A Hot & Humid Update

Weather
It was a cold winter, a wet spring, and now we are deep into a totally hot and humid summer. The way the weather's been lately, I think everything would be drier if it'd just rain. It's so bad I'm dreaming of snow...go figure.

Salsa Garden
Our salsa garden is struggling this year. Maybe it will finish well, but at this point we're fighting tomato blight, the Roma tomato plants just haven't grown as big as they have in the past, and our jalapeno and banana peppers are coming in fast. The bell peppers aren't sure what they're doing--large plants, very few peppers. Early peppers/late tomatoes, it's hard to keep everything coordinated.

Our Short Salsa Garden

The Monster Yellow Squash Plant

Now if we were in the yellow squash salsa business...we'd be doing great. The squash and cucumbers are going crazy. The green beans are doing okay. Actually, our grape tomato plant is going great guns...but it would take a lot of grape tomatoes to make salsa...

Coshocton Flyer
We're in the process of producing our latest Coshocton Flyer newsletter. Lord willing we'll have it in the mail over the next couple weeks. Be watching for it in a mailbox near you.

MMS Aviation
The mission can be a crazy place with everything that God's doing simultaneously in the lives of fifteen staff families, five apprentice families, and five aircraft projects. Throw in the three families I'm currently supervising as they raise support to start apprenticeship; the administrative challenges as we continue to evaluate organization priorities, policies, and procedures; and the changing nature of worldwide mission effort (and how that directly affects us as we prepare tomorrow's missionaries) and the days seem way too short. Which, I guess, is a good reminder that TIME is short.

Fresno Bible Church
I'm still playing the drums on worship team, Karen is part of the singing rotation for worship team and continues to sing "specials" as part of the "Ladies Trio." Karen also serves in the nursery ministry and continues to be a mentor to a lady at church.

Marriage
Yes, we're still married. Which, after nearly nine years, continues to be a miracle and testimony to God's love and grace. Some days we look at each other, scrunch up our faces and have to ask: "What planet are you from?" But most other days we're moving right along in tune and in synch.

Dogs
Tucker and Tanner are fine though developing their own middle-aged aches and pains and muscle pulls and "fatty lumps" that seem to grow on so many Cocker Spaniels. Sometimes we just call both of them "Lumpy." Who knows what they call us.

Tanner Keeps Watch Over His Kingdom

Well I think that rounds out our general update. Lord willing there'll be more going on worthy of blogging in the future. It's just been a whirlwind of a year for us and we're still just hanging on in several areas but no worries, it's just God at work growing us up and drawing us closer to Himself.

Thanks for your gifts and your prayers that keep us in ministry in Coshocton, Ohio.