Saturday, October 1 - Sunday, October 30, 2016
Saturday, October 1
Talk about a crazy day...or, wait, maybe we are the crazy ones. First, we decided to go on a Taz ride so decided to call friends Pat and Joseph in Winnsboro to see if we could meet for lunch. Got the green light so off we went!
Next on our hit parade was a journey to Gilmer to see Jim's Symphonic Band friends, Lynn and Kathy since Lynn was preparing for rotator cuff surgery and wouldn't be able to play his trumpet for quite a while., Jim needed to visit with him and pick up his music folder.
So...the final tally for the day was 158.3 miles of fun and visiting...Not bad for a day's enjoyment.
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Sunday, October 2
The day started out with Sunday School and church. Jim and I were so excited to have 14 children come down for our children's sermon. Once again, we forgot to take a picture; so instead we have included just a part of our lesson on blessings and a description of our Joshua box we presented each child.
Remember
when we gave you David’s box with 5 smooth stones to remind you to be strong
and courageous? Today we have a Joshua
box for you. This box is for you to remember that God gives us blessings every
day. Sometimes we recognize them…they are obvious…like your parents, you home,
having food to eat. But other blessings you have to really think about, such as
the ability to play sports, to make good grades, or to make new friends. Right
now, your blessings box just has some candies to remind you that you are
showered with blessings, but what we hope you will do with this box is write a
blessing each day that God has given you. It’s October now…in another month it
will be Thanksgiving. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if by then you had filled this
box with blessings that God has given you?
Lunch with Jerry and Diane preceded our necessary Sunday nap!
Sunday evening was a Taz one which also meant that Jim gave rides to any kids (and adults) who want a quick ride. Tonight was also a trumpet lesson for Nate and Benjamin.
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Monday, October 3-Saturday October 8
Doctor appointments kept us hopping the first of the week and then on Thursday we took off early in the morning on Taz to join some other church seniors at Lone Star for a Senior Day.
After a great time and ride, we prepared for a visit from Leah, Ry, and Kaiden. Leah and Ryan were leaving Kaiden with us as they went to New Orleans for the week-end. It was our first time to have Kaiden alone; so I think we were all a little unsure of how things would go. However, as time would tell, we had nothing to worry about! Our first stop was over to Angela and Ladd's to meet them and give Kaiden the egg gathering experience.
Once we sent Leah and Ryan on their way, the three of us headed over to Tyler where we would take Kaiden to the Brookshire Museum before heading to the doctor's office where I would have a procedure done on my leg to kill a vein that wasn't pumping blood back to my heart.
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Sunday, October 9
We knew this day would be full from sunup to sundown as beside church and a luncheon, Jim had a community band concert. What more could we fit in? How about a children's sermon on Jonah which in part was the following:
Barbara: Wow! Mr. Little, it sounds like Jonah was trying to play hide and seek with God! When I was younger, I used to hide from my parents when I didn’t want to do what they told me to do. I guess I just never thought about how sometimes I hid from God, too. What about you, kids? Have you ever done something like that with your parents or a teacher? It probably didn’t work out well, did it.
So…tell
us, Mr. Little…did Jonah get away with hiding?
Jim:
Well…this
didn’t work out well for Jonah either! Once Jonah got on the ship, it ran into
a great storm and everyone was afraid they would die. Jonah told the crew that he was running away
from God and that they should throw him into the sea to save themselves. The crew didn’t want to do that, but they
finally did throw Jonah overboard.
Jonah
didn’t drown though, because God sent a great fish, what we think of as a whale,
to swallow Jonah and keep him safe for three days.
Barbara: This story shows us that we
can’t hide from God. He knows all about us. He knows what we are going to say
before we say it and what we are going to do before we do it. It is foolish to
play “Hide and Seek” with God (and your parents). Besides the reason God comes
seeking us is because he loves us and wants to bless us. Why would we want to
hide from his blessings?
Jim: Father, we are thankful that even thought you know everything about us, you love us anyway. Amen
(We gave the kids plastic bags of Booberry cereal with colored goldfish crackers mixed in to resemble the water and the whale.)
What made this children's sermon extra special to us was the fact that one of the children who came down was our own grandson, Kaiden...pretty neat!
And, as one could tell, I too time this morning before Sunday school to harass Charlotte with some more picture-taking.
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Monday, October 10Happy birthday to sister Carol in Roswell, NM!!!!!
Before returning Kaiden to Leah and Ryan, we had time for some more Taz rides.
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Tuesday, October 11-Friday, October 14
The rest of this week was spent getting packed and ready to head for Georgia for our usual October volunteering gig. Before we could leave on Friday, I had an ultra sound on my leg at 4:00 to get final approval to travel. When I finished, I came to the car to find this. Once Jim was awake, we drove east until finally giving up in Ruston, LA.
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Day 2 of our travels found us quitting for the day in Duluth, Georgia, after taking only a few pictures. Please note the trailer we decided we needed to have to pull behind Taz. Pretty cool, huh?
We arrived in Toccoa in time for church at Ebenezer Baptist where we met up with part of the volunteer crew. It's like coming home! After that it was straight to the Georgia Baptist Center where we began the unpacking, visiting, and waiting for the 7:00 team meeting.
Every morning Jim and I begin our day by going to the kitchen where he will begin prepping food and I will go to the bakery and begin whatever assignment I will have. Then, we stop for breakfast with the team before going upstairs for the meeting and devotional. Then it's back to the kitchen for us. However, others have many different jobs they do...you'll see as you browse the pictures below.
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Sunday, October 16 PM - Friday, October 21
One of the fun things for us to do while we are on a trip is to design our own postcards for family and friends. Below is our first postcard of this trip.
Ending week one with these photos...
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Saturday, October 22
Usually we don't work on Saturday; but this morning extra help was needed in the kitchen. So, before Jim and I joined Barbara, Phillip, Mike, and Diane to go Currahee Mountain and Goats on the Roof for a day of sightseeing, we kept quite busy!
That evening, a group of us decided that a night playing 99 would be a great pastime while others found other activities.
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Sunday, October 23
After church today, a group of us got a dinner together since the kitchen crew had the day off. Th evening, some new volunteers came in time for the Sunday night team meeting.
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Monday, October 24 - Saturday, October 29
Our second, and final week, at Toccoa....no words needed...
One thing that is so special about our volunteer time is the bond that we make with the kitchen team, and, in some cases their families. Alicia used to work in the dining room; but since getting married and becoming a Mom, she comes back for visits and for us to meet the babe. Words cannot begin to express the love we have for Eric (head chef), Ruth, and Kate. Our last day, we decided we should leave our evaluation note for all to see. Then one last view of Lake Louise...and our second and final postcard from Toccoa.
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Sunday, October 30
After attending our last service of 2016 at Ebenezer, we jumped in the car and headed toward a new adventure in South Carolina.
We had hoped to see the Footes, but they were on a trip of their own. We were able to hook up with friends Jack and Linda in Lexington, South Carolina when we stopped for lunch. Our final destination was Charleston which Jim will write about in the next installment.
Until then remember...
"Traveling---it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." Ibn Battuta, a medieval Moroccan traveler and scholar
From Charleston, South Carolina
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
