Go North dear Sowers, Go North

After a final week at Gospel Rescue Mission where we were busy finishing things in the Transition House, we hit the road NORTH. (Whew, it was getting hot in Tucson).  Along the way we were able to stop and see some good friends and see all of our children and grandchildren.

First we stopped in Lordsburg, NM, and Kirk and Rhonda came down from Silver city and met us for breakfast.  After a short visit we weighed anchor and headed for Albuquerque.

We stopped at the home of our dear friends, Roger and Patty Bracht.  After a visit to the art display and an evening meal at the hot spot across the street from the U of NM, we sat down to a serious game of Five Crowns.  Surprise, surprise Patty won the game (again).

The next morning we sailed further north, dropping anchor at the Cherry Creek State Park near Denver where the trees were just budding.

We were also blessed with the beautiful flight of some pelicans.

Again, we met family over food.  Brother Mike and his two youngn's Amy and Levi along with son Matthew, daughter Jenifer and her crew, Trenton (T), Jake and Mahlia.

We tarried a few days then struck out for places further north.  We are again settled at Sunshine Bible Academy near Miller, SD.  We have met up with old friends from there, observed a beautiful Senior Chapel service featuring a couple boys from South Korea and watched a melodrama and talent show.

Right now we are singing that old song, "Hello mother, hello father, here I am at Camp Granada" since for the last 24 hours it has been raining and tonight it is supposed to be in the low 30's.

Oh well!  All in all, God is so good.

Only one more week in Arizona!!!

We have completed our second week at Gospel Rescue Mission.  Most of the work this week has been at the "transition house" which is a residence for graduate clients from GRM to have a place to live while attending college or finding suitable employment.

The kitchen was a very big project.  There were several women living in the same kitchen.  Niki made it her mission to clean everything, including the light fixtures.

Of course it was Billie's choice to clean all of the refrigerators.

There was a number of wires coming into the house which needed to be removed, the question was, which one of the 17 connections was the live one?

The shower threshold was coming apart, in fact, when we tried to lift a broken tile, the entire threshold came up.  After a little cleaning and prep work, Jim and myself filled the cracks, laid new tile, added grout and sealer.

Feryl was able to get into the act sorting papers and filing.

After all of that it was time to visit Golden Corral for a Sower gathering.

Of course, there was time for cotton candy!

We also paid another visit to Saguaro west to see the progress of the blossoms.

This wrinkled giant has had a hard life but is still reaching for the stars with all the energy God has given it.

The blossoms on the teddy bear were so beautiful and delicate.

Likewise, the prickly pear was in full bloom.

There is evidence that there was others there before us.  Is this ancient graffiti or messages to those who follow? 

We looked and just asked you the questions!

Others are looking at the same thing!

But a hardy bug for lunch is much more on his mind.

We found the saguaro just beginning to bloom.  The blossoms are very beautiful but don't last very long.

A mother roadrunner tending a nest...

While dad is out rounding up some lunch.  (Really these are in a display inside the Visitor's Center.  They move so fast I haven't been able to capture them live).

Then we stopped by the desert museum and these guys are live and trying to stay out of the direct sunlight.

This beautiful fellow was there to entertain us for a while.  Isn't he just gorgeous?

This fellow was let loose and trying to score some lunch from the top of  the tallest saguaro.

What's all the excitement?

Boy am I thirsty?

Hey guys, the card game is under the fourth rock tonight.

We stayed around for the 7:42 moon rise and this was our reward.

This is a cluster of at least five different cacti.  Who do you suppose will win out in 25 years?

All in all, it was another wonderful day in some of God's handiwork.

Seeing the sights before beginning work.

We took some time to see some of the local sights before going back to work.  We visited Saguaro National Park East and saw some flora and fauna.

After a short visit to the Visitor's Center and a snapshot beside a dried Saguaro skeleton, we took to the trail through the park.

What a surprise to find critters running around in the park during the heat of the day!

The landscape of the center was very well done, showing a wide variety of the indigenous plants from the Tucson area. 

Another surprise was to find so many plants blooming!

 And the mature cactus, wow, knowing that they only grow a few inches a year, this one has to be at least 50 years old.

This should give you an example of just how large they have grown.  Do you see the ring around the arm extending over my head.  That ring was caused by a freeze somewhere around the mid 70's.

We caught this young fellow heading underground....

....and not far away was a covey of Gamble's quail foraging beneath the bush. 

Just under a very dry tree stood a green plant which was in bloom and had attracted a black butterfly.  Do you see it?

And sitting on a rock catching a few rays was this cute fellow.

The cacti varied from small to large and most seemed to be in some stage of blooming. 

And they grow everywhere, even on the top of this rock.

I don't know what kind of bird this was, but it was very colorful.

The dying and the living.  They are all part of God's plan.

Then the new project month started.  From right to left are Feryl and Jim Laney, Scott Munro, the Pastor for the Mission, Billie and myself and Niki Granitsas, an 80 year young lady from Massachusetts who braves the Sower road by herself. 

We have done a few odd jobs, but the main job this week was to convert this 40 foot trailer into an office for the maintenance personnel, equipped with computer and air conditioning.

Meanwhile, the ladies have been cleaning the transition house to make it ready for the next graduates from the mission.