Sweetest of Days

While Dave was climbing a mountain in the Rockies with Caleb, I got to be in Denver seeing some of our family.

One of the tough things we give up as missionaries is the possibility of living "every day" life with family. I can't tell you how sweet it was to call my sister-in-law, Joyce and find out that she and her daughter were going shopping that afternoon, and have her ask, "Can you come too?" SURE! Nothing more fun than being with her, my niece and mother-in-law, enjoying some summer shopping together.

When Dave returned from his climb with Caleb, he got to head out to the alley with his dad.

I don't think I ever said this in a previous post, but the family gift to dad for his 90th birthday was a brand new...wait for it...CHAINSAW! How's that for a 90th gift?!

Yes, that is dad's amazing wood pile - good for a couple years, at least, and still being added to!

Dave will probably say, "You put a picture of me on here while I was still in my climbing clothes?" And I'll say "Sure! Why not?!" His sister and our niece stopped by so they could say hello to him too.

The next morning Dave flew out for two more fundraising meetings, in Nashville, TN and Columbus, OH. The Lord is giving him such special times with the new people he's meeting with to share the vision of our event center at Malenovice.

I had the joy of being at one of our supporting church's, Dave's home church from the time he was a young boy: Bethany Evangelical Free in Littleton, CO. And it just so happened that my brother and sister-in-law were speaking that morning!

Can I brag a little?? These two have such a gift for speaking, and their message on "Stand Your Ground: Using the Sword of the Spirit to defeat the Tempter" was SO excellent, as I'm sure are their other sermons in this summer series. What a privilege to get to be there to hear them.

Dave flew back into Colorado Monday morning, and we headed up to Vail to meet some new friends for the evening before going back down to the airport where we said goodbye once again. This has been our life these past weeks: hellos and goodbyes!

With our fundraising meetings now finished, he's on his way to Ljubljana, Slovenia where he'll lead training of our newest JV country leaders.

Since he won't be home, I am staying some extra days to see a few more beloved people like Jerri, my maid of honor from nearly 30 years ago!

I visited her at Cadence International where she serves with her husband, Jay. Then she and I hopped in my car and headed down to Castle Rock to meet up with my sister-in-law for lunch, as she was coming back from a Cadence conference down in the area.

Be still my heart! These two lifelong friends are so precious to me! We sat for several hours, soaking up every minute with each other in deep, nourishing conversation. I am rich in love from these two.

THANK YOU sweetest friends for your encouragement and 'oh so good' fellowship!!

And then??

Meeting up with my girl in Colorado Springs!

Claire has been doing an internship this summer at Missionary Training International in Palmer Lake, CO, working in their children's missionary training program. I'll be down here with her for a few days, treating her to some mom love before she finishes up and heads back to Moody for one last semester.

Oh my goodness these days are the SWEETEST!!!