Breaking the silence

Just noted that last blog was early May! I have composed many in my head...but there they remain in the black hole. The last thing I'd mentioned was that John was going to have shoulder surgery. Well, that is now almost 3 months behind him . He had a partial shoulder replacement, with a new ball being put in and another rotator cuff repair of the same shoulder. He says that he'd never do it again...but living with constant pain, it was the only alternative. After many weeks of physical therapy, we were released to travel from Tulsa back to Moses Lake, WA on Aug. 2!

So, besides daily trips to the gym to use the stationary bicycle, and 3 times a week with the therapist, what occupied our 3 months? Well, John's surgery was May 20, during all the tornado warnings and touchdowns in Oklahoma. Less than 2 weeks later, we closed on the condo on the Riverside bicycle trail and spend weeks making it a home. Both the realtor and the painter (her husband!) were close friends, and to their credit, we ended the 3 weeks of painting and repairs even better friends! There is nothing they don't know about us now, having spent that much time at close quarters, often from about sunup til sundown, with poor John in pain all the time! They even were gracious enough to let us move a lot of impetuously- bought furniture into their own living room while we awaited the readiness of the condo.

Having left everything we own in Moses Lake, WA, we had to start from scratch, much like our beginnings 9 years ago in Honduras! But its beginning to look like us, we've proved it works for overnighters and meals, and we're getting to know our little community there. I think its a good fit! In between all the hard work, we spent weekends with our kids, Kate, Jake, and Dan, and 5 of our 7 grandkids. Jake came by the condo several times to offer his muscles to get some of the hard things done.

I began working once weekly at Christ for Humanity, a multifaceted ministry from whom we received medical supplies during our years in Honduras. Other women from our church volunteer there, so its good fellowship as well as delightful to be working at the place thats blessed Loma de Luz so much. We are enjoying reconnecting to church friends from the past!

We left Aug. 2 to travel north for what remains of the warm weather in Moses Lake, WA. We are still planning to spend summers here, and winters in Tulsa, hoping to capitalize on the best of both places. Our 4 day drive NW was enjoyable, reminiscing about the past, planning the future, detouring thru Glacier National Park, where we spent our 10th wedding anniversary. On spur of the moment,we called a former short-term missionary friend that lives in Montana, and she was able to be flexible enough to meet us in Great Falls, and we had 4 hours of sharing together as we journeyed north to Glacier. Thank you, Kristal, for making time in your young life for us oldsters! You inspired us with your dependence in the Lord, your faithfulness in adversity, your transparency.

Glacier was very nostalgic, full of "remember when's", trying to recreate events and timelines of our past. Just the privilege of having energy and means to see the grandeur of the Lord there was humbling.

First ever "self-foto" in Glacier!

We arrived in Moses Lake with our home there beautifully groomed by our neighbors, the Kirks, for our homecoming. We only had 3 days to unpack and re-acquaint ourselves with things before leaving with the Kirks on an adventure that had been planned since winter: test-driving their new RV with a trip to Mt. Ranier. We'd never RV'ed before, as we are tent-campers and backpackers, and I'd not been to Ranier since I was about 10. Our Creator certainly outdid Himself on that one! Enjoyed evening campfires, MANY marshmallows, roasted to perfection, Ranger programs, hiking, lots of fotos. 

We're now fine-tuning John's next adventure that he began planning while bedridden from a motorscooter accident in Honduras back in February. We are meeting his Tulsa friend, Bill, in northern CA around Labor Day for John to test out his new shoulder with a week bicycle ride thru the Redwoods and down to San Francisco. It will be a leisurely trip, sightseeing and visiting, with me carrying all the gear in the car so the guys can just enjoy. What will John plan next? Stay tuned for his next adventure!

with our friends at Ranier

Note their license plate- Awesome God- and the view in front!

Hard to imagine, but John was actually sitting down!

Incredible view in Reflection Lake