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April 14, 2020

34 days into quarantine but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel (we hope).  The current ending date here in South Carolina is April 30 and that has not been extended yet.  No one knows for sure but at least New York and other places seems to be reaching the top of their curve and the hospitals seem to be getting their needed supplies. 

Our time these past few weeks included some serious  knee rehab. Jerry moved fairly rapidly through using a walker, to using a cane (for a brief time), to walking on his own. There are still limits to what he can and cannot do but it appears he can get it completely straight 0 degrees and has the full bend 130 degrees. Now he just needs to strengthen the quad to where he can walk smoothly. We are able to take short walks (2-3 blocks) and hope to move that up over the next few weeks. Because of the quarantine, we have chosen to continue home health PT (physical therapy). This lessens the chance of exposure to the virus. Mary Lou comes wearing a mask and is careful about not sharing germs.  PT will end next week and she thinks that is all I will need.  I have delayed my follow up doctors visit until early May.  We have moved dental, haircuts, doctor visits, etc. to May or June. 

One major change for us:  After visiting with our son Michael, we decided to stay in Greenville, SC until June 30.  We had to maneuver a committed rental in St. Louis as well as move to another place in Greenville, in order to make it happen.  Moving from Gville to St. Louis on our planned date of April 20 would have been silly under these circumstances.  Michael's point was:  If we move to St Louis, we would still not be able to see the families like we would like to do.  We might as well stay here which is what we chose to do.  All this worked out in a matter of a few hours in one day (God really was in control).       

We have taken all the precautions:  we call, zoom, face-time when we want to visit.  We have gone over to friends homes (and once here) and sat 10 feet apart and talked.  We have zoomed family and friends which has been helpful.  In some ways, it seems much like when we are in Europe and move to a new location.  Basically, we just have each other and that is the way it is now.   Seems pretty normal except we can't go hiking, biking, etc.  

 

Brett and Alison have returned from Russia.  They are working with Covid patients in New York City at Mt.Sinai Hospital. They will probably do this until things calm down.  It is comforting to have them back in the USA during this time even though they will be exposed to the virus.  

March 19, 2020

Most importantly, our highlight in January was watching granddaughter Alexandra perform in her first musical, Peter Pan.  She was truly in her element.  She never complained about long practices and numerous rehearsals. Her role as "little brave girl" was a fabulous start and now she plans on many more.  

Who would have thought?  We are in day 7 of  the national quarantine.  Coincidentally this coincides with the day of Jerry's knee replacement surgery so it will always be easy to keep track of the two (March 12, 2020).  We are enjoying our house in Greenville, SC and due to some schedule changes, we will stay here until April 19. We have a contract for a short term rental in St. Louis for the spring and part of the summer.

The Knee:  Finally, the surgery is behind us and we are moving forward.  I know that this has been a topic of conversation for a long time and even we are getting tired of talking about it.  There was some question about doing it even up to one month before.  It seemed that the knee was doing better and we might go on without it but due to a couple of consultations with experts and listening to friends and family, we decided to go ahead.  After the surgery the doctor confirmed that it was "overdue" so that made Jerry feel better.   Not as much pain as everyone had indicated so there have been no sleepless nights. We have tapered   off the oxycodone  to only at night.  He can straighten it to within 6 degrees and they think through therapy we can get full extension, That's what Jerry has not had since the ACL surgery 25 years ago.  At this point, we have had home health come in to do therapy and once that ends we will see what they recommend. The zipper stitches come out this Monday.  Things are moving along nicely. 

The Cruise:   Wow, did we ever time that right!    Things were just turning crazy by the time the cruise was over and we were relieved that they let us debark without incident.  We sooooooo enjoyed our time together.  If you know Saxtons, Fithians and Malones at all, you can imagine the stories and memories that were shared. Of course, the food was excellent so we had to make sure we didn't overdo it! We loved out Puerto Vallarta whale/snorkeling trip.  We saw over 40 whales and many were up close and personal humpbacks with their young.  It was nothing short of amazing!! The snorkeling was okay, we have had better.  Nancy met a sea urchin and she doesn't want to do that again.  We took a local bus into downtown PV, that was a 3rd world experience.  We enjoyed the boardwalk (malecon) and the ambiance of a Mexican village.  We loved watching the "Pole flyers" the Flying bird-men of Papantla.  It is considered the most ancient ritual dance in all of Mexico.  We all agreed that Mazatlan was our favorite.  We walked into the old city, enjoyed a coffee at a local restaurant, viewed a beautiful cathedral, walked through the local market, and on our way to the beach, we met an expat who wanted to show us her house just up the street. We had helped her by carrying her groceries.  That was a really special experience and beautiful to see.  We enjoyed a wonderful shrimp dish along the oceanfront, walked up to where the divers jumped off the rocks and made it back in time to head to Cabo San Lucas. The next morning we boated in and hired a guy to take us to the end of the baja coast of California. It was spectacular.  After a coffee we boarded our ship and enjoying watching our ship leave for San Diego.  Once we arrived in SD, we found our airbnb, enjoyed a nice sightseeing trip around the city on the tour bus and ended the day with dinner and great conversation in old town.  We tried the bus trip because we were able to see most everything including Old Town, Balboa Park, Coronado Island, the Gas Light District and the Italian district.  We parted the next day by sending Saxtons and Fithians to the airport for their flight and we stayed a few more hours walking the waterfront.  Little did we realize what the next week would look like! 

 

Back in Greenville, SC:  We are so glad we spent time with a lot of friends before we left for the cruise because socializing is out of the question now.  We enjoyed living our normal life in Greenville with hiking, dinner with friends, serving Homes of Hope, spending time with the Neelys and our Haynie Sirrine Neighbors.  Just before the surgery, we had our good friends Greg and Lucia Delamarter spend two nights with us.  We showed them downtown Greenville and did a waterfall hike with lunch in Brevard, NC. 

January 29, 2020

 On Dec. 31, 2019, we packed up our belongings and headed to Greenville, SC. We had a nice house waiting for us.  The owners moved to Florida for a teaching job and are keeping this house for retirement.  They took all the furniture except for the living/dining room area and one bedroom/bath.  It is more than enough space for us but it feels kind of funny to have four vacant rooms.  We closed off the two rooms with doors.  Anyway, we have hosted friends and it's very comfortable.  We only have two chairs for the table and so if we have company to eat or play games, we need them to BYOC.  :)

Nancy has settled in to serving two days per week at Home of Hope and she picks up the Neely twins from school every Tuesday and Thursday which gives Lindsay a break because of the new baby.  Jerry has offered his services to the NCCAA and also helps with traffic control at our church.  Things have slowed down here in Greenville and that is fine with us as we love having time for friends old and new.  Our next door neighbor invited us over for a meal and so we are excited to get to know them.  We have enjoyed settling back into church at Downtown Pres.  They are starting a major building project and so we have started meeting at another church building on the west side of town.  We also have joined a community group near us where our good friends Mike and Bev Swart lead.  They were leaders of our very first community group in 2008 and so it is always fun to reconnect with them.  

We made a quick trip back to St. Louis to watch Alex (youngest granddaughter) perform in her first stage performance "Peter Pan Junior".  She was the Little Brave girl. In March she will be a Munchkin and a member of the Lollipop Guild in Wizard of Oz.  She loves performing and was sad when Peter Pan was over.  There are weeks of very demanding practices and she looks forward to each one with gusto.  She certainly is in her element.  Now  some of the other grandkids are becoming interested in doing the same.  We took all five of them to a new place in St. Louis:  The Magic House, MADE for Kids.  They really had a great time and we enjoyed Chinese buffet (a first for some of them) and they loved it!!  On our way back to Greenville, we found a nice/cheap hotel about half way and will probably use it again.  

Last week we enjoyed a trip to Anderson, SC to visit Channing and Kelley Chrisler, Central College students in the 1990's.  There 5 kids quite athletic and we so enjoyed meeting 4 of them! 

 

We also plan to get down to see our long time friends Randy and Kathy Hibbard in Charleston and also connect with Mike and Becky Chambers. Blessings to all of you. 

December 27, 2019

We want to wish any who take time to read this a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year. May you and your family be BLESSED beyond all measure with the presence of our Lord and Messiah.

As always, the pace picks up when we hit the ground in the USA.  We spent a wonderful week with the two families in St. Louis, got to reconnect with the grandkids, spend time with the adult parents, attend a music concert which included Will and Yuri.  We then drove to Greenville, SC to spend time with friends, eat out together, laugh, see the new babies, attend a wedding, see dentists and doctors, attend church.  So much has happened and we really realized how quickly a city can change and build.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the Tates (I think this was our third one) and Terry's three sisters and Keith's mom.   It always seems like we are with family anytime we spend with them.  Patty and George Bynum were so generous letting us stay with them and we loved the late night discussions on many topics (particularly travel).  We had just spend 5 days with Patty in Croatia 3 weeks earlier. 

On our way back to St. Louis, we decided to break up the trip by staying in Nashville and check out the Grand Ole Opry in the original Ryman Auditorium. it was much more than we both anticipated and we loved walking in the rain downtown and listening to all the music.  Neither of us are country music fans but we DO enjoy music and it was exciting.  Nashville is definitely unique and we will have to go back and do that again. 

We settled into our airbnb near Tower Grove Park for the month of December. We do love this one. It's a perfect location, affordable, and spacious with a large common space with high ceilings. Jerry made a quick flight to Tampa for a board meeting with a new group called Impact Europe.  This Board will be exploring ways to bring the gospel to Europe by supporting "European natives" in ministry.  It is exciting because we have traveled and served missionaries who will be a part of this endeavor.

Nancy could not attend because she had planned a weekend with her sisters and niece in San Antonio, TX.  They try to always get together once per year.  It is one of the highlights of her life.  They laugh, talk, eat, drink, attend concerts, do walking tours, etc. and just enjoy each others company and it helps them stay connected

November 19, 2019

Saying "goodbye" is always hard when we have worked closely with a few people for 3 months.  Bulgaria is no different in that regard and with tears, we said goodbye.  We had last dinners, last lunches, last coffees, etc. It was sad but glorious to share with our fellow followers of Christ. 

A day long bus trip brought us to Zagreb, Croatia where we met up with our friend Patty Bynum to spend 5 wonderful days in Croatia.  We traveled to Rovinj on the coast, spent time at a winery near Motovun, visited the heart of truffle country in Livade, and enjoyed the free tour of Zagreb.  The highlight and best part of Croatia was the day we spent walking through Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the top 20 National Parks in the world!  Sixteen lakes with waterfalls galore.  We all agreed it was one of the most unique experiences that we ever had.  There is nothing we have seen that is quite like it.  

After seeing Patty off to the States, we enjoyed a short visit in Zagreb with a former Central College student, Goran Medved.  It was great to get caught up in regard to his ministry there in Croatia.  He is a man after God's own heart and is doing great Kingdom work.  

We then caught the bus to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.  These countries are a bus culture as opposed to a train culture.  We loved Slovenia.  The capital is a great walking city with a vibrant tourist trade.  We then spent two wonderful days in Bled which is one of the prettiest mountain lake areas we have experienced.  Even though it rained, we were able to hike and enjoy the Julian Alps.  Slovenia might be our new favorite country!   We then took the bus and train to one of the great cities of the world, Venice.  We experienced the high tide of November when we got up one morning and water had filled St. Mark's Square.  We had to walk on raised platforms until the tide went out.  We loved Venice.  We loved the water as well as the great walking streets.  It is a lovely, romantic city.  If Global Warming is true, then this city will soon be flooded and destroyed.  After we left the November high tide was 5 feet deep throughout 80% of the city.  At this continues, Venice will be under water which is sad.  We are glad to have seen it while it is still vibrant. 

Our next stop was Florence to see three things:  The Statue of David by Michelangelo, the Uffizi Art Museum and the Duomo (Cathedral).  We experienced one of the most unique dinners there where they made their own pasta (in the front window).  It was worth it.  Nancy had pasta with truffles.  Since Croatia, truffles have become our new favorite food flavor.  

We then took the train to one of our most anticipated places:  Cinque Terre, Italy.  We stayed in the town of Vernazza and from there hiked to the other towns across the trails that were open and then took the train to the other two.  Again, this National Park is a top 20 park and it was fabulous.  We definitely will want to return.  

On our way to Siena, Italy, we stopped off to catch a glimpse of the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa.  We were impressed by its beauty.  Experts say that it is slowly moving into an upright position and they cannot explain why.  Of course, these are fractions of inches per year.  

We then arrived in the middle of Tuscany at the small city of Siena.  Our highlight here was a scheduled all day tour of the countryside with a visit to three wineries and lunch in a farmhouse at one of the locations.  It was a dream fulfilled and we enjoyed it immensely.  

It was then a quick trip to Rome to catch our home bound flight. Of course, we had to see Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps one last time. Our first leg was via Rome to Lisbon where we spent a 23 hour overnight. We arrived at 1:30 p.m. and we took the Rick Steves walking tour and found a small place where we enjoyed the cultural experience of their local Fado music.  We liked Lisbon and hope to return again and see the rest of Portugal.  The next day, we took out 9 hour trip to Chicago and then on to St. Louis where we were met by our families and the grandkids!  We are so excited to be back with our friends and families but we feel like we have two home:  Europe and the USA.  

October 21, 2019

What a busy time it has been in Bulgaria!  Hosting people in our apartment has filled much of our time these last few weeks. We have found this to be a joy as we have met some amazing people who have come to work with the St. John Foundation in Kyustendil.  

David Carr and Alan Dickinson came for a few days to meet with the Foundation staff for leadership training.  David serves as a Free Methodist leader from the UK of which the work here is affiliated.  

John Donnelly, the Pastor of the church that sent the four Scottish guys who were here earlier, was an inspiration.  He loves Jesus and was a very affirming person to be around.  We would love to travel to Scotland to visit his church. Victoria Murdoch-Jeffs  and husband Graham from Colorado Springs, CO came to take the Foundation staff through her Core Purpose program.  We thought we would sit in on the first session and we ended up sitting through all 5 days and learned so much.  We enjoyed their friendship and fellowship at the apartment and hope to meet up with them again.  We then hosted 3 wonderful people from Germany who came to help pray for the work here and also help train pastors.  We traveled 2 days to Serbia to kick off 9 new church plants.  It was a great trip and we enjoyed walking around the city of Nis (pronounced Nish) which was the hometown of the Roman Emperor Constantine.  We then traveled to Sofia to see Dee Dee off to the UK for a Set Free seminar with Kevin Austin.  We also got to meet up and have dinner with an early Kansas friend Ed Murray.  Ed and Coralee have spent their lives serving with Cru in Hungary and surrounding countries.  Sometimes he spends time at the office in Sofia and we got a tour.  It has been 20 years since we saw Ed back in McPherson, KS. Chance left for the UK for a pastors conference so we had a teary goodbye because we will leave Bulgaria before he and Dee Dee return.  They have been so wonderful to us and we have enjoyed seeing their ministry through their eyes.  Great leaders!

Brett and Alison were able to come to see us for 5 days.  What a wonderful time!  We took them to church with us and we also spent a day at Rila Monastery.  We hiked the 7 lakes of Rila Mountain and it was glorious!  We enjoyed evening conversations along with the excursions. It was a very special time. We were so blessed to get to see them twice while we were in Europe this time.  That has really helped with homesickness for us.   This last weekend,  found us in Skopje, North Macedonia and briefly crossing the border into Kosovo.  Skopje is a small, beautiful city.  It is very unusual because 70% was destroyed by an earthquake in 1963.  They have rebuilt with new buildings that look old.  We enjoyed traveling up to the top of Vodno Mountain to view the city and also took a trip over the Matka Canyon which was glorious.  The city was easy to walk around in and as always,  we found a couple great traditional restaurants as well as a rather good Mexican place right in front of our hotel.

We spent today sorting clothes that we no longer wish to wear or are old and worn out.  We tossed some and will let some here for the Roma families.  This will allow us to get rid of one of our broken suitcases and a worn out backpack.  It should make traveling home easier and cheaper.

Last night it was our joy to take out our Bulgarian Pastor Stanimir and his wife Borislava along with their 3 children to say goodbye and also as our gift to them.  We try to do this each place we go.  We have enjoyed their friendship so much and we will miss them. 

September 25, 2019

We are now exploring other parts of Bulgaria.  We went to Plovdiv yesterday to visit the most historical city in the country.  It is 8000 years old and is viewed as the oldest, continuously "lived in" city in the world.  Jericho might rival it for the world's oldest continuously inhabited city.  Some of the earliest people were the Thracians but also Romans lived here as well as Turks (Ottoman period), etc.  There are ruins build upon ruins.  The most spectacular are the Roman.   Probably the best we have seen outside of Rome.  

Today we enjoyed visiting a Thracian king tomb and temple.  These were built in the Thracian plain in the middle of the country and are very impressive.  The dates are 500 BC.   It's really fun to see some of the early history in this part of the world.  

We are also enjoying one night at a wonderful Spa and Winery called Starosel.  They received help from the European Union to build and it is in the middle of nowhere!   You should have seen the road to get here but once we drove in it would rival anything at Hilton Head, SC.!!  

September 17, 2019

Wow....almost a month since our last post.  We have been so busy that we just now have the time to sit down and write.  

We have hosted some wonderful people in our apartment who have come to Kyustendil, Bulgaria to serve.  There are 3 bedrooms which will sleep 7 people, a "one butt" kitchen, and nice dining space, a small living room, and one bathroom.  Our first group were four great guys (Phil, Craig, John, David)  from a church in Scotland that came to work on the girls home.  We enjoyed getting to know them and hear their stories about God's saving grace in their lives.  We hope to travel to Scotland to see them on our next trip over the pond.  They were hard workers and funny guys.  They obviously loved Nancy and teased Jerry.  We laughed a lot with them and they were missed when they were gone.  One thing they loved after a hot day at work:  THE SPA!   Since they see the sun so infrequently in Scotland, they loved lounging beside the pool soaking in the rays.  

Shortly after their stay, we hosted two wonderful women from Rochester, NY Edgewood FM church.  Carol and Daria were a great twosome!  We enjoyed showing them a number if sites, including a day trip to Rila Monastery.  This was our second trip to Rila but we love it so much, we would go anytime.  It is high in the mountains where it's cool as well as beautiful.  We enjoyed the tour guide that showed us a monk's room as well as gifts that pilgrims had given to the monastery over the years. We hiked up to St. Ivan Rilski cave where he spent his first 8 years.  He then came down a few kilometers to build the monastery that we see today which is fabulous.  The people call it the Bulgaria Jerusalem and is visited by the Orthodox people frequently. 

The dedication of the St. Johns Girls Home on Sept. 7 was great.   We had nearly 50 people here to witness this miracle in the making.  We scrambled those last few days, painting, cleaning, etc. to get it ready.  It was not completely done but enough for the dedication.  We are still working to get it completed and hopefully will be able to open it sometime in the next few months.  

It was great to spend time with Josh Fajardo who was here from Spain. We spent 3 months with him and his team near Madrid.  We also got to meet and visit with a number of other European missionaries who we might serve with and so it was good for future contacts.  We enjoyed getting to know Kevin Austin who started the Set Free Movement (see what we have learned for more info). 

As soon as we said goodbye by making a few airport deliveries, we answered a call from Mike and Maria Long to spend the weekend in Thessaloniki helping with a Refugee Camp.  This is the third one this year where we took care of the kids so the parents could learn about Jesus.  It was a busy ending to a very busy 30 days, but we loved serving while the missionaries were able to minister.  We enjoyed spending time with John and Samia during our brief stay in Greece.  We had a glorious worship day on Sunday, when two refugees from Morocco were baptised.  We are resting today but we look forward to spending time with the Conference Superintendent from the FM church in the UK:  David Carr.  Also, pastor John from the Scotland church that our four new friends attended will be here next week.  It will be great to meet him. 

 

Well....that's a wrap.   busy, busy, busy but now we will have more time to see some other things in the Balkan region and we look forward to exploring. 

August 16, 2019

Almost exactly one month since our last update and much has happened.  We had a week of Good News Camp in Tur'an, Israel and then moved on to Bulgaria for a few days on the beach and then sightseeing in Sophia before arriving in Kyustendil to work with a team from Roberts Wesleyan University.

Good News Camp was an adventure. It's been awhile since Nancy has worked a summer church program and Jerry has never had that privilege. Nancy worked with 7/8 year olds and Jerry was the "gofer" and picture taker.  We had a group of six wonderful women from Taiwan help with the camp.  We had about 60 campers of ages 4-16.  These were tiring days but we enjoyed the ministry aspect of the camp plus getting to work with some wonderful young people from the  Tur'an church. We both realized we might have some energy limitations, especially working with active kids.  Anyway, it was a good finish to our time in Israel. We had a great farewell dinner with the Ziad, Randa, Matta, Moriah and intern Michael. We will really miss them.  They have become good friends.   The ladies from Taiwan opened the door for us to come serve in Taiwan and so we have penciled this into our future plans.  

We scheduled some down time in a place called Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.  We just spent time laying on the beach, lounging and reading beside the pool, and had a Turkish Spa day. Located along the Black Sea, Sunny Beach was packed with Eastern European vacationers.  We enjoyed the all inclusive resort as we didn't have to think about where or what to eat.  It was very relaxing and a much needed break

We then flew to Sofia to spend a couple of days in the Bulgarian capital.  We took four walking tours with Sophia Free Walking Tours (an excellent company) that helped orient us to the city as well as the country. See the last column for what we learned. Rossan, a Bulgarian member of the team here, picked us up in Sofia, bringing us to our apartment above Jill and David Sweet's place.  They recently adopted one year old twin boys that keep them busy and are so cute! We are serving them as well as Chance and Dee Dee Galloway and other team members we meet along the way. A group of 11 from Roberts Wesleyan University had recently arrived, so we followed them around for our first week.  Seeing six Roma (gypsy) churches in the area kept us on the go.  We finished the time with the team by traveling with them to Thessaloniki, Greece to catch their flight home.  So how about this God moment -- The missionary team is short handed right now because of the adoption as well as Dee Dee being in the US as a result of an unplanned surgery.  They needed someone to take the RWU team to Greece and we had been there last year so it was a natural for us to go.  We only had 3 days left in the Schengen countries and that is exactly the number of days we were needed in Greece (a Schengen country).  It worked perfectly  (God did it).  By the way, we loved being back in Thessaloniki.  We also spent time in Philippi and Lydia's baptism site on our way to Greece. It was a blessing to us all as one of the RWU women asked to be baptized at Lydia's site. We are glad to serve and be available these first 10 days.  We have not had much of a chance to get to know the city and the area, but we are blessed by having Al Mellinger's car while they are in the US. It is used for team transport as well as sightseeing. God is good to us even when we don't deserve it. 

July 15, 2019

 We are back in Tur'an after a quick trip to Jordan to see Petra,  a UNESCO world heritage site since 1985 and since 2007 named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. From Nazareth to Amman, Jordan we took a bus which runs 3 days a week.  The border crossing between Israel and Jordan is a 2 hour ordeal as they check everything.  There is a visa required for US citizens to get into Jordan and at our Jordan River crossing we  could have purchased the visa.  However, we found the tourist Jordan Pass which included the visa, 2 day entry into Petra, and other amenities.  The only rule was that you had to stay in Jordan 3 days which worked for us so that's what we used.  We arrived in Amman, checked into our hotel and then took a taxi to The Citadel which is a hilltop in the old original downtown  featuring  the ruins of Roman, Ottoman, Muslim.  It was really pretty impressive, but otherwise Amman does not have a lot to see and is difficult to navigate. The next morning we boarded the JET bus for our 4-5 hour trip to Wadi Musa and Petra.  We were surprised to find the little village outside Petra thriving and welcoming.  We hurriedly moved into our nearby hotel, grabbed a fallafel sandwich, filled up with water, and took off.  As we walked through the Siq to get to the Indiana Jones site of the Treasury we were assailed by little Bedouin boys who wanted to sell us post cards. They had their English phrases down, but don't try and ask them a question.  We found that the best way to get rid of them was to say La shoekron (Arabic for no thank you) rather than English NO. 

Rounding the corner and seeing the Nabataean Al Khazneh (The Treasury) of Indiana Jones fame....it was awesome!   These structures were burial sites and HUGE, taking  years to build.  The thing that impressed us was how large the ruined city was, thriving right there in the middle of a very dry place.  Petra was the crossroads of trade until the Romans began to use the water routes to Rome. Because of its location in the desert, the Nabataean constructed elaborate water systems to conserve and collect every drop of water. There are Roman ruins, early Christian church ruins, great temples, and many huge burial sites like the Treasury and The Monastery.  We put in 20,000 steps (7 miles) the first day and then 33,000 steps (12.3 miles) the second day, a walking record for us.  We hiked all the way up to The Monastery which was even a more dramatic tomb than The Treasury. 

At the end of both days, we so appreciated our hotel just a short distance from the entrance. We enjoyed swimming on the roof and being able to relax and chill in the evening, watching the sunset over the mountains surrounding the city.  The final evening, we went to the night show at Petra where we saw the beautiful Treasury and listened to Bedouin music by candle light.  The Bedouin's still live in some of the caves of Petra and make a living serving the tourists. A sad thing we learned was that parents will not let their children attend school because they want and need them to sell items to the tourists. 

Leaving Petra turned out to be more of an adventure than we planned. We had made a mistake in regard to bus scheduling, so we had to take a local bus, no air conditioning, riding with locals, across the desert, 4-5 hours back to Amman.  Thank the Lord for a hotel desk clerk who was an English teacher and could help us make arrangements. Arriving at our Amman hotel, we were hot, tired, and ready for some more familiar culture and comfort so we walked to a nearby modern mall and ate hamburgers which made us feel better.  :)  They next day we reversed out trip back to Nazareth with our 2 hour layover at the border.  All in all.....Petra was worth it.            

July 4, 2019

Independence Day in the USA , but not here Israel :-).  Happy 4th of July to all our USA friends!!  Shoot off some fireworks for us, the only ones we see here are for weddings. We just packed this last month with many new opportunities and sights. Hopefully the review of June will be as interesting to you as it has been for us.

Before leaving Israel for June adventures, we were invited to spend one day with a group of Palestinian Baptist church members from the Galilee area.  We had an expert Christian Palestinian guide who shared information on the Jesus sights in and around Tabgha and Capernaum. Tradition holds it to be true that the rock where Jesus laid the food to cook fish for the disciples after the resurrection is on the Sea of Galilee next to old stone steps.  We also saw the location where he laid the loaves and fishes by tradition for feeding the multitudes.  We sat in an out of the way cave where Jesus could have easily spent time teaching the twelve. Just outside the cave is a natural amphitheater where he most likely would have preached the sermon on the mount, rather than on the top of the hill where most people go.  We finished the day at Capernaum seeing Peter's mother-in-law's house and the remains of one of the earliest churches.  The guide was a wealth of information.  We had toured these sites ourselves but we learned so much more this time.  

One of our objectives while in Israel was to connect with Brett and Alison in Georgia (the country) to spend some time with them. We flew into the capital Tbilisi and were pleasantly surprised.  The city itself is quickly becoming  a popular tourist spot for Europeans. The living expenses are reasonable, so we had ten days of inexpensive living.  It was great to see B&A and get caught up on their lives and work. Seeing some family helps us handle being away from our other family members.  B&A are doing well with Russian language studies and now are just waiting to see about getting an invitation for a work visa.  During the waiting period they are sharpening medical skills working in a neighboring country at a medical clinic. While with the kids, we walked and discovered many historical places. One afternoon we took a food tour, which all 4 of us agreed was worthwhile and actually quite relaxing. We're thinking food tours are one way to learn about a city early in one's visit. We were impressed with the country of Georgia. The Caucasus mountains are fantastic with many peaks in the 16,000 foot range!  We took a two day trip into the mountains to a little village called Stepantsminda in Kazbegi National Park.  We hiked both days up to the historical Gergeti Sameba Church and were rewarded with spectacular views. Returning to Tiblisi, we explored the city finding some wonderful places to eat with live music and even saw a very political puppet show. Here are some of our favorite Georgian foods if you ever have a chance to try them out:  Khachapuri, bread with cheese and sometime an egg in the middle; Khinkila pronounced hinkley which were like dumplings, only better;  Churchkhela which were sweets on a string made from grapes and many times had nuts in them.  Georgians do love their meat and potato dishes.  

Leaving Georgia, we headed to Istanbul. We stayed in a lovely boutique style hotel with breakfast. Booking.com was spot on with the Basileus Hotel.  We were within walking distance of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. Friendly young men will give you a free tour of these monuments, but then they will take you to their rug store and you sit through a sales pitch.  Two hours later we got out of there without a rug thanks to Jerry's endurance. We found a favorite restaurant near our hotel and ate a variety of dishes there several times. Our favorite activity was a 5 hour dinner and boat ride down the Bosphorus to the Black Sea and return.  We had beautiful weather and were very comfortable the whole time.

 

Back in Israel, we are resting up and getting ready for some guests to arrive at the apartment.  We are staying in our pastor's house while they are in England and will move back after the guests leave.  We spent yesterday cleaning up the apartment with Michael, the guesthouse host. Part of our service here is helping Michael when he needs us. We just spent this morning having breakfast and coffee with Ziad's parents who live below us.  He invited over some other relatives that live in their family compound. it was a lovely, lively time. We love to learn about the culture and nothing does it better than spending time in their homes.  Tonight we will work with the youth distributing flyers for the July church summer camp for children. We will surely make some new friends! 

June 5, 2019

 What a surprise to open this page and see we had not posted anything since the end of April! So it is time to catch up and chronicle our final three weeks of May in Spain, one week in Rome and our first week in Israel!  Whew, a busy traveling month and lots of things happening.  Early in May we welcomed our Greenville, SC Seawright Street friends, John and LIsa Sherard and Becky Warth.  It is so fun to connect with stateside friends while in another part of the world. We took in Flamenco in Madrid,  history in the old city of Toledo, the beach and the amazing La Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, and paella in Valencia.  It was great to reconnect as we saw new sights and shared good food and wine, while enjoying the company of three fun people.  We bid them goodbye in Valencia as they took the train back to Madrid to catch an early flight home. We stayed in Valencia to spend 3 days with our friends Paco and Isabelle Martinez (and Hugo and Marta).  We got to experience a "first communion" ceremony of Marta's classmates, enjoyed good food and were able to take a first springtime dip in their pool.  It was very relaxing and we enjoyed great conversation.  They are a special family and we love them a lot.   

After taking the fast train back to Madrid, we settled in to finish our time in Spain. We spent an afternoon with Jose and Ada in their lovely city of Arganda.  Joshua and Susy drove us to a couple of historical neighboring villages, Chinchon and Colmenar de Oreja,  where we enjoyed walking and, of course, eating. We will miss our Spanish colleagues. They have become wonderful friends in a short time.  We also cooked dinner a couple of times for Peter (our host), Kenneth, Sarah, and others.  There is something special about sharing a meal with friends.  The final week we took the train out to the walled city of Avila.  It was our final destination that we wanted to see before we left Spain.  We grew to love Spain and the people.  Their ministry and work will always be in our prayers.  We hope to see them again soon.

We packed up all our belongings and on our way to Israel, we stopped off in Rome.  This was Nancy's first trip to Italy, so we needed to see all the sights. The Coliseum, Pantheon, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, the Forum, Trevi Fountain were all checked off our list.  The most important event in Rome, eating many types of pasta and enjoying tarimasu and cannoli was also checkedoff. We found one restaurant that our airbnb host recommended that was close, fair price, popular with the locals, and good food.  It was so good we ate their four times.  Why go somewhere else when you find a good one, just go back (is our motto).  We enjoyed an e-bike tour around the city one evening with an excellent guide. He took our tour over to Trastevere where we enjoyed an unique aperitif stop. When we return to the states for good an e-bike may be our next investment!  We also loved the three walking tours by Rick Steves through the major sites of Rome, the Jewish quarter, and Trastevere.  We highly recommend these.  Rick's and Lisa's voices on these audio downloads have become a welcomed, familiar sound when in a new city.  We feel like we are old friends getting together again (Rick & Lisa, Jerry & Nancy)  :)   In many ways, Rome seemed as romantic as Paris and we definitely enjoyed our time.  We hope to finish our time in Europe (November) by hitting the northern part of Italy before flying home.  

We wanted to get to Israel while the Central Christian College of Kansas class was still there.  Jerry & Carol Fithian, Dave & Linda Ferrell, Larry & Ann Anderson, Jamie Sparks, Lynn & Helen Carlson, and Barry McKeown were all participating in the trip.  They were finishing up a three week travel-study with Jerusalem University College (Institute of Holy Land Studies).  Their final 3 days were free in Jerusalem, so we flew in the day before, got settled in our airbnb and just enjoyed their company. It was another one of those surreal experiences where you see good friends in a totally, unlikely location in the world.  This keeps happening enough that we are sorta expecting it.  We walked the city streets and took them to the Holy Sepulchre early one morning so they would not have to stand in line, to the Upper Room, David's Tomb, Oscar Schindler's grave (the movie..."Schindlers List"), and the Garden Tomb.  We just enjoyed good food and fellowship, it was sad to say goodbye.  We headed to our village up north in the Galilee (Tur'an). 

 

We were welcomed by Michael Detana an intern with Ziad and the church for one year.  We loved hearing his unusual faith story and his calling to serve in Israel.  We enjoyed reconnecting with local friends who remembered us and we are acclimating very fast.  Ramadan is over and so we are enjoying the sight and sounds of the 3 days of Eid ul Fitr. 

April 28, 2019

We gave been busy checking things off our bucket list:  We took a tour of Real Madrid Football Club (Soccer) Stadium:  Santiago Bernabeu.  It was very impressive....one of the top clubs and stadiums in the world.   The other famous Spanish club of course is Barcelona FC which we have only seen from the outside on a rainy day one year ago.  

By everyone's recommendation, we traveled on a day trip to San Lorenzo de El Escorial as well as the Valley of the Fallen.  Located in the mountains, El Escorial was a monestary combined with a Palace for the King of Spain.  It is a beautiful town NW of Madrid with a huge, impressive building, the largest granite building in the world.  This was the location where most of the Kings and Queens of Spain are buried and one of several palaces used by them during their reigns.  We then took a bus outside of town to see Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco's Valley of the Fallen Basilica.  It has the tallest memorial cross in the world (500 feet tall) which can be seen from miles away.  A huge facility, the church was carved inside a mountain.  Over 40,000 persons killed (from both sides) during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) are buried in the valley and all the names or listed inside a vault.  

We decided one day to explore a hilltop trail near our house. We thought it was a loop trail of about 3 miles and it turned out that we walked 7 miles. The trail eventually ended up near our place, but we gave up early and caught a bus to the Mall for food/drinks. It was funny to feel like you are in the country but end up only being 1/2 a block from a bus stop.

Last year we enjoyed an Orthodox Easter in Thessaloniki, Greece and this year we got to experience a Spanish Catholic Easter with processions and pageants.  With our local friends the Fajardos and Hernandezs, we  went to a nearby small town to a pageant with 10 stations depicting the final few days before the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  It lasted three hours and we walked from one station to the next around the village with more than 5,000 other people.  On that Saturday we went into Madrid with Ada and watched a procession with 10,000 others. It was quite unique and impressive.

Last week we set out for southern Spain to visit Ed and Jamie Bynum who are Greenville Downtown Pres friends serving in Granada.  We had to schedule around when we could get tickets for the Alhambra (one of the most well preserved and impressive castles/fortresses in the world).  Word to the wise:  they limit the number of tourists each day and so you must book your tickets 2-3 months in advance.  We got lucky but we had to pay for it.  We enjoyed a great pizza lunch and visit with Bynums' and their 3 precious kids as we battled the rain to visit this great city.  We saw the crypts of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand who are the only royalty to not be buried in Madrid or El Escorial.  The Alhambra has much of the Moors influence in 3 of its 7 palaces, 4 of which are no longer standing.  The color and design was incredible.  Moslems do not believe in drawing or designing pictures with humans or animals because they believe that only God creates images.  Therefore they focus on geometric patterns for their art work and it is spectacular in the Alhambra. 

We then took a bus over the mountains and through the olive country.  Spain produces 80% of the world's olive oil.  After a beautiful drive, we arrived in Cordoba to visit a very unique  The next morning we visited a very amazing and unique Mosque/Cathedral. 

After three days in the rain, we loved the sunshine in Seville.  There we saw the largest Gothic cathedral in the world (3rd largest Christian cathedral in the world).  In about a month we will see the largest in Rome (St. Peter's-The Vatican).  We saw #2 in London (St. Paul's) and #4 in Toledo, Spain.  Our highlight in Seville was a night at the Flamenco Museum and a Flamenco show.  It was riveting.  Seville was a lovely town but after averaging 17,000 steps per day (approx. 7 miles) for five days, we were ready to take the fast train home and rest.

Yesterday we heard about a huge market, El Rastro, in downtown Madrid that is only open on Sunday, so off we went.  We normally don't buy anything but Nancy needed an upgrade on sunglasses and Jerry needed a new summer hat.....so....we broke down and spent 15 Euros.   Of course, we had to have something from the sweet shop and coffee.  

 

This morning Jerry helped drive the Greenville students to the airport to catch their flight home.  We will miss them, especially Erin and Shirley who stayed at our house.  Yesterday we had a going away "grill out" with Josh the master griller.  The burgers were great.  One always needs a good burger every once in a while.   

April 5, 2019 

After 2 weeks of about 40 hours of work each week, we have helped complete the Mosaico Cultural Center in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain. (https://welovespain.net/)  We had steady, long days but it was well worth it.  We painted, painted, painted!  Guess all those months of summer painting have  proved useful during our retirement travels. Not only were we able to help complete a valuable project, but this early involvement with folks here in Spain has helped us become involved quickly in people's lives and service.  

After our work weeks, we set off to Salamanca for a "much needed break" to tour and visit Dan and Caitlin Dillard. Dan and his wife of 2 years are presently serving with a campus ministry called En Vivo at the University of Salamanca.  We stayed in a former convent that had been renovated into a hotel.  It was lovely. The old village of Salamanca is dominated by the University which was founded in 1134 and given a Royal Charter in 1218.  We visited the oldest building in the university to see the classrooms and original library with some of the original books still in place, 800 years old! As is our pattern in old places, we enjoyed climbing the stairs of the cathedral to view the city from above, had coffee on the Plaza Mayor and just walked the narrow streets packed with students. We spent Thursday evening attending an En Vivo open mic outreach event.  We enjoyed our final evening with Dan and Caitlin on the Roman bridge watching the sunset with wine, cheese, and meat, a very Spanish thing to do. The next morning we set off on the fast train for a day in Segovia.  We loved Segovia with their huge Roman aqua-duct (one of the best preserved in the world) and the Alcazar Palace.  Everything was spectacular!  We returned home tired (averaged 16,000 steps per day) but satisfied.  Other tourist trips for us have included The Prado Art Museum, seeing art by Reuben, Valazquez, Ribera, Goya, El Greco, Raphael and Rembrandt.  Yesterday, we went with Jose, Carlos and the Greenville University (IL) students to Toledo.  Our second time to Toledo found us walking the narrow streets without a map to see areas of the city that were new to us.  We also went back into the Cathedral which is spectacular!  We explored a little Manchego cheese history at the Museo Del Queso Manchego, purchased the famous marzipan sweets and then headed home. What a great day!   

Now we are resting on a rainy, chilly day in Spain. 

 

March 13, 2019

We are waiting to watch the Barcelona vs. Olympique Lyonnais (France) UEFA Champions League match on TV tonight with friends and are looking forward to that.  They love their soccer (football) around here! 

What a busy time we've had these last two weeks!  It always is a little crazy when you are leaving one place to travel to the other.  As you adapt to the new place things calm down and that is where we are right now.

We wrapped up our time in Greenville, IL by having dinner with friends and saying goodbye. That is always the hard part of this retirement plan. We always tell everyone that we will see them again and so far that has been true.  We enjoyed seeing our London friends (the Stephen and Charity Jones family) in Greenville, SC and we hope to see our Israeli and Greek friends before out trip is over. 

We spent the final weekend in the States with our family in St. Louis.  We had a big birthday party with chili (it was cold) and cake and always ice cream with the Malone kids and grandkids (minus Brett and Alison).  We spent time with the gkids watching soccer games, going to the skating rink birthday party for Alexandra (our youngest turned 8 years).  We also took in a movie and all in all had a great time.  Saying goodbye to them is always the hard part but everyone is getting used to it.  We communicate a lot with Whatsapp and so that makes it seem like we are near because we can text from anywhere in the world and also talk to them.  Isn't technology great!!  It makes the world much smaller. 

Our flight was long with lots of stops and we took a couple of days to give our bodies a chance to recover.  We are now feeling fairly normal.

Jose Hernandez, one of our hosts met us at the airport and helped us settle into the guest house that we share with five other people, including two students from Greenville University. It is very comfortable and we are getting used to sharing space with others and making new friends.

Ada Hernandez took us to Madrid and helped us get our transportation tickets which cost us 12 euros per month -- unlimited travel -- bus, metro, train in the Madrid area.  It pays to be old and the ticket is certainly cheaper than feeding a car in the States! Spain has a great public transportation system of which we will take advantage. After getting our tickets, we walked over to a Madrid history museum, getting a quick review of the area followed by lunch at a traditional Spanish lunch counter.

The two of us went back into Madrid on our own and followed the Rick Steve's walking tour of Madrid and enjoyed seeing Plaza de Sol, Plaza Mayor, the convent, Cathedral, Palace, Opera House, and ended with food -- chocolate y churros and pastries.   We ate lunch at a bar famous for their display of bull fighting history including bulls heads mounted on the walls.  The following day we walked through a beautiful park just two blocks from our guest house.  It is a large hill that dominates the city and from there we could see 360 degrees, having a great view of Madrid.    

We attended the Free Methodist church on Sunday and enjoyed a Spanish service. We were there the first Sunday of the month so were also able to enjoy the pot luck meal.  The dishes served showed the variety of countries present -- Columbia, Porto Rico, Dominican Republic, Spanish. 

With some pretty amazing weather, we have been able to find our local market, coffee shop, outdoor cafes and lovely parks. We are feeling quite  comfortable. 

Monday service began as we helped  paint and clean to get the Logos Center (cultural center run by the FM church) ready to open in their new location.  This is keeping us busy this week and it feels good to begin serving this soon because it sets the stage for future opportunities. 

 

February 26, 2019

It's only fitting that we update our blog on Nancy's birthday (today!).  We have had our workout for the day at the Greenville University  (GU) Annex Fitness Center.  We have tried to utilize it as much as we can in order to stay in shape for our next overseas venture which requires a lot of walking.  We only have one week remaining in the States and so we are busy going through everything to make sure we have the items we want to take with us.  

This has been a busy month:  Nancy has worked on a project for Gail, the head librarian at GU, compiling data on study room usage the past 1 1/2 years.  It was one of those things that had been put on the back burner that she could complete for her.  Jerry has worked closely with BJ Schneck the sports information director (SID) at GU with archival work on some of the missing pieces of VB, softball, and soccer history.  He has become good friends with Marilyn Starr the archivist who has been a wonderful help.  He has also enjoyed coffee times with three former President's:  Ish Smith, Rich Stephens, and Don Mason.  They are all widowed and spend a lot of time together.

Probably the highlight of the time here has been watching GU basketball games.  The women won the SLIAC Conference championship and are now heading to the NCAA III National Championship playoffs. The men's team averages nearly 135 points per game (an NCAA record) and scored 200 points the other day.  Never thought we would ever see that!!  The coach runs something called "The System" and it breaks all the rules of fundamental basketball that we have ever known.  The gym is always packed and it's a fun atmosphere with friends.    

Aside from spending some quality time with our grandkids and families in St. Louis, we have had back to back weekends on the road.  First we went to McPherson, KS to the 75th Anniversary of Intercollegiate Athletics at Central as well as the Central Christian College Hall of Fame.  Myself and Jerry Fithian served as masters of ceremony for the event and the HOF was spectacular!  It was great to reconnect with people that have contributed so much toward the rich history of Central. 

This paste weekend we traveled back to Greenville, SC for Jerry's dental work, to see some friends and especially to see our special friends from London, Stephen, Charity, King, Eden, Boaz Jones.  This the the super family that broke this new life style in with us back in September. We ow them alot for helping us figure this thing out!

We had 2 bday celebrations over the weekend. Saturday afternoon Bryce, Addison, Lindsay and Robert made a cake and celebrated with us. That included a little Wii exercise which we felt the next morning! We celebrated birthdays with our neighbors Saturday night, staying up late talking, laughing, dancing, singing "old tunes", and just having a great time.  

Tonight another celebration has us headed into St. Louis with Jerry and Sharon Moyer to have dinner and ice cream at Cyrano's.  This place dates back to Jerry's college days in the late 60's and the Cleopatra dessert is to die for (according to Jer).

We will finish off our time here by attending grandkid's outdoor soccer games this weekend and having a birthday bash for Nancy, Alexandra, EJ, and Gina (all within weeks of each other).  Ciao till Spain or should we say:  "adios"    

 

January 15, 2019

Welcome to the New Year!

We are now living in Greenville, Illinois just across the street from the Greenville University campus.  We are "house sitting" for former GU professors.  It is a comfortable house that is decorated much like our grandmothers house and we are rapidly feeling like it is home.  We have attended one Sunday at the Free Methodist church and reconnected with many of Jerry's Greenville friends (he is an alum).  We have been invited to lunch, dinner, coffee time, etc. and it is fun to reconnect.  It makes adjustment much quicker and more comfortable.  We were also privileged to attend the memorial service for Margie Mason, wife of Central College's former president Don Mason.  We met with Linda Myette,  GU friend, Director of Development who was assigned to get us oriented and start serving.  Jerry is doing some basketball game management and also some archives research for the athletic department and Nancy is meeting with the librarian to see how she can serve  We have already made an airport run and this Friday we will assist the President's wife Kathie Filby at a tea for new student's parents. 

As is most important at our age, we are establishing a workout routine.  Jerry has been cleared after rotator cuff surgery in October to swim and lift light weights at the university's fitness center. 

December before we landed here was a busy time with Greenville, SC friends, saying goodbyes, celebrating New Years eve, hiking, hosting Cindy and Mike Tillman (McPherson friends), hosting Jerry, Carol, and Jamie Fithian for Thanksgiving weekend, serving the NCCAA with a fund raising effort, serving at Homes of Hope, hosting our 7 year old grand daughter Alexandra for her first Carolina Camp where she  became quite an ice skater. 

We had our family Christmas at a cabin in the mountains near Robbinsville, NC. We enjoyed hiking, spending time together, eating good home cooked food, and skiing at Cataloochee near Maggie Valley, NC.  It was the first time skiing for the 5 grandkids and they LOVED it!  It looks like we will need to include skiing in our Christmas plans next year.  It was a hit!

 

Last weekend St. Louis was the center for snowstorm Gia so we loaded up Friday and headed there to get "snowed in". Our highlight was sledding on the Art Hill in Forest Park with thousands of others.  It looks like we are due to get hit again this weekend along with much colder weather.   Guess that is what you should expect in this part of the country in January.  Nancy loves it and Jerry would prefer the warmer weather in the south.

 

November 22, 2018  THANKSGIVING DAY

While waiting around for Turkey Dinner, I thought it would be a good time to update Malones on the Move.  Our good friends Carol and Jerry Fithian (and daughter Jamie) are flying in today and we are going to eat turkey at Cracker Barrel.  no prep.  no clean up, yet the downside is no leftovers....:(   bummer.

 

We are so enjoying our time in Greenville, SC.   We have been able to spend much time with friends, having coffee time, exercising at the Kroc center to try to keep the weight from coming back on, attending Downtown Pres Church, Men's Retreat (Jerry), hiking in the mountains, picnics, sitting on the porch with neighbors, watching Downton Abbey with Felcie and Lark (next door neighbors).  I think we told you before that we are renting a friends house in our old neighborhood (5 houses down) and so we get to see familiar faces every day. 

Nancy is spending time at Homes of Hope where she has volunteered for years and working with Denise Harris.  She has also taken her young boy she has worked with (James) for 10 years...for outings.  James also spent the night at our house and we took him to a Volleyball game at Bob Jones University.  He loves the scoreboards.  

Nancy has also spent time volunteering as the neighborhood child care expert and we have taken friends kids on bike rides, etc.  

Jerry is volunteering at the NCCAA and is helping Dan Wood get a Legacy Club started which will help fund the present budget as well as starting  a  Foundation Endowment that will enhance the future of the NCCAA for many years to come.  

We spent a weekend in Charleston with Randy and Kathy Hibbard.  It is always such a good time when we get together.  We enjoyed Folly Beach, the Christmas lights at James Island Park, coffee in Summerville, and church at the Anglican Church in downtown Charleston (one of the oldest churches in America and a landmark building with great history).

Jerry spent a few days around the house mending from rotator cuff surgery but it has gone well, he now is out of his sling, and the physical therapy is on schedule.  We have delayed his knee replacement until January 2020 but he seems to be getting along OK. 

One of the highlights of this fall has been Jerry's 50 year class reunion from Central Christian College (class of 1968).  40% of the class attended and it was a glorious weekend.  He and his friend Sheila Lee have been refining the class list and have made contact with all class members.  Nancy and the boys got Jerry a DNA package and he found out that he is 65% Irish.  You might say:  of course Malone is Irish!, however he has no Malone blood because his dad was adopted.  We find that quite ironic and amusing.  He has also spent some time getting the family genealogy data archived on Family Search.com       

 

October 2, 1018 

Much has happened and we have stayed very busy for the past two months.  Once we landed in St. Louis in August, we came home to our St. Louis  Airbnb.  It is close to our two families:  Mike's and Rod's.  We also got to spend over a week with Brett and Alison who were back attending her sister's wedding.  Shortly after arriving, we took the five grand-kids to Six Flags over St. Louis for the day.  We both realized that we cannot take the roller coasters anymore!!  They leave our heads and stomachs spinning.  Jerry still tried to appease the grand-kids and went on Batman and Mr. Freeze (two of the wildest rides in the park).  He won't be doing that again!  The kids love them all.  We also enjoyed the water park in the morning.  We opened the park up and closed it.....boy were we all tired.  We spent many St. Louis days taking the kids to school, picking them up, taking them to soccer practices, and attending their games.  We have always been a soccer family and it seems we are still that way.  All 5 kids play on the Ajax Soccer Club.  We got to see Alex (the youngest) score her first goal!   We watched Will (the oldest) get beat up in one of his games because his team is older and more physical.  All love the game and love to play and do very well.  We got to see Gina on stage in Kurt Weill’s LOST IN THE STARS performed with the Union Avenue Opera.

Late August we flew to Seattle to spend time with Nancy's sisters and husbands:  Pat and Paul Collins, and Joan and Mendel Kugler.  It was to celebrate Mendel and Joan's 50th wedding anniversary.  Pat and Paul hosted us at their new home.  We attended a Sounders soccer game, ate out, biked to a winery, went to the San Juan Islands and rented scooters, and just had fun together.

September 10, we packed up and moved to Greenville, SC where we are spending the next few months.  We're renting a house in the same neighborhood as our old place.  We are renting from friends (Clark and Lynn Bell)  We know that God worked this out for us.  We are quickly back into our routine:  Downtown Pres church, Nancy serving at Homes of Hope, Jerry volunteering with the NCCAA, getting medical, dental, and vision checkups, spending time with friends, seeing the twins (Bryce and Addison) and their parents, Nancy spends time each week with James.  Again a very busy schedule but certainly wonderful to be with friends.   

August 6, 2018 

What a great time we had in Costa Rica!

Most of our time was spent in child care, doing administrative work, and painting a block wall around the Score ministry villa.  We never know what we will be doing from one location to the next but that is what makes this an adventure.  Many times people ask us:  What will you be doing in ____? and our answer is:  we won't know till be get there.  Again:  our policy is YES, what is the question or what are your needs.  

We enjoyed getting to know the bus system around the capital of San Jose and we went downtown a few times because it was pretty straight forward and cheap.  All the people associated with SCORE either have their own car or use UBER.  

We really enjoyed getting to be close friends with the interns:  Nate, Nolan, and Crystin.  They spent most of their time with the groups that were coming from the States for ministry but they were free a few times.  Once we drove a staff car up to Irazu Volcano which was near Cartago the old capital.  It was windy and cold but sunny enough to get a good view from the top into the crater.  Wow!  our first volcano up close except Mt. St. Helens.  One day while were were in Cartago with a ministry group to observe so we spent the afternoon at the large Basilica.  We were there the week of August 3 which was the celebration of the Black Virgin,  a local girl who experience a miracle in the middle 1800's.  People walk from neighboring countries and arrive in time to enter the holy door of the basilica to have their sins forgiven as they walk down the center isle on their knees to worship and pray.  It is a huge celebration and we were sorry we had to leave before it happened.  We did see hundreds of people walking along the highway a few days before.  We then walked to the bus station and found our way back home (which always surprises everyone). 

Toward the end of our time, we got to tag along with one of the American mission teams to the Pacific beach.  On our way we got to stop at a bridge over a river and saw over 35 crocodiles!  They were huge!  We stayed one night at an all inclusive resort with a great beach and food. Most of our afternoon was spent by the pool, part of the time in a light drizzle, reading, napping, etc.  It was wonderful.  The monkeys helped entertain us at breakfast the next morning.    

For our final four days we rented a car and spent time at Monteverde for our 47th wedding anniversary.  At nearly 5000 feet along the Continental Divide, we were in what they called the Cloud Forest.  The country leads the way in preservation of forests and land and are very eco conscious.  We got to walk along bridges over the forest as well as trails along the ground, one night we went on an excursion to see wildlife and saw:  snakes, tarantulas, Kinkajous, Sloths, exotic frogs, porcupines, exotic birds, etc.  It was great fun!  We also went to a coffee, sugar, cocoa farm.  The road up to Monteverde and Santa Elena was a dirt, gravel road that sometimes was closed due to rock slides.  We were delayed for nearly one hour coming down because of trying to remove debris.  The highways in Costa Rica are well kept but winding and mainly two lane with backed up traffic.  Once there was an accident and we sat in line for over two hours waiting for them to clean it up and move the four vehicles.  We saw over 10 ambulances.  

We turned our rental car into the airport and caught our flight back to St. Louis.  We were convinced that we wanted to return to Costa Rica.  One of the most impressive countries we have visited so far with a great climate and friendly people.  Our recommendation:  go to Costa Rica!

 

July 4, 2018 

Happy 4th of July (Independence Day) for all our USA friends!!  We are finishing our four week stay with SCORE International in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic tomorrow.  It has been a short 4 weeks!  

Like all the other places that we have served, we have become very connected to a few people here and it will be hard to leave.  Tonight we are having an American 4th of July celebration picnic at a local missionaries house (minus the fireworks).  There will be lots of food, grilling meat, laughter, fun, fellowship, and goodbyes.  We have especially become close to Margaret Morris and Mike Henderson as well as some of the interns (students that are here for one to two months).  Margaret comes to serve every six months and has done this for ten years.  Mike has a tennis ministry and will be coming on full time with SCORE this fall.  Jerry has worked with Mike before when Mike served as the championship chaplain for the NCCAA Tennis championships.  We spent yesterday in the Capitol (Santo Domingo) with Mike at the main tennis club complex where he does his ministry.  The director is a good friend of his and through their relationship, he is free to share the gospel anytime he wants.  We see a real future in his ministry here.  Mike call Margaret the Mafia Don because she knows everything.  We really feel like we have been serving Mike and Margaret more than anyone while here.  Someone needs to sit in the lobby and be available for questions as well as other emergencies and so Jerry has taken on this task to relieve them from this burden.  It has given him time to have great conversations with many people about our retirement travels.  Many have begun to think about doing something similar and we will stay in touch with them.  Nancy has helped Gio (the Director) and Margaret with a lot of different items of need and situations.  Jerry has also filled in as a driver to the airport and the capitol and is always on call for this.  Some of the fun things we have done are snorkeling and swimming at Catalina Island, visiting the historical sights of Santo Domingo, and hiking then jumping into crystal clear pools of water at a place called:  27 Waterfalls.  We have also enjoyed the beach and small village food in Juan Dolio just a few blocks from the SCORE campus.   

 This is a busy place because they can house over 100 people each week from all over the USA who are coming to do ministry in the local sugar cane villages, orphanages, sports ministries, churches, etc.  SCORE is a great organization and is doing great work in the D.R. It has been a privilege to work with them and see the enormous work load they have.  They have a huge staff that works as maids, cooks, interpreters, and drivers.  Nancy really enjoys the idea of not cooking because we have all meals prepared in the dining hall.  This is really very different from anywhere we have served before but it's good! 

June 8, 2018 

What a whirlwind the past two weeks! 

We traveled from Paris to Iceland aboard a new airline to us, WOW.  They fly direct to Reykjavik from 13 US cities, including St. Louis and then to 20 European cities. It is a really reasonable airline  and they have nice planes.  Just hope they pay their pilots well!  We loved seeing Iceland and have decided that we will make that a stop over on our next trip.  It would be fun to get out of the airport and explore.

It was great to see the family in St. Louis for one week.  The schedule was hectic but seeing the grandkids and families was priceless.  It has been a long nine months away and we loved our time there.  We returned to our favorite Urban Roost airbnb in St. Louis and "borrowed" our car from Mike for a couple of weeks.

Drove to Greenville, SC in time to have Tuesday dinner and porch time with Becky, John, and Lisa (our neighbors).  This became a tradition that we really missed.  It was good to see the Neelys and the twins:  Bryce and Addison.  The kids have all grown and some of our young friends are either pregnant again or have had children since we left.  Life goes on!  While in Greenville, we got to attend the 50th Anniversary Hall of Fame dinner for the NCCAA.  It was great to see and catch up with many NCCAA friends.  Jerry plans to volunteer with the NCCAA this fall while in Greenville.  The plan is that if we volunteer all over the world, we should volunteer at home as well.  No time off when you are called to serve.  

Our next two months began as we flew into Santo Domingo on Wednesday and began to settle in with SCORE International at their base camp in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic.  Jerry is taking some of the load for the evening shift so that the evening supervisor, Mike, can have some free time. Mike is on call 7 evenings a week, so Jerry is glad to help. Tonight, Nancy got a list of things we can help with related to serving the resident missionaries.  It seems even if we do not know exactly what we will do, the Lord has prepared the way ahead of us. 

We have a spacious, apartment with A/C and a great bed!  SCORE has a kitchen serving three meals a day, which is a treat. We have arrived at a true summer here in the DR, but we are adjusting. Being only two blocks from the ocean, we get a pretty good breeze and can easily get a morning beach walk. Tomorrow we will try out our public transportation skills here in the DR. Not many folks with SCORE regularly use the system, so we are looking forward to figuring it out.

May 17, 2018 

It was sad to leave our friends and work in Greece, but time marches on and Paris is calling.  Our pace is slowing here in Paris as purely tourists. We plan on seeing one significant thing per day while following Rick Steves Europe's downloads. The Paris 7 day tourist public transportation card, renewed once already, is a time and money saver.  It seems we have seen most of the Paris highlights:  Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower, Mont Martre, Moulin Rouge, the old Opera house and district, the Louvre, the d'Orsay, the Latin district, walking in the rain,  a river boat tour, the lights at night, the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, eating and drinking great food.  Of course food in Paris is an adventure in itself. Our list includes, escargot, foie gras, crepes, French wine, cheese, and beef tartare are just a few.  We have packed a lot of picnics and gone to great parks and plazas around the city. There are 20 arrondisements in the inner ring of the city and our feet have planted on most of them. Two regrets so far are missing a home  match for Paris St. Germaine Soccer and not planning ahead to attend an opera or ballet .  Paris will certainly be on our list of cities to see again. Paris and London are two great cities that need to be continually explored.    

May 5, 2018 

Our time in Thessaloniki, Greece is quickly coming to a close. We have had a chance for several different opportunities these last few weeks.

Mike Long, our host, hosted a friend from Cairo, Egypt who is interested in bringing Arabic speaking Christians here in early May to evangelize the refugees.  They are members of an evangelical Coptic church that Mike attended while studying for his PhD in Cairo.  Jerry rode along and saw where many of the refugees in the area lived.  When the refugees  first arrive, they are given a "FEMA" like white rectangular building the size of a small trailer.  This area is fenced in with a play area.  The fence protects them form outsiders and unwanted guests.  It also prevents us from getting in because you must know someone on the inside before you are allowed inside.  Not a bad practice because it protects these fragile family units who have been traumatized.  After six months, they are moved to apartment complexes all over the city.  They spread them out because they do not want them to all live together in one area.  This helps them assimilate into the community but it makes it difficult for them to see one another.  

Another day we drove with Mike and some other guests to the ancient city of Phillippi where we saw two biblical sites:  the jail that Paul was held in Acts 16: 16-40 and the river where Lydia was baptized (Acts 16: 11-40).  By the way, the city was devastated by an earthquake including the jail according to dated history.  Pretty cool to walk the grounds and see the "lay of the land" where those events occurred.  By the way, Paul traveled all throughout this area (Phillipi, Thessaloniki, Berea, etc.) 

Mike and Jerry drove up to Albania (3 hours) to pick up a bouncy house from a church for a children's program that we hosted.  This church is amazing in that they are all Albanians who have reached out to refugees (first from the war in Kosovo...a few years back) and now the Syrian refugees.  They sent a team down to Thessaloniki and helped us with our children's event.  We did a Saturday and Sunday program for 2-3 hours each day for the refugees kids and many of their parents came along.  The Greek government does not allow us to share our faith with anyone and so we just used this as a time to share smiles and God's love with them (they knew we were Christians).  Jerry supervised the soccer and basketball area and Nancy helped with registration.  We met some amazing mothers and were able to visit with them in broken English.    The local church we have been serving really reaches out to these families and many are beginning to attend and be exposed to the gospel.   

We wanted to see a Greek island and so we bused over to Kavala, took the ferry to Thasos where we spent two days with a rented car.  Nancy hit another home run with her airbnb hotel room right on the water in a little village away from the crowds.  We saw some amazing water and were especially impressed with Biola and Marble Beach (has to be one to the best spots in the world).  We were there just prior to May 1, their Labor Day when the big tourist rush begins.  It was lovely!

One evening we saw an outstanding sunset over the Aegean Sea looking west toward the mainland.  It was all we hoped it would be and look forward to our next Greek island adventure.  Actually, we have seen some shorelines on the mainland that are just as outstanding so you don't have to go to an island to see outstanding water and beaches. 

We have spent the last week trying to see some of the ruins in the city. We also went with the Longs a couple times to visit one of the fingers south of the city. 

Jerry has spent a number of days serving Mike and Maria by finishing off  and painting their kitchen and also painting three different rooms in two apartments that they own where groups come and stay.  Nancy has attended fairs with  Maria and Kali Long  around the city where they market Mia Tribe items. Check out their web site at www.miatribe.org. 

April 13, 2018 

From Spain, we headed to Greece on March 29, where we spent four days in Athens with Greg and Lucia Green Delamarter, friends from Kansas and Washington days. It was disappointing not to be able to meet up with Brett and Alison, but their schedule and networking at the conference kept them understandably busy. We adopted Greece's slow base of late mornings once we landed. It was also great to just have some balcony time with the Delamarters most evenings after we had seen one "big" thing.  Of course we loved the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum.  Everything else was gravy after seeing those two main attractions.  We found good restaurants and were surprised by how much cheaper things were in Greece, even in a high tourist area.  We hopped a tour bus to see the major sights and that really helped give us a perspective of the area, including the port and the beaches. 

On to Thessaloniki where Mike and Maria Long gave us a warm welcome at the train station.  We appreciate Judy, a Christian who is living in Greece, learning the language, and looking for places to serve, allowing us to share her spacious apartment.  It is in the backyard of the Long's and so it is easy to keep in contact with them. 

Jerry spent the first few days helping Mike repair water damage to one of their apartments and also put in a new kitchen. Tuesday and Thursday, we serve at a local Refugee center run by the evangelical church alliance.  Nancy works with the kids and Jerry helps monitor the registration as they enter.  These refugees come to eat, get clothes, take a shower, charge and use their phones, have fellowship, and  wash their clothes.  They were open for 5 hours and serve over 300 people each day.  A group from YWAM has joined up to help and that relieves a lot of pressure. 

The Orthodox Easter was quite interesting besides being a week later than other celebrations. Saturday night we walked to a local church and all lit candles with the miraculous fire flown in from Jerusalem to celebrate Christ's resurrection.  There was no car traffic and many Greek citizens were standing outside their churches all over the city with lit candles.  It was awe inspiring and unique.  On Easter Sunday our church grilled a whole lamb and chickens on a spit. The dinner served nearly 100 people, mainly refugee families. 

An excursion to Petrich, Bulgaria to spend two nights with Al and Diane Mellinger was fun. The Mellingers were our youth pastor in Kansas and the one who awoke the wanderlust spirit in us.  What a beautiful town and area!!  It was great to reconnect with them and hear about their ministry in the Balkans.  Al has always been an entrepreneur. He has not only planted churches but is helping to start businesses for employment, especially among the Roma (gypsies) people. The snow capped peaks reminded us of the Alps or the Rockies in Colorado.  It really is an undeveloped area for tourism and outdoor sports.  Unemployed in Bulgaria is similar to Greece (40%+) and they could use the income from outside.

Our most recent sight seeing activity was a bus tour to Meteora.  These are a group of monasteries built on the top of 1000 foot rocks that have been there since the 1300's.  6 are still active and some are nunneries.  We got to tour 2 of them but we saw all of them.  IT WAS IMPRESSIVE!  We have never seen anything like it.  There were nearly 20 at one time but the others have been deserted.  Tomorrow Mike is taking us to Phillipi to see the ruins of the old city where Paul and the early church was located.  Mike also would like to take us up to see a friend of his in Albania and so we are all for that.

 

April 6, 2018 

For you faithful readers, it's been a while since we have updated.  It seems to be  more difficult for us  to blog when we move around more frequently.  FYI here is a suitcase update:  Nancy went to both the Valencia and Barcelona airports to personally  look for the gold, large, hard sided suitcase. How do you loose that one????? It was not at either airport and had not even been checked in at Barcelona. The latest thought is that it might still be in Tel Aviv or in the suitcase Hall of Fame for Vueling Airline in Madrid.  Madrid is the only place where they can open it and look inside so we hope they might do that when they receive the claim request in the settlement letter.  It is over 21 days, so now we can file a claim to be reimbursed.  We will see how that goes.  We are already beginning to buy some of the needed pieces of her depleted and boring wardrobe.  Actually, if we get reimbursed it might be a nice thing to get new clothes, however you always miss those favorite pieces.  

Our time in Spain with the  Martinez family was fantastic.  They were great hosts, treated us so well and felt like family, so it was hard to say goodbye.  Another family that we count as lifelong friends.  When we were in Valencia in 2010, Paco was gone and so spending some quality time with him was special. Their kids are older now and once they decided we were not going away soon, they warmed up and we had some good times.  We even stayed with them one night while Paco and Isabel had an evening out.  Les Falles in Valencia was everything we expected and more.  Five solid days of firework displays, wonderful caricature constructions (over 300 total), colorful costumes, traditional bands, bull fights, loud random booms set off by individuals, Paella cook off at a Falles Club, the flowers brought to the Virgin, and finally the burning of the construction pieces at midnight of the final day.  It was a busy time once it got started and we went from one activity to another to enjoy the full experience.  It was unlike anything we had ever experienced.  You just have to go onto a website and look it up to see the sights and hear the sounds.  

Nancy and I took a couple of days to go to Toledo to give the family a break.  The fast train got us to and from  Madrid at 180 mph!!  What a way to go!  We loved the history and quaint little winding streets of Toledo and Nancy hit another home run picking our airbnb overlooking the city.  We ate good food and drink,  enjoyed seeing the cathedral (4th largest in the world) and pondered many El Greco originals.  Our day we had planned for Madrid was interrupted by a pickpocket in the train station getting Nancy's small purse with two credit cards and some cash.  We spent most of the time making phone calls to cancel cards and try to get set up with Jerry's cards to finish our time in Europe.  It was hectic and stressful but we survived.  We headed back to spend one more day with the Martinez's' and then we were off to Greece.  We took the slow train to Barcelona, dropped out bags off at the hotel, and then rode a tour bus around the city in the pouring, chilly rain.  It was cold and not very pleasant but we enjoyed getting to see the Sagrada Familia Cathedral which is unbelievable.  We also drove past Camp Nou which is home to Messi's Barcelona club. The next day we set off for the airport to catch our flight to Athens hoping to find sunshine again and friends Greg and Lucia.  We hope we will be able to connect with Brett and Alison as well since they are nearby at a medical conference.

 

March 11, 2018 

After a busy final week in Israel, we are now in Spain (minus Nancy's big suitcase).  When you don't have much in your possession except your suitcase of clothes, losing a suitcase becomes a major issue.  Somewhere between Tel Aviv and Valencia, the shipping tag was lost and so the suitcase is sitting somewhere in a store room with no tag and they are having a hard time finding it.  We did put a card with name, address, and email inside the suitcase and so if they open it up, they should find our email and contact us.  We are now into our 5th day and it does not seem good.  We would appreciate your prayers to resolve this soon. In the scope of things, it is a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience never the less. At least we are in a home right now, not a hotel! 

The week before we left Israel, Ziad's family, along with his parents, drove us up north to see the border between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.  It was a lot colder there and the wind was blowing with lots of low clouds.  The climate was so different from the rest of Israel.  We could not see Mt Herman, but the area we could see was beautiful.  It was a great day of seeing sights that we had not seen yet.  

Another day we ventured by bus and walking to Mt. Precipice which we wanted to see before we left.  This was the hilltop where the crowd wanted to throw Jesus off after he was charged with blaspheming in the local Nazareth synagogue.  According to scripture, he drifted into the crowd and walked away.  The view of the Jezreel Valley (Armegeddon) was awesome!  It was a clear day and we could see from the Jordan River to Mt. Carmel near Haifa.  It had been raining enough to where the valley was a lush green color. A futile valley.  

A recommendation from our son Rodney and a couple folks here found us at Bet She'an National Park. It was not a disappointment.  20 different civilizations have lived on this site and it had the most spectacular Roman ruins we have seen, and we have seen quite a few!  A major earthquake hit this area (which is on a major fault line) in 749 AD and destroyed the city and basically the street and buildings are exactly the way they were following the quake.   

We had an opportunity to say goodbye to the church congregation on our last worship time in Tur'an.  Ziad gave us a few minutes to share with them and it was a tearful time.  They were all very kind to us and there were hugs and kisses to last us a long time.  Who would think that you could become attached so deeply in three months!  God has been good to us and blessed us with good people wherever we go. 

Our final outing was a hike on the Jesus trail near a place called Tabgha which was where Jesus fed the 5000.  We also hiked down to a beautiful water area called Job's Spring which supposedly was where he washed his sores (see O. T. story of Job).  We then hiked along the trail, next to the Sea of Galilee, along banana fields, to a place called Golgolet Cave (Amud caves area) where they found one of the oldest human skulls in the world.  A beautiful way to finish our time in Israel.  It was warm enough for shorts and t-shirts warmth.  

We felt the need to say farewell to the folks we saw most every day in Tur'an -- the coffee guy; the hummus guy; the falafel place; our friend Teric who is a local travel agent; the produce man; and Elias at the all around general purpose store.  One gentlemen who could speak zero English except for "Hello Nancy" even got tears in his eyes.  We are blessed.

The next day Ziad and Randa drove us to the train in Haifa. We said goodbye to our new lifelong friends and promised that we would return.

The train to Tel Aviv is always nice and a cab ride to our hotel allowed us to unload and do some touring there. A city bus took us to the old city of Jaffa.  It was 80 degrees and so the beach was full of sunbathers and surfers.  We loved the weather and city for one day.  It is a totally different city from any other in Israel and feels quite European. 

3:45 a.m. the next morning found us on our way, with hundreds of others, to the airport. After a five hour layover in Barcelona, we were happy to see our friends Paco, Isabel, Hugo and Marta in Valencia.  

 

February 22, 2018 

Only a few weeks left in Israel, yet we still have several things we want to see and do.  We continue to serve by helping Ziad with sermons, editing Arab newsletters, sorting clothes for the West Bank, and a new assignment:  visiting the local school and working with the English classes, giving them opportunities for conversation.  We have been to the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade classes and it has been so much fun.  They are really pretty good and we can have a good conversation about girls things with Nancy and soccer and boy things with Jerry.  There are always plenty of ways to serve as long as your answer is YES. 

On the tourist side, we have been busy visiting archaeological sites, which are usually Israel National Parks. Tel Megiddo was fascinating. It is the hill that looks over the Jezreel Valley, often referred to as the place where Armageddon would happen. It is amazing to be looking at something that is 7000 years old with 26 different layers of settlements beginning with the Canaanites and then on to the Kingdom of Israel.  Other groups that ruled and built over the city were the Philistines, Egyptian, Roman, Assyrian, Muslim, and Crusaders.  When in the USA we think of something as being old at 300-400 years! 

Our local church held a one day women's seminar followed by a one day time with the youth.  The northern area Arab evangelical churches sent participants and the church was packed out.  The woman speaker from Michigan preached Saturday night, which was something new for our pastor Ziad.  We are bringing him along in regard to women in ministry.  :)   

We then took a quick trip to Jericho and Jerusalem.  Busses and shared taxis (sheruts) got us to Jericho.  Our hostel was at the base of the Mount of Temptation and a couple blocks from the Old City of Jericho ruins.  The Jericho city ruins were not well marked or displayed, so that was disappointing. We loved the Mount of Temptation and the monastery in the cliff. A taxi drive took us to Qumran (as in Dead Sea Scrolls), the Dead Sea, and the location in the Jordan River which is said to be the more authentic location of Jesus' baptism. It was amazing and not near as commercial as the place in Tiberius.  We also visited the well preserved ruins of Hisham's Palace in Jericho, early Islamic ruins from about AD 800.

Once we returned to Jerusalem, Jerry's meeting was canceled, so we got a hotel in East Jerusalem near the Damascus Gate and went to the City of David. These are fascinating ruins of the original city of Jerusalem.  We saw the Pool of Siloam and walked from there in a 1/2 mile tunnel that drained water beside the old road. We ended up at the location of the second Temple.  We now have a clearer vision of what early Jerusalem looked like and where things were located before Christ.  We also enjoyed Solomon's quarries/Zedekiah's cave and the Rockefeller Museum of Arabic artifacts.

 

February 6, 2018 

We have had a special time with Brett (son) and Alison (daughter-in-law) this January.  What an unexpected gift.  They have been busy studying the Russian language and trying to meet with Russian Jewish people in the area to practice the language.  They found a Messianic Jewish congregation made up of Russian speakers in Nazareth Ilit (near us) and so they go every Saturday morning for the service.  This week they received their visas so they are now in Moscow where instead of sunshine and sand there is tons of snow thanks to a recent storm. They spend 40 days and 40 nights in Israel.  We hope the 40 days/nights was not like Jesus in the wilderness or Noah.  We know they enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures and we enjoyed having them around.  It is really quiet now that they are gone and we have spent a day or two grieving our "loss". 

While Brett and Alison were here, we spent a lot of time hiking sections of the Jesus trail, hiking up Mt. Turon (just behind our village) and visiting several National Parks. Nancy has been reading a book  about the Crusades and so she especially enjoyed our hike to the Horns of Hittin which was the final battle between the Muslim forces of Saladin and the Crusaders.  Interestingly, the Crusader army camped where our village is located and drank water from the city spring just outside of town. We also hiked to Sepphoris (Zippori) National Park to see the ruins of that great city with fantastic mosaic floors from 2000 years ago as well as water cisterns and Roman aqueducts and roads.  Another interesting ancient city ruins is Caesarea along the Mediterranean.  This city has a Roman amphitheater, hippodrome, seaport, frescoes, and of course mosaic floors.  A must see!  Our final hike with Brett and Alision was up Mt. Arbel which is an impressive hilltop overlooking the Sea of Galilee with caves in the side of it where Jews hid from the Romans during their conflict.  After the kids left, we visited the Crusader fort and port town of Acre (pronounced Akka).  Many of the walls and history have been preserved and it is well worth seeing.  Walking through history is just amazing!      

January 25, 2018 

If you remember from our last post, we were returning from Moscow on December 31st with Brett and Alison. We looked forward to a few weeks with them here in Israel! As of today, they have received their new visas and will be returning  "home" in a few days. What follows is a bit of info on our time with them  here in Nazareth and in Jerusalem. 

What fun! We were actually in a car driving around Israel, heading to some places where buses were difficult to catch. "We" includes Jerry, Nancy, Brett, Alison and Yura, a friend of their's from Moscow. Our first two days were spent traveling around Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. Before the Sea, we stopped at a relatively new archaeological dig, Magdala. An amazing dig of the town of Mary Magdelene. Jerry and I had not been around the Sea of Galilee so we were excited to get to Capernaum, where Jesus spent much of his time in ministry and the location of Peter's home. There's a spaceship style Catholic church built over this 1st century house. Sort of strange looking but the view of the Lake is great. Further down the shore is a quaint Catholic church built on the rock that represents Jesus' declaration to Peter that upon him the church would be built. A lovely, peaceful garden with a lake view. Up the mountain we drove and the kids walked to where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.  It is amazing how close all of these places are geographically. Somehow from Sunday School one had imagined them to be further apart.  Should have thought that they had to be close since this small Sea and its shore were a back drop for many of Jesus' stories and some of the major events of his life. Our drive to Mt. Tabor, location of the Transfiguration, and Mt. Carmel, the site of Elijah's victory over the prophets of Baal, sure made us glad we had a car and did not have to hike to see these places! 

Our next stop was Jerusalem. What a treat to get to experience Jerusalem with Brett, Alison and Yura. We arrived in the evening, but Brett insisted we see the old city after dark. The Wailing Wall was beautifully lite up and very calm, so we were glad we went. What an impressive first view of Jerusalem!  The next couple of days were spent exploring together and individually the four quadrants of the City (Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Armenian), seeing the traditional Christian sights, walking the Via Dolorosa, and just trying to visualize the Jerusalem of 2000 years ago when the old city was located in a rural setting.  One day we ventured a drive to Bethlehem (8 km away), but found out we could not take the rental car into the West Bank.  We were accosted by a cab driver who offered to take us for $90 (red flag!) so we decided to find another way.  Jerry, Nancy and Yura ended up riding a city bus (flew through the checkpoint at the Separation Wall) from the Damascus Gate to Bethlehem for $4.  After a great walk through the Bethlehem market, we joined the crowds at the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square. Bethlehem is a very hilly town and not easy to get around in, so we ended up with a cab, driving over to the Shepherds' Field. Our driver then took us to the Separation or Apartheid Wall (see photos or Google). The Wall is a visible sign of the pain, distrust, anger, and confusion that exist on both sides of the Palestinian/Israeli issue.  There are two main reasons to visit Bethlehem these days — Christian religious symbols and street art religion. The Wall is filled with art, pictures and poetry, but one has to try a little harder to find the Banksy art (see photos or Google). Our cab driver introduced us to the art of the reclusive British street artist Banksy who first chose this city for some of his works of political commentary art in 2005. The art is thought provoking. Speaking of thought provoking, the next day we visited the other side of the coin, the Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Center, and it was as expected.

Our final day found us up early so we could visit the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock is located.  Although we could not actually see the Rock, we were able to get some perspective on this holy area where the Jewish temple was located before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. 

One of our favorite Jerusalem area days was spent driving to the Dead Sea and Masada.  It rained on us and so we had to get off the mountain earlier than we planned but it was an impressive site and great to get that history.  Yura wanted to swim in the Dead Sea (too cold for us non-Russians), so we made that happen.  We missed Qumran National Park: Home of the Dead Sea Scrolls,  because the heavy downpour flooded the highway. Typical when it rains in Israel. 

 

We got Yura to the plane and our train/bus back to Tu'ran.  What an unforgettable 8 days!

 

 December 23, 2017 

First of all, we want to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  We miss our family and friends during this time of year but are blessed to be here in Israel to experience it with our Arab brothers and sisters.  

We have spent our first couple of weeks exploring the surrounding area before we branch out to the other parts of the county.  We have had numerous forays into Nazareth where the traffic is horrible around Christmas time.  We have enjoyed these historical sights in and around Nazareth:

Church of the Annunciation--Mary's home is here and said to be the place where the angel  spoke.

Church of "Mensa Christi"--a stone table where Jesus and the disciples ate .

Cana of Galilee--Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana.

The Synagogue Church--where the village got angry at Jesus and plotted to throw him off the mountain and he just walked away through the crowd. 

Yesterday we went to Centre International Marie de Nazareth to see an impressive presentation (IMAX type) on the life and death of Christ as well as an archaeological site of a first century house in Nazareth. 

We have enjoyed hiking the Jesus Trail which loosely follows the route that Jesus would have taken from Nazareth to Caperneum.  About 50 miles long, it goes by our village so we are taking it in small bites. What fun it is to get out into the countryside and be able to see so many things from a distance. This week we caught the bus to Haifa and enjoyed touring the Baha'i Gardens, the world headquarters of the Baha'i faith. The gardens stretch up the side of Mt. Carmel and have a beautiful view of the bay.  We found another Stu's Joint* called Ein El Wadi (Lebanese food).  It was probably the finest food we have had since we have arrived.  *Stuart Lenning was Jerry's colleague at the NCCAA who enjoys great food in unique places as much as we do. This one was near the top. 

Even though there are many Muslims living in this area, we are also surrounded by Catholic and Orthodox Christians as well as evangelicals (all Palestinian).  Consequently, Christmas is a big deal.  We had a big celebration in Tu'ran when they lit the large Christmas tree in the center of town.  To demonstrate unity within the community, all the church leaders participated--Imam, Greek Orthodox priest, Catholic priest, Baptist minister. It is one of the few cities in Israel where this happens and it was a privilege to be a witness to the event in its fourth year.  There were over 1000 folks in the city square and our pastor shared and their worship team sang traditional Christmas songs.  We have enjoyed worshiping in Tu'ran on Saturday night and then we take the bus into Nazareth for Sunday morning worship at the Baptist church, meeting at the Nazareth Baptist School (larger church of around 100).  Nazareth has a large street market for Christmas and there are tons of people downtown at night near the largest Christmas tree in the Middle East.  

Jerry is serving the local pastor by helping him do sermon research at the local college. We have enjoyed getting to know the staff at Nazareth Evangelical College (NEC).  They have been a source of friendship and insights.  We hope to spend more time on the campus to help them with various assignments. Jerry is also advising the NEC staff on their new educational program that hopefully will connect USA Christian College students with them.  Nancy has helped with the Sunday School program on Wednesday evenings.  She also joined the women at a Christmas brunch which she enjoyed so much.  Nancy is also proofing three dissertations written by Palestinian evangelical pastors who are getting their advanced degrees and having to do their research in English.  They have deadlines in January, so she is busy trying to wrap this up before Christmas Day.

 

December 9, 2017

 Our trip to Israel was uneventful and smooth, thanks to the help with planning from our new friend Bader Mansour.  We left early Tuesday, Dec. 5 with our four suitcases and one backpack full of all our earthly possessions.  A kind gentleman helped us up the stairs from the tube station to the train station.  We boarded the Gatwick Express for a quick train ride to the airport.  Flying the discount airline Easyjet allowed us to experience checking in our own luggage (never done that before).  We then had to rid ourselves of our British pounds,  so we bought breakfast and then purchased a sandwich for the flight.  Five hours later we landed in Tel Aviv. Customs was much easier than we have ever experienced,  this was surprising.  We then got shekels from the ATM and then got a travel card (RAV KAV) with our train ticket just outside the airport.  This allows us to use it for all buses and trains in Israel. Sure simplifies travel.  Once we got to the train station at Haifa Lev Hamifratz we were met by Sasher (a friend of Bader's).  He drove us to our apartment in a little village outside Nazareth called Tur'an.  This village as well as most of the area is Palestinian.  The apartment is above the Baptist Church and we are hosted by Pastor Ziad Farraj and his wife Randa. We are enjoying this newly remodeled, spacious apartment.     

On Wednesday Ziad and Randa drove us around Tur'an, helping us learn where to find  the best hummus, cheapest groceries, local bus stop and the bus schedule.  What fun to have these loving,  helpful friends.  We then took the bus to Nazareth to meet Bader for the first time.  The traffic was horrendous and it took 45 minutes to go 10 miles.  We left the bus in the middle of downtown and walked up to Nazareth Baptist School to meet Bader and his brother Botrus,, General Manager of the school.  This is one of the top academic schools in the city and has nearly 1000 students.  Jews, Muslims and Christians send their children to this school, even though they have chapel and bible courses required.  We then went to lunch with Bader and began conversation about the next few days.  Our first wonderful meal of Mediterranean food, followed by coffee and a SIM card. Now we have active phones again.....always a great aid in foreign countries.

Thursday we walked about one mile to catch the bus to Tiberius for the day.  Tiberius is only about 10 miles east.  We had to catch the Haifa to Tiberius bus along a very busy highway.  Many buses went by but we were watching for the 430 or the 434...Jerry missed the first one (they do not stop unless you hold out your hand) and so we waited longer than we needed to.  Finally, we caught the next one that took us into town.  We were able to find a wonderful street cafe that served a HUGE Swarma sandwich (enough for both of us) which was heavenly.  We then walked down to the Sea of Galilee and saw some Roman ruins, gathered some maps and information and then walked down to a National Park Hamat Tiberius, where we saw an early synagogue and town ruins (first century).  It had hot springs so the Romans had to have a bath there. They uncovered a beautiful mosaic that covered the floor of the synagogue which was in excellent condition.  It was a beautiful warm day. 

We have found the days very warm and pleasant and the evenings and nights very cold.  We have space heaters in the apartment and so we have moved into three rooms (bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen) to keep warm.  Once the sun comes up, it warms right back up and is shirtsleeve weather. 

Yesterday, we went back into Nazareth and had a full day of meeting Bader and more of his colleagues at Nazareth Evangelical College and the ABC (The Association of Baptist Churches in Israel).  We explored a number of service possibilities so this will work out as time goes on.  We then walked down to the "Mary's Well" area for lunch and met a waiter who had a German grandfather who married a Jewish woman.  His father was Palestinian and he married a Jewish woman.  Wow, what a complicated family.  He was very open about talking about it and we enjoyed this conversation.  These are the advantages in living and spending time in a country rather than coming as a tourist.  We love it.  Everyday becomes another page in the textbook of learning.  

After lunch we went to Mary's Well which was located inside a Greek Orthodox Church around the corner.  Every Biblical location has a church around it or built over the top of it.  We then went to the bus station to put more money on our RAV KAV cards on our way to Nazareth Village, a Christian non-profit tourism sight. It is a replica of 1st century Nazareth, developed for outreach to tourists and the community. During Christmas, they have special programs to attract visitors.  We spent the cool holiday evening listening to a choir from Romania sing Christmas songs, watching folks take donkey rides, petting the sheep, watching teenage dancers, and eating good local food.  We caught a ride back to our village with a young man that ran the sound equipment for the evening.  Saturday we so enjoyed a morning meal in the home of Ziad and Randa and played with their two children Matthew and Moriah.  We also had to purchase hummus from the best location in town.  This area is the home of hummus.  They also have wonderful olive oil and olives.  The Farrajs are wonderful hosts and we have great conversations.  Their English is very good and their love for God is evident.  One thing we have to remember is that Jewish people shut down their businesses for Friday night until Saturday night for the Sabbath and then Muslims and Christians shut down their businesses on Sunday for their Sabbath, therefore weekends are not a good time to travel in Israel.   

              

December 3, 2017 

We saw SNOW in London!   Walking through Leicester Square in central London  we saw a few flakes coming down.  You can tell we were excited :-).  It has been colder these past few days. The same day north of us and into Scotland the UK received a couple inches. That afternoon we were headed to the theatre for the play OSLO.   It was a marvelous play dealing with all the details of the Israeli-PLO Oslo Peace Accord of 1993.  We had lunch at a wonderful place in China town just before the show, enjoying a noodle dish that was to die for and wonderful pork dumplings (which we love).  After the show we walked over to see the Christmas lights at Covent Garden and then took the tube to see the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.  Walking through the park after dark in winter was glorious and a lovely way to end our visits to central London.  We say goodbye with tears.  

Earlier in the week, we took a day trip by "fast train" to Dover to see the white cliffs.  When we arrived, the cab driver told us that a "serious incident" had occurred at the National Trust Visitor Center.  This meant  we could not begin our trek there so our driver drove us to a lovely spot where we began.  After getting advice from other local day hikers, we walked up to the little village St. Margaret's at Cliffe and had lunch.  We then walked back to Dover along the cliffs and took pictures of France, the Strait of Dover, and of course the beautiful White Cliffs of Dover.  It was cold and breezy 7 miles walk, but the sun was out and we finished in good time, exhausted but very pleased.  On our way through town we took a well deserved break at a local pub while waiting for the "fast train" to take us back to St. Pancrea London.  

Sunday, November 26, we attended All Souls Church, an evangelical Anglican church in central London, situated in Langham Place in Maryleborne, at the north end of Regent Street. It was designed in regency style by John Nash and consecrated in 1824.  John Stott, well known author and teacher,  was a former pastor.  What a fantastic church made up of many cultures all worshiping our Lord with beautiful song and great teaching. It reminded us of what heaven might look like.  Following the service we walked a few blocks to Regents Park.   We walked through Queen Mary's Gardens and ate at Regents Bar and Kitchen.  The London parks all have wonderful cafes and coffee shops.  We finished up by walking down Baker Street to the tube and passed the Sherlock Holmes Museum and Gift Shop at 221B Baker Street.  We stopped just long enough to take a picture.  

Other forays over the final days have included a tour of Shakespeare's Globe theatre (replica built in 1997 of the original 1599 theatre) and Burough Market for lunch where we enjoyed duck confit.  Strolling though the The National Gallery, London gave us opportunities to see Van Gogh's, Renoir's, Rubens', Monet's, Rembrandt's, Cezanne's and de Vinci's. We ate our cheese and cracker lunch on Trafalger Square before attending a free noon concert at St. Martins-in-the Fields church just across the street.  Again, it was "lovely" (British love to say this word)!

Finally, we were able to work a bit by finishing an administrative job that Stephen had for us which will ease his end of the year duties.

 

November 23, 2017 

Happy Thanksgiving to all our USA friends.  We are spending a quiet day at home, resting up for our final two weeks in London.  Tomorrow, we are invited to join some expats from the USA for a big Thanksgiving Dinner at a local church.  Many south Asians will join us so they can experience this American holiday of thankfulness. 

Last week we journeyed downtown to the British Library to see the Treasures Room.  The Library includes more than 12 million books, 180 miles of shelving and the deepest basement in London.  We saw some of the earliest maps of the world, seeing how they progressed as people learned more from explorers. There were so many ancient documents, including parchment and papyrus with fragments of the Bible.  Ancient Bibles in the collection include:  Codex Sinaiticus, one of the earliest Bibles in existence dating A.D. 350;  Codex Alexandrinus A.D. 425;  Gutenberg Bible 1455; and one of the earliest King James versions of the Bible.  As well as ancient Bibles there were some really historical documents and pieces of literature:  The Magna Carta (the document that was the foundation for the US Constitution);  Leonardo da Vinci's notebook;  a copy of Beowulf, the first English literary masterpiece A. D. 750;  Shakespeare's original documents;  and last but not least, Beatles song lyrics written on a birthday card. It was a glorious three hours.  Nancy particularly liked the large statue outside the library of Isaac Newton with a compass.

Joe Aubuchon (Alison Malone's brother) came to stay two night with us and we entertained him with one long London day adventure.  He wanted to see all he could see in 24 hours because it was his first visit to London.  We started out the day with a tour of Wembley Stadium, the most famous football (soccer) stadium in the world.  We then went downtown and walked from Green Park to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, River Thames, Westminster Abbey, White Hall Street, past 10 Downing Street, the Horse Guard, Trafalgar  Square, taking a much needed break at Sherlock Holmes Pub across from the Old Scotland Yard.  We then walked up to Leicester Square and Covent Garden, taking the tube to the Tower of London, where we crossed Tower Bridge and walked back to one of our favorite eating establishments--Black Friar.  We were exhausted but had a great day and felt like Joe had seen much of London. 

After we bid goodbye to Joe on Monday, we rested up and then spent Tuesday morning with one of our favorite almost 3 year olds, Boaz.

Wednesday was a Rick Steves tour day and it was quite amazing. Early in our time here we downloaded Rick Steves Audio Europe App. That's the app we used and did the  "Historic London: The City'" walking tour. We saw several of the 23 London Churches that Christopher Wren designed. St. Bride's Church has a steeple that resembles a traditional wedding cake. Local lore has it that  a local baker used the spire as a model for a wedding cake, thus the tradition began.  

Walking along Fleet Street, we visited Twinings Tea,  a family business that started in 1706 and claims responsiblity for the British love of tea. Temple Church, dated from 1185,  was the home of the Knights Templar who fought during the Crusades.  You Dan Brown fans will know them well!  Many were buried in the church.  Dr. Samuel Johnson lived and wrote in this part of London. We passed his house where he and his assistants compiled the first English Dictionary of 42, 773 words.  We took a break in the 1667 Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub, frequented by the likes of Johnson,  Dickens, Tennyson, Arthur Conan Doyle, W. B. Yeats, Teddy Roosevelt, and Mark Twain. Finally, we ended our walk at the monument to the great 1666 fire of London that incinerated 80 per cent of the city.  It was a great walking tour and we wondered why we had waited so long to do it!

Several of our days these last weeks will be working on a Christmas theme administrative project for Stephen.

  

November 15, 2017 

We just finished five wonderful days with our neighbors and good friends from South Carolina:  Becky Warth and Lisa Sherard.  In anticipation of their arrival, we went over to their airbnb to check out the location.  Close to us "as a crow flies", their lovely place was about an hour by the underground and bus.  The nice thing is that it was near a fantastic tube station:  Ealing Broadway.  For our touring activities, we were able to leave that station and take two different routes to downtown London as well as an easy train ride to Windsor Castle.  After checking out the place, we walked down to a nearby park and an hour later we discovered the Grand Canal.  This canal was a major means of transportation for all of England and it stretches through much of the country.  It is now used for recreation and many people live on "long" boats in the canal.  We saw six locks (Hanwell) as well as a triple bridge (train, boat, car) that were pretty cool.

A major celebration in the fall for England is the Guy Fawkes remembrance.  Guy Fawkes in 1606 was caught plotting to kill the King.  They celebrate his capture with fireworks and bonfires.  We went to a neighborhood celebration and saw the biggest bonfire in our lives as well as the best fireworks.  WOW!   They were fantastic and we were with many of our neighbors.  The celebration lasted for nearly four days. 

Just before Becky and Lisa arrived we went to the Churchill War Room.  This was his underground bunker near 10 Downing Street near Parliament.  While the Germans were bombarding London, he and his staff were safe underground managing the was efforts.  It is a MUST see if you are ever in London.  It is very well preserved and the museum area is very well done.  The central room is just as they left it in 1945.  When the war in Europe was officially over, they turned off the lights, walked out the door and locked it up. The phones, maps, desks, etc are exactly where they left them.

The day before Becky and Lisa arrived, we were blessed to have lunch with Courtney and Dustin Knapp.  Courtney is the daughter of Jerry's boss at the NCCAA (Dan Wood and his wife Kelly).  They are stationed in Germany for at least three years and they flew over for a short visit to London.  It was great to catch up with them and get updated on their life. 

The following day we were blessed with Becky and Lisa's arrival.  Their first half day here was spent getting settled and resting up. Friday morning we hit the trail.  We spent most of our time walking the streets, eating, seeing the sights, eating, catching up on old times, eating....  We took one day and went out to Windsor Castle but most of our time was spent in downtown London.  We attended evensong at Westminster Abbey, took the red bus tour to see all the major sights, went to the Tower of London, took the boat to Greenwich Market, saw fireworks from the boat on the Thames (Remembrance Day), shopped Oxford Street, went to Windsor Castle and shopping Windsor (looking for Willy Wonka chocolate), went to Abbey Road and Abbey Road Studios (the Beatles).  It was a busy five days and we all were exhausted by the end but it was worth it!  It was sad to see them go, but we are so glad we had these days with them.

 

November 3, 2017 

Its's been awhile since we've posted and as you will see, we have been actively touring and serving these past couple weeks. Although we seem to actively celebrated Jerry's 69th birthday this entire trip, the actual date was November 1st. Thanks for all the greetings via social

media!

Jerry's goal for England was to see some football matches (soccer) thus we went to Wembley to see Tottenham vs. Bournemouth.  We grabbed a Cornish Pasty outside the stadium and sat down with a Bournemouth fan and a young married couple from Canada (it's always interesting to strike up a conversation with folks as you share a picnic table).  Tottenham won 1-0 with the largest crowd in the history of the English Premier League.  

Nancy's goal was to attend the Theatre. Leicester Square in downtown London was our destination to purchase tickets for an evening performance of An American in Paris.   Great music, dancing and fellowship as we sat down and met Norris and Becky Burkes from California. As fate would have it, their lifestyle right now is similar to our's. A fun Chinese dinner followed as we all decided to meet up again (more about them later). 

The town of Cambridge was a treat .  We took the tube downtown, caught the train and enjoyed a perfect day.  Our main objective in Cambridge was to go punting on the River Cam. After a quick picnic lunch with a warm Starbucks (free drinks with star points :-) we walked over to the popular, small, quaint River Cam.   Nancy did not want Jerry to do the "punting" but chose a boat with other people and a professional punter. (The best decision in awhile as I think Jerry agrees!). The rookies were struggling, running into each other and losing their oars while we relaxed and let our guide Jonathon do the talking and punting.  We then toured the round church in the center of town which gave us some Cambridge history. A pleasant stroll through town found us attending evensong at the King's College beautiful chapel.  The nice thing about attending is that you get  inside the chapel and the college for free.   We like free.  Enjoyed dinner at an historical pub, The Eagle (recommended by Trip Advisor), that was the location where Watson and Crick announced they had discovered the secret of life (DNA).  It started as a pub in 1667!   

A few days after the Cambrige excursion we headed to the Lake District for hospitality service for the Serge team retreat.  We rented a car and Jerry got to review his left side driving skills, which are getting quite proficient.  We are now pros on the road, driver and navigator!  On our way we stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon to see Shakespeare's hometown. Sight seeing included touring the home he grew up in the 1560's, the space where he built his own home (now destroyed) after he made his money and fortune, and walking over to Anne Hathaway's cottage (his wife's parents home) which was originally built in the 1400's.  We saw a chair where Shakespeare sat while courting Anne with his initials carved in the chair.  Pretty cool. 

Because all the schools in England take off for mid-term break at the same time for this week in the fall, the roads were packed with holiday families and it took us 7 1/2 hours to traverse a 3 1/2 hour trip from Stratford to the Lake District. Not a high point of our time here.

Our service to the Serge team included morning devotions 4 times and playing with the Jones' children in the morning as well as primary responsibility for dinner.  It was great playing soccer and games, going to the park, having hot chocolate in the summer shelter, walking through the pastures, etc.  with the kids.  We had fun with those 3 special people. Our afternoons were free to explore, which we did with gusto. Our first adventure was Hadrian's Wall.  We got to see a really good thick section of the wall and the remains of an 100 AD Roman Fort while walking around the pasture with the sheep.  Another day we saw a circle of stones like Stone Henge (they are all over the Isle here) and drove over a section of the mountains that reminded us of Rocky Mt. National Park (only smaller scale).  On Sunday we attended the Carneforth Free Methodist Church (more on that in the section of what we have learned).  We drove up to Windermere (Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit country) for lunch and drove through Ambleside and Grassmere (William Wordsworth).  So many holiday folks in those two places!   The best day out was when Leah (a staff member) joined us touring Honister Slate Mine and climbing Cats Bell (a popular peak near Keswick).  

Following our week in this beautiful area, we took two days driving back to London, stopping in York.  Nancy hit a home-run with our airbnb.  We were moved up to their 4 star section and it was lovely.  We had a full English breakfast every morning and then walked up to one of the oldest cities in England.  We loved the quaint shops and narrow streets.  We ate Ethiopian food in the market, attended evensong and toured York Minster.  The old city is surround almost entirely by a medieval wall and we walked most of the 2 miles of the wall. It was originally built by the Romans and then added onto later by other groups.  A lot of history here in York.  Rick Steves suggests that York and Bath are the two most popular cities to see outside of London so we can check those both off our list. Both of them were worth the trip!

On our way back to London we noticed signs for Nottingham and Sherwood Forest so we took a one hour detour to visit Robin Hood territory and see the Major Oak (weighs 23 tons, with a waistline of 33 feet and is over 1150 years old).  Legend has it that this is where he and his band would meet before they went out to "take from the rich and give to the poor".  The problem is that this tree would have been very small in 1190 and so it would not have been a mighty oak at that time.  But this area had many large oak trees for many, many years and the location is true to legend.       

While on the road, we got a call from our new theatre friends (the Burkes) who were staying in Southampton. We all wanted to meet up in their neck of the woods before they left on November 1 so we took the train to spend the day with them in Salisbury.  We toured the Cathedral and hiked to the top (as far as they would let us go) of the highest spire in England.  We had wanted to also go out to Stonehenge but we ran out of time.  After another great Trip Advisor find by Nancy,  we had dinner in a very old pub  and took the train to the Burkes' place.  The next day, they needed time get ready for their next leg of travel, so we took an unusually slow train to Portsmouth for lunch and a fascinating tour of the Mary Rose. This salvaged ship is all that remains of King Henry VIII's early 1500's ship, recovered from the bay in the 1980's. After another great evening with the Burkes, we saw them off the next morning and we took the National Express bus back to London.   Now we are enjoyed a few days of rest.   Whew!

 

October 13, 2017 

Friday the 13th!  Obviously, this is supposed to mean bad things will happen but so far only good things are happening to us in London.  We just finished spending the week with three wonderful children:  King (7), Eden (5), and Boaz (almost 3) Jones.  Their parents took a much needed holiday and we made sure the troops got fed, dressed, made it to school, etc.  It was a fun week for all of us and we were glad to serve. 

Prior to our kid week, we enjoyed more of downtown London,  seeing Harrods Department Store, riding bikes in Hyde Park, watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (along with over 1000 other people).  You know when you are traveling you often think of "oh no what if...." scenarios.  Well on this London trip Nancy lost her Oyster card (pays for bus and tube rides). First reaction was anger at herself and thought that it still had £20 on it, but unnecessary worry. The card had a negative balance and the new one just cost £5. 

We spent a great afternoon and early evening at St. Paul's Cathedral for a self guided tour followed by attended Evensong.  That particular day was finished at a near by pub called The Blackfriar for a good old fashioned hamburger.  The Blackfriar (built in 1875) is an historic Art Nouveau Grade II masterpiece and is  one of the Nicholson's collection of great British Pubs reputed for their distinctive buildings, intriguing history, and vibrant atmosphere....and the hamburgers were wonderful.   This past Sunday we attended the Shepherds Bush church plant that is part of the International Presbyterian Church.  It was good to see familiar faces, observe the first induction of new members into this particular church (18 in number), and eat an authentic Turkish meal catered by a local restaurant.  The notable item for Jerry was that Shepherd Bush is the home of  the Queen's Park Rangers (just one more that we need to go see).  We also walked through one of the largest shopping malls in the UK (Westfield London).  Nancy wanted to buy a new pair of jeans and so my question to her was:  "What are you going to get rid of?"  Since our packing is so tight, we cannot add any new items without ridding ourselves of something.  She had already thought that through.  :) 

We got to attend our first (and not the last) soccer match.  The English National team was playing Slovenia in World Cup qualifying at Wembley Stadium (near us).  It was a great atmosphere with England winning 1-0 with an extra time goal by Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspurs).  Since the Brits only needed at least a tie to advance, they did not press the attack and so the fans grew restless. No damage done, they just created their own excitement by making airplanes out of their tickets and trying to get them to land on the field.  Many did to the cheering of everyone.  Toward the end we were treated to a fan running out onto the field being chased by security personnel.  It took three to bring him down but the crowd enjoyed it immensely.  We then joined thousands of other fans catching the tube home which was an interesting experience. 

Charity Jones took Boaz and the two of us to visit Cliveden, property last owned by the Astor family that was given to the English Heritage Trust.  The only thing we could compare it to is the Biltmore in Asheville, NC.  The gardens and property was spectacular as well as the house itself.  It was a great way to spend a lovely fall day with good friends.     

 

October 1, 2017 

Trying to figure out how to spend time in our 500 sq. ft. airbnb without a TV, radio, stereo, etc. can be a challenge. We do enjoy watching BBC programming on our computer using Netflix. One of our favorites is Lewis , the show that follows the long standing Detective Morse series and is about life and death in Oxford, so. . . . we went to Oxford! Now we recognize many locations in the show.  Getting to Oxford was fun. We began at our local tube station, Sudbury Town, heading to a station where we then changed to the Oxford Tube, a double decker bus line that serves the Oxford area. The entire trip only took 1 1/2 hours from our west London neighborhood near Wembley Stadium.  What a gorgeous, sunny day it was, making the city and the university buildings even more spectacular.  We signed up for a free scholars tour (donations were accepted and we obliged) lead by our wonderful guide Matthew.  He took us inside one of the 38 colleges (Wadham College) that make up Oxford University.  This was the week before graduation, so everything was spruced up and most buildings were open.  If we would have gone the next day, things would have been closed.  Nancy of course loved Bodleian Library (old and new) as well as Blackwell's bookstore (the largest in the UK).  On the tour, we heard C.S. Lewis and Tolkien stories, along with seeing several Harry Potter filming locations.   The city and university have been the settings of a number of movies, books, etc.  It was very cool to hear Matthew's story of how C.S. Lewis stepped out into the evening snow following a Christmas eve program at the university church.  As his feet crunched in the newly fallen snow, he looked to his right and saw a lamp post and in front of him was a door with a lion carved into it and bordered by two Satyr's (half man-half goat).  This gave him the basic idea for the Chronicles of Narnia and the rest is history.  We ate lunch at the Eagle and the Child pub where Lewis, Tolkien, and others known as the Inklings would meet and share their writings.  Lewis show tonight used that same pub as a setting and that was pretty cool.  We then walked around and were able to go into Keble College which was spectacular.  We followed that up by paying £3 (senior rates) to walk up the tower of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin.  The same church that C.S. Lewis attended for the fore mentioned Christmas eve service.  This gave us a chance to see Oxford from above . . . an amazing view at 4 p.m. in the afternoon.  We had hoped to go punting on the Cherwell River,  but decided we were too tired and would save that activity for Cambridge.  We ended our afternoon with coffee at the Queens Lane Coffee House, the oldest continually used coffee house in Europe (est 1648).  Hopping on the bus back to London, we grabbed the front seat on the top of the double deck.   Wow....great view from there! 

The following day we decided to take in a movie at the Wembley shopping mall.   Since we're in England, why not watch a little English history, so we saw Victoria & Abdul. An amazing movie made from a recently discovered journal (2010) written by an India commoner who develops a wonderful relationship with Queen Victoria. A movie worth your time!  We also want to see Goodbye Christopher Robin about the author A.A. Milne.  

Last Saturday, there was a low forecast of rain so we headed to downtown London, riding bikes and walking in Hyde Park. Sights included a striking Princess Diana memorial, Kensington Palace, Prince Albert's memorial, embassy row, and culminated with coffee and scones by the Serpentine lake.  Sunday we went back into Wesley's church for worship and communion.  We packed a lunch and ate it in the back garden where John Wesley is buried.  Ended our day by taking the #10 bus across town to see some of the sights of downtown London (from the top front seats of the double decker).   It was lovely.  Thanks Becky Warth for the magazine article that gave us that suggestion :-).

 

September 25, 2017 

Last week was quite a time as we were able to see many of the traditional London sights. Tuesday found us at the Tower of London being awed by the Crown Jewels as well as a lot of English history. We hopped on a boat taxi that took us  down the Thames River to Westminster Abbey. We did not get there in time for a tour so we were content this time to enjoy our first afternoon Cream Tea in the Cellarium Cafe followed by a beautiful evensong service at Westminster. A lovely way to spend the twilight hours in London. We then walked up Parliament and Whitehall street to Trafalger Square and on to Piccadilly Circus to catch the tube home--a great first tourist day.  

After a day of rest, we visited the British Museum. Our first stop was a special exhibit from the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia -- Scythians:  Warriors of Ancient Siberia.  We then followed the venerable Rick Steves around on our iphones for a 1 1/2 hour tour of three major civilizations showcased in the Museum --   Assyrian, Greek, and Egyptian.  Egyptian mummies and related artifacts, the Rosetta Stone (196 BC), amazing stone reliefs from the Palace of Ashurbanipal (c.650 BC), the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon of Greece (450 BC) among many other things.   Our day ended with an Afternoon Tea at the Great Court Restaurant in the Museum and a rainy walk to Covent Garden to catch the tube home.  

Saturday found us catching our first train to Windsor Castle (more on that in the What We Are Learning Section).  Windsor Castle, the weekend home of the Royal Family, was as majestic as you would expect. Because the Queen was on holiday, we were able to go up the Tower that overlooked her section of the castle, no pictures of course! We did get some great pictures on the other side of the castle of the Thames and downtown Windsor.  As you might expect, we finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a Turkish restaurant in Windsor. Of course, we each received a piece of Turkish Delite with our bill.

On Sunday,  we attended church at the John Wesley Methodist Chapel and toured the museum and his home following the service.  We were shocked to meet up with  Free Methodist Bishop Thomas leading a group from the FM Foundation on a John Wesley tour through England. We enjoyed visiting with Central Christian alums David and Shelley Goodnight as well as others in the group that we knew or had connections with. Today has been a day to catch up on laundry, exercise, and do some reading. We always enjoy those times of rest.  

 

September 18, 2017 

What a busy first 11 days in the UK!  We still have not visited the sites of downtown London, hoping to begin "playing tourist"  there tomorrow.  

During our first few days here we were privileged to help serve at a party for the  apprentices as well as spending the evening with King, Eden and Boaz Jones while their folks went out. It was fun being with these substitute grandkids. 

We are resting today from a glorious trip to Wales, leaving last Tuesday and returning on Sunday. Jerry got to test his driving skills on the opposite site of the road while Nancy served as navigator. We both survived and are still married.  :)    

It was our privilege to serve as the hospitality couple for a retreat in Llan, Wales (south of Llanbrynmair).  Our day started with helping set up for breakfast.  We then had time to explore the area during late morning and early afternoon.  We returned about 4 p.m. to prepare the evening meal.  Friday night was designed as a formal dinner which we plated and served. You might ask Jerry about how to start charcoal without any traditional starter. Nancy made brownies from scratch which was a first for here in the UK. It was a fun week working with staff members and the five apprentices.   They are all dedicated young people that are interested in serving God in London church plants. 

Even though it rained everyday, we were able to see many sites in middle Wales.  Some of the highlights included:  tea at the visitor center at the second highest peak in Wales (Cadair Idris-892m); a walk on the promenade and through ruins at the seaside (Irish Sea) city of Aberystwyth; lunch and grocery shopping in the village of Machynlleth on market day; exploring the Great Oak Bookstore in Llanidoes (per son Rodney's suggestion Nancy is buying a book that represents the area we are visiting, reading and then returning to a used bookstore); exploring Harlech castle.  This was Nancy's first official castle and she was excited!  Wales has more castles than any other country in Europe. In addition, there are more sheep than people in Wales. It was gorgeous seeing all of those white sheep on the very green hills.

On our way home,  we spent one more day and traveled through Brecon Beacons National Park on our way to visit Bath, UK.  We particularly loved the drive down the Wye Valley.  

The three most visited cities in England are London, York, and Bath.  The highlight was the Roman Baths but a close second was the Circus and the Royal Crescent.  It helped to watch Rick Steve's video on touring Bath because we were able to identify other things to see on a later date --   Pulteney Bridge,  Bath Abbey, The Royal Theatre.

Upon returning to London, unloading the car and returning it to Hertz at Heathrow airport, we then were able to navigate the tube for the first time.  We were trying to navigate ourselves to a known grocery store near our apartment only to find it closed on Sunday.   Bummer!   We walked across our beautiful park, Horsenden,  exhausted and fulfilled with a great time of serving and touring.  

 

September 10, 2017

We landed in London (Heathrow) on Thursday, September 7 to start our "home sweet anywhere

experiment"  and it has been a busy four days! So grateful that Stephen and  almost 3 year old Boaz Jones were able to pick us up at the airport after our long flight from St. Louis, to Washington, DC, to Copenhagen, and then here.  Sleeping on the plane was tough, as many of you know. We immediately got set up with SIM cards for our phones and Oyster cards for travel on London's transportation system (tube, bus, train, etc.)   We then settled into our Airbnb and enjoyed a lovely dinner with our Airbnb host, Pia and son Alfred.  What a pleasant evening!  Pia is a warm British friend with interesting stories--we are looking forward to getting to know her better.  We then spent Friday morning meeting with Steven and some of the new apprentices.  Our day began with a 30 minute walk to the Jones's home, then to the grocery store and then home across a lovely park (Horsendon Hill).  We are in the Greenford area of west London (near Wembley stadium).  Saturday night we attended and helped set up a party at the Jones' home attended by about 60 people who were associated with their work.  Today, Sunday, at 4 p.m. we attended the New Life Suwarta Sangat church in Harrow. It was great to meet some wonderful friends in Christ. Though we have different accents and sometimes we do not look exactly alike nor dress the same, we are continually reminded that heaven will be made up of all kinds of folks. Today was a glorious time.  

 

Now to backtrack and fill in the blanks. We left St. Louis after four great days with Michael and Rodney's families, driving to Greenville, SC. We rejoiced with  Seawright neighbors as we celebrates Lisa's birthday.  As always, neighbor Becky hosted us well. So look forward to her coming to see us in October (we hope!!) A great night with the Neely family and our twins was special. We ended our time staying with good friends George and Patty Bynum, such wonderful host. Lunch/Dinner/coffee with the Tates, Haddens, Megan and Katherine and time with James finished out the week. Of course in between these fun times we had various doctor appointments and procedures, but such is life! We were able to attend church at DPC and hear our wonderful pastor Brian Habig once more.  After service and a quick McDonald stop with the twins, we drove back to St. Louis to say final goodbyes to family, finish packing our two suitcases apiece, give our Ford Escape to our son Michael and flying away for 15 months (with many tears).  

 

August 25, 2017

We have arrived in St. Louis from the Northwest and what a great trip across country seeing many friends along the way as well as the beautiful USA!

A quick summary of our trip:  

We had breakfast with Daniel and Zoila Castillo (Central alumni)  along with their two lovely daughters in central Washington shortly after leaving Seattle on Thursday, Aug 17.  We stayed overnight with Becky (Johnson) Stephens near Caldwell, ID and spent the evening with her siblings: Belva and "Eddie".  We caught up with BJ (Dr. Bruce Johnson, Central professor) the next morning and went to see his wife Bonnie who was in the hospital with a knee replacement recovery.   We then drove to Victor, ID to an Airbnb and on to the Grand Tetons and through Yellowstone, ending a long day in Sheridan, WY.    Three glorious days with Mike and Marty Saxton and family was capped by watching a totality of the solar  eclipse in Casper.   WOW, that was something we will never forget. We are sure many of you feel the same!  Lovely visits and meals were spent with Saxton's daughter and husband, Audrey/Ryan and their family, Maddie Saxton, and a friend of Jerry's from many years ago (the Woodrow family and Lila who was formerly our pastors in Oklahoma when I was just a kid).   We ate, laughed, told stories, caught up on recent happenings, and just loved our time in Sheridan with GREAT friends.  

Our next stop was Rapid City, SD with Millie and Dave Samuelson.  Millie organized an amazing pizza time with about 15 Central friends (the Short extended family and others).  We left early the next morning for a very long day to the center of the United States, McPherson, KS. Many of you know this is where this adventure began nine years ago. A quick fifteen hours with dear friends Jerry and Carol Fithian gave us an opportunity to greet McPherson folks vicariously before heading overseas. Breakfast at Neighbors, some what of a tradition, and a quick stop at Central College, we ended our day in the arms of our five sweet grandkids and their parents.

Now back to Seattle:

Our five weeks in the Northwest were filled with wonder, beauty, and great fellowship with Nancy's sister Pat and husband Paul and their special family. What great memories were made.  We took the train to a Sounders soccer game and got delayed by a RV getting stuck under the train tracks---that's never happened before!  We took the bus into a Mariners baseball game, took the ferry to West Seattle, rode our bikes on Whidbey Island to Langley (up and down many hills).  We hiked Mt. Pilchuck which was difficult but well worth it to see a 360 panorama of the area.  We got to see many Central friends at events at Warm Beach Retirement Center; Salem, OR; Mill Creek; and Wanatchee.   Hal and Kathie Hoxie (President at Central Christian College) hosted these events and we just tagged along.  We got to have dinner and attend church with many former Central friends.  

 

July 17, 2017

 Its's been awhile since we've updated, so here we go!

 On July 7th, we moved into our airbnb overlooking Puget Sound and the Mukilteo ferry landing.  So far we have had sunshine every day and yet we still have to always carry a jacket. Summers are wonderful in the Pacific NW!!  

 Soon after we arrived in June, Nancy's sister and spouse, Joan and Mendel Kugler flew in from Colorado and joined Pat and Paul Collins on Nancy's requested adventure as a reward for turning 65 last year.  Driving north in a rented van, we spent 2 days exploring Vancouver, BC. The Kuglers and Malones then took the train to Jasper where Collins met us with the van.  What an amazing overnight train trip. For the next 5 days we  traveled around Jasper and Canmore Alberta Canada in the Canadian Rockies.  WOW!  so different from the Rockies in the USA.  Up close we saw bears, mountain goats, elk, and other wonderful wildlife.  The Columbia Ice Fields were awe inspiring. Jasper was our favorite wild Canadian city! You should all be impressed that we "climbed" to a 11,000 foot mountain peak, after coming up the Jasper Gondola. But, really, it was hard work!  

 Since returning, we have moved in and set up "house". Tourist activities include visiting downtown Seattle, attending a Sounders Soccer game (vs. Frankfort, Germany), munching our way through Pike Place Market, taking the ferry to West Seattle.  It's so fun to have our own personal tour guides, Pat and Paul!  

 Friday, July 14, was such a special day. First we got a real workout by taking the ferry from Mukilteo with our bikes over to Whidbey Island. Not exactly the kind of ride for our heavy city bikes, but we made it from Clinton to Langley and back. After a well earned nap and shower, we meant our good friend from Greenville, SC, Denice Harris and her handsome son Cameron in Marysville. So good to reconnect!

 

 Yesterday (Sunday) we attended Seattle First FM Church (SPU college church) with Gary and Celeste Cranston. After lunch at one of their favorite Queen Anne Hill eateries, Gary gave us a quick tour of the Hill.     

  

June 22, 2017 

We have finally arrived at our destination:  SEATTLE  It was so good to see Nancy's sister Pat and her husband Paul.  After four weeks on the road, we are ready for a slower pace to life:  sleeping in, not going anywhere, being in a home, riding bikes, having coffee, enjoying the summer weather in the northwest, etc.  We enjoyed so much our trip from LA up the 101 (and also Hiway 1 when possible).  Our most recent travels took us through Santa Barbara where we stopped by to visit the Free Methodist Church where Jerry's former Oklahoma friend:  Denny Wayman pastored (now retired).  We did not see Denny but enjoyed visiting with Doug Ranke (youth pastor).    It is always nice to reconnect with our FM roots.  We enjoyed touring the mission there that was founded by Father Junipero Serra (1700's) who was responsible for missions all along the coast of California from Monterey to Santa Barbara.  We enjoyed a couple of nights in Morro Bay and loved touring the Hearst Castle.  We also saw hundreds of elephant seals along the beach.  The rock at Morro Bay is awesome.  The 101 was closed near Big Sur because of a huge landslide which meant we had to go inland for the rest of the trip north to Santa Cruz.  The coastline drives were incredible and all we had thought they would be.   We were so excited to meet up with our long time friend Mike Saxton who was at his daughter's (Adrienne and Christo) house.   We loved meeting the family and kids and spending one evening with Paul Harrison who played Central baseball for Mike and Jerry.   We ventured into San Francisco and loved riding the cable cars, taking a boat tour of the bay, seeing whales, the golden gate bridge, Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, etc.   What fun it was to meet up with SC friend Patty Bynum on the 17 Mile Drive in Carmel, CA. Had a chance to meet her brother and family and a cousin. We then hit wine country in Sonoma, then the Redwood forest drives on our way to Eureka .What a cute Airbnb we had in Eureka called Colorful Corner.   Up the coast to Newport to spend a night with Phil (our nephew), a jaunt over to Salem to have lunch with Jerry's Central roommate Dave and Trudy Henderson, and then backtrack a little to Eugene to see our niece Megan and Jeff Postlewait.  Our next stop was to Portland to visit with Dan and Becky Hibbett, Bryan and Lindsie Bailey, and Mary Kraft Prokof and husband Gary.  This last part of our trip was seeing people instead of sights however Mary and Gary took us to see the Columbia Gorge and Multnomah Falls.   fantastic! Our final stop before Seattle was in Longview to visit with Paster Scott Hemberry and Nikki.  What a great young couple and family serving the Lord in such a great way.    

 

June 7, 2017

 We are enjoying our time with good friends Paul "George" and Carolyn Berry in LA.  We just returned from their Hollywood tour.  They are the best tour guides in LA having grown up in the area with hundreds of stories about what LA used to be.   They also rival Greenville's Stuart Lenning in regard to knowing unique places to eat.  We did Phillipe's wonderful French Dip sandwiches today.  Its been around for 110 years  (one of the oldest restaurants in LA and claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich) and you still have to wait in line.  Since our last report, we have been to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon National Parks.   WOW!   We loved them all.  Nancy put them all in rank order:  1.  Arches   2.  Bryce  3  Grand 4  Canyonlands  5  Capitol Reef  6   Zion. Jerry's ranking differed somewhat but it was a difficult task because they were beyond belief.  We finished those off with a wonderful trip visiting Nancy's Central College roommate Verda Amundsen Reeves and her husband Jeff in Payson, AZ. A great benefit of this trip is seeing and visiting friends like Verda and new friend Jeff! What a beautiful, cool climate in the mountains north of Phoenix!    Jerry also was able to connect with Danny Anderson in Payson.  Danny was one of Jerry's first soccer recruits in the middle 70's and helped him build a strong program that continues at Central under Aaron Hoxie.  We then spent an evening in Las Vegas (Nancy's first time), saw Hoover Dam, the Strip, and ate at Lemon Grass in the Aria and the Hash House at Linq (and also stayed at Linq).  After a long drive across the Mohave Desert at 105 degrees, we landed in misty Carlsbad, CA to camp on the Pacific Ocean in 60 degree weather.  What a shock to our system!  We were blessed to have dinner with Jacob, Nancy's great nephew, son of Joan's daughter Crystal and Eddie. Another great restaurant in Ensinitas, the Taco Stand. The following day, we enjoyed Cabrillo National Monument (the smallest National Park in the USA) in Point Loma and had lunch and a little bike ride in Balboa Park.  

 

May 29, 2017 

We are sitting in our airbnb at Cactus Hill Motel near Capitol Reef National Park in Torrey, Utah.  Wow...what a beautiful and majestic part of the country!  (see our pictures) After leaving McPherson, we spent two days with Nancy's sister Joan and husband Mendal Kugler in Greeley, CO.  It had been quite a while since Jerry had seen them.  It was a great time.  We left Greeley for Moab, Utah with a short side trip lunch stop in Aspen, CO (because we had never been).  A beautiful city and area but a little too "hoity toity" for us.  :)  Moab was an oasis in the middle of no where.  We camped for three days near downtown (urban camping).  The two National Parks nearby:  Arches and Canyonlands, were unbelievably beautiful and impressive.  Southern Utah is an up and coming destination place and is certainly moving up our list of MUST SEE places.  We took the long scenic route to Capitol Reef and it was breathtaking.  Fruita and Torrey are an oasis with farming, green fields and orchards surrounded by rugged and jagged rocks. We have really enjoyed this particularly small park.  As you might expect, we have found great restaurants all along the way.  Nancy's TripAdvisor app has very seldom let us down.  

  

May 23, 2017

 We have left McPherson, KS and our many beloved friends.  Many thanks to Hal and Kathy Hoxie for allowing us to serve at Central Christian College.  The past four months have been a marvelous experience and has blessed us more than we have blessed the Central community.  We implore any retired Central alum to consider spending one semester serving at Central.  Just close up your home, pack your bags and move back to McPherson and use your skills/abilities to serve Central.  Visit with President Hoxie to see how you can best be used.  We hope that many will follow in our footsteps.  It will help you reconnect and get to know the new faculty and staff that are committed to changing lives.  They are quality people just like the Ivers, Ferrells, Rhodes, Klines, Sellbergs, etc.  What a legacy they are creating.  We were impressed with the spiritual climate on campus even though a lot of changes have been made and many new faces.

The mission is still in tack and changing lives for eternity is happening.  Quality people have moved on from Central (retired or other jobs) but quality people have filled those positions.  At the Ivy Cutting during Commencement weekend there were many stories that sounded very similar to those we heard for 38 years while we were on staff.   BE ASSURED...Central is on the right track.  

   

April 4, 2017

 Its been two months and it is time to update the website.  Thank you for following our adventure.  If you have any questions for us or would like to make comments, feel free to click on contact (above) and respond.   We would love to hear from you.  

 

We are beginning our ninth week in McPherson and this is giving us a good idea of what life will be like for us the next few years.  We have only six weeks remaining.  We just spent 26 hours in the car driving back to Greenville, SC (by way of St. Louis) to see our doctors as well as our friends.  It was a great time but very tiring.  We had porch time with our wonderful neighbors John, Lisa and Becky, the first night we arrived and saw the Neely family our third night, stayed with Keith and Terry Tate our last two nights.  In between we saw so many friends and loved getting re-connected.  We followed this up by a day trip to Enid, OK to walk with our niece (who has MS) at the local MS walk.   Loved being there for her and encouraging her.  Jerry is spending approximately 4 hours per day in the Archives of the Central library organizing the athletic history files for all sports.  He is getting close to finishing that step and then will finally begin compiling history for the coaches.  Nancy is still working on writing grants.  On March 17, we were the chapel speakers at Central and shared our journey with the students, faculty and staff, as well as the Central Board of Trustees.  It was a fun time.  

 

February 8, 2017 

  We arrived in McPherson, KS on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) and were greeted by President Hoxie and his wife Kathy at our house at 214 West Ave. F.  The house was in great shape and completely ready for us to move in--Nancy was excited.  It is very large, we are not used to this much space.  We have grown accustomed to small places.  There are times we cannot find each other.  :)   Sunday morning at the Free Methodist Church was spent meeting and greeting McPherson friends.  Monday began with prayer along with President Hal and his staff. We sure enjoyed time with Hal as he shared his love and vision for Central. Guess we are now "official" campus members with our CCC email and ID card.  We have visited with Director of Spiritual Formation & Experiential Learning Justin Mourn about being part of a chapel service.  Nancy will serve the Advancement office by researching and assisting with grant writing.  Jerry has been asked to assist with the  planning and organizing of an Athletic Hall of Fame.  We are eager to begin this week on these projects.  The weather has been warm-cold-warm, typical Kansas weather, forgot how crazy it is :-). We plan on getting outside this weekend in 70 degree weather (maybe hike Horse Thief Canyon).  We had lunch with Tony Romero and his 3 year old and Guy and Jayme Gardner and baby.  We may be doing some child care as we seem to readily offer to help out the young parents on campus to arrange date nights.  We love to support marriages anyway we can.  We will be hooked up to AT&T internet on Friday, so for now we are at McDonalds working on this update. 

 

 January 30, 2017 

Two more days in St. Louis and then we will move on to Kansas via Arkansas and Oklahoma.  Today we are moving three large pieces of furniture from our storage to Rodney's house (two bedroom pieces and a family heirloom desk that belonged to Jerry's grandfather).  Tomorrow we will rent a small U-haul trailer and transport the final pieces of family history to Oklahoma (two bedroom pieces, a rocking chair belonging to Jerry's grandparents, and a library table (Nancy's mom).  We will take two days to travel to Kansas because we want to stop in Arkansas to visit an uncle and then on the Enid, OK to visit other of Jerry's family (sister, brother, niece, etc.).  We plan to arrive in McPherson, KS on Saturday, Feb. 4.

 

January 13, 2017 (Friday the 13th)

We are all settled in waiting on an ice storm to hit St. Louis today and tomorrow.  With Jerry's recent Rotator Cuff surgery, we will not be going outside until this is over.  Our biggest adjustment so far has been the colder weather.  We loved the mild winters of South Carolina however we saw pictures of the snow in Greenville so we are much the same.  We look forward to spring time but not the wind that comes with it.

We began to our retirement dedicated to service by volunteering at Michael's Charter School:  St. Louis College Prep.  Nancy worked in the library pulling books that are too old, too dated, etc. and we tossed them.  Jerry spent time dusting, cleaning, and vacuuming.  Mike has a painting project next week.  

We have enjoyed our times with the families however Brett and Alison have flown to Chang Mai, Thailand for a conference for Pioneers Missionaries and will return Monday.  Jerry has taken the grandkids to shoot baskets at the local YMCA.   (a YMCA membership for the month was our christmas gift from the kids).  

Jerry drove to Oklahoma for his uncles funeral and got to spend time with his family.  While there he was able to get commitments from them for some of our remaining pieces of furniture and memorabilia which is a relief.  

We have settled into our apartment and it is beginning to feel like home but we are making plans for our next move to McPherson, KS the first week of February.  We will continue to spend time serving at Mike's school throughout the month as well as glean through our final boxes to determine where things will go.

January 3, 2017

Happy New Year friends, family and followers! Since our last post, we have enjoyed the lovely season of Christmas with our dear friends in Greenville, SC. A bittersweet time of memories, laughing, good food and drink, hugs and kisses, and farewell. This morning we are in our comfortable Airbnb in St. Louis, MO.

We left Greenville on New Year's Day, driving to Clarksville, TN. After a surprisingly restful night, we made it to St. Louis about 1:00 p.m. under a drizzly, cloudy sky. Our dear son, Brett, his great wife Alison and her "he's my new favorite person" brother Joe were on hand to begin the unloading process. As might be expected, it was not easy or as fast as we planned, but it happened!

Our middle son Rodney and his wife Gina and gkids Will, Eva and Alex made it back from a Christmas trip to Florida about the same time we arrived. We tried to not overwhelm them with "stuff", but did drop some items off at their home. A few went to Michael and Erin's home and the rest is in free UHaul storage for 1 month. On a sidenote, Michael and Erin were at the Sugar Bowl last night in New Orleans. BOOMER SOONER!! We hope to see Kye and Yuri today. 

Our evening ended with pizza here at the apartment with our moving crew and family,  great OU football watching for some and a good game of Scattergories for others!

 

Of course, I am up early with my brain buzzing. It's not like we have to "set up house", but many of you will understand the need to "nest" :-). Also, I needed to spend some quiet time in the Word and with our God. It's still not easy, tears come easily, but I know we are in His will. I'll close with this verse from Romans 56:13 -- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Love, Nancy

  

December 23, 2016

Merry Christmas to any who read this! Its nearly Christmas day (25th) and moving day (Jan. 1).  what a fast six months since retirement from the NCCAA.  We have all our pictures (including slides) on digital and now can get rid of those.  Nancy has a lot of boxes packed to either take to Good Will or to St. Louis.  We have all our furniture accounted for:  either giving it away or taking them to our families in St. Louis.  Rotator Cuff surgery (Nov. 30) has slowed Jerry down a  bit but it should not delay are plans.  We are busy each day spending time with good friends ("saying goodbye")   Nancy will have a difficult time leaving James (a young boy with autism that she has worked with for the past six years.  There have already been tears.  It will  be hard leaving our good friends and neighbors and the beautiful city of Greenville.   

 

November, 2016

We are presently in our rented home in Greenville, South Carolina until December 31, 2016.  Jerry is busy sorting through pictures and family memorabilia and digitizing them so they can be discarded.  Nancy and Jerry are both sorting through clothes and household goods to give away to Greenville friends or Goodwill; bequeath to the landfill; or transfer to St. Louis where our families there will take ownership of the "stuff" or store for us (not more than a couple tubs we hope!). 

 

Our plan is to keep our residence here in Greenville. This means, we will retain our current doctors and dentist for "regular" visits and consults.

 April 14, 2020

It appears that most everything is put on hold until we see what this virus does.  We are in no hurry to make any decisions.  We are planning on moving to St. Louis July 1 and will go to Costa Rica IF it is safe.  

This Sunday, we have to move to a different house here in Greenville. The place we are in has someone committed to move in April 20 and so we will move back into our old neighborhood in the house of a friend. It will put us 4 houses away from our former house and neighbors. That will be fun for us.

We have already moved our travel to Europe until October 1 but only if things are safe.  Rodney's Hall of Fame activity at Greenville University is planed for October and we will definitely be here for that.  If we get the itch to travel, we might go to Canada or Alaska, staying near home.  We also have a missionary friend in Mexico we might serve.  There is also a chance to serve in the USA with SCORE International.  

So at this point, it is "wait and see".  God is in control and we will just let Him do what He does best.   

March 19,2020

 

People always ask us what we are doing next, wellllllll..now we just don't know.  It seems that the Covid-19 is dictating our future.  Little did we see this coming.  What we do know:  We will not be leaving the USA until this calms down.  Both Athletic Halls of Fames have been moved to later dates.  Nancy's trip back to St. Louis this week to watch Alex in the Wizard of Oz musical was cancelled. We lean towards skepticism about our Costa Rica trip in July. Our plans for the fall will have to be put on hold which means that we will probably spend time in St. Louis and Greenville, SC.  We could make a shorter trip to Canada (Alaska) or Mexico, if things calm down and get back to normal.  At this point, as with most of you, we don't know what normal will look like. 

January 29, 2020

Not much has changed in regard to our future plans.  We are just further along in our planning.  We have all the flights and arrangements for our Cruise with the Fithians and Saxtons for Feb. 28-March 8.  We have scheduled one day together at the beginning of the Cruise and one day at the end in San Diego. We are finally getting to fulfill our dream trip with two special couples.  

We plan on driving back to St. Louis for the weekend of March 21-22 to watch Alexandra (our youngest grandkid) in her second show, The Wizard of Oz. The knee replacement surgery is still being planned for March 12 with plenty of rehab following.  

We will leave Greenville, SC around April 10 and drive to Oklahoma to see Jerry's family around Enid for a couple of days and then journey to McPherson, KS for the week of the Central Athletic Hall of Fame where his fall 1986 National Championship Soccer team will be inducted.  Due to a conflict, we will have a celebration night with the team on Friday, April 17 and then will drive to Greenville, IL for Rodney's (son) induction as a soccer player in the Greenville University Athletic Hall of Fame.  We are sad that we cannot attend both, but family trumps the team and we are excited to see all the players as well as celebrate with Rodney and the family. 

We will move into our St. Louis apartment on April 20 and stay there until July 18.   In July we are planning on flying the family to Costa Rica for our 49/50th Wedding anniversary. We plan to spend eight days serving SCORE International, seeing volcanoes, hitting the beach and the mountains in the cloud forest.   

As of today we are planning on flying back to Europe in late August/September for another six months.  The plan at this point is to spend time in Belgium, Lithuania, and maybe Hungary.   We might have stopovers in Scotland and Ireland. 

In November 2020, we will fly to Barcelona to join up with a cruise sponsored by the committee we are on called Impact Europe.  We will sail to France and Italy with the purpose of sharing the ministry and vision of Impact Europe.   If any of you are interested, please contact us. You may also see information at the link above "Information About November, 2020 Impact Europe Cruise". 

We will  be back in the USA sometime after February and will once again split time between St. Louis and Greenville, SC.   Our next destination might be Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba, who knows!

December 27, 2019

We are leaving St. Louis in a few days. It is a pleasure to pick up the g-kids after school each day, have them over to the apartment after school and listen to their stories of the day.  One of my favorite pictures is Nancy sitting on the couch with two granddaughters, one laying her head in her lap, having an intense conversation.  

On December 31, we will pack up everything and drive to Greenville, SC where we will stay through March and early April.  We went by and visited with the home owners. They are a wonderful Presbyterian pastoral couple that are moving to Florida for him to teach in a small seminary. Their son and family will move into the house after we leave. It is a ranch style home (fully furnished) with much more space than we are used to having.  I'm sure we will close off parts of the house just because we do not need that much space HOWEVER, if anyone wants to visit us......come on down.  We will do New Year's Eve in Greenville with our neighbors.  Nancy will probably go back and serve at Homes of Hope and Jerry will serve the NCCAA.  At this point, Jerry has his knee replacement surgery set for  March 12 because he could not get it scheduled any sooner. 

We love the place we are renting in St. Louis and so we have visited with the owner and will continue to rent it for April, May, June and early July.  When we find a place we like, we enjoy returning.  It gives us that continuity we long for. 

We are planning on celebrating our 49/50th wedding anniversary with a trip with our family to serve together.  Brett and Alison are returning to the USA this summer and so we will move up our celebration to July, 2020.  Right now we are considering taking them on a SCORE International trip to Costa Rica.  We are working on the details. 

This would mean that we would leave for Europe  August 1.  This is holiday month for most of Europe and so we might not have much to do during those first few weeks.  Right now we are looking at serving in Belgium and Lithuania with a possibility of Hungary or Romania as well.  If we do 3 places, then we will spend two months at each location.  One problem we have is that all these countries are in Schengen which means we can only stay 90 days in these countries and then must leave unless we get a Schengen visa (which we might).  Staying 180 days in Schengen would work much better.  

If we follow this plan, then we would return to the USA February 1, 2021.  Once we return we would like to spend some in Canada, Alaska, and Mexico for our next tour but that is too far to think about now. 

November 19, 2019

We have spent most of this first week in St. Louis with both families and will be spending Thanksgiving week in Greenville, SC seeing friends, doctors, and dentists.  We leave this Friday for the drive to Greenville.  It's great to get our car back even though Michael has enjoyed a "free car" for most of the year.   Sorry Mike!   

We have a nice apartment in St. Louis for the month of December and we have a nice house in Greenville, SC for January-March.  We then will spend April-June in St. Louis to watch sporting events.  

Our schedule is still the same as the Oct. 21 report but we are beginning to confirm our 49/50th wedding anniversary celebration in July, 2020.  Brett and Alison will be home and so we want to take the family to Costa Rica for a missions trip experience as well as vacation (beach and cloud forest).  We are working on the details with our financial advisor as well as SCORE International people in Costa Rica.  We are excited!   

We have also made contact with a couple of contacts in northern Europe (Lithuania, and Brussels) for August-January.  We will see how that goes.  We will need to have all the details for this next venture worked out by March.  

We are looking forward to a February Cruise out of San Diego with long time friends:  Fithians and Saxtons.  We have talked about this for over 10 years and now we are making it happen.   YES!!  

October 21, 2019

Our plan remain the same in regard to our future time but we had to cancel our trip to see Dustin and Amy in Thessaloniki this week because of feeling stressed about packing and getting ready.  One thing we like to do is to take our time so we aren't rushed and we need this final week to work out final details with plenty of time.  We just locked in our dates and hotels through Florence and tomorrow with finish our details by booking Cinque Terre.  We have looked ahead and it will be getting cooler (especially in Bled, Slovenia) but it won't be uncomfortable.  It will warm back up a little when we get to Italy.  We are enjoying really nice fall weather here (middle 70's).  We have finalized our housing back in the USA through March 31, 2020 so that is a relief.  Jerry is hoping to schedule the knee replacement early January and so we will lay low in Greenville, SC for that first month of the year.  

Nancy has scheduled a sisters trip for early December in San Antonio, TX and Jerry will travel during the same time to Tampa, FL for a committee meeting for Impact Europe (both of us are members).  

We found out that Brett and Alison will probably be back in the USA for summer 2020 and so we might celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary one year early because we will all be together as a family.

September 25, 2019

No changes yet from our earlier post except that Brett and Alison are probably coming to Bulgaria to visit us.  We are excited.  We also have an opportunity to visit friends Dustin and Amy Albright who will be in Thessaloniki.  We had to turn down a request to fly to London to serve our friends Steven and Charity for one week while they hold staff meetings. :-(

September 17, 2019

We have our future itinerary set with a few "maybes".  It is exciting to plan our return back to the USA.  We have been gone since March 1 and that has seemed long.  We are beginning to feel that 6 months in Europe might be a better length of time for us.  We would then try to divide 3 months in Greenville, SC and 3 months in St. Louis.  We will see. This Wednesday we helped David and Jill Sweet and their family to the airport for their flight back to the USA for a few months. Chance and Dee Dee Galloway will take a few days off and vacation on Thassos (Greek island) and then they both will be in the UK by the middle of October.  That will leave Nancy and I here for the final two weeks on our own.  We just found out that Dustin and Amy Albright (friends from Greenville, SC) will be in Thessaloniki at the end of October and we would love to see them.  That would be our third trip to Thessaloniki.  Brett and Alison  have mentioned they might come to Bulgaria for a visit.  Those plans are still up in the air.  We will probably use those final two weeks to see other places in Bulgaria and maybe drive over into Romania and North Macedonia.  We still have some exploring to do.   

August 16, 2019

We just confirmed our plans with Patty Bynum in Oct-Nov.  We have scheduled a bus from Sofia to Zagreb on Oct. 26.  This will give us one day there before she arrives on Oct. 28.  We will rent a car and pick her up at the airport and drive to Rovinj, Croatia (along the coast) to spend two days.  We will then drive back to Zagreb by way of wine country and spend some time at Plitvice Lakes National Park.  We will then spend two days in Zagreb before she catches her flight back to the USA. It will be great to see another friend while over here.  

We will be hosting four guys from Scotland this next week who are coming to work on the Saint John Girls' Home. Dedication of the Home is on September 7 so pray with us that it will be mostly finished by then. There will also be a Free Methodist leadership meeting here in September which we are available to help host and provide support in the background.  

Mike and Maria Long have invited us down to work with them on a camp for refugees sometime in September but we have not confirmed this yet.  We hope to get enough free time to go see Rila Monastery and the city of Plovdiv.  We also think we will get to go over to see church plants in North Macedonia and Serbia.  We are looking forward to meeting Dee Dee when she returns in a week.

July 15, 2019

 Actually, not much has changed from our last post.  This pretty much sums up our plans and we have purchased our tickets, reserved our hotels, and are beginning to watch Rick Steves videos on Bulgaria.  We realize we should have taken the bus from Burgas to Sofia so we could have seen a lot of the country.  Oh well, we can always do that the next time.  We always feel like we will return to many of these places and so that means we are never saying "goodbye" forever.  That helps us deal with leaving.  

Just a sidelight:  we were counting the countries we have been to (Brett says you can't count airports...you have to leave the airport to count the country).....Jerry has been to 33 countries counting the USA....and Nancy has been to 27.  We hope to see most of the Balkan countries and that will add to the total because there are a lot of them and they are small and close to each other.  The world is a big place and there are lots of things to see and learn and we are curious and this drives us to the next stop.....BUT we are getting anxious to return home to see family and friends. 

July 4, 2019

One of those "bucket list" things we want to do while in Israel is to drop over into Jordan and see Petra, the renowned archaeology sight featured in an Indiana Jones movie.  We are scheduled to do that next Tuesday, July 9.  We will take a bus from Nazareth to Amman, Jordan, catching a bus to Petra after a night in Amman. We will stay in the nearby desert village of Wadi Musa for two nights.  We are tired of traveling but are still looking forward to spending some down time in Petra.  We will return to Amman for one night and then catch the bus back to Nazareth. 

We will settle in at Tur'an until August 1, helping with the children's summer camp at church.  A group is coming in from Taiwan to help as well.  August 1, we will fly to Burgas, Bulgaria on the Black Sea for 3 days for a little R&R, and then will fly to Sofia, the capital for 3 days to see the sites.  One August 7, we will take the bus to Kyustendil, Bulgaria to begin serving Chance and DeeDee Galloway.  Galloway's are Free Methodist missionaries working with women who are trying to get out of difficult situations in their lives.  Al and Diane Mellinger are in the States until November and they are graciously leaving their car for us to use which will be quite a change for us.

Towards the end of October and until mid November we will travel the Balkans and northern Italy, meeting up for a few days with one of our favorite travel partners, Patty Bynum from Greenville, SC. We have not made any decisions regarding a flight home, but it is time to start looking. St. Louis is usually our go to destination and then on to Greenville. We have plans now to be in the States until at least June 2020.  Our next trip back to Europe to serve will include some of the northern countries.  We are getting contacts in Belgium and Hungary and will begin to make other contacts as well.  If you know of someplace we could serve in that region, please contact us.

June 5, 2019

 We have planned our time with Brett and Alison in the country of Georgia for June 19-28.  We will fly to Tbilisi (the capital) to spend a couple of days and then we will let them guide us around the country.  We have booked a food tour in the city which is highly recommended.  Georgia is known for its good food and I'm sure some of it will be new for us (which we look forward to).  

Following our time together, we have booked three days in Istanbul to see one of the most iconic cities in the world.  We hope this will give us a flavor of Turkey so that we will want to return again. We plan on meeting with a friend who runs a tour agency here in Tur'an to see about planning our trip with Michael to Petra in Jordan. In the meantime, we will serve Ziad and his ministry here any way we can.  Last night we reconnected with one of our English teacher friends and we will introduce her to Michael. We also plan on spending some time with the people at Nazareth Evangelical College.  

Our due date for Bulgaria is August 6.  We will probably go a few days early and spend time in Sofia before we travel out to the village where we will serve with FM missionaries, the Galloways.  

We are still looking forward to linking up with another Greenville, SC friend,  Patty Bynum in early November.  We will spend time in the Balkans with her and then will travel by ourselves across the northern part of Italy to see Venice, Florence, Pisa, and Cinque Terre before flying home in time for Thanksgiving.  

Nancy has a friend that wants to do a missions trip and so she is planning on doing that sometime early summer 2020.  We are beginning to think about northern Europe for our next overseas excursion but there needs to be a lot more thinking and planning.  We have developed leads in the country of Jordan, Egypt, as well as another contact in Israel (serving at Jerusalem University College in Jerusalem). 

April 28, 2019

We now have 23 days left in Spain and so much we want to do.  Our Greenville, SC, Seawright Street neighbors are coming this Friday and we have reserved an apartment downtown Madrid where we will all stay and travel together.  We will attend a Flamenco show and spend a day in Toledo.  We then will travel by fast train to Barcelona where we hope to have sunshine and spend time on the beach as well as tour the famous La Sagrada Familia Cathedral.  We then will take the train to Valencia and spend the day biking the city as well as eating along the beach.  We will send them back to Madrid for a overnight near the airport so they can catch their flight the next day.  We will stay with friends:  Isabelle and Paco Martinez for a couple of days.   This will only leave us only one more week before we leave.  We still would like to see the walled city of Avila but it would only be a day trip.  

We leave for Rome on May 22 and on May 29 we will fly to Tel Aviv and take the train to Jerusalem where we will stay 3 days, meeting up with Fithians, Ferrells, and Andersons from McPherson, KS.  They are on an educational trip to Israel led by Larry Anderson so we get to catch them at the end of their trip. 

On June 2, we will take the bus to Tu'ran, Israel and stay in our beloved Palestinian village with friends and the pastor:  Ziad and Randa Farraj. We miss them so much and look forward to reconnecting.  We have talked about going with them to the south of Israel to Eilat, Israel and then go over to see Petra in Jordan. Our time in Israel is flexible but we are planning on living and serving there for approximately one month. 

During July, we hope to connect with Brett and Alison.  We also will probably try to spend some time in Turkey to see Istanbul as well as the 7 cities mentioned in the first few chapters in Revelation. 

Sometime near August 1, we will arrive in Bulgaria to live and serve with FM Missionaries for three months.  At the end of our time we will meet up with our long time friend Patty Bynum and will bus through the Balkans and spend a few days on the beach with her.  After Patty flies home, we plan to bus/train across the Balkans and enter northern Italy.  We will then fly home to the USA sometime in the middle of November.

Jerry will schedule a knee replacement which is long overdue.  We need to get him ready to go at full speed again.   

We have long had on our bucket list (talked about at least 10 years) a cruise with friends:  Mike and Marty Saxton and Jerry and Carol Fithian.   I think in February, 2020, we have finalized our plans for this great event. 

The summer of 2020, we are talking about helping Josh and Suzy Fajardo plan a trip   Oberammergau Passion Play, Bavaria, Germany for interested Free Methodist friends.  He will promote it at General Conference this summer in Florida.  If we come for that, we will probably spend time in the northern countries of Europe and see Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Poland, etc.  We don't have many connections in that part of the world and so we will have to do some research.   If you have contacts in that region, let us know. 

 April 5, 2019

We have been busy planning our next two months here in Spain.  We want to do a day trip to Avila (walled city) and a lengthy trip down south to Granada, Seville, and Cordoba.  Friends from South Carolina will be coming May 3-10 and so we have been busy organizing and planning for this great week together. 

We also have acquired a place in Jerusalem for June when we meet up with Jerry and Carol Fithian. They are coming to Israel with Larry Anderson's trip from Central Christian College.   

March 13, 2019

 We are planning day trips into Madrid as well as day trips to other surrounding cities such as Toledo and Alcala de Henares (Cervante's birthplace).  

We have made contact with our friends in Valencia:  Paco and Isabelle Martinez; Ed and Jamie Bynum in Granada; and a former church friend from South Carolina, Dan Dillard in Salamanca.

We also want to visit Sevilla, Segovia, Barcelona, and possibly the countries of Portugal and Morocco.  Time will tell.  We want to serve the missionaries here first and foremost. 

We will host our neighbors from Greenville, SC sometime in late April and we are making plans for that.  We will be busy while here in Spain.  Normally, we don't know so many people in a country. 

February 26, 2019

It has been REALLY cold these two months up north in Illinois!!  We had hoped to ride some bikes and see some outdoors sights in the area but it has been just too cold.  We did really enjoy a day trip with Greg and Lucia Delamarter to Lincoln' museum in Springfield as well as the governor's mansion.  

We are beginning to pack up for our 9 months in Europe.  We love being with our family and friends here in the states,  but we have folks we look forward to meeting and reuniting with in Europe.  

Our schedule remains the same in regard to what was last posted.  Our neighbors (John and Lisa, and Becky) are still planning on coming to Spain to see us sometime in late April, early May.   Our friend Patty might meet us in the Balkans at the end of our time in Bulgaria.  Details still have to be worked out.  The invitation is open to any of our friends out there who might want to come visit us.  Just email us or respond to this blog and let us know when and where.  We have turned into pretty good tour guides and can help you get around with little trouble.  We usually learn all the short cuts and work out the kinks which makes your time with us easier.    

January 15 2019

We are planning on seeing some of the sights in the southern Illinois area such as Abraham Lincoln's historical sights.  We also plan on seeing a lot of the families in St. Louis because we are only 45 minutes away.  We hope to have them up for some time here in Greenville.  We have enjoyed reconnecting with Greg and Lucia Green Delamarter and other friends.  Jerry has been on weekly phone conferences as Central plans for a big celebration on February 16:  75th year for intercollegiate athletics and the Hall of Fame.  He and Jerry Fithian will serve as the MC's at the banquet. 

Recently we were asked to do a seminar at the Mitchell Road Presbyterian church in Greenville, SC on Feb. 23 where we will discuss our retirement model of serving around the world.  We are excited about this opportunity to share.  We also will reconnect with the Steven Jones family from London.  We have also been asked to write a column for the Central College Development Office to use in a college publication.  

We will continue to be useful around campus until our flight to Europe on March 4. We are excited that our SC friends John, Lisa, and Becky are planning on coming to see us in Madrid.  After close to 3 months we will fly to Rome for a few days to sight see and then on to Israel where we will visit friends in Tur'an.  Our plan is to arrive in Bulgaria for August-October. Before that, we hope to have time to visit Brett and Alison, maybe visit Turkey and then on to Bulgaria.  We will then tour the Balkan countries and end up in northern Italy,  flying home in time for Thanksgiving 2019.    

November 22, 2018

We will be leaving Greenville, SC and moving to Greenville, IL in early January.  We will be serving at Greenville University for January and February and will "house sit" for the Sanders who are retired professors at Greenville.  It is amazing how God has furnished us with amazing housing everywhere we go.  At first it just seemed like luck or fate but now it is really looking like a pattern that God is directing.  We have lived at all these places for cheaper than what we live in the USA.  We will leave for Madrid, Spain for March-May, will spend one week in Rome on our way to Israel for June.  We will spend parts of July meeting Brett and Alison in Georgia (the country) and Turkey.  Jerry has been helping our Pastor friend in Turan, Israel prepare sermons on the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation.  He is getting excited about seeing those 7 locations in Turkey so it looks like we will try to make that happen.  Our time in Bulgaria has been confirmed for August-October and then November will be spent trekking our way across the Balkans, northern Italy, France and then home by Thanksgiving 2019.  We would get to spend Thanksgiving till Christmas in St. Louis and then back to Greenville, SC for January-March 2020.  I'm sure this might be tweaked again but this seems pretty firm.  We hope to see our friends, the Longs in Thessaloniki, Greece while nearby in Bulgaria and we plan to see our friends Paco and Isabelle Martinez while in Madrid.     

In February we will be making the trip back to Greenville, SC for Jerry to receive a dental implant and also to attend the Mitchell Road Presby Church Missions convention and here our friend Steven Jones (from London) be the featured speaker.  

We also will travel to Central Christian College to attend the Athletic Hall of Fame where Jerry Malone and Jerry Fithian will MC the evening.  This is something Jerry has spent a lot of time dreaming about and working on in regard to our four months serving there.   It is nice to see it come to fruition on Feb. 16, 2019.  This is also in celebration of the 75th year for Intercollegiate Athletics and specifically men's basketball.

October 2, 2018 

We are leaving tomorrow to fly to Wichita and attend Jerry's 50 year class reunion at Central Christian College.  We are excited!  It is always great to reconnect with friends that you have not seen for many years.  I'm sure there will be many stories and many of them "fake news".  :)

We will return and Jerry will have shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff (left arm).  He slipped and fell on a wet floor while painting a wall in Costa Rica.  This certainly throws a curve at us because we had planned on him getting a knee replacement instead.  We are wrestling with the postponement of that surgery for another year.

Later this month we will volunteer at the NCCAA golf tourney in Hammock Beach, always a lovely place to spend time. Will combine that with a visit with Mike and Becky Chambers in Jacksonville.  The first of November will find us in Charleston  spending time with Randy and Kathy Hibbard for Jerry's birthday (70 big ones!!).   

We have confirmed reservations for Christmas in the mountains with Mike and Rod's families.  When we downsized, this was one of the commitments that we made:  just rent a place for all of us to go.  In the long run it is cheaper than keeping a large house all year long.  It has become a fun tradition.  This is our Christmas to the family and we pay for the lodging and we share the cooking duties, etc.   

In 2019 we will spend 3 months in Spain and 3 in Bulgaria. The other 3 months out of the 9 we plan to be gone are still in the planning stage.

August 6, 2018 

We are filling our schedule for this fall.  Brett and Alison fly in this Thursday for about one month for her sisters wedding in Springfield, MO.  They will divide their time between St. Louis, Springfield, and Memphis.  We are in St. Louis until August 29 when we fly to Seattle to spend time with Nancy's sisters (Pat and Joan) and husbands (Paul and Mendel).  We had such a good time with them last summer that the sisters decided to invite the husbands again.  We are looking forward to it.  

On Sept. 10 we will drive to Greenville, SC to move into our old neighborhood.  We will fly to Central Christian College homecoming (Jerry's 50 year reunion!) the first weekend in October. 

Our friends the Clarks purchased another home in Gville (larger) and were debating about renting theirs in Chicora Crest, 5 houses down from where we lived before.  We worked out an arrangement and are excited to moved next door to Lark and Felcie (our neighborhood president).  It will feel like old times!  We will spend time in Gville catching up with friendships, reconnect at Downtown Pres. Church, enjoy the downtown activities, see doctors, and get ready to head out again in January.  We are busy trying to figure out when and where for Christmas with the family and decisions will need to be made soon.  In January and February we are looking at serving in Mexico or Greenville University in Ill.  In March we would like to head to Madrid, Spain to serve there and also make a short trip to Morocco to go on Experience It tours.  We would stay in Spain for 3 months and then spend two weeks in Italy and Switzerland, as well as maybe reconnect in Israel for a while.  We will end up for sure in Sept-Nov. in Bulgaria,  probably traveling to the Baltic countries just to visit.  Sometime either on our way over or returning, we would like to spend a few days in Iceland.  It sounds like a pretty ambitious schedule but we still have to nail a few things down first.  We are checking in on a 6 month visa in the Schengen countries which will allow us more flexibility in scheduling.  

July 4, 2018 

We fly out tomorrow for San Jose, Costa Rica to work with the SCORE missionaries there,  Andy Gordley and Eric Champion.  We understand that they are a smaller scale program than the one in the D.R. Costa Rica is beautiful and easier to get around via public transportation.  We are looking forward to a new country and new situation.  Andy and Eric already have a plan on how to use us and so we are excited.  Also it will be rainier and cooler there so that will be a change.  

We have also firmed up our housing in Greenville for the fall months and will be staying in our old neighborhood and we are excited about that.  We will be close to our friends:  Becky and John and LIsa and right next door to Felcie and Lark.  

We have corresponded with an FM missionary in Madrid, Spain about serving with him March-May and then spending time in Morocco with an organization called ExperienceIT.  We also would like to spend some time with Brett and Alison in Russia, see Italy, visit our friends in Israel and Greece and then finish up serving in Bulgaria.  This is all still in conversation, but we definitely will serve somewhere January-Nov. 2019.

June 8, 2018 

July 5th we will head to San Jose, Costa Rica to work with another SCORE campus. Interesting that to enter Costa Rice with a one way ticket you must have evidence that you are leaving the country at some point. Consequently, we have our tickets back to the US, scheduled for August 1. Kinda feels good to have that taken care of.   Obviously, we are committed now to this schedule.   No changes!   Looks like it will be rainy and cool in Costa Rica so it will require a little different clothing (which we prepared for).  We still only have a carry on and a backpack per person so we are packing light.  We have now added a trip to Seattle for a sisters (and husbands) get together to celebrate Mendel and Joan Kugler's 50th wedding anniversary.  This will happen the first week of September (before we head to South Carolina).    Right now we are looking at leaving sometime in January 2019 and may include time in Cairo, Morocco, Madrid, and Bulgaria. Discovered a group called "Experience It Tour" which we are investigating. We have plenty of time to work on these plans.  We might also apply for a 6 month visa to allow us to stay in the Schengen countries more than the 90 day limit.  It would make our travel around much easier.  We also have to renew our passports and Jerry will apply for his Social Security this November.  70 glorious years.....can you believe it?!         

May 17, 2018 

Plans are finalized and we are ready to head to the D.R. and Costa Rica this summer.  We have three more days in Paris and then fly out to St. Louis to see the family and friends, which we miss dearly.  Few more things do include the old Opera house tour tomorrow, the Arc de Triomphe, eating at Stuart Lennings favorite restaurant, and a final special dinner at a fun place we have found close to the Concorde Plaza.  We hope to rent bikes on and do a walking tour of an historical cemetery and attend church again on Sunday.

We will be in St. Louis for one week and then will drive to Greenville, SC to see friends and attend the NCCAA 50th Celebration Hall of Fame dinner. For the fall, we are working on staying in a house near our old place in our old neighborhood.  We hope it works out.   

May 5, 2018 

We are two days away from leaving Greece and flying to Paris for two weeks.  We are busy with a children's program for refugees this evening along with the Coptics from Cairo.  We will attend church tomorrow and spend one more afternoon enjoying the beautiful city before heading to the airport (via Mike Long) on Monday morning.  We should arrive in Paris after a direct flight (hopefully with all our luggage this time).  By the way we are packing with the idea of losing a piece of luggage and so we are spreading things out.  We also have split up our credit cards so that they are never all in the same place.  Hopefully, we are becoming smarter travelers.  :-)   Following Paris, everything else is planned out until January 2019.  We WILL have to do our taxes once we hit the ground in the USA.  If you are outside the country on April 15, they give you 3 extra months to get them done so we decided to put it off until then.  We are now figuring out how to get our car back to St. Louis before we fly to the D.R. and Costa Rica.  Nancy has replenished some of her wardrobe with summer items and she is still having conversations about getting reimbursed for her lost items with Vueling Airline.  We will see how that goes.  We think that our Capital One card will also reimburse us some for lost items since we purchased those tickets with that card.   It would be nice to get that resolved. 

See all of our USA friends in St. Louis and G'ville in a couple of weeks.   Ciao for now.    

April 13, 2018  

Not much has changed in regard to our future plans except that we have met a Coptic Christian from Cairo, Egypt who has invited us to come and live with them and serve.  We are now beginning to think about inserting Egypt in our plans for January and February 2019.  God just keeps opening doors for us to serve as we continue to follow Him.  We had always wanted to do Egypt and we are now in contact with at least 3 Christians from there that would and could help us connect and serve.  We are looking forward to seeing how that plays out.  Please pray for God's will in all this.  It seems like that as long as we are willing and make ourselves available, he opens doors.  Al Mellinger is going to share our story with the Free Methodist missionary leadership to see if others could use our help around the world.  He also is excited about using this as a model to have other retired couples serve pastors and missionaries on a regular basis.  We are willing to share our story with anyone who might be interested in the details how making it work for them.  Not everyone has to do it exactly the way we are doing it.  We are meeting retired couples from around the world who are spending months on the road but they are just seeing the sights and moving every 3-4 days.  We think there is a better way to see the world:  spending a longer time in an area and serving.

April 6, 2018

We will meet up with Greg and Lucia Green Delamarter in Athens for 3 days of touring the sights and then will move on to Thessaloniki to spend time serving Mike and Maria Long.  We hope to spend some time working with a program that serves refugees from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Afganistan.  We also plan to see Al and Diane Mellinger who are serving just a couple of hours north in Bulgaria.  We have finalized our flights and places to stay all the way to St. Louis and Greenville, SC.  Paris is confirmed and we are looking forward to seeing that city for the first time. 

We think we have all our plans until January 2019.  After a quick visit to St. Louis (family) and Greenville (friends), we will spend the summer serving with SCORE International in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica.  We will spend August in St. Louis and the remainder of the fall in Greenville, SC.  We are now beginning to look ahead at spring 2019 because we would like to return to the northern part of Europe so if you know of any missionaries, pastors, or people to serve in Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, etc. let us know.

March 11, 2018 

We are presently in Valencia and staying at the wonderful home of Paco and Isabel in a hilltop southwest of the city.  It is like staying in a five star hotel with a breathtaking view.  We purposely scheduled our trip here so we could attend the Las Fallas (Fire Festival) which runs from March 9-19.    After it closes at midnight on the 19th, we will travel to Toledo for a couple of days to view this scenic and historic city for the first time.  

On the 24th, we will spend 24 hours in Barcelona  to see some sights and then will catch our flight on the 25th to Athens.  We will meet up with Lucia (Green) and Greg Delamarter. We hope to also see Brett and Alison since they are at a medical conference in the area. We will fly to Thessaloniki to serve for 5 weeks.  Ironically, Lucia and Greg are just leaving the same ministry as we are going.  We will serve the same Free Methodist missionary. 

 February 22, 2018 

How sad it will be to leave Israel.  One of the things we have noticed by serving is that you make really good friends and don't want to leave.  It just means that we will need to return.  

We are excited to see our friends Isabel and Paco in Valencia.  It has been over 5 years since we have seen them and I'm sure their kids are getting so grown up.  We will enjoy seeing Valencia again and using it as a base to travel over to Madrid and Toledo for a couple of days.  We have made plans to meet friends in Athens on March 25 for a couple of days, see more ruins and then will fly up to Thessaloniki to serve for 5 weeks. 

 We have purchased our tickets back to the USA from Paris for May 21. It will be wonderful to see family and friends in St. Louis and Greenville, a week or so in each place. 

February 6, 2018 

There have been no changes in our plans from our last blog, although things are a bit more concrete. We have an invitation to serve with a Free Methodist missionary in Greece who works with Syrian refugees (Mike Long).  We will also be able to go 1 1/2 hours into Bulgaria and visit Al and Diane Mellinger.  Friends Lucia and Greg Delamarter are in Greece serving with the Long's and we hope to connect with them in Athens for a couple of days.  We might also see Brett and Alison during those days because they will be in Greece for a medical conference.  Now that we know when we will be in Greenville, SC, we can begin to schedule appointments for dentists, doctors, etc.  so that is the next thing we must do.  

Before we leave Israel, we will make one more trip down to Jerusalem with a side trip over to Jericho.  Jerry has an assignment from the NCCAA office to visit a possible sports partner for the NCCAA in Jerusalem.  We also might rent a car to see Mt. Herman, Golan Heights, and other things in the Galilee area.  The bus will get you most places but some require a car.  

January 25, 2018  

We are moving into the last month and are beginning to make plans for our next step.  We are looking forward to seeing our friends in Valencia, Spain, Paco and Isabella.  We will be there for the Fire Festival (Las Fallas) in March. We are also beginning to finalize things after that in Thessaloniki, Greece with a Free Methodist Missionary there.  We hope to finish up in Paris before returning home for a short time at the end of May/first of June.  In June we are planning on serving with SCORE International in Dominican Republic and July in Costa Rica.  We would then move back to Greenville, SC for around six months before planning our next phase.  So far we have felt very positive about this experience and experience few regrets.  We certainly miss our family and friends and this is always the hardest part. When we leave here, we will also leave friends and that will be hard.  Serving looks different in each place and we just have to remain flexible and do what we can do when people need our help and services.  God certainly is directing all of this and it is comforting to know that it will all work out to His glory regardless.  If you are open to serve, then He will do the rest.  We challenge all our readers to open yourself to a lifetime of service wherever you are and whatever your occupation.  Live for God and for others and not yourself.  You will never regret it.  

January 15, 2018 

As we have indicated before, we are busy with our future schedule.  We are for sure planning on Spain and Paris but we are altering the length of time at both places and now are thinking about serving in Greece and/or Bulgaria.    

December 23, 2017 

We have a very busy two weeks ahead of us.  Tonight is the local churches Christmas service (below our apartment) and then tomorrow (Christmas eve) we have been invited to Ziad's brother's home for their family's Christmas. On Christmas Day we will visit a neighbor who attends our church.  They are so kind to open their homes to us during this time. 

On December 26 we will get up early in the morning and walk about one mile to catch the bus to Haifi.  From there we will take the train to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and fly to Moscow to be with Brett and Alison for six days. On the 31st we will all fly back to Israel, along their Russian friend Yura.  Yura is on holiday and will spend one week with us.  Planning on renting a car at the airport and use it during the week to explore the Sea of Galilee area as well as Jerusalem (for the first time).  Israel is fairly easy to get around if you have a car.  Public transportation is a challenge.  Following January 8, Yura will fly back to Moscow and Brett and Alison will stay here until their renewed Russian visas arrive.  We hope to have at least one week with them to enjoy our village, our apartment and the area.  Hope they have time to hike/run the Jesus trail.   

Beyond that we are looking to alter our plans a bit and maybe return to the States in time for the NCCAA 50 year celebration May 31, 2018.  We are contacting friends with SCORE International about serving with them for the summer of 2018 and then we would be at home in Greenville for the fall with plans to come back to Europe for March 2019.  Jerry will probably have knee replacement sometime during that stay in Greenville.  Of course, we will spend some quality time in St. Louis to see Mike and Rod's families and hopefully get to see other folks.  

December 9, 2017

 We plan on attending church in Tu'ran (just below our apartment) tonight (Saturday) at 6 p.m.  I don't think anything will be in English (it will be in Arabic) and so it will be interesting to experience.  We understand that the congregation is quite charismatic.  Tomorrow, we will go into to Nazareth to attend Bader's church that meets at the Nazareth Baptist School. 

Sometime this week, Jerry will help Ziad with a commentary study of 1st Peter for future sermons.  He has a genetic problem which limits his sight and so he needs someone to read to him.  His wife drives him around because of the sight problem.  Nancy will probably help organize some clothing that they want to send to the West Bank for poor people to use.  We will begin here and see what other services we can provide.  It is a busy month with Christmas coming and so we probably will wait until January to start any other major projects. 

This is a good time for us to do some touring and so we will concentrate our travel to the Northern area of Galilee.  Trump's announcement this week has made it difficult for A, merican citizens to travel into Jerusalem and so we will stay away until later.  There are many things to see and do here.  We got a map of the Jesus trail which goes from Nazareth to Capernaum and we want to walk some of it.  It goes near our village because this was the valley he walked from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee.  Pretty awesome!  

We also will need to make some decisions about our trip to Russia and we might have to cut it short if Brett and Alison have to leave and come here while they wait on their visas to be processed.  Please pray for us and for them in this regard.     

December 3, 2017 

Well....we crossed off nearly everything we had on our list (see below) except one more soccer match and Canterbury but we have to leave something for next time in the UK.  We are discussing the possibility of returning for the spring on 2019 (we will have to wait and see).  

One minor problem that we are dealing with is that Brett and Alison will have to leave Russia on Dec. 31 in order to get their student Visas renewed.  This means that our trip to Moscow on Dec. 26 will be shortened.  The good news is that they might come to Israel to get them renewed.  They are checking this out now and will know in a few days.   That would be a disappointment in regard to seeing Russia, BUT it would be fun to have them in Israel.  We have finished all our duties here and will have lunch with Jones today at a nearby South Asian restaurant, will attend church at 4 p.m., finish updating our website, pack on Monday along with getting our hair cuts and then leave bright and early on Tuesday morning for Israel.  Jerry is looking forward to warmer weather.....Nancy not so much (she loves snow and winter).  Our next update will be from Nazareth.  

November 23, 2017 

We are putting together our list of final things to see before we leave London in two weeks.  Wow..how time flies!   We want to see Shakespeare's (new)Globe Theater, see the Art Museum, take in another show in the theater district (Leicester Square), visit the white cliffs of Dover (this Saturday), browse the Burough Market, see more of the Christmas lights downtown, and maybe squeeze in Canterbury and one more soccer match.  We also need to finish our administrative work for Stephen.  

All our travel plans are finalized for Israel.  We will fly in to Tel Aviv, take the train to Haifa and then be picked up by someone to take us over to our apartment in the village of Tur'an (just outside of Nazareth).  We will stay at this location until we leave for Moscow on Dec. 26.  When we return we hopefully will move into a different apartment in the city of Nazareth.  When we arrive, we will follow the same process that we have done in the past.  We will begin to see all the things we can see near by and then begin to expand the circle.  We will try to get to Jerusalem at least once before we leave for Russia.  

We are quite ready to have some family time, so Christmas with Brett and Alison can't come too soon!

November 15, 2017 

We are resting up for our final three weeks in London.  We have our travel plans and tickets for Israel.  We have our flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow for Dec/Jan.  We have visited with Bader Mansour about our housing in Nazareth,  looking forward to our next stage.  It will be hard to leave our friends, the Jones family (Stephen, Charity, King, Eden, and Boaz).  They have been so good to us and we feel like family.  I hope that they have been blessed as much as they have blessed us.  

Joe Aubuchon, Alison's brother, will arrive Saturday from St. Louis. We are trying to plan a tour of Wembley and then show him the sights of downtown basically in one day.  :)  We consider him a part of our family.  During January when we lived in St. Louis, he was always invited to all Malone activities and events.  We love Joe and look forward to seeing him.  

We are making a list of things we want to see or do before we leave England:   The White Cliffs of Dover, Canterbury, some of the museums downtown.  We tried to space our traveling out so that we didn't cram things in at the end.  The excitement of Israel probably outweighs the sadness of leaving our "home" here.  London really does feel like home and we would feel very comfortable returning again.  It has truly lived up to our expectations.

 

We inadvertently deleted all prior entries before this date.   Our fault and we are sorry but we feel the two outer columns have the more significant data in them. 

September 25, 2017 

We have decided that we want to go to Oxford the end of this week and begin plans for taking the train to York and Edinburgh, Scotland.  Tomorrow and Wednesday we get to serve the Jones family by taking care of Boaz for a few hours each day so they can be free to work on their ministry without distractions.  

We think we have decided to go to Spain following Israel.  We are thinking of staying one month (March) in Valencia seeing our friends Isabelle and Paco and then going south to Morocco for one month (April), then back to France for May, Istanbul for June, and then either Greece, Italy, or Bulgaria for July.  At that point we would need to leave the European Union countries for 30 more days and that would meet the Visa requirements and then we could spend our final 90 days in any of the Euro countries.   Things are starting to take shape.  We also found out Sunday from our FM friends that there are some FM churches in Nazareth (where we will be serving).  This was new information for us.

 September 18, 2017 

London, London, London.   We will finally get to spend some time seeing the sights near home. We are living in the Greenford neighborhood in west London and tomorrow we will take the tube from the Sudbury Hill station to Green Park in the center of Westminster on the Piccadilly line.  From this location, we can walk to nearly everything we want to see (at our pace).  The nice thing about what we are doing is that when we play "tourist", we can take our time and break our sight seeing into small parts and not be rushed.  What a way to see things!  We JUST HATE the pace of normal vacations.  They just wear us out!  

The rest of our week and next are relatively unscheduled as of now and this leaves us with a lot of flexibility.  We certainly want to give the Jones' a date night sometime soon.   That is so important for marriages.  Until then, we will spend our time seeing this area.  Other places we want to visit are:  Wesley's Chapel and Leysian Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, British Museum, etc.  Jerry also wants to schedule a football (soccer) match with Tottenham (for Michael), or Arsenal, or Chelsea.   Other places in the area to see are:   Windsor Castle, Oxford (CS Lewis sites), Cambridge, York, Dover (the cliffs),  the Globe Theater and also Stratford, Canterbury Cathedral, Stone Henge, and Glastonbury (King Arthur stuff).  We also are talking about renting a long boat to travel the canals.   With this intinerary, we had better get started.   The nice thing is that we have knocked Wales and the town of Bath off our list.   Nance would like to see Hadrians Wall (Roman built) to keep the "hoards" from the north from invading their territory in England.  It is amazing to see so many Roman remains in England.  

September 10, 2017 

Stephen is taking Jerry to pick up a rental car tomorrow so he will be driving on the other side of the road for the first time in 15 years.   Look out!   Tuesday we will be driving to Wales for a retreat with apprentices and staff. Serving as a host couple, we will mainly cook the evening meals. We will have time to travel around and see the Wales countryside a little bit however it is supposed to be rainy and 55 degrees everyday.   We might have to our"Wellies" before we go!  Probably one of those items that we will leave in England.  We will be in Wales until Saturday night.  What all this means is that we will have been in England for two weeks before we will begin to see the sights:  Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, St. Paul's, the Tower of London and the John Wesley Church and Museum.  Seems kinda funny, but after all we are going to be here for 90 days.  

We are looking forward to our friend Becky coming to visit us in October and we would welcome any other friends who would like to venture over the pond.  Some other things we want to see:  York, Edinburgh, Scotland, Hadrian's Wall, the Lake District, King Arthur land, the Cliffs of Dover, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford.  We would also like to take a small boat down the canals and walk in the countryside from town to town as I read in Bill Bryson's book:  "The Road to Little Dribbling".  Jerry also wants to see football--Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc.  (probably in the rain).   We wear rain gear just about every day and it is now starting to get chilly so we are putting summer clothes away.  

August 25, 2017

We will stay here in St Louis until Monday and then drive to Greenville, SC to see our friends and take care of final business before heading back for our flight from St. Louis  on Sept. 6 to London.  We have confirmed our stay in Nazareth, Israel for Dec-Feb. One thing we have added is a two week trip to see Brett and Allison in Moscow, Russia during January, 2018.  We just got our visas and are excited to see them.  We might also ride the train to St. Petersburg as well.  May have to add to our winter wardrobe when we get there--BRRR.   We have been in contact with missionary friends in Thessaloniki, Greece (who works with Syria refugees); Grenoble, France; and Bulgaria.  We still want to schedule some time in Spain.   We might shorten these stays to one month apiece in order to get them all in (to be decided).   

July 17, 2017 

We are now busy trying to see Central friends in the Pacific NW.  Rather than one at a time, we are going to attend Central College's "get to-gethers" hosted by President Hal Hoxie and his wife Kathy: 6:30 p.m. July 20 in Salem, OR at the Illahe Country Club, noon on July 21 at Warm Beach Retirement Center, and 5:30 July 22 at Pat's home in Mill Creek.  After this, we will have to just schedule "one on ones" with those who cannot attend.  We have scheduled our trip back across the country to St. Louis and Greenville, SC in preparation for our flight to London on Sept. 6. In the meantime, we are exploring Seattle, the San Juan Islands, doing bike rides, going to Rick Steve's Europe store in Edmonds to do more planning.  We have confirmed a place to stay in Nazareth, Israel for Dec-Feb. to serve at a Bible School.  We have made contact with FM Missionaries in Thessaloniki, Greece to work with refugees from Syria for March 2018 and maybe longer.  We would also like to schedule Italy (for fun), and Spain (to visit our Spanish friend Paco and Isabella in Valencia).   We must be careful that we only stay 90 days (the limit) in EU countries so it is making our future planning a little more difficult.  We have heard from Brett and Alision (in Moscow) and we are trying to schedule a trip up to see them (maybe Jan 7 for the Orthodox Christmas--brrrr) and/or summer of 2018.

June 22, 2017 

We are staying at Pat and Paul Collins house until Sunday and then we will trek north to Vancouver British Columbia to take the train to Jasper Alberta Canada (9 days).  Nancy's older sister Joan and her husband Mendel are flying to Seattle to meet up with us on this journey.  This trip has been on Nancy's bucket list and she is calling it her 65th birthday gift.  :)   We are excited to see that part of the world (Canadian Rockies and 
Banff).  

We will return on July 3 and stay with the Collins until July 7 when we will get to move into our Airbnb near the Mukulteo Ferry near Edmonds, WA.  (a 20 minute drive to Collins house).  We will stay at this location until August 15, when we will start our travel back across the USA to St. Louis and Greenville, SC.  On that trip we hope to see Bruce and Bonnie Johnson in Idaho, Mike and Marty Saxton in Sheridan, & Millie and Dave Samuelson in Rapid City.  One stop we have never seen is the Grand Tetons and so we will include that as well.  We have been to Yellowstone and the Black Hills.  We will see our doctors and friends in Greenville and then will drive back to St. Louis to leave our car, camping stuff, and bikes with the boys and will fly to London on Sept. 6.  We can't believe the time is so close to getting to Europe.  

We hope to see a number of Central and NCCAA friends in the Seattle area:   Frank/Rhonda Kline, Cranstons, Hurts, Berry's, Hortons, etc.  It will keep us busy.  We drove up to see our place in Mukulteo and it is a great location and we are looking forward to setting up shop there.  Our friends from Central College:  President Hal and Kathy Hoxie, Dr. Lenny and Dea Favara, and Athletic Director Twiggs Reed and his wife are coming to Seattle this summer (at different time) and we hope to connect with them.    

 June 7, 2017 

Tomorrow we will leave southern California to drive up highway 1 along the coast.  We hope to see a number of early Catholic Missions that were founded by Father Junipero Serro.  We will start at Santa Barbara and then move up the coast to Santa Maria  and San Luis Obispo (overnight). We will making a stop at a small town with Danish heritage:  Solvang.   We will then stay two nights at Morro Bay so that we can see the Hearst Castle. 

Highway 1 is blocked by a huge mud slide and so we will have to detour around to reach our destination of Santa Cruz to stay with friend Mike Saxton.  Grandpa Mike is staying with his grandkids while mom and dad are away.  We will use this as our base for San Francisco / 

Monteray / Carmel.   We will get to see  Greenville, SC friend Patty who is having a family reunion in the area.   We will both be seeing San Francisco for the first time and hope to do the traditional sites.   Following our stay with Mike in Santa Cruz, we will move on up to wine country near Santa Rosa and then on up the coast to Eureka and the Redwood National Park.  

May 29, 2017 

We are planning a drive to our our next place in Fredonia, AZ today by way of the Grand Staircase-Escalante.  Everyone tells us we must stop at Kiva Koffeehouse about midway and so we have circled that for sure!  Some of you have shared some good "tips" and so keep them coming.   Our next three parks are:  Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon.  

We will then see a former Central College friend Verda Amundson Reeves and her husband Jeff in Payson, AZ. near Sedona.  Following that we will make a stop in Las Vegas,  staying at Linq Hotel,  eating at Lemon Grass at the Aria and breakfasting at the Hash House.  All of the before mentioned places as a result of Jer's McPherson barber Luke! Shout out to Luke's Barber Shop in McPherson, KS, a great place.  As you can tell, we do some scheduling around food as well as friends and national parks. We justify this because we are hiking a lot each day and so we burn it off (and more).  We are really getting into pretty good shape.  We are averaging at least 3-4 miles each day we are in the parks.  Following our short stay in Las Vegas, we will head to San Diego, LA and up the coast to Seattle (our final destination).  We will be seeing sights and friends all along the way.  

May 23, 2017

 We are now in Greeley, CO with Joan (Nancy's sister) and Mendel Kugler and will be leaving tomorrow for the Utah National Parks,
Grand Canyon, San Diego, LA, San Fran, Portland, and then our final destination:  Seattle.  We hope to see friends and relatives along the way.  If you are along this route and we have not contacted you, please let us know where you live and give us your contact information.  It will be approximately four weeks on the road.  We plan to camp, stay with friends, and also use airbnb's along the way.  We hope to never stay in a hotel again.  We will be posting pictures and experiences on this page, Twitter and Instagram.  Jerry has shut down his Facebook account because of "hacks".  Nancy will keep hers active.  We have our housing in London confirmed and look forward to arriving there Sept. 7 (for 3 months).   If you ever have wanted to visit England, now is the time.   Come see us during our 3 month stay and we will be your tour guides.  

We have also confirmed our second stop will be a Bible School in Nazareth, Israel.  We have not confirmed our housing yet but will work on that soon.  We are excited about helping them with sports programming while getting to see biblical sites.

Also, we have an airbnb in Everett, WA just next to the Mulkateo ferry.  Come see us between July 10-August 15.  We have an additional bed and  we could add sleeping bags on the floor (if more than two).     

April 4, 2017

 We have now made housing reservations for Seattle as well as London.....so we are COMMITTED!  Nancy and Jerry along with Nancy's sisters and their husbands have locked in plans to travel from Vancouver, British Columbia to Jasper (Banff area).   We will travel by train as well as by car together and are looking forward to spending time together.  This is Nancy's dream gift for her 65th birthday.  Our place in Seattle is near the Mukilteo Ferry and we will have a beautiful view of Puget Sound.  Our place in London will be within walking distance of our missionary friend that we will be serving.  Getting both of those taken care of gives us a sense of relief.  We both think it will get easier from here on out now that we think we know the routine:-).  We are now beginning to plan for our trip from McPherson, through  olorado, Utah, Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco, Portland, and finally arriving in Seattle around June 15.   We hope to see friends along the way and are making those connections as well.  We look forward to hosting our good friend Patty Bynum in a few weeks and show her the sights of Kansas!

February 8, 2017

 We will be here until May 20 (Central Commencement).  We are planning one road trip back to Greenville, SC, March 20-26 (Spring Break here at Central).  We miss everyone back there so much.  it will be good to be back "home".  We finally have all our possessions into our Ford Escape.  Once we leave Kansas, we will have even less than what we have now.  It feels good to be "rid" of those things that tie one down and bind us to this world.  Our Malone family cousins are planning a cousins weekend sometime this spring in McPherson and we are looking forward to hosting all of them.  Jerry and Nancy, to some degree, are planning on attending:  all Central games, Bullpup High School games, the OU spring football game, and maybe make a OKC Thunder game.   Fun times ahead!!

We are now making plans for our west coast trip and spending the summer in Seattle.  We must find a furnished apartment on the north side of the city.  Nancy along with her sisters Pat and Joan have planned our couples train trip over the Canadian Rockies to Jasper and Banff in July.

January 30, 2017

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, we will leave St. Louis and spend one night in Arkansas and probably two nights in Enid, OK.  We will arrive in McPherson, KS on Saturday, Feb. 4.  We will move into our furnished house at 214 W. Avenue F behind the Broadhurst Student Center on the Central Christian College campus.  It is the house that Elvin and Donna Bacon lived for many years.  It is a four bedroom house and we would like to invite any of our friends to stop by and spend a night with us.  We will leave McPherson following Spring commencement at Central on May 20 and will head west for the summer before we fly to London and beyond in the fall.

January 13, 2017

We will continue our month in St. Louis and will travel to McPherson, KS to serve at Central Christian College for the spring semester.  For you familiar with the campus and McPherson, we will be living in the Bacon house directly behind the Broadhurst Student Center with very convenient access to the campus  It is a four bedroom house and so we would welcome any friends/family to come stay with us anytime between Feb. 5-May 15. We will discover our service opportunities as the weeks progress. We have already been contacted to share our story in chapel.  Not sure about our public speaking ability but we have a passion to share.  

We will leave St Louis on  Feb. 1 pulling a trailer with our final pieces of furniture to Enid, OK.  We will leave those pieces with Jerry's family.  We should arrive in Kansas on Feb. 3 or 4.

December 23, 2016

We will be arriving in St. Louis on Jan. 1 or 2  to unload some items from our U-haul at our sons homes and will move into our rented apartment for one month.  We will have Christmas on January 4 with the Malone families and will spend the month volunteering at Michael's Charter school.  We are taking the five g-kids to Great Wolf Lodge in KC for an overnighter.  Other than that we will just enjoy being with the family for 30 days.  

The rest of our schedule:

Feb-May living in McPherson and serving Central Christian College

May 15-June 10---long trip to Seattle and see sights in (Colorado--Nancy's sister Joan and husband Mendel, Utah, California, Oregon, etc.  

June 10-August 15---live in an apartment and enjoy time with Nancy's sister and husband (Pat and Paul Colins)  We plan on taking Nancy's dream trip by train from Vancouver to Banff.   

August 15-August 30---travel back to St. Louis and Greenville, SC where we will sell our vehicle, see our doctors, spend time with friends.

Early Sept.-fly to London and serve missionaries there for 90 days.  

Dec-Feb.---serve in either Morocco or Palestine.

Feb-May-spend time in Spain near good friends.

June-August---could be Bulgaria, Israel, Istanbul, Moscow, Switzerland, Hungary???   TBD

 

Our plan is to stay in Europe for 18 months before returning to the USA.  We will then be in Greenville and reevaluate the experience.  Then we will travel and serve in the DR, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, etc.