A “lost” check and bike ride.

Monday was a bit of a relaxation.  We went to work out: Evelyn to Sneakers, and I to work out independently.  We were home by 10:30.  The wind was extremely intense, nearly 50 MPH but warm.  We chose today to wash the car and our golf car.  I have had the isinglass curtains down for a long time.  The dust here just collects on everything and had done quite a job on the inside of the curtains.  Evelyn worked on that.  I also worked off and on with the next message.  The vehicles look much better waiting for the next dust storm.  We took a bike ride around the parks in the evening.

Tuesday began with a look at the door closer that had ripped from the door jamb yesterday.  I got advice from the man in charge of the wood shop in our park. I took items to be recycled and stopped for some plastic wood on the way home but was told it wasn’t strong enough to hold the screw into the jamb.  I went to the Bible study as usual while Evelyn went to ride with the bike club in Port Isabel.  There is a neat, high dollar living area there that is fun to tour.  They all went to lunch at Pelican Station where they serve delicious shrimp among other dishes.  She brought me some fish covered with crawfish etouffee.  I hadn’t goe with them because I had to lead the AARP driver safety class.  There were 22 in attendance, and I finished right on the 4 hour mark.  I came home and began to figure the checks and attenders.  I came up $12 short.  I thought I had lost a check.  I didn’t have time to track it down because we had planned to go to Alamo Country Club for what we thought would be a woman acting parts of some women of the Bible.  Instead she sang a series of Christian patriotic songs.  It was very good but not what we had expected.  John and Sue had gone to an Elvis revue and called on their way home.  We planned to meet at the Wisconsin Synod church before going to dance.

Evelyn went to exercise while I rode to the other RV park connected to this one looking for the lost check.  2 women had come with cash only yesterday, so 2 people included them in their payment checks.  I thought perhaps a check had blown away or accidently not been removed from the checkbook.  After further review I found I had misadded the checks, realizing I had not lost any.  I also had to hunt around our park looking for a woman who had not signed her check.  I found her in the afternoon.  I also rode to Leisure World to pay the tuition of our adopted Mexican student.  The cost for the year is $240.  That is his college tuition.  We went to worship in the afternoon and learned that John was exhausted and could not go dancing.  They had bought a new car yesterday before going to the Elvis tribute and not getting home until 11:30 last night.  We decided to skip dancing until tomorrow night.  We had chopped and cooked gumbo in the morning, so we enjoyed it for our supper.  It was delicious.  Evelyn makes excellent gumbo for a Yankee.

A busy week

Tuesday after Bible study Evelyn went to a cooking demonstration by the chef at the Blue Onion.  She enjoyed the demonstration but not for long.  We had a poker run with the bike club and a pizza party.  We all ride around the park 5 times and draw a card each time. The highest hand wins a prize.  We never win.  The pizza was not good, so we went home and had some that was leftover from last week. It was much better.  We went to the evening study and decided to not continue next week because Joe and Bonny wee leaving and we would have some interruptions in the flow after that. 

Wednesday we left early to go to the SAS outlet store where there was a special customer appreciation sale.  Evelyn bought some shoes at good prices for the quality.  We also returned one of the boxes of luggage that had been shipped erroneously.   Actually I had accidently ordered 2 sets.  We returned to Sunshine Park where we attended the Christian Women’s Connection luncheon.  They always invite the husbands during Valentines month.  The program featured a man who worked on the Apollo space program in the 70s.  We rushed home to attend the Lenten service at the WELS church before going out to dance with John and Sue.  We tried the Horseman but it was too full for anyone else.  We returned to the Paradise Lounge and dance for an hour before going to Burger King because Sue had a BOGO coupon.  We returned home for the evening.

Thursday was the morning of Mabel’s benefit breakfast.  We went and met John there who talked about my amended tax return for 2010.  I ate a small portion of biscuits and gravy and came home.  I practiced the service until lunch and we took a nap after.  We dressed and waited for Joe and Bonny to pick us up.  We went to El Pastor for dinner before going to the concert series for the 5th time this year.  It starred Daniel Rodriguez and wife Marla Cavanaugh.  He was the policeman who sang God Bless America back in 2001 after the attack on the Twin Towers.  They had a very entertaining program.  We bought tickets for next year’s series.  We really enjoy Joe and Bonny because they are dedicated Christians and seem to enjoy being with us as much as we enjoy them. 

Friday was our usual day at the hospital in the afternoon, but we had performed with the kitchen band in the morning.  We had a lot of fun performing before lunch.  Lionel and Jean weren’t there in the afternoon.  Lionel due to a party and Jean due to a funeral.  This meant we were short handed but we were able to cover the needs.  We came home, Evelyn rested and we waited for Don and Janice.  They arrived at 7 and we had some appetizers before going to Arturo’s for dinner.  Don wanted to buy our meal.  We, as most of the time, shared a meal and had plenty.  Don doesn’t drink much beer anymore but was quite thirsty tonight.  He even ordered so many that I couldn’t drink all of it!  This was a very unusual for me.  We came back home and visited for a while before they left. 

We picked up Donny and Valerie Bell at 9:30 and drove to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico to meet our adopted students.  We were transported to a school on the west side of town.  The living conditions we drove through were deplorable.  It makes each of us realize how blessed we are to live in this country.  Our student was there with his mother.  He is 20 and studies at the university in Reynosa.  They were both dressed very well and had many amenities such as I phones and computers, making us wonder if they really needed our support.  They were very gracious but didn’t speak English.  We did communicate fairly well because the young man knew a bit of English and I knew an equal amount of Spanish.  He had a translating app on his phone which helped us a bit also.  The parents of some of the students provided tamales for lunch.  We bought some Kahlua for Shirley and were home by  1:30.  We were both tired and took naps again.  I also finished up the practice on tomorrow’s service.  We also watched part of Bill O’Reilly’s Lincoln that we had missed the first time we tried to watch it. 

I was up at 6:30 reviewing the message, and we were in worship with 37 others at 8:30.  We finished at 9:30.  A pleasant surprise was that the Mintenkos were there again.  I want to visit them in their home here in our park to see whether they need any prayer.  We left and went to Llano Grande where I gave the same message again.  Afterward we met 2 couples at Victoria Palms for Sunday brunch.  We seldom go out on Sunday, and the line at the brunch is quite long until around noon.  We were there at noon and had a short wait.  We had a nice visit and meal.  we were home around 2, and Evelyn went to bed because she had not been able to sleep more than 3 hours last night.  I am able to eat desserts and sweets on Sunday because Lent doesn’t count Sundays.  We had popcorn after riding our bikes around the parks and visiting a couple that is leaving our park and taking their park model with them.  They are leaving due to a conflict with another couple.  I wish we could have our unit moved out, but I don’t think we could because of our Texas room.  I still don’t think our Lord wants me to retire from preaching at Trail’s End, so we will likely be here another year.

Great blessings from our Lord

Saturday we slept a bit late and had egg soufflé for breakfast using some left over egg whites Evelyn had.  I tried to cut the grass but couldn’t start either of the mowers.  They belong to Glenn, our neighbor, but we share the mowing duties.  I just went to the hall for the mail as Evelyn began the long process of making a cake for my Valentine’s gift.  She didn’t have time to make it before this past Wednesday.  When I checked the emails, I found my Cajun friend had sent a forward of a NY Times article condemning cruise ships in light of the Carnival Triumph problems of the past week.  I read it and wrote a response to him condemning the Times slanting of the event.  One thing was how they said the ships dump waste into the ocean and do a lot to add to global warming. (I believe that we can cause some pollution problems but have learned that the sun is the major source of climate change. I used to be an environmental wacko but now trust God.)  Well, Roland took my comments as an attack on him personally since he believes in most liberal ideas and has crossed me off his friend list.  I tried to explain that we were just differing on ideas but doubt that he ever read my response.  We will have 1 fewer person to visit in Lafayette.  After Evelyn finished working, we went to the 50th anniversary celebration at our hall.  There were 14 couples that would be celebrating at sometime during the year.  We returned home to do light housekeeping and talk with Stacy about her life joys.  Our Lord has opened a door for her to serve Him through her business.  She told me on the phone, and I wanted Evelyn to hear it from her instead of me.  We won’t get to talk with her until tomorrow.

We were blessed again with 41 in attendance.  The major surprise was that Ray and Irene Mintenko from our park were there early.  We had sat with them at the barbecue dinner Friday and had joked with them about coming to worship—and they did.  I doubt they will return, but I was blessed that they came once.  We went to the flea market before coming home because Evelyn needed some help with an iron on decal for a shirt she wants to decorate.  We were home in time to enjoy the dinner she had put into the oven early this morning.  We had invited John and Sue to play dominoes at 3:30 but remembered we were to attend a handbell concert at Mercedes at 4.  We had to ask them to come later.  After the concert, they decided it was too late.  We weren’t disappointed.  The concert was 37 handbells played by a single woman who entertained as well as played.  She was here playing in the church last year, but this program was different.  Evelyn had made me a birthday cake and we enjoyed it today because I have given up desserts and other sweets for Lent.  We did share some cake with Lloyd and Marilyn.  I hope to lose a couple of pounds by giving up most of my sugar.

Monday we exercised and tried to cash a refund check from the IRS but learned that the banks close as well as the post office.  Instead we returned home, and I began preparing my message for next Sunday.  I was surprised to see that our neighbor’s truck was gone.  His mother’s funeral was to be today, but yesterday he had said he wasn’t going to Iowa because 15 inches of snow had fallen.  He must have decided to go.  His wife’s car was there in the morning but gone in the afternoon.  I thought she must have stayed to work, but the car never returned in the evening.  I don’t know what is happening.  I do know that the mowers don’t work so I can’t cut the grass.  I will try to borrow one from another neighbor tomorrow.  There is an electric one available, but I am almost afraid to use it.  John and Sue came to play dominoes around 3.  We played a full game and ate pizza together before they left around 7.  Evelyn is trying to complete a book before tomorrow so we didn’t see much of each other during the evening.

barbecue beer bash.

Friday began with a trip to Weslaco Rehab center with the kitchen band.  We had a good crowd and a good time singing.  We don’t have as many people acting silly as in previous years.  Evelyn and I can’t dance because I am playing the base bucket.  We nearly always go with Judy from across the street.  She is a tough woman because she has a very busy life despite having just 1 leg.  We came home for lunch and then left for the hospital.  Evelyn’s usual position was closed for an hour, so she went to work with the staff nurse.  I worked at the information desk as usual.  We have fun each Friday afternoon.  Evelyn went home about 3:30, so I had to get a ride home with Jean.  We were picked up by Ray and Irene Mintenko to go to the Stock Show volunteer barbecue party.  It was a party just like all the others.  We were seated with people from our park, and 2 of us won door prizes.  We were home earlier because the valley barbecue cook off has been moved to next weekend. 

Peddle for your dinner

I wakened at 7, checked the Okell’s former house, and found their car gone.  They are on their way back to Manitiba, likely never to return.  It is curious how one can get so fond of people in just 5 years.  I have been sad all day knowing that it is unlikely that I will ever see him again.  I know we both learned to love them very much and will miss them greatly.  I do know that God brought them to us for His purpose, whatever that was.  We left with the bike club to ride to Victoria Palms Resort for lunch.  We took just about an hour and were eating our lunch around noon.  The meal was a buffet featuring chicken and liver and onions.  That’s right; liver and onions.  I am sure I have never seen that entrée on a buffet.  There are restaurants that have it on the menu in NC but not here.  The ride itself was lovely.  The weather was cool when we began but heated up in a hurry.  Evelyn had to remove a hoodie and a sweatshirt while I removed my long sleeve shirt.  The roads to the resort were rough to say the least.  The trip was just over 10 miles RT,  but Evelyn made it just fine.  She was concerned that she couldn’t.  We showered and napped a bit after arriving home.  Then we went to the happy hour at the hall.  Instead of dancing, we talked with a couple from Michigan on their first trip south for the winter.  We had a good time.  We called Sue and invited her to come for dominoes, but she had surgery yesterday and didn’t feel like coming.  We played dominoes by ourselves.  We arranged our clothes for our work at the hospital tomorrow and our trip to the Stock Show volunteer barbecue party tomorrow night.

A very sad parting

Monday found me at the first park meeting I have attended this year.  We used to attend one every Monday morning but have stopped altogether.  I am not sure why I went but am pretty sure I know why we stopped.  A heated discussion developed between one of the residents and the park manager.  I got the mail after the meeting ended, and went home to meet with Armand.  He never came.  We had to leave for Mexico so I could get my replacement partial lateral.  It was a short procedure and I left with a new tooth.  We picked up some medicine for Sue and returned home.  I had not received any orders for liquor from our northern friends but had 2 when I got home.  We will likely return and get some before we leave.  Armand finally came, and we called Austin.  We learned that no deed for our unit will be needed until we sell it.  We watched a movie and took a walk in the beautiful evening.

Tuesday is Bible study day.  I had to take some items to recycle before going to get Marilyn, Sue’s cousin.  I took her to the Bible study at 10 and then took her and Roger to the golf course.  The day was overcast but quite temperate.  Marilyn had a pretty good day on the course and beat me by 1 stroke.  I returned Roger to our park and then took Marilyn back to Sue’s where she stayed.  I came home around 2, and we waited to eat until 5.  We left for our 2nd Bible study at 6:30.  It uses the same man as the morning one but is a different series.  They are both good.  I am surprised at how many attend and how faithful they have been in attending.  I am disappointed but not surprised that we can’t get very deep into the questions because they are too personal. 

Wednesday morning Evelyn went to exercise and I went with Armand to return his phone modem before he leaves for Canada.  We had a good visit, and I tried to witness to him about how much Christ loves both him and Rose.  He is so low key and gentle that it is hard to discern how much good the conversation did.  We were back in time for the noon Ash Wednesday service in Mercedes.  I thought the sermon was very good, but I may have been in the minority.  I am glad to have the ashes applied to my forehead, reminding me of my need for a Savior.  We went to lunch with Joe and Bonny.  We enjoy the lonches offered at a small restaurant near our homes.  They are leaders of the evening Bible study but will be gone after next Tuesday.  They want us to lead while they are gone, but Evelyn doesn’t think we have an adequate place to meet.  We have been meeting at Joe’s office, but he will be gone.  We had our farewell drink with Armand and Rose in late afternoon.  It was a somewhat emotional meeting.  We will miss them greatly because they have been wonderful to us.  The only regret is that they are not Christians.  This and their leaving causes me to be heartbroken.  They will leave tomorrow morning.  I don’t think I can face them again.  I gave Armand a package I prepared containing a Bible, some tracts and a few CDs by Steve Brown.  I pray the Holy Spirit will use the materials to open their hearts.

Chili soup and birthdays

Saturday we went to Harlingen to exchange some things at Kohl’s.  We also had some $10 credits that I didn’t want to to expire.  It turned out that they couldn’t be used until tomorrow.  I had met a nice young Christian man last week and was blessed to talk with him again.  I mentioned to him how high the prices were.  He said he shops at WalMart.  We drove back and stopped to use our last coupon at Los Amigos in La Feria.  After a quick trip to the grocery for some ice cream to serve with the birthday mince pie, I dropped Evelyn at home and went to the church to help a bit with the chili supper preparation.  I mostly rolled cutlery into some napkins for the supper.  I also took 5 servings home for the neighbors.  We then went to Hamel’s for Sue’s evening birthday supper. (It is really tomorrow). We played a couple of games, ate the turkey dinner she had prepared, and enjoyed the mince meat pie and ice cream Evelyn had prepared.  We came home early so I could practice the service.

Saying the first goodbye

Friday was a sad day.  We went to the Remington Steak House with Rose and Armand.  We had planned this for 3 weeks and finally accomplished it.  They are such gracious people but unsaved—as far as we can tell.  We had a delightful time and fought back tears at times.  We were back in Weslaco by 1:30. We met our neighbor Sharon on the way home and learned that her mother-in-law had died earlier during the day.  I had planned to have Evelyn drop me off at the hospital and had taken my vest along.  She, however, wanted me to take them home, so I rode my bike to the hospital—leaving my vest in the car.  It has my ID badge on it, and being without it limited my movement around the hospital.  I was still able to visit 1 of the 4 people in our park who had been admitted during the past couple of days.   I had told our supervisor that I would be late today, but she had forgotten.  Paul was sick (as was Evelyn) and stayed home.  I left on my bike at 5 and stopped to get some medicine on the way home.  We had eaten so much at noon that we just had light snacks in the evening.  Armand had finished repairing our trellises surrounding our pergola before dark and we had a beer together to celebrate.  We were able to talk with Olivia and with Emily during the evening.  We loved both conversations and all of our girls. 

A week filled with God’s power on display

Monday was a day in Mexico.  Evelyn wanted a haircut, but her regular barber is gone at this time.  She found one acceptable in Mexico.  I got one also, and we both may not need another before Easter.  We went with John and Sue and went out for lunch.  I also went to the dentist to have my partial bridge replaced.  I had to negotiate the price since it was a return trip.  I had been told my filling replacement last year would hold it in place but it didn’t.  It was not quite so hot so the day was enjoyable. 

Tuesday was our Bible study day.  The morning study was from 10-11 and featured “That the World May Know” with Ray Vanderlaan.  We left there and went to La Feria at the small restaurant where I had a coupon.  On to Harlingen where we shopped at Kohl’s and Tuesday Morning.  Kohl’s some luggage on special, and I ordered some on line.  It will be delivered later.  Evelyn also bought some lingerie.  We returned home, rested, ate supper and went to the evening study featuring a different DVD by Ray Vanderlaan.  He takes people through the Holy Land and explains God’s plans and events on the sites.  We really are blessed through these studies. 

Wednesday morning I cut our grass, the neighbor’s grass (he provides the mower) and his mother’s grass.  I also began practicing the message for the next Sunday.  We did go to a neighboring park to dance in the afternoon.  We wanted to go with John and Sue, but they were too tired from shuffling all morning.  We went alone but met a retired air force pilot who may have known a high school classmate who also was a pilot.  I sent my friend an email and learned that he did vaguely remember the other pilot.  Around midnight and ambulance came to take Mrs. Lemke across the street to the hospital.  I learned that she had a blood clot in her leg and had fallen.  I thought of Judy next to her who had a similar problem resulting in her leg being amputated.  The doctor is trying to dissolve the clot to prevent the radical procedure.

Thursday was kitchen band.  Most of our performances are on Friday this year—all except the one at John Knox Village.  Ironically, we perform the 2nd Thursdays, but the leader assumed that since today was the 7th it must be the 2nd.  It was the 1st, causing us and a small band from Donna to arrive together.  We just blended our groups and played together.  I think the residents enjoyed it.  We came home for lunch and learned Armand wanted to play golf today.  I didn’t especially want to go but did since this will likely be our final play together.  It was a hot day but we played well until the final hole.  We still had respectable scores but not what we should have had.  We returned home, had a beer and looked at a project in our back patio.  I asked his advice again and thought he had promised to give it and let me do the work.  I had to shower after a sweaty game and was sitting in the Texas room when I heard him working on the project.  He claimed he never promised to let me do the work and started on his own.  I couldn’t help because I had to stay clean since we were scheduled to attend the Pastor’s Appreciation Banquet with the Gideons.  He has done that several times: gone ahead and worked on our problems by himself.  We will take them to an elaborate seafood buffet for lunch tomorrow as a farewell gift and thank you lunch.  We were surprised when another Gideon in our park came to get me and the park pastor alone.  Evelyn and I were ready as a couple, but they were alone.  Evelyn had returned to the doctor in the afternoon and wasn’t feeling the greatest but went along anyway.  We are always blessed by the testimonies about what God does in people’s lives through the scriptures handed out by the Gideons.  We were home before 10, so I went to the pharmacy to get Evelyn’s prescription. 

Good weather, good healing

Friday is hospital day, and Evelyn was still not feeling well enough to go.  She did go to see the doctor and got a shot and a prescription for an antibiotic.  When I returned home, she was a bit better and on the way to recovery.Bonny had come in the morning to ask me to distribute some announcements about a hand bell concert at the church in Mercedes in a couple of weeks.  A woman plays all the hand bells by herself.  We heard her last spring and were amazed at her keeping things going. She wants me to take some to the parks I visit, especially where I preach on Sundays.   After I returned from the hospital, I went to a neighbor’s for a light supper and a game of Ramolie, as the Canadians call it.  We learned it as Tripoli.  Evelyn still didn’t feel well enough to go, but I did bring some home to her. 

Saturday was a nice day.  I had gone to get Evelyn some purified water and ate a breakfast taco from a convenience store.  I had left my coin purse at the site but found it later on the way to the golf course.  Someone had just left it there.  I returned home for lunch and decided that it was a great day for golf.  Armand and I went to play since Evelyn was much better.  We allowed a man and wife to play through but were sorry later.  He joined up with 2 other couples and played very slowly.  They were very discourteous despite our doing them 3 acts of kindness.  I was very doubtful that they had paid for the women and children to play and considered reporting them to the golf pro but didn’t.  We just considered our actions as the right thing to do.  We even returned a club left on a green to them without any reciprocation from them.  I didn’t play anything like I had on Thursday.  I often wonder what changes in my swing or approach that causes such a difference.  I guess over 80% of all golfers wonder the same thing.  I worked on the sermon during the evening and went to bed an hour earlier than usual.

I was up an hour earlier than usual and went over the message and service again.  We had a smaller crowd at worship (30) because of some fishing trip, but we were all blessed with the message built around the Super Bowl and how it and other things can become idols in our lives.  We invited John and Sue to come for the game and some dominoes, but she had become so sick that she went home to bed.  On the way home from worship, we stopped at the CVS drug store because there were some specials only good for 1 day.  They had some strange flavored wine in pouches but couldn’t sell them until after noon,  so I had to ride my bicycle back during the afternoon to get them.  It was after I returned home that I couldn’t find our camera.  I looked everywhere I could think of and wonder if it has been stolen from our car.  That would be 2 thefts within 6 months.  I hope it will show up around here.  Since Hamels couldn’t come, we just watched the football game by ourselves, playing dominoes as well.  The game was very exciting and won by Jim Harbaugh over his brother John Harbaugh.  The domino game was interesting since there were only 2 of us.  We often had drawn all of the tiles looking for a play.  It was still fun.