinson's Disease.   While this is not good news, the medication is working and making him feel a lot better.    We know things could be much worse and we will deal with the limitations and progression of this disease.   We have friends with it and know a little about how it will change our lives.   We will be sticking closer to home and not traveling very much.  Ron doesn't want to give up anything but it will be necessary as time goes on.    We are thankful we are near Leigh Ann and Tatum to help us when we cannot manage on our own.

Ronald and Gigi will return to the U.S. October 10 for two months to report on our work and their work in the Philippines.   They will have a busy schedule and we will not get to see them on this trip.   We will hope for a visit when they come back in the spring of 2025.

We are concerned about the election of a new president.   We know we don't have many years left to worry about the state of the nation but we want it to return to a Christian nation and be more what God would want it to be.   The direction it is going is of great concern for future generations and for the church.

I hope to have pictures and more interesting things to report in my next segment.  Keep us in your prayers,  especially Ron. God bless you!

Busy July!

In late June, we celebrated Father's Day and Ron's birthday on June 29th by having lunch at P. F. Chang's, a really good Chinese restaurant.   

Carole Booker, a teacher at Westbury Christian Schools in Houston, TX, makes a trip to one of our safe houses every July. 

She spends two weeks teaching the girls, having crafts that go along with her Bible lesson, having English conversation with them and treating them to gifts and outings.   

She obtains funds from the church and individuals for her annual mission trip.   Our girls in Luang Prabang, Laos are enjoying her for the 2nd year with girls from Vientiane taking the train to join them in these fun activities. Carole stays in an air conditioned room in a small hotel but she faces extreme heat and humidity at the safe house each day.   

Ellen Mao has just returned home to California after a five-day visit with us.   She stayed with Leigh Ann but we spend three days together as I prepared some of the dinners for all of us.   Ellen is a registered ICU and first responder nurse with teaching ability.   

Ellen plans to take some other nurses with her in the summer of 2025 to the mountainous safe houses in Nepal to teach them about hygiene and health, reaching out to conduct training to the communities and to the girls in our safe houses.  Ellen is a graduate from the Harding University School of Nursing.  She's been on several medical missions in past years when we had orphanages in China.  

We took a dinner cruise around Clearwater when Ellen arrived last Friday.    It was a delight cruise with good weather and a wonderful meal.   Leigh Ann and Tatum went with us but the group picture was taken by the waitress and the sunlight was coming through at our location and the picture was terrible.  Here are a few pictures taken on the cruise. 

We watched Hurricane Beryl as it made its way through the Caribbean and up the Texas coastline.  Each week, we will keep a watch for additional storms forming off the coast of South Africa and heading our way.   We will not be free from the risk until about November.   There have been freak storms even into December but that is rare.   

It has been too hot to enjoy our new patio but it is delightful to look at out of our back door.  The plants are doing well with the usual shower each day in July as the weather is always a little unsettled at this time of the year with pop up thunderstorms rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico.  

One of our sponsors, a long-time friend and a deacon over missions in Greenville, TX visited us a couple of weeks ago.   He was in Tampa for a business meeting and came over to see us and have dinner with us.    We had a very nice time together.

An older couple from the Central church of Christ in Clearwater, the first church we visited after we moved to Florida, had us over for dinner one night last week.    We had a very nice dinner and an evening playing dominoes with them.    We have not had much social life with members of the church since we moved here.   Where we are attending now is a little too far for people to want to come to visit us. 

The Casa Esperanza of Angels orphanage in the Philippines is having a wonderful summer.   

     Seven of their students have been baptized in the past few weeks. 

They are enjoying the new learning center and having worship services there now.   The children are enjoying a summer of various things such as VBS, crafts, singing practice, Bible quizzes and memory verse learning and lots of interesting classes and activities.   

Ron and I will leave on the 20th for a three-day trip to Jacksonville for Ron's follow-up visit to the Mayo Clinic.  It will be a 5-hour drive on two of the days, as we go there and return home, but it will be a nice change from sitting at home working on the computer every day.   

Thanks again to all my followers who give us great encouragement as we continue to do the mission work from home.   We miss seeing everyone but once we moved here, it is too far for us to make trips.

Please keep us in your prayers.   

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.