May 2016

     As we pause to think and remember Memorial Day (Decoration Day to us oldies), our hearts are touched again by those who have laid down their lives for our freedom. From before the Revolutionary War until present, our family, like many others, have given a fair share of their members to years of service in order to guarantee the freedoms we have as Americans. Our minds always revert back to the our early years in Ironton, Ohio, when every school child marched with their fresh flowers in the parade to the end where the bouquets were loaded onto trucks and delivered to soldiers graves throughout the county. I remember well the soldiers who fought in the Spanish American War and the special floats for those who had fought in the Civil War and were no longer with us. I marched every year including the year I graduated, either with my class, the band or a special group on a float. It was a school day, so attendance was necessary, but no one had to be forced to do so. It was our honor. I remember marching in Washington, D.C. in another parade to remember the armed forces with many of the same feelings as we marched past President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was that trip where I first saw the Tomb of the Unknown, the tribute to Iwo Jima, the White House, the Smithsonian Museum and many other memorable parts of our American heritage. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you, especially with family members, and share with you those DEEP feelings of gratitude as you faithfully assemble the 148th consecutive parade. 

     Of course, there is no holiday here for the US Memorial Day, but we will have a moment of silence and our hearts will be thinking of those who sacrificed for us on beaches and forests around the world.

     We are still trying to put together a good work group to do some needed repairs at church. We have several older deaf (my age) but we are as difficult to get together planning wise as the much younger. We want to do some very needed maintenance on the structure and the contents. One of the bigger jobs will be to re-do the baptistry ceiling. Years ago we put glass blocks overhead in a metal framework so we could reap the sunlight without the rain. The extreme sunlight has damaged the glass blocks causing some of them to break and fall into the baptistry. We have several who would like to be baptized, but we are afraid of the danger lingering above.

     We are also trying to figure out what all has happened since we were last in the USA. The insurance continues the same as long as we are here, but a furlough causes the insurance to double in price when we arrive home. We are in the process of trying to understand all of the implications and work-arounds that might help with these expenses. It has been a little difficult trying to get information while still on the field because sometimes we log onto a site only to discover they read our Internet address and block any access to the site as "only available in the USA." 

     Please continue to pray as our deaf mature and continue leading, yet they lack the confidence to trust solely in their understanding of the Word. They often KNOW what Scripture says but they await an "OK" from another deaf person or from one of us that it is right. A lot of this comes from their culture. We are striving to help them understand something that I remember well from churches back home: "God said it, that settles it." Pray that they will learn to trust their Bible and learn to make all of these lessons practical to their own lives.

     May God bless you this Memorial Day and thank you sincerely to all of our veteran friends and brothers in Christ.

Gary & Ann