Well, my dear friends & family,

We are finally back in Puerto Vallarta after our furlough. Let me bring you up to speed on our travels.

As you recall we were to leave for the U.S. via car and travel to Arizona & California. We started out on June 23^rd and only got about two miles from the house when the car just quit. Praise God we were only a short distance away from our mechanic. We waited two days for the repair and then planned to leave once again on June 26^th. Well, this time we got three miles away and the car quit again for an entirely different reason. Fortunately we were only one block from our mechanic but still needed to get the car towed. Of course, this meant calling a cab unloading our car and going back home for the second time.

Then our daughter, Teresa came to the rescue and purchased airline tickets for us so we wouldn’t miss out on our first Great Grandson Christian’s dedication in Shingle Springs, Ca. So on the 30^th of June we flew to San Francisco. Then a friend of Teresa’s came all the way from Folsom to pick us up and deliver us all the way to Shingle Springs. Now that’s a good friend. Thank you Lisa.

We then stayed with our daughter, Melissa & family in Shingle Springs. We traveled and made a presentation at the Celtic Cross Church in Citrus Heights and met our dear friends John & Joy. John & Joy then lent us a vehicle for the duration of our stay, what a blessing as it now allowed us to move around and visit all our friends & family in California. John & Joy also fed us as did Steve & Melissa.

Onto Folsom to visit our other daughter Teresa and relax alongside the pool and catch up on our daughters life in the fast lane. She also fed us.

On July 13^th we attended Christian’s dedication at the Foursquare Church of Shingle Springs and also gave a missionary update to the congregation. Pastor Wells and his church have been very supportive of our work in Mexico.

Then onto Sonora, Ca. on July 17^th. to visit with Weldon & Joan who are very old friends & clients of mine when I owned a Real Estate & Property Management firm in the Bay Area and now support the work with the children in PV. They also fed us.

Then off to Plymouth, Ca. on July 18^th to meet a dear friend and old employee and a wonderful contributor to our work with the children in PV. He gave us enough money to pay for the car repairs when we return. I got to feed Earl.

Then onto Dublin, Ca. July 19^th  and stay with Pastor Benjamin & Pastor Sunhee of the Living Hope Church in Emeryville. You remember Pastor Sunhee and her mission team came to PV and put on a VBS for all the children at Pan de Vida Mission School and her group distributed bags of food to all the poorest of the poor in front of the dump. What hosts they were to us. The next day we made a presentation at their church and were able to meet with all the church team who had stayed in our home. What a great reunion. They also fed us.

Then a meeting with our sending church mission committee, First Presbyterian of Hayward/Castro Valley on July 22^nd. The meeting was a reinforcement of the work we do in PV. We also got to meet with members of our Mission Support Team.

We spent most of that week meeting with our dear friends from our old neighborhood and church. Then on to stay with the Frank Largusa family on July 25th. Frank and his wife Gretchen and all their children came with a church team from First Presbyterian two years ago and helped us build at the Mission School of Laguna del Valle.  They even gave us there master bedroom, how special is that? Wow, were we pampered once again. They also fed us.

Then we visited our dear friends Ed & Sharon in Alameda on July 26^th. You will remember them from one of my newsletters last year. They provided a half year supply of chewable vitamins for the children of Pan de Vida. And again blessed our visit with a large contribution to help repair the car. They took us to dinner & fed us.

Then on Sunday, July 27^th. we made our mission presentation to both services of our sending church. Afterwards they took us out to lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. I guess they thought we were starting to get homesick for Mexican food. Yes, we ate again.

Then onto Napa on July 29^th, to visit with friends Ted & Cathy. Boy, were we surprised. They were moving the day we arrived and I accused them of planning it for our arrival. Hehe. Well, spent that day moving and directing the workmen as they loaded the truck.  We had to make sure it was completed or we would not have a bed to sleep in that night. Well, we ended up with a bed and sore muscles but it was worth it to be able to help our good friends in need. Of course, they felt extremely guilty. As they should, hehe. So they took us out for dinner.

Well after we left Napa we returned to Shingle Springs to recuperate and think about going on a diet. Faye won’t tell me how much she gained but I gained 10 lbs. in a month and a half. There were days that our friends were trying to service us 4 to 5 meals. It’s not polite to refuse your friends & family when you haven’t seen them for a year.  When I was a Catholic I hardly ever got fed, but boy, since becoming a Protestant it is really hard to keep the weight off.

 

I also want to give a special thank you to Steve & Melissa & Courtney for sharing there home but especially to Courtney because she slept on the couch so her grandparents could have a bed. And last but not least to our granddaughter Julie who allowed us as much time as we wanted to love and bond with our first Great Grandson Christian. What a beautiful, intelligent baby.