The tree is a Kona tree on Maui. I THINK they only grow in Hawaii and I KNOW it is illegal to cut a Kona tree down. The only way one can get the wood is from a downed tree. In 2008 I brought a couple of pieces of Kona wood back in my suitcase.
Terry and I visited Pearl Harbor on our trip. I do not have a bucket list but I had always wished I could visit so it was fun for me. Terry had been there in the past. Pearl Harbor certainly is a place where one can see, read and learn about our country's past and appreciate the many many sacrifices people made for what we have today.
A short blog before I get on Bentley. I ran into Mike M at the coffee shop yesterday. Mike took over the Servant Camp boys bike trip more than once. We sat and visited while we sipped our coffee. Mike's youngest and only daughter will be a senior at University of Santa Clara where Travis and John graduated from. John was a freshman in the fall of 1988 and, if I remember right, the cost for board, room and tuition was $18,000. Mike said that same thing will cost about $65,000 this year! Yikes, one may want to think about junior colleges for their kiddies.
Visiting with Mike of course brought back a flood of memories of Servant Camp which opens tomorrow. From 1983-2010 I would be heading up a staff meeting around noon today and then I, along with my head staff, would head out to camp this afternoon. We would unload all our papers and supplies in the directors cabin and have one final go through before the big influx tomorrow. At this point most of the work has been done so it is a matter of making sure all is go. I could write a list that would be VERY long about some of the highlights and lowlights of camp. Here are just a very few:
- the death of George during camp
- the young girls capsize in the over flowing river
- the young boy bikers coming into camp after a 300 mile 5 day ride and almost having to employ guard duty to keep the girls away!
- teenager campers trying to have get-to-gathers late at night
- God healing campers and staff
- God sightings
- camper homesickness
- 6th grade bike trips
- cookouts that were a disaster
- etc etc etc
I would like to say that I was the perfect "head of camp" but of course that is not true. I would say that for the most part camp was always a HUGE success and GOD always was present. Since I left it has been in good hands and is still a mighty work of the Lord. Terry and I plan to visit next Thursday and I am sure we will see many people who are dear to my heart. Lord we pray that you, again, will be present in a mighty way.
I got a call from my friend Larry yesterday. We had a nice chat and then he mentioned that one of our high school classmates, Jim B, died in a farm accident last month. As always, it was like a kick in the stomach when I heard it. Jim had farmed all his life and was a very nice guy. I looked in our 1965 annual from HS and I know of 6 at least that have died. That is almost 10% who have not lived beyond the age of 72. Sobering to say the least. Lord I think you for life. I am NOT obsessed with life and death but out of curiosity I looked at the class of 1964 and I believe at least 19% are not living today. Enough of that.
My FP is finished and Bentley is calling. After that I will get a tiny bit of painting done.
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