It's been awhile, hasn't it? Too long, in fact, but sometimes that is just the way it is in my life! We have been in West Point, MS for about a week and are really enjoying visiting with Arky and Dot Beal, our "Katrina friends". Willie has been working with Arky on a rehab of a house, so he is staying busy, and Dot and I are finding ways to get in trouble! This weekend she and I will be attending a Ladies Retreat....looking forward to that.
No pictures....it has been pretty gloomy weather-wise, so any new photos will have to wait until next week...be sure to check back then, and we'll see what we can find interesting to share with you!

SUNSET KING LAKE RESORT - Willie's favorite place to park our "bus" (as Brandon calls it). This has been our spot for the past week or so, and we have a few more days here before we head out to West Point, MS to visit our friends Dot and Arky for a few days.It is a beeeeautiful day, and we are enjoying the warmer weather....and the view (as seen from the clubhouse). If we were considering settling down in Florida (some day in the future) - this area would probably be the place. But since we aren't......!

Saturday we drove down to Niceville and met Janet and Rick Karley (Janet was a part of two of the Encore Continental Mission tours with me). We followed the boardwalk through the nature walk in Turkey Hill Park...a little too cold for the turtles and thankfully, for the alligators! Then they treated us to a delightful lunch....yum, yum, fresh seafood, and fresh air to go with it.

View from our table at lunch!

Rick and Janet

Continue to pray for James and for Eric (Teen Challenge Ranch)....God is at work!

What a gorgeous day! A day fit for a parade...and the folks here at Sunset King in Defuniak Springs are going to have one....a Mardi Gras parade, that is. They are decorating their bikes, their ATVs, their golf carts, themselves....and riding/walking through the park in just about 30 minutes from now.....just happy to be outside and enjoying the sunshine!

We are enjoying our stay here....seeing friends from years past, and missing those that aren't here.

On Sunday we made the trip back over to Teen Challenge Ranch for the service and graduation of five of the cadets....and what a blessing the service was. Seeing God at work in these young guys' lives is a humbling experience....He is just so awesome!

My internet connection here has been rather iffy so far....hope we have resolved some of the problem, but I'm not going to even try to upload any photos until I've had a little more success with the reliability of the connection. In other words, this is all you're going to get today, so 'til later....and have a blessed day!

Wednesday night we attended the evening chapel service at "The Ranch", and were so blessed! Watching those boys and young men truly worshiping God was awe-inspiring. And as they prayed for and over each other, our hearts were filled with thanksgiving for the work that God is doing in their lives. The young men who will be graduating this weekend introduced themselves to the new cadets and then prayed over them. I'm sure that the new guys were wondering what in the world was going on....but what a contrast.....the "newbies" with hard faces, full of resentment and anger, and the faces of those graduating....open, and oh, so different!

I must confess that I was really hesitant to come to Bonifay...in fact, we had nicknamed it "SOWER Siberia" - mainly due to its lack of cell phone service. But God truly has a sense of humor, because I feel that I have left a part of my heart in Bonifay, and there are several young men that I will be continuing to pray for on a daily basis....and, yes, we will be going back! In fact, we plan to drive over (from DeFuniak Springs) for the service and graduation on Sunday....!