Saturday, July 23, 2011

Heat Index and House Guest

Heat Index
Oh my, it's been warm lately. Ohio was part of the recent heatwave and Coshocton (while not being Dallas, Texas, with 3 weeks of triple digit temps) has had its share of triple digit heat indexes this past week. Take 98 degree temps and add 75 % humidity and zowie...the air feels like it's 114 degrees.

The guys in the hangar have really been sweating it out in the most literal sense. But within that, they're also thankful that they were able to work inside the shade of the open hangars though 114 degree air is still 114 degree air...while all the guys down there are affected by such extremes, our apprentices from England and Scotland are especially sensitive as they've never experienced such temperatures at home. For amusement, the guys were shooting their digital temp gauges at various items and found that the concrete ramps around and between the hangars stayed at 120 degrees. It's been an interesting week. It appears the worst has either headed further east or returned to the Texas/Oklahoma region.

Karen and I've been blessed to work upstairs in the air-conditioned administrative area where the central AC units were able to cool the air down to 80 degrees.

Karen and I are thankful for our little window mounted air conditioners at home (and our local coal-fired power plant) that allowed us to cool the main floor and bedrooms as necessary. Upstairs temps in our bathroom stayed at 90 degrees overnight. But that's not news to anyone west of the Rockies...The shock of walking from a cooled bedroom into the upstairs hallway or just climbing from the first floor to the second seemed rather severe to us.

House Guest
We were blessed to have Keith Kettenring stop in for an overnight visit on his way from Lancaster, PA to Dayton, OH. Keith is involved with a ministry that focuses on leadership development within the church and missions. He was one of the co-leaders at a seminar Karen and I attended two weeks ago. It was privilege to host him in our home and to renew relationship with our new friend and dear brother in Christ.

There are several similarities between us. My name is Keith Allen, his name is Keith Alan. I grew up in Southern California, he pastored in Southern California for 22 years. We share a deep passion for leadership development, are similar in age, have strong love of reading, and share similar desires in pursuit of deeper relationship with God. He also has a long-time connection to North Carolina's Outer Banks region and Karen and I were married there nearly nine years ago (our anniversary is next month).

It was a treat to enjoy his fellowship and to have the continued opportunity to draw on his spiritual insight and wisdom. It's exciting to see God weave Keith into the tapestry of our lives. It was fun (and a bit sweaty) to lead Keith on a tour of the MMS facility yesterday afternoon.

Keith Allen Dodson and Keith Alan Kettenring

Thanks
Thanks for your prayers and gifts and love and friendship all of which encourage us and enable us to serve. We're thrilled to have you standing with us and are privileged to represent each of you in our daily ministry.

2 comments:

Janet said...

We will remember the heat of Mexico the last year we were there. Actual temps of 107 with humidity, able to cool the motorhome down to 90 degrees! Don't envy you guys. Hope you can keep cool!
John and Janet Yates

Keith said...

Thanks, Janet! We're hunkered down in the heat again today...Greetings and well-wishes to John!