visiting Mom and F.D.

Sometimes I start thinking that my life is my work, or all of the activities that I try to cram into each day. And then some family event comes up, and the world stops, and life happens.

This Friday we packed up and headed out of town, through the miles and miles of green, zooming past us out the window, and the immovable sunny sky above. We talked of this and that, as we always do on trips. We settled details and made plans and solved the world's problems. Then, just as we were thinking that we just needed a nap, we arrived at the familiar mailbox and the long curved driveway.

We dragged in the luggage and fell into warm embraces. Pop was sitting at his easy chair watching TV, Mom was puttering. We had to take Martin's quilt top off of the table before supper, and Mom showed me the back. I won't spoil the surprise. You'll have to wait until it is finished. We all visited and went to bed when it felt good to do so.

I slept late the next morning, and was awakened to breakfast and fresh flowers and visiting. Everyone converged on the place: Jenny & Gene, Emily, Nick, Chris, and Danny, Robert & Lauren, Eliana, and Jefferson. We didn't really do anything. We just were.

There is no way I could reconstruct all that happened. Maybe nothing happened. We weren't in a hurry. And yet we had sumptuous meals, washed dishes, made peach freezer jam, and checked the blog and shared old e-mails. We watched Jefferson almost crawl (scoot, really) toward an open book Wimon held out for him while Lauren took pictures. I asked Eliana if she wanted to talk to Marissa and the phone, so we called. Then she said she wanted to talk to Marcella, so we left a message for her, too. After many comments about Jefferson's size, we weighed him: over twenty pounds! (no wonder my arms ache today). Everyone shared stories of adventures past and present. We went to see Jenny's summer projects at her house: a new floor, painted walls, rearranged furniture. Gene was mowing the spent wildflowers. Mom took Eliana out to the henhouse and gathered eggs. We had homemade ice cream with fresh peaches piled on top. Somewhere along the line the chiggers found me. Robert shared his views political and told us what he would do if he were the pope of the sports world. The men watched some sports, the women talked. I went out on the back porch with Jefferson, just to hear the birds and feel the warm breeze. The hummingbirds whizzed past us, and we feasted our eyes on the flowers. Jefferson grinned.

Wimon and I went on to the Tiptons' home for the night. Eliana was in her element. She showed us around and talked up a storm. I understood some of it, too! We all took turns playing with Jefferson, though he was happy to sit and smile to himself at all our antics.

The next morning was church at Oak Hills. We never get out of there without seeing someone we know, usually from Minter. This time it was Jay and Amy. After lunch at Rudy's and about six goodbye hugs all around and a walk to the car and more hugs, we all left.

It wasn't quite over when we got home, though: Jenny brought the boys to Impact and Emily to Passport. We might see them again this week before it's all over.

This morning I realized that I had not even looked at my work all weekend. We picked up where we left off on Friday. It felt like I was back in my old life again. . . We talked about the difference between SABER and CONOCER. I tried to explain to my class that you just cannot SABER a person, you can only SABER facts. CONOCER happens when you are acquainted with a person or place, and it becomes familiar.

Maybe life is what happens when you deepen your CONOCER. That's what we did this weekend. Wish you all could have been there!

Glad you are back

Martin,
I enjoyed reading about your trips. Your mom is at school right now, but when she gets home she will be happy to know you are OK. You have had some fun times!

The truck's getting stuck in the mud reminded me about all our adventures in Botswana--especially the day we were coming home from Nxunicha.

Do you remember when we went horseback riding on our birthday in Bulawayo? It didn't sound like you were as sore this time as you were then!

When you saw The Mission, were there views that were the same as what you saw at Iguazu?

I love Guarana, and I am glad you got to try it. I can't believe that you all hadn't had mate yet. Don't uruguayos drink mate? Or just not at Casa ACU?

We went to Wal-Mart yesterday to look for a raincoat for Marcella (and suitcase and passport pouch). It seems like just a couple days ago I took you to get a raincoat before you took off for distant parts ...

Your mom and I were talking: Now that she has a job, we have a little more flexibility for the fall financially. You are still welcome to stay at home next year. But if you want to think about looking for another place to live, that is also OK. You need to think about what will be best for you.

I hope that your studies are going well (hint, hint).

Dad

Foster wedding

Once upon a time, the Minter Lane parking lot was full, and it was still early. There was a queue to sign the guest book where Marissa sat, smiling prettily. We were deposited next to Jack and Jeanene Reese, in front of J.B. and Joanne. The lights were low, the music was quiet and solemn, there were flowers and candles. I'm always amazed at how handsome all the men look in tuxes. Mark seemed very grown-up escorting the ladies to their seats. Linda was, as always, graciously gorgeous. The bridesmaids, all neatly coifed and shimmery in long silky dresses, glided down the aisle. Then, a moment of silence. And the strains of a song by now unfamiliar from disuse: "Here Comes the Bride."

Doug and Mary appeared to genuinely enjoy their moment in the limelight. Calmly smiling, they looked from side to side, nodding at all the special guests as their eyes met. By the time they reached the front, it felt like a formal, but also an intimate family gathering. Mary's grandfather had been coached to ask precisely this question (and all four of us noticed, and instantly approved the change as an improvement): "Who brings this woman to be married?"

Mary took Derek's arm and walked up the steps: her maid of honor adjusted the train and the best man bent over to adjust Derek's trousers. Then there was a suitably serious, but calm and joyful sermon. There were several short prayers, and vows which were completely traditional except that Mary did not promise to obey Derek; instead she promised, just as he did, to protect. It struck me as immensely appropriate that a wife should protect her husband. After all, these days we aren't so much wrestling bears and robbers as sins, temptations, and excesses of all sorts. A married couple will need to protect each other's reputations and honor. Yes, "protect" sounded good.

When Doug asked if they had brought rings, Angela looked surprised for a moment and looked around, including down the front of her dress. But rings were produced fairly quickly before anyone fretted too much. After the kiss (which I thought embarrassed Doug :-) he presented to us the new couple: "Mr. and Mrs. Derek and Mary Riedel". We liked that, too!

At the end of the ceremony there was a video while the family went over to the reception to greet us upon our arrival there. It was good to see these adults grow up again before our very eyes.

At the reception there were tables with white cloths and flowers on them. Some of us sat. But some of us wandered around at the "Christian cocktail party" munching on chocolate-dipped fruit and sipping on punch or coffee, catching up with people we only see at these sorts of events. Minterites were there in abundance, as well as ACU folks.

Jose G. was there, but his wife and two children stayed home; they are in the Friendspeak program and read with Derek and Mary. I tried to find Spanish-speakers for him to visit with, since they are from Ecuador. Wish you had been there, for several reasons!! :-) I told Danny that Jose and his wife had mentioned wanting their children to be in a church, but had never worked up the courage to visit us. So I got Danny and Kirk Garrison and Krista Kellar and Nathan Zinck (in Portunol) to take turns welcoming him. The language really is a barrier here.

We blew bubbles at the couple as they came out to the car. Someone had written extremely appropriate things on the windows: "Man of God", "Righteous Woman", "HIS" (on the passenger side) and "HERS" (on the driver's side), and "JUST MARRIED" (on the back). There were running shoes tied to the back, and they looked as if an invisible Derek were chasing the car as they drove away, to begin their own ... happily ever after.

THE END

Foster wedding

Today was Mary and Derek's wedding. They asked Marissa to sit at the table where people signed the guestbook. And both girls helped with the food at the reception.

It was a nice service. Doug preached it, and there was a good turnout. Lots of ACU/Bible faculty were there, as well as Minter people.

We are making arrangements for Marcella's trip to Mexico. It looks like she will be gone before you get home, and won't come back until the first week of August.

The Junior Scholars all went to Schlitterbahn last night. Marissa stayed in town (and spent the night at our house) so that she could go to the wedding.

Marlin Moore left for Korea this week. We went over to their house and had chicken curry with Marcia, Megan and Maxwell. Megan leaves Monday for six weeks at Impact Houston (where her uncle is one of the ministers).

I hope that you had a good trip to Iguazu.

Love,
Dad

"Are you on your way?"

I was out late last night with the girls. The whole town was closed and the sidewalks were rolled up before I headed home. I am a true night owl! Minter's "craft night", which is really just our excuse to have a fellowship time, was changed to Tuesdays, and since I'm not working, I was one of the last to leave. It was satisfying. It was delightful to catch up with everyone. Melissa Jerkins, Krista Kellar, Alisha Ruple, Pam Johnson, Teresa Terry, Marcella Walker, Jenny Carter, and I had a lively time, as you can imagine.

So I was not expecting to be awakened by the phone this morning at 7:40. I groped my way to the offensive ringing, with half-formed thoughts of dire emergencies here or there. As I put the phone to my ear, out of the fog came a feminine voice, "Are you on your way?" I struggled to place the voice and to put into words at least one of the many questions I was feeling.

"This is Marian Graham. Didn't they call you?"

"Noooo..."

"They've split the Spanish II, and they want you to teach the other section. Can you be here in an hour?"

So I threw myself together and took over my half of the class after the first break. This morning I taught the first weeks' worth of Spanish II, with no preparation! Fortunately, it's all review of Spanish I. But tomorrow will be new material. Marian gave me the teacher's book, but I still haven't opened it. "Why??", you are asking yourself, as you glance at the time this is posted...

When I got home at 2 or so, there was company!! Aaron and Marisa (Glass) Bailey and their four-year-old son, Trey, were here. What a treat!!! They are on their way to Tanzania to work with Chris Boyce and Eric Guild and others. We enjoyed catching up and I particularly enjoyed visiting with Trey and reading several books to him about Africa, and visiting with him about it all. It was a nice, long visit, and we told them to come again if they have a chance while they're still here in Abilene.

After that, I did take a nap for...well, less than thirty minutes. Rendi called about some church stuff. Marcia called to plan a family get-together Friday (we will MISS YOU!!). And your father was kind enough to fix the second meal of the day. Isn't he WONDERFUL?

Then it was time to pick up the Lopez girls and go to church. And come home. And check my mail.

I hope tomorrow ends up being a plain-vanilla sort of day. I clock in at 7:00. Maybe I will learn to love the rising sun.

Wednesday already

Martin,
I can't believe how little we have communicated this week.

Marcella got her new passport in the mail. Your mom wrote her friend in Mexico, and they invited Marcella to come on down. I contacted a travel agent today to find out about tickets.

Wendell Willis is teaching a short series on baptism and the Lord's Supper on Wednesday nights.
Only Kandice and Destiny went to church with us tonight. Alexia was jumping or tumbling and her knee landed in her face and gave her a black eye.

Yesterday we hauled a lot of stuff out of Judy Walton's classroom into your mother's new room. I was stiff and sore this morning!

Marissa and I have been meeting at 6:15 in the morning to jog. This morning I was glad that she had called last night to suggest that we take a day off.

On Saturday we rented National Treasure. That was a fun movie.

I will let your mom tell you about her exciting news/adventure for today.

Love you,
Dad

Taize tonight

Martin,

We had a long day at church today--but it was a good one. After the morning service we had a brown bag meeting for all the parents of the youth, to sign up for hosting summer activities. I went on my neighborhood walk while your mother took Greg and Kelsey home. And then we spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the Taize service. We had a good turnout: over 60 from Minter and a few from Highland. Bill and Hilary Walton were the liturgists. The theme was thanksgiving and intercession. We invited everyone to write prayer concerns or things for which they are thankful. It was interesting that we had a dozen or so concerns, but only two items for thanks. After the service we ate supper together. The initial reaction seemed positive.

I am tired! Martin, I hope that you had a good Lord's Day, and that your studies will go well tomorrow.

C.L. Smith

Today Wimon and I spent a good part of the day at a funeral. C.L. Smith passed away. He was an old man, and had lost his wife a couple of years ago. He was ready to go. His grandson, Tony, preached the funeral sermon and made me cry a couple of times. Several other relatives took part in the service as well. C.L.'s son mentioned that after he was an adult, C.L. changed his second name from Louise to Louis. His legal name was Cecil Louis. Like Clive Staples, you can see why he'd go by initials.

He was apparently a wild and tough man in his youth. But when he went to live with his brother in New Mexico, he noticed the girl down the street coming and going, and began to often sing "Love your neighbor ..." Laura was a godly woman. C.L. became a Christian before they married. Then he became an itinerant preacher after they had four children. Once he told us that she had written all of his best sermons, and I believe it. They worked among the Navajos as missionaries, the first sent out by Minter Lane.

When the kids were ready to go to college he became a dorm director at ACU. Wimon's father and many others knew him then. Today Wendell Willis told about being an R.A. and having a rowdy kid barge into his room and yell out, "All right, where are they???" When Wendell found out it was about his Playboy magazines, he told him: "If I had found them, I'd have taken them. But I did not find them. Maybe C.L. Smith did." So the rowdy boy fumed down the hall and barged into C.L.'s office. Wendell followed, thinking it might be entertaining. He says he heard the first "All right, where are they???" yelled out, and then silence. Ten minutes later the rowdy boy came out crying. We all would love to know what soft words C.L. had to break through a hard heart.

I remember being at Minter as a newlywed. They asked Wimon to teach one of the Sunday School classes, and other free-thinking young couples flocked to be a part of a class in which we could read the Scriptures and interpret them for ourselves, without the shackles of tradition. Woody Woodrow came, and later his fiance Sandi. We got to know the Francis' there, too. But then before we started meeting, we heard that each class would have one elder and wife meeting with them. When C.L. and Laura came in, I thought, "Oh, boy, will they ever be wet blankets." So it was a complete shock to see them quietly listen to us, and then often come up with far more radical things than we ourselves would have come up with. And quiet Laura was the MOST radical of all of us!!

Laura and C.L. were involved in meals-on-wheels and Christian Service Center for years. They knew and visited their neighbors. Laura knit and crocheted countless blankets and caps and things to give away. They never had much, but used it all wisely to invest in people. I was surprised, at Laura's funeral, that they didn't just bring out the things she had made, and resurrect her on the spot, as happened in the New Testament :-)

One of the relatives talked about "anonymous immortality". And that's what they have: they have touched countless lives for the Lord, and most have forgotten their names and faces. The ripples of the good things they have done will go on and on. I am grateful to have been touched by them. I hope that in time I can live up to their examples.

Michele left :-(

Well, Michele got off safely this morning while Marissa was running with Wimon. And I got a call this evening letting me know she got to Portland safely. It sure was a treat seeing her. It is wonderful to have friends who have known you (and put up with you) for more than two decades. Can you even imagine, kids? :-)

We had a good visit with Hannah and Matt, and discovered that Matt's uncle was the valedictorian of my high school class. And Matt's mom also graduated from my high school a few years later. Small world, huh?

We are getting a taste of the "empty nest" now. Marcella sleeps most of the time (right now--and for however long--she's at Shannon Clark's house, but will sleep tomorrow morning when we're up). Marissa's in the Junior Scholars world. And Martin is . . . in Montevideo? Or in Brazil? It is a strange feeling, all right.

I wish Martin could come for the Sunday evening Taize service. Your father has spent innumerable hours working on it. We're doing some new songs and have some with cantor parts performed by Susan Teel and her father. AND we are doing "Da Nobis Pacem". It doesn't seem right to sing it without doing dishes or being on a road trip on a bumpy road! Wish we could just let you kids sing it. But this version has a fancy "Amen" section at the end that we never quite figured out but were able to "dumb down" and agree on. And we're almost done putting together the slide show, too. Should be quite an experience.

But, truth be told, I'm looking forward to the sandwich supper as much as to the service. It was sad missing the church meal on Wednesday evening since the summer schedule has started. Maybe we can have some ice cream socials or build-your-own Sundaes on Sunday sometime.

It's bedtime. Dream with the angels. And write when you wake up! Love, Mom

Martin, is this how it works? Let me know! Mom