Of Mice and Men

Today I think I'll do the Central-American thing and tell you that I had a birthday this last weekend. To be truly Central-American, I might have reminded you before my birthday, but this will have to do. I had a great day, thanks in no small part to my dear wife Chrissy, who is the sole reason that any of our kids will have any sweet childhood memories of any occasion whatsoever. Party? She IS a party. And this weekend was no exception. Allow me to digress.








Apparently, a parade was planned for me in Mason City, IL. It had all the trappings of the Prairie Harvest Festival, but I think that was just a ruse to get me to the celebration. We stopped at Casey's on the way, and indulged in the finest cappuchino a buck and change can buy. But what made the parade super special was that our niece Haleigh was in the running for the Prairie Harvest Princess competition. We cheered as her float tottered by, so pleased to see her among the candidates, waving politely and wishing one and all a very good morning. The entourage of antique tractors and a long line of emergency vehicles made time fly, and when we were surprised by the horses at the end of the parade, it was nigh on lunch-time. We headed for the carnival with our carry-on suitcases full of projectile candy (no-one was hurt in the distribution).








The time came for the announcement of the winner of the Prairie Harvest Princess for 2008, and Haleigh won! We cheered again, hugged one another, and pumped our fists. Time to finish lunch, enjoy a little live entertainment on the flat-bed trailer, and make our way back to the car. But the car was parked on the far side of the carnival, and so we promised one ride for each child and headed that way. Of course, Chloe and Wyatt wanted to ride different rides, so we were in a conundrum. Was Wyatt big enough to ride the Rock-O-Plane by himself? Yes, but the ride-operator preferred that he not. So we quickly purchased a few more tickets, and I rode the Rock-O-Plane for the first time in maybe 25 years. Did I mention that we had lunch? Fortunately, the only things that went flying were the unsecured jaw-breakers I had snagged when the Shriners went by in the parade. In fairness, I had ignored the clearly posted warnings and left them in my shirt pocket. Wyatt thought it was awesome, but Chloe got pretty woozy on the swings.




We might have missed the climax of the event had Chloe not gotten a bit nauseous, though. While she was catching her breath, the boys found the mouse-roulette wheel sponsored by the local MCFD. This attraction is a 6-foot diameter wooden table, with holes drilled around the circumference, corresponding to different colors. Participants put their quarters down on a color on the surrounding counters, the wheel is spun, and a mouse is released in the center. If he runs down a hole corresponding to your color, you win the number of quarters indicated by the hole. It must be a good fund-raiser, because the place was packed, and the look of the whole set-up seemed to have a few years on it. Zach won 8 quarters, Austin wound up donating a few to the MCFD, Chloe managed to regain her equilibrium, and we made our way home. We finished the evening with a 3-birthday wing-ding at Amy Lowe's house (Chrissy's sister), celebrating with Jeremy Lowe (Amy's husband) and Jeni McLaughlin (Chrissy's sister also.) So you can see it was a special day, in part because of the events associated with it, but mostly because of the special people I could be with. We have been very blessed on this furlough to be able to spend time with family, first around Joplin with much of my family, and now in Illinois with Chrissy's family.

D-Group Leader Training in Panama

It seems of course that we've been back here in the USA on furlough for a loooonnnngg time...when in fact it's only been a few months. September 15th is around the corner, and you know what that means! Independence Day for the five Central American countries, who received their independence from Spain on the same day back in 1821. Which are the five? Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. "What about Panama?" you will earnestly inquire. Panama also won their independence in 1821, but not until November 28, and they immediately decided to join Colombia. It wasn't until 1903 on November 3, however, that they broke away from Colombia, and became the Republica de Panamá which we know today. Soooo... Panama celebrates TWO Independence Days, and they kind of are, and kind of aren't part of Central America.

Speaking of Panama, that is where the next International School of Youth Ministry will be held in January, 2009. This conference/camp is in its fourth year, having rotated back and forth between Costa Rica and Panama. As I write, Roger Twitchell, with a delegation from the churches in Costa Rica, is on the road (the red Panamerican Highway in the map at right) to attend a training session near the border. It's about 7 hours from San Jose, and they'll be there through Friday and Saturday, probably coming home late Saturday night. Roger told me that they'll be staying with Eliecer Carrera, who is one of our graduates of the Institute. It sounds like they'll be sleeping on the floor, and eating at Eliecer's Aunt's restaurant! The food should be great! Another note of interest is that Eliecer will be getting married on September 20th, so if you were thinking about being at the wedding, you better look into some tickets before it's too late!