Our time in Dayton, OH, at Interchurch Holiness Convention

Well, I uploaded some pics one evening when I was too tired to do much else, and so I'll try to caption them. 

Last week Jonathan and I were able to attend IHC again. I thought we couldn't go this year if we went to PNG, but Jonathan still had enough free miles that we were able to get a non-stop flight from Denver to Dayton, hotel room, and rental car for zero dollars. 

Of course, one of our main reasons for going was to spend a bit of time with our daughter Crystal!

She was singing in the Penn View choir there, as well as 

in the mass choir. 

I got this photo of Penn View choir getting ready to practice because I didn't know if I could get a good picture later at a distance with my poor cheap camera.

Here is Crystal, right in the middle of everyone lining up.

With her many practices and staying with a friend, we didn't get to spend much time together.

Plus it was not easy to find each other in the middle of thousands of people!

I enjoyed Joy Budenseik, author of Reconnecting with my Belly Button, a story of her adoption and search for her biological parents.

Joy shared an object lesson at the Women of Worth meeting that I hope to share in Papua New Guinea with the village Sunday School teachers.
It was exactly what I was praying for--an object lesson using simply your own hand!
I want to share with the PNG village teachers (who I was told have nothing) that they don't have to have all the stuff we have in America to be an effective teacher.
They just have to use what they have--even if it is just their own hand.

It was worth going to the Women of Worth meeting just to hear that object lesson.

Lorena Glick is now leader of WOW, instead of Sis. Sankey--two diametrically opposite personalities.

Lorena and her husband are former PNG missionaries, and while we were there, they spoke to us about our upcoming trip to PNG. 

Below is the Asbury's adopted daughter with her new baby.

And the proud grandparents, who manned the Ropeholders booth, part of Mission Helps just down from us.

We were pleased to have Gerald Hoch introduce himself to us as someone who knew my family, and also former missionary to PNG. He had many interesting and encouraging things to say about going over there. This is he and his wife.

I couldn't resist getting this snap of Phil and Heather Dickinson's baby girl. The Dickinsons were a few booths down from ours on the same aisle. I love Heather for her cheerful smile, creative ideas, and friendly ways.

These three Spanish girls from Florida were so excited to see our display and the photos of the Spanish church in Ft. Myers that Mission Helps crews spent many days helping with. One or all of these girls had been present at the dedication and were so thrilled to see the picture of the crowd they had been in! They took a picture of the picture!

This was the international service, where the man at the podium, a doctor from India, 

shared the story of his conversion, with Matt Maloyed, youth pastor at Beavertown God's Missionary Church. 

The doctor was saved in the hall of the hospital in Pennsylvania, thanks to the gracious witness of an older couple in the Beavertown church.

Afterward, we were privileged to shake hands with this doctor, and also to exchange contact info with Matt Maloyed, who is trying to put together a work team to come out here to CO to replace the roofs on the church and parsonage in Denver, as well as remodel and fix other things like carpet and linoleum. God's Missionary Church is helping with the financing and is hoping to send a young pastor who knows Spanish.

We're so excited about this development, and Jonathan is eager to participate later this summer in the Denver remodel of our sister church.

It was a delight to reconnect with a girl from my graduating class at Allegheny Wesleyan College,

Shaun [formerly Cox].

Dayton mayor appreciates this church convention using their city. He had all his office workers wearing "IHC Days" buttons last year one day for a special "IHC Day." Here a newscaster is apparently interviewing one of the IHC men for the news.

One man involved in IHC told Jonathan and me as we waited in a long line at a local McDonalds

that the worst catastrophe the city expects at this gathering is a penny getting stuck in the escalator!

There are hundreds of young people and children besides thousands of adults, 

and simply no issues that the city has to worry about.

The only negative thing we heard was when moderator James Plank commended the audience on their good behavior and witness in the community--with one exception.

He had been told that one of the men from IHC people had gotten angry when someone cut into line in front of him at a hotel desk.

"Thanks to you, the local pastor here cannot invite that hotel clerk to his church," James said in no uncertain terms.

"You need to deal with that kind of carnality. In fact, the altar here is open right now!"

All Jonathan could say as we sat there was, "Ouch, ouch!"

Good for James Plank. Zero tolerance of unkind and grouchy behavior. 

Below is the gathering of Penn View alumni in one of the meeting rooms of the convention center.

Leonard Raub had financed the get-together, and Jonathan and I were so grateful for a way to get some supper (delicious pizza, chips and pop) without having to wait a long time in line. 

I took a picture of this pizza warmer on wheels. On the bottom, a sort of candle is burning to keep the pizzas warm.
We got to meet Crystal's English teacher from Penn View there,  and the young couple who is considering coming to pastor at Denver.

The last service had the mass choir, and people watching online saw Crystal better than we could 

sitting along the side! Naomi French had showed up to surprise her relatives, one of which was Justice Maley, who is also in Penn View choir.

Jerald Glick was director of the mass choir.

During this service, there is always the calling of the states (and some countries of the world), something James Plank admitted was a "bunch of nonsense, but we like it!"

This calling of the states focuses on where people are from, rather than focusing on what church they belong to. 

The Dickinsons stole the show by their whole family hollering really loud and whipping out flags of Columbia and Argentina from near the top of the middle section of the audience. 

I just love fun, creative things like that.

After the service, Crystal accompanied us to our car out in the parking garage. We had to hug goodbye.

I tried to snap a photo before she disappeared behind this truck to go to the elevators, but my camera is poky about snapping pictures. So she is gone behind the truck. Does the dark picture mirror my sadness?

I had to try to ignore a pang of loneliness. I miss Crystal.

I told myself, "I still have Jonathan!"

And reached for his hand. 

We crept slowly down the winding lanes, to the tune of horns honking cheerfully.

I couldn't help laughing.

IHC is truly an uplifting and joyful experience. We appreciated many things about it and are thankful to be part of this wonderful crowd of people.Yes, we are all imperfect, but this is a very upbeat and joyful time together, focusing on unity instead of differences.

Footprints or Buttprints in the Sand?

I ran across the following thought-provoking poem in a page Jonathan had pulled up online last  Sunday, "Buttprints in the Sand,"

and yes, that title got my attention just like it got yours!

Buttprints in the Sand

One night, I had a wondrous dream;

One set of footprints there was seen.

The footprints of my precious Lord,

But mine were not along the shore. 
 

But then some stranger prints appeared,

And I asked the Lord, “What have we here?”

“Those prints are large and round and neat,

But, Lord, they are too big for feet.”

“My child,” He said in sombre tones.

“For miles I carried you alone.

I challenged you to walk in faith,

But you refused and made me wait.

You disobeyed, you would not grow,

The walk-of-faith you would not know.

So I got tired and fed up,

And there I dropped you on your butt, 

 

Because in life, there comes a time,

When one must fight, and one must climb,

When one must rise and take a stand,

Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”

 

Well said!

The Trapped Goldfish--and God's Way of Escape

Sunday after church we ate our lunch at one of our favorite parks in town, bringing the girls' friend Breanna with us on our way to drop her at her home after sleepover and church together.

That day the daffodils and bluebells and apple blossoms were stunning.

I love the way the willows look as their tender leaves are just beginning to peek out.

Of course the ducks and geese always come to see if we will be like the people who feed them bread crumbs (which a sign says you are not supposed to do anymore).

I do believe these must be bluebells--at least they sure look like bluebells.

It's been so long since I saw actual bluebells.

After a picnic lunch, the children explore around the pond, trying to catch goldfish by their tails at the bridge.

They discovered a goose nest with fresh eggs in it, and Danny is excitedly hollering to us about it.

 It is right by the path, on the edge of the pond.

How that nest has managed to stay unbothered is a mystery, but there it was,

covered in soft goose down.

The mother was away at the  moment, but not long later, we saw the goose pair across the pond near the nest, preening.

And then the children noticed a sloppy plastic bag in the pond--a bag that had something bright orange and alive inside it! Timmy found a stick to pull it closer.

Sure enough, it was a goldfish trapped in that trashy plastic bag!

Like a bright mind trapped in a crippled body.

Like an exuberant spirit trapped in drudgery.

Like a big heart trapped into relationships that belittle it . 

Like a tender heart easily taken over by those with small minds and selfish interests.

Just that weekend in church, our revival evangelist, Nate Kline from Nebraska, a new, promising young preacher (pictured here on the right with his family and his brother Wesley's family from Mitchell, SD)

had preached about spiritual warfare, the enemy's tactics, and God's way of escape from situations that are too much for us.

He reminded us that God promised that He would not lay on us more than we could bear, but would provide a way of escape.

He said Satan is like a seasoned chess player--his goal is to get us into a checkmate, 

a place where there is no way out, where no matter what you do you are had.

But he said that sometimes we don't find the way of escape because we don't look for it!

We assume there isn't any way out of our hard place--

and we too often succumb to the devil.

We don't have to be captured, Nate said. There IS a way of escape. Look for it!

And so that goldfish that was looking for its way of escape, 

and perhaps had given up, suddenly was lifted up in its trashy plastic prison,

and set free by a higher power who had compassion on it.

In a flash, that glow of gold orange slipped away in the water--freed at last by a hand of mercy.
Just like the hand of mercy that reaches down to all of us in our distresses if we would only call out to Him.
He sees us caught in our trash bag, unable to do anything but slither around in circles,
no way to win, no way to escape, no way to live free--
until He comes.

And when He comes, the goldfish swim free, 

the geese nest safely,

and spring daffodils bloom again.

Rosebuds from Baby Socks--Baby Shower for a Friend

Last Saturday we attended a baby shower for our friend, Nicole, who is Naomi French's nephew's wife.

Naomi had made this darling bouquet of rosebuds created from baby socks!

She said they are so simple to  make. You just roll the sock up from the toe, and then turn the bit of cuff which is left on the end inside out to hold the rosebud in place. And you stick the rosebud on a stem made of candy stick or pipe cleaner.

Naomi had shown me this bouquet earlier on her phone, and it inspired me to make our gift more creative than I was planning.

So I looked online for ideas and found roses made from baby washcloths.

I found a little tutorial that took about half a minute, and made four of these for our gift basket.

Naomi had asked Carrie to have games.

Carrie chose a "Pin the Pacifier on the Baby's Mouth" game, which is like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey."

 Blindfolded, or with eyes closed, you must try to stick the little paper pacifier (which has a tack in the middle) as close to the baby's mouth as you can.

Then Carrie drew a red circle around the pinprick. Whoever got closest got a prize.

New baby's big half sister tries out.

 Next game was Baby Sock Matching Game.

There were about a dozen pairs of socks to match.

Those who participated teamed up by twos and were timed to see how long it took to  match all the socks.

Hannah and Baby-to-Be's sister were the first team.

Hurry, hurry! Naomi's nephew's mother and Fern race the clock.

There were several white pairs, all different except two identical pairs.That created more fun.

Hurry, hurry! Aunt Irina and I rush to match.

The third game was a relay race of two teams with each team member taking turns to pin baby socks onto a hanger with miniature clothespins.

Each team had one each of the whole batch of baby socks to hang on the hanger, and each person would hang one and then hurry to the back of the line while the next person clipped the next sock on.

Above, Nicole is holding one hanger, and below Aunt Irina is clipping her sock on while Naomi holds the second hanger.

She said she had such a pleasant time there with the ladies that day.

Here the ladies are surveying the socks and discovering one or two extra on one hangar.

Gift opening time.
Nicole read some of the cards, too. One of them had a lovely verse that said something along this line:
"Small wonders are God's greatest miracles."

And aren't they really?
The small wonders of new babies, new life, snowflakes, atoms and neurons and protons and protozoa--
aren't they just as amazing as the universe?
Aren't the stars in children's eyes just as amazing as the stars in the sky?
Isn't a mother nursing a newborn baby who knows just what to do just as amazing as the Milky Way?
Isn't the miracle of new life from two tiny cells just as amazing as cell phone towers and radio waves from satellites up in the sky?
Naomi had also made this beautiful bouquet for Nicole and baby out of baby washcloths.

I just love this kind of creativity!

Naomi had made such a lovely spread of snacks there at Fern's place, with the baby sock rosebud bouquet in the middle.

Nicole with the cake.

After the refreshments, the girls all went out to play. They loved the bouncy trampoline.

I caught Rose clear up in the air!

 Hannah and her little friend swinging up to the sky!

The girls invited Breanna home for the night, and we took her to church with us next day. Saturday evening, Carrie finished sewing this lovely dress for Breanna's little half sister, whose dad had wished for a dress like Hannah's for her. Aliya is modeling the dress, tucking it under her chin and holding out her arms so you can see the pretty dress just after we dropped Breanna back to her home after church and  picnic lunch.

It was such a joy to share in this happy time and to be friends with this precious family.