Happy Birthday, Kirk/Trip to Texas

Kirk is 35 years old today! That makes me older, too! Everytime I think about my emergency C-section, and the years we went through with his drug addiction, I know that Kirk is a miracle child! A tremendous spiritual battle was fought, but God is always stronger than Satan! Because of that personal battle, Kirk has helped hundreds of addicts and prostitutes find meaning in their lives through Jesus Christ.

New Year's Eve was different than past years. I had a cold and didn't want the usual big party. Noel brought Mom over for a chili dinner, and then Galen and Sondra arrived around 6 p.m. with Jason, Shelly and kids. Jason dove into my lemon pie, and Kylee asked if she could have more chocolate chip cookies. She is 7 years old now, and so pretty! Just as everyone was leaving, Ian and Phllis came and stayed until 10:30 p.m. They had worked at the restaurant until 8 p.m. and seemed happy to just relax and do nothing.

New Years Day, Noel and Mom picked Bill and me up at 10 AM to travel to Texas. Bill and I took turns driving. Noel's van has captains chairs that all recline, so it was extremely comfortable and the weather was perfect. We stopped at Denny's for lunch. A lady came around with black eyed peas for "good luck". (We Californians still don't understand that tradition.) We arrived in Big Springs by 6 pm and enjoyed a country buffet next to the La Quinta Hotel. Galen and Sondra decided to join us and got a room at the same hotel since they were on their way back to California.

On January 2nd, we all had breakfast together in the hotel. Then, it was off to the prison! We had learned our lesson on how to dress and there was no problem in that regard. However, Bill's paperwork had been lost. We sat and waited for about 5 minutes, then a supervisor apologized and said that Bill could go through to the visiting room. It didn't take long for David to appear. He looked so happy to see us!! Galen had told David on the phone that he wouldn't be coming, so he was really surprised to see him! As we sat and ate junk food from the vending machines, David related how much he needs our prayers because it is so difficult to stay out of trouble in that environment. He told how inmates had gotten into a fight and had fallen on his bunk. They left his sheets and pillow blood soaked. He said his first reaction was to add to their blood, but quickly decided against it in order to keep his record clean. David asked them kindly to clean up their mess, and they did!! In spite of his 66 years, David is 6 ft. 1 in. and carries himself like the military police that he was. (Yes, I'm the runt of the family.) He teaches GED courses at the prison, and keeps himself in shape in his off hours. We left the prison at 1 pm and traveled home. Before leaving Texas, we had to stop at a Dairy Queen.

In spite of returning home late on Saturday evening, we managed to go to church on Sunday. My class had 14 people present. The lesson theme was, "The Meaning of Life". Without knowing why you were created, life can be repetitive and often boring. After the worship service, Bill was asked to lead the congregation in singing only hymns on the 3rd Sundays. We sing a lot of new choruses, and many of the older people want to hear the "old hymns" again. The church is also thinking of raising money for handbells. They know that Bill taught handbells at schools in Africa and Japan. He warned them that they are looking at several thousands of dollars. Who knows what this new year will bring? When we have faith, God can do anything if it pleases Him! I will be keeping a log of my prayers, knowing that my time is not always God's time.