Stay Frosty

Fortunately despite my title it has not stayed frosty though it has certainly frosted here much to my displeasure.  We felt that some when we were at the cabin when we had a hard frost up in the mountains…we know it’s on it’s way in the lower elevations then…it’s just a matter of time you know.  For those of you that are praying about our coming trip to Africa let me make a few things clear:  we haven’t yet gone.  We leave the 30th of this month and will be gone until the first of November.  Our entire family is going with a team of people…about seventeen of us.  We have Canadians and even someone from Nigeria that we met in Ireland.  The pastor in Ireland that we ministered with is already in Ghana now…he’s a Ghanaian as well though he has a church in Ireland.  Joseph Baisie is the name of the pastor who is our contact in Ghana…we’ve known him since we started ministering in Africa in 1988.  I call him my brother because he is in every sense of the word except the biological one.  We already have our tickets and are waiting on our visas which should be here any day now.  All but one of our team already received the immunizations that are required.  We will begin our medication for milaria one day before we leave.  Please keep Gabby in mind when you pray..she’s only four years old and these medicines are very strong.  Thank you all who pray for us…your prayer is more than well wishes…it’s pure gold and I’m very thankful for it!

I have some pictures from our trip to Mill Creek today that are a bit closer to the cabin we stayed in.  I have an effection for thistles…can’t say why.  They can be quite beautiful but something about them says don’t tread on me and I like that   I also particularly like the symmetry involved in these plants because it has a mathematical precision that shows the Master’s plan in a special way The bank of Mill Creek was rather steep by the cabin so it wasn’t always easy to get near the bank but on occasion a spectacular wildflower would find a way to get its share of the sun…again I admire the tanacity in what on the surface appears delicate Our cabin was unique in that it had both a front and a back porch.  The back porch was a wonderful place to relax with a cup of camp coffee and enjoy the sound of the streamOut the front door we were always greeted by this mountain which looked different depending on the sunlight at given times of the day The cabin is really very old but they had brought electricity to it which was really nice.  As you can see it’s high but it was never dry…plenty of rain while we were there The primitive charm of these kinds of places always grabs me deep down inside Here’s a side view of the cabin I could spend many happy hours looking at the sights to see within easy walking distance of the cabin .  Some people can’t sit still and enjoy what’s right in front of them…I’m not one of those people.  I don’t always have to be on the move.  These delightful flowers are called “fleabane” I guess though I’m not sure why since I found many little bugs frequent them…perhaps just not fleas!  The thistles were not able to keep numerous small butterflies away who drank deep of the nectar from dawn till dusk The kids and I enjoyed exploring the forest and we found a wonderful treat as we did:  Raspberries!  They looked and tasted heavenly Some things looked good but I wouldn’t want to eat them Seeing these made me think of Carole…these are for you Carole Walking deeper in the forest let me ever looking back at the mounting so nicely framed by the pine trees The fence around the cabin was a living thing and had plenty of growth on it to show.  Sporting a moss beard One more shot of the white berries For a while we kept our canned drinks in the river here but it stayed cool enough that we moved them to a more convenient spot near the cabin I' love backgrounds in photos in fact at times this is the making of the shot other times it’s not that but the complexity of the subject itself that makes it special but I don’t frankly care too much about the ins and outs of the photo.  It’s being there, experiencing the moment and just loving how God put it all together that matters above all I see the personality of God here and His wonderful design speaks volumes without saying a word