The 20 Year Itch...: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

So much for the bike riding!

Just about the time we settle into a routine, the weather bottoms out, and all hope of riding my bike comes to an end. I guess I shouldn't complain about 20's and 30's at night, 40's during the day with a little rain the last few days. In comparison to Lake Zurich, this is heaven! I will get back to it when I can and not fuss over what I can't change.

Speaking of change, I am helpless to change most things, but fortunately for us, God can change anything! Below is a Facebook post I put up last week

Another God intervention today: we left my BFF (Audrey-78 yoa)

6 weeks ago. Last week I finally got around to sending her a long letter with pictures. It arrived TODAY ...on the day she received some very depressing medical diagnosis. Just when she really needed to be uplifted, I was there for her ! Still, she could use prayer.....for her salvation...complete turnaround of a diagnosis that she is going to remain "profoundly deaf" permanently and (selfishly) for me as this is making it sooooo hard for me to be away from her. Thanks prayer warriors!

5 days later this response was posted by Audrey's daughter Michelle (shown here with her son Nate (also a believer)

Thank you for your prayers. Praise to God that the procedure they did yesterday

(initially given about a 10% chance of success in her case) has restored much of

mom's hearing. She had almost immediate improvement after the steroid injections

directly into both ears. So, while she thought she was to be permanently profoundly

deaf, that wasn't God's plan Your kind words and support are, as always, so

appreciated and here's praying that she accepts the truth that this against-the-odds

improvement was truly a God-thing!

In my conversation with Audrey after the successful procedure I found her MUCH

more open to considering that this was the Lord's intervention, and she was

EXTRAORDINARILY grateful for all the prayers sent up for her.

Follow-up to last weeks God Intervention:

Bill and I did locate Pastor Cheryl Adamson at Palmetto Missionary Baptist Church

http://palmettomissionarybaptistchurch.com/staff/

and attended there last Sunday. I can assure you our search for a local

church is over! NOW we know why God sent us. We were so warmly

welcomed and Pastor Adamson's preaching so meaningful!!! And the music! Lovely

:-) We felt so much at home.

We missed church two weeks ago, as we had to drive to Charlotte for me to see my

shoulder doc. 4 hour drive, and the night before my appointment, 2 inches of snow

fell. In Charlotte, that means the sky is falling and their whole world shuts down.

But, it was NOT a wasted trip as we had a wonderful evening with my cousin and

mutual friends:

More fun could not be had when Mo is part of the mix!

We returned home and rescheduled my doc appt. Gives us an excuse to go back

next Sunday (AFTER church of course).

while cruising around Charleston this week I spotted the most encouraging thing:

Hold onto HOPE!

This is what I spent my time doing yesterday (interspersed between loads of laundry)!

Not the best quality, sorry. May be my way of getting that new telephoto lens:-)

And before I forget again :-( Two weeks ago, on Thursday, Bill and I returned from

our 4 days off. As usual, I immediately check on all of our critters. I note that I

cannot see the Congo Eel

in the aquarium tank... This does not alarm me, as he is very good at hiding, but,

when I still cannot see him the next day, I sought out my Ranger Sam (who had just

returned from a few days off).

Sam mumbles "that's funny, I don't remember seeing him on Wednesday"

and joins me by the tank. Knowing (at that time) more than me about this Eel. Sam

looks down at the ground, pulls a display away from the wall, and exposes our

wayfarer. The Congo Eel is on the floor, half behind the cabinet holding the tank 5

feet in the air. At best he was "out" 2 days, at worst 3. When he was returned to the

tank (yes, still alive) he seemed stunned, and did not eat that day, but seems to be

back to normal. Thru this process I learned many things:

1) Our Congo Eel is not a Siren (as we had been told)....our Congo Eel has 4 feet,

Sirens only 2.

2) The Refuge has not been feeding him properly. He should not be eating Pinkies

as his sole source of food.

3) Congo Eels are escape artists (probably went out looking for food).

4) Sam was right to go get gloves with which to pick him up....their skin is quite

toxic.

5) Their skin is also very sensitive. If scratched, it can easily become infected. A

blogger I began following as a result of this incident, suggests we take him to a vet

for a check-up and possible infusion of antibiotics (when you know what freezes

over):-) I doubt the government will invest that kind of money into an Eel.

So, you have now seen the height of Waccamaw drama. The case of the missing

Congo Eel.

Entering a busy time with trips to Jasper, GA (near Atlanta) to visit our friend Lydia

AND that second trip to Charlotte. Pray it does not snow again. Thanks!

Friday, February 13, 2015

A word with God!

Many fun and interesting experiences greet us each and every day and they all make an impact. I will share this month's events with y'all later, but the IMPORTANT stuff first:

I must bring it to your attention when one of us (in this case me-Jan) has a DIRECT intervention from the Lord Himself. The kind of intervention that is so CLEAR, so DIRECT, so unmistakably DIVINE that it cannot be denied or ignored.

First, some background: as usual, when Bill and I arrive at a new location at which we will be free on Sundays, or some of our Sundays, we go looking for a temporary church home. In the case of our time at Waccamaw, my research revealed a nearby church called, of all things, Christ Community Church.

As many of you know, this is the same name as Bill's lifelong home church in Zion, IL. We took this as a promising sign, and began attending.

We both enjoyed the preaching AND the welcome was warm and inviting. On the 2nd Sunday we visited, CCC presented a guest preacher. We did not catch her name, but SHE WAS FABULOUS! We didn't focus on her name because we thought we would be able to find it on CCC's webpage later. By our 4th week of visiting CCC, it was clear that I was not being fed by the style of worship music being presented, and that was important enough for me to bring it to Bill's attention. We came to a quick agreement that we would both like to try the church of the "guest preacher" we had heard at CCC several weeks earlier. NOW, to find out who she is and where she preaches. The information could not be found anywhere...not the CCC website, nor anywhere on the web. We could not remember her name, or the name of her church and I was too embarrassed to call CCC and say "hey, we like your church, but not enough to stay, so could you give me the name of that guest speaker we had a few weeks ago?" The week was passing, several days had gone by, with no success in our search.

Now, I am standing in the laundry room, putting a load in, moving a load over and I hear a voice, clearly say "Cheryl Adamson"! What??? Wait??? THAT was the preachers name, and I rush to my computer to discover:

Pastor Cheryl Adamson

An answer to prayer staring me in the face!

We will be traveling this Sunday, but can't wait for the opportunity to hear her again. She is clearly anointed.

We have now been at Waccamaw just over a month:

and are settling into a routine:

I ride when I can, while Bill and Tessa shadow me.

Bill likes to pick garbage alongside the road during the hour I am riding, but Tessa, well, she just likes the scenery.

Cleaning up alongside the messiest roads we have ever seen is not exercised solely during my ride time. We feel so strongly about this

we go out on garbage patrol regularly.

Sometimes our training is just so miserable, but somebody has to do it:

ATV Training Day

Now, to find something to do that would require the use of these machines.

And, of course, we must know what we are talking about when people call or come in looking for our hiking trails. Our best answer "Go up to Cox Ferry", there's about 4 miles of trails up there:

The Cox Ferry Trails are about 20 miles from us here at the Visitor Center, closer to the north end of the Refuge. It is also where our friends Ken and Joanna (whom we met at The Cradle of Forestry-our 1st volunteer assignment) are posted while they are here volunteering at Waccamaw. It was just a sheer coincidence that we both ended up here together. The volunteer world is getting smaller all the time.

The Cypress Swamp is beautiful right now...another month and well be spraying up with Deet! Another month??? We couldn't stand still very long right now!

My need for training on my new Apple computer affords us the opportunity to be down in Charleston a lot. This is good on several levels, not the least of which is that it affords us a chance to see my cousin Kelly (daughter of my cousin Lynn)

over lunch on the waterway.

BUT, during lunch, Kelly and Bill, facing the water, bring to my attention an interesting old boat cruising slowly by. I turn and note the neat old boat, as the conversation continues. The old boat passes several more times and Kelly says "I guess they are filming something".

As I turn and look again, wondering what is going on, FINALLY Kelly says what she has known all along (took her awhile to be sure): "Yea, that's Darius Rucker". "WHAT"!!!!! And you're just telling me now???? OMG, I'm a HUGE fan!"

And Kelly goes on to explain that Darius lives near them. I didn't want to look like a besotted fool, but I HAD to take some pix! Where is my real camera when I need it? Sorry Darius, I apologize for gawking! P.S. I was a fan back when Darius was still"Hootie", just sayin:-)

Plans are in the works for Bill and I to get together with ALL of my cousin Lynn's family who live there in Mt. Pleasant.

That would include Kelly, hubby Charlie,