Camille Carolyn Sanchez's baptism

Someone has said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one surely is an excellent example! Marlon & Elaine honored me with the privilege of baptizing their daughter, Camille, on Sunday, September 4, 2011 in St. Petersburg, FL.

You might be interested to know that Elaine is from Singapore and Marlon has been transplanted from St. Petersburg, FL, to Hong Kong. They made the19 hour flight from Hong Kong to St. Petersburg to have Camille baptized. Quite an undertaking with a 1 year old! Thankfully, most of Marlon’s family were in attendance, including his 82 year old mother, Chlocile. Her husband and I met at the University of Minnesota in 1962, became very good friends, and the rest is history. Three generations in his family have arrived since we met!

To say the least, I was quite honored to be a part of this beautiful occasion! To  top it off, Marlon & Elaine gifted Annis & I with a four night stay in the Renaissance Vinoy Hotel at the St. Pete marina, one of the most beautiful spots on the planet.

I am glad, however, to be at home and back amongst all of you!

I will be in St. Petersburg, FL on official, pastoral business, aka infant baptism. The service will be held on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 near the St. Pete Marina, amongst all manner of sailboats and beautiful sunshine. The truth is I wish everyone of you could be with me, as this will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Hopefully, I will get enough pictures to give you a bird’s eye view of the experience.

I know you will benefit from Kevin’s message, and I truly appreciate his willingness to cover for me in my absence.

All manner of sailboats and beautiful sunshine!

On another note, Ralph went home today without any significant diagnosis. Time will tell.

Yesterday, as I was waiting to have my truck serviced, I had a conversation with a really nice lady, Dr. Carolyn Bradley, who is a recently retired biology teacher from Macon State College. After admitting that she was retired, she began to tell me about the Macon Outreach Food Pantry, which is obviously very near and dear to her heart. She volunteers her time there, in an effort to provide food for the needy. As I listened to her explain the program, I became convinced that this is something in which we should become involved. As you know, there are many needy, hungry people in this area, and the list is growing every day. She told me that, sadly, the age of the people who come is becoming younger every day.

I made it my business to find out what kind of foods are needed. The following is a partial list: dry beans, canned meat, canned soup, rice (1 lb. packages), self-rising corn meal, self rising flour, canned vegetables (except corn and green beans), cereal, and dry milk (in small containers). This list will grow after I talk to the director of the program, Mr. Johnny Hathcox, when I return from Florida.

Please begin to bring any and all of these items to the church this Sunday. You can put them outside the door to my office, if you like.

On another note, Ralph was taken via ambulance to the Coliseum ER tonight around 8:00. I was out of town at the time and, as of the moment, do not have an update. I will provide one, as soon as I have one. Please keep him and Data in your prayers.

Well, it is Saturday evening, which means that Sunday is just over the horizon. Thankfully, I was invited to preach for Nachamu Ami today, so I have already been blessed and then some! This may not be true for others, but when God called me to preach, He also put a love in my heart for doing it. I tell you, there is nothing that I enjoy more. I know that I am not as young as I was, but my aging has not diminished my love for preaching; if anything, it has increased it. So, as I write this I must tell you that I am excited about tomorrow’s service!

As I told you earlier, we will be visiting Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, where he said, “I pray that the eyes of your heart might be opened . . . ” Just for the record, tonight, that is my prayer for each of us for tomorrow.

Have a great night, rest up, and come expectantly!

Oops! I think I got distracted by the beauty of South Florida and failed to keep you up-to-date. I know that everyone has their own opinions, but for me Ft. Myers, Naples, and Marco Island will always be special places, as they hold such warm memories of days long-since gone by. On this trip, I was able to visit many of those very special places that reminded me of just how fortunate I was to have had the parents and grandparents with which God so richly blessed me.

At any rate, I am back in Macon, GA now looking forward to seeing each of you this Sunday. From what I hear, Kevin did an outstanding job! I truly appreciate his willingness to preach in my absence. Kevin and I have been true friends for many years now, a friendship that has blessed my life many, many times. Yes, I do know that he asked you to pray that I would choke on shrimp, but thankfully Walter refused and only asked that I would get one hung in my throat. Well, just for the record, God paid them no attention, whatsoever! The shrimp I ate slipped down my goozel quite easily, thank you.

Speaking of shrimp: there was the time when one could easily drive to where the shrimp boats came in loaded with fresh shrimp and purchase them, right off the boats. Apparently, that is no longer the case, as I tried and tried to find them, only to learn that that isn’t done any more, at least in that part of Florida. They are frozen on the shrimp boats and must be sold from dealers in seafood markets. That was/is a bummer!

I trust that each of you is well and looking forward to Sunday. If the Lord gives me a message, I will definitely preach it.

It is now Thursday afternoon. A beautiful 24 hours in beautiful Naples, FL. Leaving St. Pete reminded me of what it must have been like for Noah, when the flood came. I was as wet as a rat, my straw hat will never be the same, and most of our belongings were rather damp;  we did, however, make it safe and sound. Our stopover in Fort Myers was a fun time, as I have many of memories of that town. My maternal grandmother lived there most of her life. Her grandfather,Emanuel Gonzalez, founded Fot Myers (might have been her grandfather). I actually found her old house. Anyway, I love Naples, and also have many wonderful memories from my childhood. As most of you know, I love food, so I am busy trying to locate the places where the locals eat. By the way, many of these folk must have more money than God! With that I think I will take a brief snooze . . .

The weather is nice, thus far; albeit, exceedingly hot. The beautiful Gulf of Mexico is barely a stone’s throw away, but we are yet to set foot on the beach. I think we are saving that for Naples. We did make our way to The Pier at St. Petersburg Marina yesterday and stayed long enough for Annis to buy a red straw hat before learning that The Help was showing in 30 minutes. The book is better than the movie, in my opinion; however,  the movie is worth seeing. Actually, the view at the marina was far superior to any movie I have ever seen. It is now raining! The weather does change, much like a woman’s mind.Somewhere around 9:45 we ate pizza at a nice restaurant near the marina. The first words out of the waitress’ mouth was “The kitchen closes at 10:00, so you had better hurry and order”  which we did. I had parked my truck in a parking deck near the movie because I was  told I could have my ticket validated for free parking. I  had it validated but for some reason it was done on the wrong side of the ticket, which meant free  parking was now out of the question. There was no attendant, only a talking machine. After three credit card tries and using every denomination of cash I had in my pocket, the gate finally opened. Yes, my pistol was cocked and ready, as we were the only people left. When I finally arrived back at our “Resort” I discovered that there were no parkking places left, so I had to park just outside Valdosta and walk back to the room. .

We spent most of yesterday with our friends aboard their sailboat, The Anna Bella. They are such great hosts, and the food was wonderful! I will say this: If any of you are planning to live on a sailboat, be sure that you REALLY like each other, as the space is limited, and someone is always in yours. They are following their dreams and loving every minute of it. It is sad that few people ever dream outside their comfort zones, and consequently, few ever live on their “sailboats.” We got back to our room, just in time for me to find a roadcch in my bed!!