ACL Palm Beach, Florida June 10-16, 2012

Pam and I left Bourbonnais at 2pm with Ben as our chauffeur.  It was a fun ride catching up with him.  We walked in checked in our bags, breezed through security, and were waiting for our plan within an hour.  Both flights went great and were ahead of time.  The transfer was short and quick.  The second plan was def newer and much more comfortable.  When we got to our baggage (which came out immediately- mom had to have been praying!), we called Jeff (fellow conferencer) to see if he had arrived and wanted to share a cab.  After we found, him we took about a fifteen minute ride to Palm Beach Atlantic University and landed right in front of the library.  Security came and took our luggage to the OceanView dorm (no oceanview that I can see) and showed us how to use our access keys.  We arrived in our rooms around 11-11:30pm.  Made our beds and settled in for a sleepless night.

The next morning we went to breakfast and then headed to the beach.  They told us it was 1.2miles straight over the bridge but I'm pretty sure it was longer than that.  It was really hot and really humid!  When we arrived to the beach we got right into the ocean.  It was awesome! There were some decent waves and there was a yellow flag which meant medium danger.  We swam for about an hour and then started the trek back.  My shoes must be worn too thin bc the bottoms of my feet felt like blisters.  We went back a couple of blocks south which was shadier.  Then just before crossing off the island we sat on a bench under a tree and cooled down to rest my feet.  As we were crossing the bridge a boat came so they had to lift the draw bridge.  It was really cool!  I can't believe how high it raised the entire road - lamppost and all!  Then this dumb little boat went through - not even sure why they had to lift it!!  Anyway we went back to the room and collapsed before we had to go to the opening dinner at 5pm.  It was pretty much like eating Sodexo.  Then we went and sat outside while everyone introduced everyone else and we had an opening prayer.  Some students came and did the PBA cheer which was cute.  I met a couple of people and then we had ice cream which wasn't very good.  I headed back up and got some work done and went to bed around 9pm - another rough night's sleep.

Tuesday we spent at sessions and eating more Sodexo style food.  We met a lot of people.  I enjoyed visiting with Ruth Kinnersley during one of the meals.  I also met Fern, Barbara, and Karen.  Wednesday, it was more of the same except we went to two business meetings: Liberal Arts and Nazarene Meeting and our poster session.  I met alot of people at the poster session.  Played with QR codes with Karen and Libby.  Talked LibX tool bars with David from Indiana Wesleyan.  Thursday am we skipped an am workshop and walked back to the beach.  It was glorious.  After that we went to workshops and meetings.  Dinner was in the Art Museum.  It was good but we didn't have much time to visit the museum bc it closed at 9pm and the dinner went late.  It was sprinkling on the walk home but Pam and I had a nice chat with Tammy Condon. 

Friday, we went to MacArthur State Park and kayaked.  Steve, Karen, Linda and her sister, John, Pam and I took off for a couple of hours.  John, Pam, and I paddled around the entire island that opened up to the waterway.  Everyone else hung around inside the "cove."  After we finished we took the "tram" (golf cart) to the beach.  It was incredible. It was like being at a zoo.  We walked out of the Mangrove forests to the beach - it was a completely different environment.  The water was beautiful and felt incredible.  As you entered there was a "cliff" of shells that you almost had to jump off to go further in the water.  When the waves rolled over it you could hear "chimes."  It was beautiful.  The water felt great and a couple nice sized waves came and knocked us over.  We weren't even in for five minutes when Steve said we had to go.  It was disappointing but I had probably already gotten enough sun for the day.  We headed back to campus.  Pam went to the Flagler Museum and I went up to the room.  I "im"ed with Hannah for awhile and started to watch Netflix but kept passing out.  I didn't even hear Pam get back.  Around 5pm we met John for dinner and the three of us walked to a Taco place.  After that we went to Sloan's for ice cream and walked along the waterway on the trip back.  It was a nice evening.  Pam and I watched the Adventures of TinTin and then went to bed.  I was up at 2:30am bc it was storming outside and the bathroom sewer stunk so bad that I ended up calling Security.  The guy that called had a name tag that said C. Bible.  I told him he had a cool name. :) He was going to report it and somebody must have done something bc it wasn't too bad in the morning. 

Later Saturday morning, we packed up our rooms ran into Craighton at the library and worked on the computers for a while.

Informatics Bonfire

Informatics End of the Year Bonfire
April 27, 2012 6:30pm

When we are born there is a barrier between God and us.  We cannot have a relationship with Him because God is perfect and has perfect righteousness.  We are not!!  We are born into the slave market of sin. John 08:34, “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

There is nothing we can do as humans to escape this slave market, we are hopeless and helpless.  The good news is that God has provided a solution - a way out of the darkness.  II Corinthians 05:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  JC came to this earth in perfect humanity and redeemed us from this slave market.  He did all of the work – dying as our substitute on the cross.  We do not have to do anything!!  God’s grace is amazing!  All you have to do is accept JC as your Savior and you will be saved. 

After Christ died on the cross he was resurrected.  This resurrection gives us hope.  Once you accept JC as Savior you will have eternal life!  John 10:28, “and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

I believed in JC as a child but those of you that know me probably have figured out that I am not perfect.  I sin and screw up often.  How can this be if I am a Christian – if I believed in JC as my Savior?  It’s because I’m still a sinner!  Romans 03:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Every time I sin I lose fellowship with God – not salvation just fellowship.  Believing in JC did not make me a spiritual giant who can handle any thing in life.

I often stop myself and think, “What am I doing?”  I don’t want to be this person and yet I often can’t stop it!  Romans 07:15, “For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”  Did God provide salvation and then just leave me hanging afterwards?  No!  He knows that we cannot function spiritually without His grace and provisions.  All we have to do is name our sins to God and He is faithful and just to forgive us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!  I John 01:09.  How incredible is that?!  My pastor uses the term “rebound” for confessing your sins.  This is his analogy:

Excerpt from Pastor R.B. Thieme's Rebound publication:

Winning a basketball game requires players to shoot and to rebound the ball.  When the ball leaves the hand of a shooter, arches gracefully toward the basket, drops inside the rim of the hoop, and rips through the net, he scores.  But when his shot misses, the ball must be rebounded.  Rebounding recovers the loose ball as it caroms off the rim or backboard.  Rebounding restores the opportunity to shoot, to score, and ultimately, to win.

In the spiritual life every Christian misses shots or sins.  But like basketball, the contest of the Christian life does not end when a believer sins.  God graciously provides the way to rebound from sin, to restore the filling of the Holy Spirit, to recover fellowship with God, and to keep moving in the spiritual life.  Rebound offers the believer an infinite number of chances to be a winner in the Christian life. 

Every time I sin, I can privately name that sin to God and I am forgiven.  I can forget my screw up and focus on God and the amazing promises He has given to me.  I can move on.

Philippians 03:13, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,” Philippians 03:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Many of you are beginning the rest of your life next week and I hope you’ll keep that verse in mind:  II Corinthians 04:18, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  Remember that as you embark on this new journey in your life that you have a unique opportunity to grow spiritually and set an example to those around you.  I will pray that when you miss a shot (and you will) you will have daily reminders to rebound that ball so that your shots/baskets count in the spiritual life.  I hope I have set this example for you and that you have recognized the grace I have extended toward you as a reflection of the incredible grace God has extended toward me. 

Informatics Fall Meeting

My mom has just started teaching Moses in Sunday School. Since I have studied and taught Moses at least three times, we have been having some great discussions. One of her first lessons was about how Joseph's bones tie into the Moses story. His bones were pretty much to the Jews what the Bible is to us today. Looking at his sarcophagus was supposed to remind them of all of the good choices that Joseph made under tragic circumstances. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and later falsely accused and put in jail. Joseph claimed God's promises and had absolute faith - II Corinthians 5:7, "for we walk by faith, not by sight— "

Our "sarcophagus" is the Bible, the actual Word of God. We are to remember those promises and make daily choices to walk by faith. Our priorities need to be in the unseen not in the seen (friends, family, work, etc.) Every year I remind you to take time to stop and evaluate your priorities remembering that our time on this earth is temporary but our relationship with God is eternal. Every time you have a choice to make take long enough to ensure that your focus is on Him. This is why I chose II Corinthians 04:18 for our "Informatics promise" this year. "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Sunday, August 14, 2011 - Monday, August 15, 2011

Scott and I got up at 5am and packed up the camper. We were done at 6:30 so we went down for one last bath. We took off from the cabin around 7:20am. We were at the border for about 5 minutes before we were all back in the US. It was a quiet ride without Paul to entertain us. We stopped at Voyageurs National Park Visitor's Center at Kabetogama Lake. It was really cool. It's a huge lake and there are tons of things to do. You can even take a five hour tour boat ride. If you want to camp there you have to go to an island and stay in a tent. Our next destination was the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor's Center near the Namekagon River. We hit road construction right outside of Trego, Wisconsin because they had it down to one lane and everyone was going home. Hannah thought they closed at four so we were racing to get there. We arrived at 4:05pm but they were open until 5pm. Hannah was sworn in and we were on our way to Eau Claire where we had hotel reservations. We made it there around 6pm and all went to Panera Bread for lunch. Lindsey, Hannah, and I went down to the pool. I only stayed for a few minutes because the jets on the hot tub didn't work. The girls were down there for a couple of hours. The bed was terrible, the room smelled like cigarette smoke, and the air didn't work. Needless to say, Scott and I had a long night. We left for home the next morning around 8am. We stopped for gas one time and were home by 1:30pm. It's good to be home!


Picture Links: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August14_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOaAm9mj8a2FxAE&feat=directlink

Saturday, August 13, 2011

This morning Scott, Alan, Hannah, and I went fishing. We tried to find a hole off of Connaught Point. We didn't have much luck but it was a beautiful day and fun to be on the lake. I hadn't been able to go past Canoe Island yet so I enjoyed seeing all of the familiar places. We stopped at Connaught Point's beach and went around to Boat Island where Hannah went up and checked the Geocache. She was pretty brave especially since they have been baiting Boat Island for bear season next week. We fished a little more. Scott caught a perch just west of Canoe Island but that was it for the day. We stalked a loon for a little while so I could get some cool pictures. When we got back we cleaned the cabin and camper. Alan, Scott, Hannah, and Lindsey cleaned and put away the two boats. Bridget fixed bacon cheeseburgers for dinner. They really hit the spot. Around 8pm, Hannah and Lindsey worked on burning up the gas in the jet ski while Scott and I kayaked around Paradise Island. We saw about twenty canvasbacks all huddled together on one rock. We got to see Michael but not Martha. We thought we would get to see her before we left but it didn't work out. Don Hartman came and got us to tell us there was a big snapping turtle down by his dock so we all ran down there to see it. He had to shine the spotlight on it.




Picture link: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August13_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK2MouaurN_VBA&feat=directlink

Friday, August 12, 2011

Our time is drawing to a close and I'm pretty disappointed. I could probably stay another month! The temperature is 54 degrees this morning and it is foggy. We can't see past our rock on the lake. Scott, Alan, Hannah, and Lindsey went fishing today. Bridget and I moved all of the "junk" back into the new garage and went for a ride. It was a pretty uneventful day.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

When we came into the cabin for breakfast, Alan informed us that we were going to go fishing on eagle. We quickly packed our fishing gear and some snacks and headed out to Dog Island. Alan, Bridget, Hannah, and Lindsey took the fishing boat and Scott and I took the pontoon. With the new motor we got out there fairly quickly - much faster than it would have taken last year! It was hot in the sun but we had a lot of fun. Alan and Hannah probably caught the most, both netting a nice sized walleye. I think Alan's big one was about 4 pounds. Hannah also caught her first northern. Lindsey caught two, I think one was a perch. Scott probably caught 4 or 5 small ones and I caught a perch! Glad I paid for a license for that one! I took a lot of pictures and practiced driving the boat over our "hole." It was nice. We got back to the cabin around 2pm and did our Bible study. Just before our Bible study started it began to thunder and rain. We never got much wind but we needed the little bit of rain we got. The lake is down about 10 inches. Bridget made homemade pizza. It was delicious. We took our baths and then finished our Shanghai Rummy tournament. I won and Bridget took second. It was a good day!

Pictures from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August112011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOuCsOz34q2LrQE&feat=directlink

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Scott and Alan got up early to go fishing this morning. We didn't get to sleep very quickly so it made for a long day. Scott got up at 5am to do his Bible study but I went to back to sleep. I went to the cabin around 10am and everyone was still in bed. We finally had breakfast and did a Bible study around 10:30am. Then we had lunch. After lunch, Bridget started the fajitas for dinner while Hannah, Lindsey, and I went out to shovel gravel into the shed. We did 28 wheelbarrow loads before we headed down to the water. We messed around with the ducks, kayaks, and clay, then decided to take the pontoon boat out. I needed to learn how to drive it but was very apprehensive. Hannah tried to teach me while Bridget gave me a pep talk. We finally got it out and Hannah and I took turns driving. When we got back we started moving gravel again while Bridget started dinner. The guys came back from their fishing trip at Green Lake a little after five and had not caught one fish the entire day. They were however encouraged by all the work the girls and I had done (39 loads). Alan and Scott started working on it then. Hannah and I stuck around and did a little more work here and there.

After dinner, Scott and I took our baths while Alan, Bridget, Hannah, and Lindsey took a boat ride out by where the guys fished today. We have retired for the evening. It's warm in the camper right now but it is supposed to get down to 59 tonight. We may have to turn the heat on again tonight. We hope to fish on eagle tomorrow. Rumor has it that Michael and Martha will arrive tomorrow.

Pictures from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August102011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJOHhsvyyPeyDQ&feat=directlink

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

It was a cold, rainy day so we all hung out in the cabin most of the morning. After our Bible study, Scott, Hannah, Lindsey, and I decided we would go into Vermillion Bay. I told them that we had to take a bath first. No one was very excited about going down in the lake on this cold day but they wanted to go to town so they conceded. When we got down there there were eagles out by McCarty's point so I got the camera and took some cool pictures. After a while we took our baths and then headed to town. We went to the gift shop - Moose Creek and then Buster's for lunch. After lunch, we went to Bobby's and the Coop, ending our trip at the fort for ice cream. It was a fun afternoon and by the time we got back the weather was a lot better. The sun was even out.

Picture links from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August9_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIzdkpWKiIf_6gE&feat=directlink

Monday, August 8, 2011

Yesterday morning we woke up to rain and some wind around 5am. We went back to sleep and didn't get up until about 8:30am. The rain had stopped so we went to the cabin to do our doctrine. After breakfast and our Bible study, Alan decided to go to Dryden. He took Bridget, Hannah, and Lindsey who went to the gift shop and the bakery. Meanwhile, back at the cabin during lunch, Scott said he saw a young eagle fly over and I didn't believe him. He stayed in the cabin reading waiting for a call about the gravel load coming while I came back to the cabin to work on pictures. I saw an seagull acting weird so I stepped outside. Sure enough there was a young bald eagle swooping around. I grabbed my camera and started snapping shots. He was flying above a couple of our cabins. I would watch for him to come back and he would come up behind me from the opposite direction. At one point, it soared over my head as if posing for me. That's where I got my best shots. I called Scott out to see.

After I finished pictures, I laid around and read and snoozed off and on until the girls came looking for something to do. I tried to convince them to kayak with me but they didn't care for the waves. Shortly after that, the wind picked up and you could see a storm coming in over the lake. Scott checked the boats and Hannah, Lindsey, and I started to play Clue. Alan moved our vehicles in the new garage and checked the boats. Scott started trying to secure the camper which was taking the full force of the wind and even tipping a little off of the blocks. We finally decided if we pushed it in front of the trees it would get less wind and there was a huge storm coming. The wind was whipping little sticks at my face when I went through the open areas. Alan grabbed his manual hitch puller - trailer trolley - and Scott, Hannah, Lindsey and I all pushed. It was protected much better so it was an answer to prayer. The wind died down and it started to rain but it didn't rain much. We went in and finished our second Clue game when Bridget announced that dinner was ready. We had a yummy fish dinner with homegrown red potato "fries," baked beans, and peas and carrots. After dinner, Alan, Scott, Hannah, and I went back outside and pushed our camper back to the hill but this time we parked it a little further up the hill and a little different of a slant so the wind wasn't broadsiding it right in the middle of the camper. After a little while, we started a game of Shanghai Rummy. Everyone played and we only made it through four hands until it was time to hit the sack. So far Lindsey is winning.

When we got to the camper, and it was windy but the camper wasn't blowing the same so we had a hole new set of noises to get used to. I swear we heard a moose trot by. Scott and I are going to look for tracks when we go out this morning. I had just read pretty much the stupidest western book ever - I guess you can't always trust BookList - so I was convinced that the Ojibwa Indians were sneaking up on our camper to do horrendous things to us. LOL - I had to faith rest and then I was able to go back to sleep. It was freezing cold so around midnight Scott and I traded places so I wasn't on the outside. Scott also turned the heater on which made it really hot in there plus it stunk because it hadn't been run for awhile so I turned it back off. It was an exciting night.

Pictures from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August8_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP-p0tLFipS_cw&feat=directlink
Pictures from August 7: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August7_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLKZ5oLDiOWv6gE&feat=directlink

Thursday, August 4, 2011 - Saturday, August 6, 2011

Thursday is a bit of a blur. The girls all slept in and lounged around, then did our Bible study around noon. Then we played cards for a couple of hours. The guys all drove to another lake and fished. They caught enough fish for us to have fish on the rock. So when they got back we cleaned up the pontoon boat and got organized to take everything over. After dinner, I took a spin on my kayak to the end of Paradise Island and back.

Friday, the guys worked on the building some more. Hannah, Lindsey, Mom, and I kayaked around Paradise and Eagle Island. Paul taunted us on the jet ski spraying us off and on. He also pulled Nana on her kayak a couple of times. We saw about eight different eagles and a bunch of vultures. We also had a snack picnic on Paradise Island beach.

We picked up the construction mess as the guys were finishing up the front tin of the building.

In the evening, Mom, Jason, Lindsey, Paul, Hannah, and I swam to Paradise Island (about a mile round trip). Dad and Scott met us part of the way there on kayaks. Alan buzzed around us on the jet ski off and on. All the while, Bridget was making homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We were starving after that long swim and dinner was delicious.

Saturday, August 6 - Mom and Dad did their doctrine with us in our camper and then took our load of scraps to the dump. They saw a four hundred pound bear there. Bridget, Paul, Hannah, Lindsey, and I went to the Farmer's Market and then to Egli's Sheep farm. We had a blast trying on different hats. Hannah even bought one. When we got back we made quesadillas for lunch and then loaded up the boat. Dad, Scott, Hannah, and Lindsey took the fishing boat. They caught a few tiny perch and Scott caught one walleye. The rest of us took the pontoon boat out and Paul, Alan, and Mom fished. Alan caught a tiny perch and mom and small northern. We trolled on the way back in and Scott caught a large northern.

Mom and Dad went out to dinner with Ron and Dee and the others. The rest of us headed out to Breakfast rock for a brat dinner. It was great. The girls walked all the way around the island and we had brats, veggies, beans, and chips then smores to top it off. We got back on the Pontoon and took a ride. The sunset was one of the most incredible I have ever seen. God's creation is just incredible. We were in awe. Hannah and I took about a hundred pictures.

It was almost dark when we got back. Hannah, Scott, and I faithfully took our baths and raced back up to get away from the mosquitoes.

Also, Jeff saved the day - bringing me some antibiotic for my ear. Bridget and Scott are my designated ear dropper person. I ended up getting an infection in the other ear, too so the antibiotic was really the grace of God.


Pictures from August 4: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August4_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKObmr_2vqySEg&feat=directlink
Pictures from August 5: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August5_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNy69q3n5Me7bQ&feat=directlink
Pictures from August 6: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August6_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPGe0oXOqZfZLg&feat=directlink

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

During the rain last night. We ended up having to close up almost all of the windows. Our awning got too full of water and broke in the early morning. We did our doctrine at 8am and by 9am the guys were back working in the building. The girls played cards with mom. Bridget and I made chicken and bacon for Paul’s lunch. (Bridget did most of the work so I could blog!) The men got all of the trusses up before lunch. After lunch, Mom and Bridget in the canoe and Lindsey, Hannah, and I in kayaks went around Paradise Island stopping at the beach to play. When we got back the guys had over half of the roof nailed up. I came back and listened to my last summer class.

Pictures from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August2_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCInCwc24k7-7eQ&feat=directlink

Monday, August 1, 2011

The next morning we got up and did our doctrine. The guys worked on setting the posts. It was one of the hottest days, I’ve ever experienced in Canada. We ran drinks out to the guys all day. They were pretty miserable after they got them all set - sore and tired. In between time we kayaked and swam. Lindsey and Hannah jetskiied, kayaked, swam, and ran along the shoreline. They found a big fish over by Durbin’s dock and took a picture of it. Lindsey, Mom, and I swam over halfway to Paradise Island and back. Ron looked at my ear and said I have an infection on the outer ear. He’s going to see if Jeff can bring me some antibiotic drops when he comes on Saturday. We fixed burgers, baked potatoes, corn, and green beans for dinner. After dinner, Dad, Scott, and Paul went Musky fishing. Alan and Bridget worked on the Pontoon boat. Mom and I took the garbage to Deer Trail and then played cards in my camper (after I took my bath and cleaned up the dock). Hannah and Lindsey went with Julie, Jason, Lennox, and Elliott to the dump to see the bears. They saw five bears and stopped for ice cream on the way back. It was hot in the camper most of the night but then it rained early the next morning so that cooled it down some.

Pictures of the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August1_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMuYs8rozqLPvAE&feat=directlink

Sunday, July 31, 2011

After spending fourteen hours in a car with Paul, I was pretty excited when we reached Eagle Lake. It was actually a pretty pleasant trip. God protected both vehicles and the campers. The weather was great and we made it across the border without any issues. We listened to three Hank the Cowdog books which were extremely entertaining. We unpacked all of the food while guys got the camper in place and set up. Mom had made some yummy chili type recipe. Then Alan and Paul jet skied. Scott and I kayaked. Then Hannah, Lindsey, Scott, and I took our baths. It was getting dark and there were a few mosquitoes so we headed up to bed. I woke up in the middle of night with a pretty bad earache.

Pictures of the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/July312011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP3Zge3Np7Ladg&feat=directlink

Current River Kayak Trip

July 2, 2011 - See video on You Tube at http://youtu.be/FknPL7CWR6k

Harry (Phil), Pete (Hannah), Steve (Lindsey), Marshall (Ann), and Doc (Scott) had quite an adventure this week. It began Friday, July 1, 2011 at 7:00am when Scott and Ann left their house. As soon as they got in their car it started to rain. Ann went to Kinnersley’s to pick up Phil and Lindsey. Scott headed to the farm to get Hannah and Tug (the camper). By 8:30am, all shoved into Scott’s truck like sardines, we were finally on our way. As we headed south on 57, we enjoyed watching the lightning strikes going straight down in front of us. We went over a bump and Tug made a loud noise. Suddenly Tug came forward and rammed us. Scott remained calm and began to break and pull over for the side of the road while Hannah kept yelling, “Turn on your flashers!” Ann watched the sparks from the dragging crank and who knows what Lindsey and Phil were thinking! The camper had come undone from the truck, grated off about two inches from the bottom of the crank and the electrical cord had been yanked out. Scott got it hooked back up and after a thorough prayer we started back down the road. The cool thing was that God had put this strip of sun right over us and held the rain off while we got it fixed. The highway was fairly busy but everyone was being really careful and either slowing down or getting over. About Gilman a torrential downpour started. It was so heavy that cars were lining up on the shoulder of the road and stopping. We were concerned that we were driving into a tornado so we stopped behind another car and watched the rain pelt down as it began to hail (pea sized). We called Bridget and asked her to check the forecast. She said there was a line of thunderstorms right down 57! We decided to keep going and the storm let up a little, but then it started again. I have never seen so many cars just stop on the shoulder of a highway for a rainstorm. We were close to giving up when we hit the Road Ranger in Champaign but the sun had come out and the rain had mostly quit. The rest of the trip there was fairly uneventful. We stopped at some place for dinner and Scott had to have Arby’s, Hannah and Ann went to Subway and then we all met at Wendy’s to eat. There was a small plane doing tricks above the Mississippi right next to the Arch. Hannah thought the Anheuser-Busch “A” looked like the Angels. We pulled into Les and Lori’s around 2:30pm about two hours after we were expected. Lori, Les, Scott, and I went to Walmart and bought groceries plus three hundred gallons of liquids. After that we loaded Lori’s house into her car and some in ours. Everyone but Scott and I hopped in their Suburban and we headed out. Once we drove past St. James (maybe an hour later), we went up and down hills and around curves and knew we had to be getting close. Les pulls into a tow truck lot and we pull up beside him. He and his brother, Scott, had decide that they had missed a turn. We turned around and went back up and down more hills and around some crazy curves. We saw lots of trees and black cows. Finally, we arrived at the Silver Arrow Campgrounds. They were really nice. Our spot, Cool Point, had two electrical hookups, a fire pit, two grills, and a pavilion with an electrical outlet and light. We unpacked and started to set up our camps. Lori, Scott, Phil, and Amy set up their six man tent. It was fun watching them try to fit the tent poles in the right places. In the meantime, Hannah goes to the truck to get something out and discovers that it is locked with the keys in it. The passenger side door wasn’t shut all the way so Les brilliantly uses his new hotdog stick to push the lock open. By this time everyone was starving. As Lori began to unpack her house, the table took on a new light. It suddenly had tablecloths, Fourth of July decorations, and fruit shaped Citronella candles. Scott fixed hot dogs on the grill and we headed to bed about midnight.

At 6:30 am, Hannah and I woke everyone up to the smell of sausage and eggs. We used a metal spatula on a cheap pan so the first batch had black specs in it. We tossed those and got out the iron skillet – they turned out a lot better. It took us one and a half hours to get everything ready for the trip, we were scrambling at the last minute when the bus pulled up to our spot to pick us up. The folks at the Silver Arrow Campgrounds charged us $30 to haul our three kayaks with the rest of the canoes. It was a big yellow school bus with a kayak/canoe trailer on the back. As I was grabbing the last of the items, I could hear a lot of laughter and shouting on the bus. Hannah comes off the bus and says, “I’ve been on the bus for two minutes and have already heard two cuss words.” I finally got the rest of our stuff together and hopped on the bus. There was a group of kids in about their thirties that probably not quit their drinking from the night before. One in particular, whom we will call “Partner,” was not wearing a shirt and was quite boisterous. Evidently, before I arrived he had asked Scott (Johnson) if he could smoke. Scott told him it wouldn’t be a good idea since there would be women and children on the bus. He kept yelling, “I’m sorry but I smoke. I smoke and I drink” over and over again. Lori gets on the bus and comments something like, “Hey guys drinking already, isn’t it a little early?” Everyone laughs and Partner has an answer – something about drinking and smoking. The bus driver heads out of the campground toward the put in. There was another member of the party, whom we will call “Bandana,” who was at the front of the bus with a girl and two kids. He told Partner to behave himself. He would yell something about smoking again and suddenly Bandana yells, “Hey Partner!” Partner yells, “Hey Partner, Partner, Partner, 10-4 Partner! Hey Partner!” Then he went back to raving about being a smoker. The guy with the Bandana would make fun of the guy to bus driver in between egging him on saying, “They’re going to find him floating down the river and not in a boat.” He started getting a little graphic so I hollered, “Hey! Anyone here smoke?” Partner answers, “Hey I smoke. I can’t help it, I’m a smoker.” He continued on while the couple in the seat behind me kept apologizing over and over. They said they didn’t invite him, he just showed up. They also said he drank all night slept for about two hours and woke up and started drinking again. He was starting to cuss again so Lori hollered, “Hey Partner!” He answered back, “Hey Partner, Partner, Partner, Roger Partner, 10-4 Partner…” Evidently, he started to get really vulgar so Les let him know politely but firmly that there were women and children on the bus. He apologized to Les a couple of times saying he was a steel mill worker who worked hard for his money and he’s a bit R-rated. They took us to the Akers put in so we could do a 12 mile float to Pulltite. We got everything loaded and started down the river: Hannah and Lindsey were in the double kayak, Lori and Les were in one canoe, Scott Johnson and Phil were in another canoe, Amy, Scott, and I were in single kayaks. The Current River was incredible! It was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom wherever it was shallow enough.

Lori and Les were the first to go over. They kind of got sucked into a current around a tree laying across the river. We all stopped and were trying to catch all of the items that fell out of their canoe. There were a lot of loose water and Gatorade bottles. After that Lori got in Amy’s kayak, Amy took Hannah’s place, Hannah took Scott’s kayak, and Scott got in the canoe with Les. Hannah was kayaking in Scott’s kayak standing up. I was trying to video tape her inevitable fall (which never happened). I noticed a huge fallen tree coming up and threw down my camera so I could paddle around it. I paddled hard and got one end passed it but ran into it about the middle of my kayak. The current racing around the tree started to suck my kayak under flipped it over. I went under and I’m pretty sure the cold water knocked the wind out of me. I held onto my paddle and grabbed a hold of my kayak. I hollered to Hannah to try and catch my camera. I noticed my favorite kayaking shirt and one of my water shoes were stuck on a branch of the enemy tree. I stood up and latched my paddle to my kayak so I could free up a hand. Then I started to attempt to walk back to get my shoes. The water was about chest deep and there were big sharp rocks on the bottom. The fight against the current was really rough, my feet struggled over the jagged rocks. I made it back to my shoe and was able to pull it off of the branch, my shirt was next. I tried and tried but was no longer making any ground. I finally had to let it go. I lifted my feet up and tried to get my balance so I could get back in my kayak. It was too deep and moving too quickly. I hollered for my friends upstream to let me know if I was going to hit something and just lifted my feet and hung on to the kayak. Scott finally reached me and grabbed my kayak helping me get to level ground. The problem was the rocks were still really bad and my feet hurt like the dickens! I got back into my kayak and had found out that my wonderful, smart, and quick Hannah and saved my camera, dry box, other shoe, and my Tilley! Good thing I had a floaty on my camera!! After all of that drama we continued on. We came to a cave that had the most gorgeous blue water. Hannah and Lindsey (back in the kayak together) and Amy and Scott Johnson (in the canoe) all paddled to the deep, dark corner of the cave. Lori and Les were back in the canoe together and Scott and I in our own kayaks. We went in the cave but not all of the way back because there was a line of people waiting to go. We paddled upstream a little further and decided we should get out and cool off. We dunked everyone and raced against the current and had a great time just playing in the water. We won’t talk about Les dumping the canoe that time! J

Our next adventure was the cliff jumping. Scott Johnson climbed up and jumped three times. It was a lot of fun to watch his bravery! We were in a clear spot and I looked back and saw Scott’s paddle floating down the river. I almost had it but it got sucked under my kayak. Some nice canoers going by got it for us and handed it off to Phil who heroically tried to paddle it back upstream to Scott. Scott evidently was trying to cool off his ice tea by holding it in the water. The ice tea slipped out of his hand and he tried to catch it tipping his entire kayak over.

The next part we came upon was deeper than most of the rest. It was this beautiful turquoise blue water. We came to this S curve section where the canoe in front of me went down. I was pretty sure I was going to broadside them but I made it around them. I looked back just in time to watch Phil get sucked in by a tree he got to close while trying to avoid another canoe that had gone over. I laughed because he was back in within about two seconds.

On the way home, Lindsey and Phil went with Lori and Les and Scott and I took Hannah to Ozark Scenic National Riverway’s Visitor’s Center so that she could get her Jr. Ranger badge. On our way back to St. Louis, Les told us that there was a huge storm and we should stop and have lunch before we came. We ate at Burger King and headed west. We watched the most incredible front that we have ever seen (see the end of the video.) We drove into the pouring rain as we got close to St. Louis. There were two big accidents on the highway. We met Lori and Les in the grocery store parking lot where Lindsey and Phil jumped in. It took us an hour to get out of St. Louis. There was an accident and they had closed down I-55 so we ended up downtown. We called Les and got directions for an alternative route. Finally, we were on our way. By the time we hit Veteran’s Parkway in Springfield, Hannah had lost her mind. After eating a slap happy meal at Monicals, we had a special story time with Steve – Steve’s Stupid Story Time – not that Steve was stupid. We also saw parts of about eight different firework shows.

Phil, “I am more sophisticated than that.”

Scott, “Who’s Phil?”

Hannah, “Yes, yes your grandma loves you.”

Drunk guy, “I smoke, Partner!”

Hannah, “Hey Uncle Scott, you’re going under an overpass. Do you know how I know? That truck isn’t flying.”

Les, “Lori, stop laughing!”

Grandma Doc's Eulogy

Grandma Doc passed away at 2:45pm Saturday, October 9. I was one of the family members with her at that time. I read some of Hebrews 11 to her just before. Janet and Dad were holding her hands when she took her last breath. The services were held in Rantoul, Illinois at Lux Funeral Home on Tuesday, October 12. It was overwhelming the people that made a sacrifice to attend. Our church was well represented, along with family, friends from the Rantoul community, Ag Spectrum friends, and even old high school friends of Mom and Dad's. She was laid to rest at the cemetery in Rantoul next to Grandpa Doc's remains. After the services, we ate lunch at the Linden where she used to play Bridge with her friends.

It's been a week of mixed emotions. Although there was sadness, she lived a long life (dying at the age of 95). My cousins Jeane and Matt came on Sunday and we have been able to spend quality time with them, mourning and catching up. Jeane stayed at my house so we have definitely stayed up way too late most nights picking up right where we left off. We really would be best of friends if we lived closer together.

Two other special cousins flew here, one from Texas and one from California. They are both retired Air Force officers. Not only did they come to the services, but they stayed in town so they got to come out to the farm and have a couple of family meals with us. It was a wonderful time of healing as we all shared stories of our families, especially our Canadian adventures.

Dad and I both delivered a eulogy at the funeral. Mine is below:

The last two days corn’s up 75 and beans are up a dollar; now that would be music to Grandma’s ears. Evelyn Wissmiller, Grandma Doc, as many of us affectionately called her, was an intelligent and strong Swedish woman. She always dressed beautifully and enjoyed sewing, crafts, and cooking, a seemingly contradiction to her love of sports. Even though the Illini teams always came first, she also followed the Bears, the Bulls, and the Cubs.

Her quick and agile mind was a sharp as a tack. I remember playing dominoes with her last spring. We were keeping score so we had to count up the points after the hand. In a matter of seconds, she had added all of them up in her head while I was still counting the dots one by one. If she had been born a little later, she probably would have been a broker and a high school basketball star!

She was so proud of her children and their accomplishments. She loved to talk farming and finances with Roger. She adored Janet and always insisted on consulting with her on medical issues. She came to appreciate Dianne’s unconditional love and dedication, especially in the last few months. She connected with Alan and Jeane instantly when she realized they had her talent for making and saving money. Matt and I were a little harder sell but she soon discovered our individual talents as well as Bridget’s delicious cooking always kept a smile on her face. She and Scott had an instant connection because of their common Swedish heritage.

Grandma was always bragging about Janet, Jeane, and Matt to anyone who would lend an ear. She loved hearing and retelling the story of the latest California adventure. She returned from her trip just last winter with stories of being in the boat with Janet and Jeane and about Matt’s fabulous meals! Her two great grandchildren were very special to her. Every Christmas she sang along as they played songs on the piano. She liked talking to Paul about his latest hobby (astronomy, horses, soccer) and was thrilled with Hannah’s love for sewing.

`My sorrow is great and I will miss Grandma, but I can rejoice that she is now face to face with our heavenly Father – not because of her human strength or goodness, but from the small act of faith - believing in Jesus Christ as her Savior.

One of the verses that Gina just sang says, “Neither life nor death can ever From the Lord His children sever, And His love and deep compassion Comforts them in tribulation.” I am comforted because God the Father loved us so much that He sent His Son to die as a substitute for us. As I study His Word, I appreciate more each day, the sacrifice His Son has made. Even though we may have difficult days and sometimes pain on this earth, it does not compare to the suffering Jesus Christ endured so we can have eternal life.

How can we not rejoice when Revelation 21:4 tells us, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”