Hall Chronicle
Can it be? Late July already? I feel sort of like Rip Van Winkle. Where has the summer gone? Of course with dear old Rip, it was several summers--and winters. Now that August is creeping up on us Betty and I are daily reminded of a few things that bring us a combined sense of sadness and gladness and, as we suppose, some sense of the same for those most directly involved.
Do we ever, really, get accustomed to saying, "goodbye"? To separations from loved ones? This coming August 11, John, Nancy, Daniel, and Suzanne will return to their mission post on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. Blistering, unrelenting heat, dust, dirt, persisting poverty of a people who ask nothing more of God than rain, disease, premature death of children who are without adequate medical attention. Who would go there? Who would leave the verdant mountains of Pennsylvania and there? Only those called of God. But of course that is not entirely true. Peace Corps members go there, too. But those called of God go there to see God's redemptive purposes accomplished in the lives of those--and relatively few there are--who say "Yes" to Jesus. They go there to see a group of local believers forged into a vibrant body known as the church. But does all of this make it easier to say "goodbye" to our precious children and grandchildren? Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. We praise God for their willingness and their ability to serve God where few would stick it out for as long as they have. But are we sad? Yes, that too. Another big event is that granddaughter Erika will be going off to Cedarville University to study nursing. Granddaughter Alesha will be finishing up her summer work as a wrangler at a Christian camp and waiting on God to show her what is next. Jeremiah will be starting the 11th grade and has his sights set on going to college somewhere to study either electrical or civil engineering. Jake has worked hard this summer taking two math courses and improving his English. Dean missed out on going to Israel by just a few hours--the trip was called off, not by him, but by his company because of the war. Jason is on the verge of being returned for a second time to Iraq while his wife, Gabby, is studying nursing at Ft. Sam Houston Army Hospital. And my cousins, John and his sister Jeanne, face major surgery the 22nd of August. Jeanne will be donating a kidney to her brother John. We are much in prayer for them and their Mom, our Aunt Jeanette.
So, as I said, August is a big month with many and very varied things occurring.