God Bless America

Heading back to USA this week.
Land of the free. Home of the brave.

So sad to leave Swaziland.
Sad to leave the awesome 'Cup Team.
Sad to leave our OVC's God has entrusted to 'Cup's care.
Sad to leave our precious grandkids.
Sad to leave our wonderful daughter Susan and great son-in-law, Ben.

But we'll be so happy to be with our other grandkids in Louisiana.
Happy to see my dad (he's 92 years old).
Happy to see the Alabama & Iowa Boughers.
And happy to attend the greatest church on the planet: Healing Place Church.
Happy to be able to visit some of our faithful donors.
Happy to be able to have a cup of coffee and share with some of the worlds' coolest pastors.

Also looking forward to some tasty delights we've not had in a long time...Popeye's spicy chicken, TJ Ribs, Bluebell ice cream, REAL iced tea, and a greasy quarter pounder with cheese. Even some Starbucks if I can find where Pat is so I can have him make me a good one.

To our loved ones in Swaziland: Good-bye. We love you dearly.
To our loved ones in USA: See ya soon!

God Bless America!

Colour Your World

This last week my daughter Susan and I were joined by my daughter-in-law Vicki at the Hillsong Women’s Colour Conference in Sydney, Australia.

We were so blessed to be able to attend and get our spirits rejuvenated! Of course we took in a few sights before the opening meeting--even checked the waters for any sign of Nemo and his pals.

We met some awesome folks—and renewed some old acquaintances, among whom are Karyn Barriger (missionary to Peru, wife of Robert) and Leslie Siebeling (former missionary to Kenya; wife of John. They pastor the awesome Life Church in Memphis).

No. I didn’t get pictures of them. Maybe Susan or Vicki did. Aargh. I didn’t.

Anyway, it was one of the most awesome series of meetings I’ve ever been in. Would you believe there was a very special emphasis on Africa!?! Marilyn Skinner, wife of Gary (the Watoto Children’s Choir people, missionaries to Uganda) spoke one service and it was so powerful that had there been an altar call for people feeling called to be missionaries, I’d have been the first one there.

They showed a video called Invisible Children that was so good/sad I’d recommend it to everyone. It's all about the child soldiers in Uganda. Check out invisiblechildren.com.

Following are a few of the photos I remembered to take along the way. (It was really hard to remember to take ‘em because I was so caught up in the events.)

The unique Sydney Opera House









The Bridge. We rode across this famous structure on the train.








The view from Sydney tower was spectacular.









This meal came with a huge prawn sitting on top of the steak--Susan was grossed out by the little black beady eyeballs looking at her.







The critter with the black beady eyeballs









Praise and Worship Hillsong-style








Dave wondered about the estrogen level at this gathering of 17,000 women...








Three very tired women, but extrememly full of God's awesome blessings.

An Amazing Elephant Story

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.

The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

Then the elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.

But eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant he had helped.

Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

(special thanks to MaryBeth and Deryc)

Ponderings

Kristen sent me some things to ponder. (Thanks, Kristen.)

Here are a couple of them:

*Would a fly without wings be called a walk?

*Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

If you have answers, please notify me.

Another Snake Tale

Martha (our housegirl) killed it in the back yard with her broom handle.

Security guard, Nhlanhla, brought the dead critter to my kitchen doorstep to show me.

It was about 25 inches long and about as big around as my pointer finger. Black back. Salmony-yellow colored belly.

Martha and Nhlanhla declared it to be a black mamba. Deadliest snake in Swaziland. (Martha and Nhlanhla think all snakes are mambas.)

Dave agreed. He hates snakes. Says they are all poisonous.

I had Nhlanhla lay it out by my 18" ruler and I took photos. (No, I didn't touch it. Nhlanhla used a stick to move it around for me.)

Then I got on the internet. I looked in Susan's critters-of-southern-Africa reference book.

This is what I found out: It is a brown water snake (that comes in both brown and black). Completely harmless except for frogs. They are constrictors. They don't bite. They squeeze the breath out of those little frogs and then swallow 'em whole. And we have plenty for them to feed on here!

Black mambas on the other hand, are grey or olive. They are called "black" to describe the inside of their mouths which is weirdly black. They bite. They are killers.

But we now know our visitor was not a black mamba. Just a harmless little 'ole brown water snake.

(Dave still doesn't like 'em.)

Bragging Yet Again

I've posted brag-photos of all but three of my grands.
Now you have the pleasure of viewing the oldest of them.
A good-lookin' bunch, huh!


Tori (16)















JD (12)













David III (12)

Got Enemies?

Men may spurn our appeals,
Reject our message,
Oppose our arguments,
Despise our persons;
But they are helpless against our prayers.

J. Sidlow Baxter

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Love your enemies,
Bless those who curse you,
Do good to those who hate you,
And pray for those who insult you and persecute you.

Jesus Christ (Matt 5:44)