Our first “Tea, Talk and Pray” session was held at Edenbrooke School and our postcards will go home with the students this week to invite their parents to meet with us.  One staff worker poked her head in and said “Can I ask any questions?” “Yes”, “Well there is no God or what happened at the barracks wouldn’t have happened.”  Hard question.

Some of you have read that a faction of the IRA has killed two soldiers at the Army base North of Belfast and a policeman in Armagh a day later.  The news is reporting “we are not going back to the Troubles” but our people are saying it brings back fresh wounds.  Ward was asked to lead the midweek Bible study on a theme that will help people.  Across the country rallies have taken place protesting this return of terrorism. 

Five weeks in California was planned but the moderator’s visit changed our schedule.  Next year five weeks!  I was running at 200 miles per hour and Ward was exhausted by the complexity of things.  It didn’t help that he came home to California with that abscessed tooth and after three dentist consultations, it had to be pulled.  Then his eye pressure was high and drops were given on top of the antibiotics for the tooth, and then his urologist said good PSA score but bladder weakening.  To top it off, rats were needing trapping, his unfavorite compulsive chore.  I had help from my sorority sister Jean Woodruff who came the last week we were at home and helped on many fronts.  Taxes, financial chores, driver license renewal, cars to shed, water in the basement, replastering the bathroom, missing drawer handles, a handout to type, and a Costco run to make.  Relaxing visit to Los Angeles and to Napa, bookclub, breakfast at Rick and Anne’s, Cheesecake Factory, El Cholo, Daimo, Somerset twice, Ici ice cream, Melvin cooked five great meals, dim sum, olallieberry pie, and I cooked corned beef which the Irish don’t have, and don’t cook.  It’s true, try googling it.

Serendipity:  Met Bill Beatty at the post office and met Mary Negaeli at the “Church and State in the Obama Era” lecture in which Scotty McLennan mentioned the Williamsburg Charter completed 20 years ago by Os Guinness.  Woodruffs and I met Os Guinness in 1970 a few months apart while separately attending L’Abri as students.  Serendipity again during the birthday party we held for Tim Nuveen our relatively new friend who turned 75.  Tim brought his friend Mary Lou Kappel, whom we discovered worked in Young Life with Arlene Lui, my high school church advisor!  This was meaningful since I had been looking to find Arlene for many years to thank her for how she influenced my life.  

Email: wardstothers@cten.org
New Phone: (028) 90 291986  From US 01144.2890.291986

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