We’ve had some pretty nice days on the road. Tuesday we made it to Phillipsburg, NJ where some friends that we hadn’t seen in years retrieved us from the Walmart parking lot and had us over for dinner. It was great to catch up with them – and I know we’ll make every effort to connect again when we’re in the area. Wednesday we moved all the way to Easton, PA (about 15 miles!), unhooked the truck and took a spin down to hometown to pick up our mail and a cabinet – but more important to have dinner with the Ikoniaks, son Josiah and his girlfriend, Abigail. It was a good visit, and we were glad we made the trip. Today was our appointment to get Lizzie inspected, so we ended milling around the Easton area while she was in the shop. We had hoped to go to the Crayola Crayon factory, but it was closed due to all the flooding. So instead we headed to Nazareth which was founded in 1740 by a group of Moravians. We did a little walking tour around town and then went to the C.F. Martin Guitar factory. Now I know very little about guitars, but that was one impressive tour. Each guitar, whether it sells for $200.00 or $15,000.00, is essentially handmade. It takes, on average, three months to make each guitar. The process is so labor intensive that I actually find it hard to believe that any of them sell for even $200.00. If you are ever in the Easton area, make sure you stop in for this (free!) tour. It was great.
Tonight is a “Flying J†night – and then tomorrow it’s into the project we go. I’m glad we got here early. It’s beginning to rain again, just what this over-saturated area needs!
Ah, life on the road!
Monthly Archives: June 2006
Another Good-Bye
This is our last night at Keswick. We’ve really grown to love the people at this project – especially the men of the Colony that we’ve worked with. As we’ve gotten to know these guys we’ve learned that they range in age from the early twenties to their mid-sixties. I certainly haven’t met all of them, but of those I have there have been computer programmers, a karate teacher, a marketing specialist, a poultry farmer, a roofer, a chef…..a diverse crowd to say the least. Yet each one of them has come with the same goal – having recognized that they cannot “fix†themselves, they seek a relationship with Jesus Christ as the source of hope and transformation in becoming the man that God desires them to become. We’ve been privileged to watch several graduations and have been humbled as they share their stories of redemption. These men of the Colony are truly testimonies of God’s Grace in action. We will be keeping them in our prayers.
So tomorrow we finish packing up and begin our (not very far) trek northeast. We’re heading to our July project at Montrose Bible Conference in northeastern PA (only about 225 miles). We’ll be running errands, visiting with friends and taking care of some PA Dept. of Transportation business before we head into Montrose on Friday. We’ve been to Montrose before, but never as a Sower, so I’m sure it will have a different flavor than before.
And a final word from The Colony of Mercy – the verse they recite at the end of every service.
And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.Deut. 31:8
Amen.
Is it hot there too?
It’s a scorcher today – a good chance to stay inside with the A/C and get you all caught up on our comings and going. And we have been doing a fair bit of comin’ and goin’!
Tuesday afternoon I headed to Doylestown to join my quilting buddies on their Wednesday jaunt to Lancaster. I also managed to squeeze in a quick trip to HPI (my job in my previous lifetime), have a great visit with son Josiah, and help Janet make pirogues for her daughter’s wedding (we made 180 – a good start on the 700+ she figures she needs to make!) Wednesday’s Lancaster Adventure was great fun. It was wonderful to catch up with these dear friends that were such a big part of my “pre-trip†life. Here we are at our final stop (Shady Maple) after a full day of spending PCS’s money for next year’s quilt auction. Despite the fuzziness of the picture, we had a great day!
Back to Keswick and a final day of work before our lovely three day weekend. Friday we headed to the Jersey Shore. First we went to Seaside Heights, and then we headed to Barnegat Lighthouse. (If you are at all familiar with the Jersey shore, you know that while these are right next to each other on the map, they require a fair number of miles to get from one to the other. Hey, we were passengers, not route-makers!). We never quite got to put our feet in the ocean (too cheap to buy a beach tag!), but it was fun walking on the boardwalk and climbing up the lighthouse. And fun to spend some “downtime†with our Sower friends. Saturday we went to the Columbus Flea Market and then the cold I was incubating demanded that we return home and curl up in bed. I obeyed!
Today promises to be quiet – I have graciously shared my cold with Gary, and now both of us are looking forward to the proverbial Sunday afternoon NAP. We’ll keep the phone close by though, so the kids can call for Father’s Day! (Which, by the way, they all did!)
Here are some shots from our time at the Shore –
The beach
and the boardwalk
Hope your weekend was a good one. Tonight I was honored to be at the graduation of one of the Colony guys. It was an inspiring way to end the weekend. A true testimony of God’s Grace in action. We’ll be keeping him in our prayers.
Some Keswick Shots
Sunday was a lovely day, and Gary & I took a stroll around the property (well, at least part of it!). Here are just a couple of photos from our walk.
This is the lake that is just behind the main building. We looked for paddles to enjoy a canoe ride, but no luck. But it certainly looked inviting!
And this is the chapel at the Colony. It is quite beautiful in its simplicity.
This promises to be a good week for our gardening endeavors. With four of us working away, it goes pretty quick (the nice damp sandy soil helps too!). We’ll be weeding and planting for the rest of the week for sure! But, I’m taking Wednesday off and joining my Plumstead Quilting buddies for the annual trek to Lancaster. Just one other “perk” for being in the East for the summer! Gary is staying at Keswick, but since they feed us two meals a day, I think he’ll be just fine!
These girls are just plain getting too big!
Ellie just got her summer haircut! Here is “before” picture….
And here is the “after” picture. I might be prejudiced, but it seems to me she’s pretty darlin’ either way!
Apparently Hayley has become quite the camera girl. Every time Tammy takes out the camera, Hayley runs to the “picture wall” to pose for Her shot! What a sweetie!
