Sunday the sun was rising when I woke. The nights are cool here and the days are warm but the air is very clear and dry. Mountains surround the area. After a few minutes on the roof I took a very quick “missionary shower” and ironed Hope’s dress and Lois’s clothes. It took a while to find a place to plug in the iron. Everything takes extra steps and extra time here in Mexico, but we are very, very happy to be here.
The team …

A I write this it is after eleven on a clear, cool night in Lake Chapella, Mexico, near Guadalajara. There is a full moon in the trees over the cluster of humble buildings that is the Oasis Orphanage.
Tuesday evening we left Big Sandy at about 8:30 and drove all night into Mexico. We were delayed at the border for hours. When we arrived in Monterrey we visited an orphanage and did a program of music, speaking, and testimonies. We ate there and then we had …

We have been in training for our Mexico Trip

It was a beautiful morning in east Texas this morning. The pines and oaks are filled with bird song in the morning and evening. This morning it was cool and beautiful and I conducted some of my duties outdoors enjoying the feel of the sun on my head and a pine-scented breeze.
The team did two hours of housekeeping for the ALERT Academy. They are a great, energetic group and they earn their keep. At meal times Mr. Gothard …

We are in Big Sandy, Texas at the ALERT ACADEMY. It is a beautiful campus. We have joined the rest of the Great Expeditions Team here and they are a fine group of young people. I’ll postg a nice picture here as soon as possible.
We are enjoying a briefing now for our trip to Monterrey and Guadalajara, Mexico. On the tour we will be training fifty young people while ministering to orphans, learning conversational Spanish, doing evangelism and work projects, and visiting city leaders, …

MECIXO TRIP 3
The campus is beautiful. East Texas is a God-blessed country. It is a treat to me here in the spring. It looks like it has been spring here for a while. It almost looks like mid-summer in Michigan.
It is a blessing to be able to spend time with hundreds of other families who are devoted to the ways of God, to their families, and to the work of God in the world. The speakers are inspiring and the music stirring. …

We drove from Flint to southern Illinois Monday. In southern Indiana and Illinois the woods and grass are green and the Dogwoods are opened. Dogwoods always remind me of my home in Ohio. I always loved to go calling on spring days in the countryside in early May when the dogwoods were in blossom. This morning I was able to get a nice, little two-mile run. It rained last night and the world is fresh and cool.
We will drive the remaining six hundred …

We just returned from Canada yesterday and we leave today on a trip that will take us through Texas to Mexico. We spent the weekend enjoying the hospitality of the Olsen family from Tilbury, Ontario. Their daughters have served faithfully here at the Character Inn in the kitchen on and off for over three years. We sang and I told stories at their church on Saturday night and Sunday morning we sang again and I preached. This was our first time to sing and preach in …

When I was a little boy my Dad had a great idea. He conducted what he called “Ushers School” every Sunday night an hour before church. The Ushers School was for children ages 8-12 or teens. In the “school” Dad taught us to dress properly, to greet people, and how to shake hands. Dad said, “Extend your hand to other men, firm grip, look ‘em in the eye, smile. Don’t extend your hand to a woman unless she extends your hand first.”
Dad would say things …