A lot to blog about....

Here are the pictures we promised of this past week. They're pretty self-explanatory, I think.The couple on the bottom left is JFK and Jackie, in case you were wondering.

Friday fun night!

Last night the Berrymans invited us and several other families over for some fall fun! The kids had a blast competing in several games and Patience and I enjoyed carving a pumpkin together!

The Storm Has Passed

For better or for worse, I have finally finished my correspondence course! Just thought you would all want to join in on the celebration! I am down to the wire as the grades have to be processed and the records in the State Dept. by November 1st, or I don't get my salary--just a sub pay (which by the way, unless you're certified, is peanuts!). Thank you all for praying for me. I am sooooo relieved to have it done!

N. Myrtle Beach Get-a-way

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in North Myrtle Beach. Thanks to Gary Wolpert who let us stay in his house, we were able to profit from Brian's week off of UPS and vacation! We had a great time. We visited the local aquarium-notice the swordfish and shark who were right above our heads in the picture. We also went miniature golfing and, of course, some walks on the beach. The pictures of the beach that you see are actually taken at our honeymoon spot which we stopped at on our way to Wilmington to see Jim and Becky (Keiser) Rulapaugh. We had a great, relaxing time. It was nice to not have the alarm going off at 4am, to see our honeymoon spot, to see friends, and just to have a wonderful time together! It was Baby's first visit to the beach--- I think he liked it:-)

Welcome to the teenage years!

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY!
Unblievelable that our little girl has hit 13! We hope you have an extra special day, we can't wait to see pictures of the big event.
Stay your sweet, happy, Elise.

Corban's "wheels"

Our website is up!

I was talking to a pastor a few minutes ago and one of his first questions was, "Do you have a website?" I answered, "Uh, yes! As of last night, we do!"

Thanks to the gracious efforts of Shannon Brown our website is up and functioning. Go take a look!

www.HopeforFrance.org

Enjoying our Company!

This is just a hodge-podge of pictures --as you can see, Viviane has made lots of friends while here! She also had her very first specaloo cookie, thanks to Papi Bixby!

Entertaining Strangers: Eccentric Hospitality

On Wednesday morning as we were preparing to leave Rockford, Ill., for the Cincinnati, Ohio, area we decided to go online and look for a hotel near the Creation Museum. Our goal was to make it to a hotel near the museum in time for an early bedtime, get up the next morning, tour the museum and travel the last leg of our journey home.

While on the museum’s website, I saw an advertisement for “Troy’s Creation House: An outreach to visitors of the Creation Museum.” It had a website which I looked through and decided to give them a call. I talked to Frank and found out that they had just had a cancellation and so were willing to have us come to their home that very night.

We told them we’d be there between 6 and 8 pm. We forgot about losing an hour due to time change. We forgot that trips always take longer than expected. And we didn’t know that Google Maps was taking us to a different “Treetop Lane” that would cost us an additional 40 minutes. After several phone calls we arrived a little after 9. Troy’s Creation House is not an inn, not a motel, not a Bed and Breakfast. It’s a private home (albeit, very new and nice).

Frank and Sue are eccentric. Eccentric is defined as “deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.” Who else do you know that would (at no charge) open up their home every night of the week to complete strangers? Yet this is just what they do to Christians wanting to visit the Creation Museum.

Frank is 100% an Answers in Genesis fan. He is 100% a MacArthur fan (He has nearly all his books on the shelf in the entry way). He is 100% a health-food fan (he has a “sad meal” that he bought at McDonald’s in 2005 and which he shows to all the guests—no mold or mildew has even touched it. It looks just like the day he bought it.). And he is a Creation Museum groupie.

Frank and Sue used to live in Pennsylvania. A few years ago, their 17-year-old son Troy was struck and killed in a motorcycle accident. That inspired the name “Troy’s Creation House.” Troy had been an avid creationist and being the youngest of the four children, his death was a severe blow and brought quiet to their home. Through the teaching of John MacArthur, they had developed a rock-solid faith in the absolute sovereignty of God and this is what they say sustained them through their trial. In a news interview shortly after the death of their son, Frank was asked why he wasn’t angry with God. His answer was: “Doctrine. If you have the right theology of God, you can’t be angry with God.” Ken Ham actually interview Frank and Sue a short time later and the CD was sent to all AiG supporters.

Frank and Sue served us (and another family from Phoenix) flax pan cakes and spinach/blueberry/almonds/walnuts/banana/stevia shakes. Mine was, uh, good. Really. I had the pleasure of knowing I was drinking pure health. I even liked the taste. They then had a little presentation in which they gave us three books including a pictorial overview of the museum, several CDs, and a “creation cube.”

After that, Frank led us over to the museum. He spends nearly every day of the week there. He absolutely digs the place. He was running back and forth between his two guest families, pointing out interesting details, informing us of important facts and telling us what he liked about each of the different exhibits. He truly made our museum stay much fuller and enjoyable than it would have been without him.

Such hospitality is so unusual that people can’t help but being suspicious. Some neighbors complained that they were running a B&B and are trying to have them zoned out. Others have asked them why they’re not afraid of having complete strangers in their home overnight. We ourselves (not yet knowing them and with little faith in the state of general humanity) kept asking ourselves when the “catch” was going to show up. It never did.

Frank and Sue are genuine Christians who love the Lord and are passionate about all they do. They practice eccentric hospitality. But only because “normal” has been so terribly skewed.

It’s worth visiting the Creation Museum just to stay at Troy’s Creation House. We highly recommend them.

Thank you, Frank and Sue.

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" - A Deputation Parable for Tim and Ruth

Tim and Ruth Bixby have officially begun deputation. And the first two churches they visited were Dan's and Bob's.

Very good.

As Bixbys, you know, we have the very, very rare honor of having a name bizarre enough to be included in one of Dr. Seuss' bizarre but charming stories. Perhaps that is what defines us: bizarre but charming.

Anyway, the Bixbys are named in Seuss' amazing story appropriately called, "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" for deputizing Bixbys. I now insert a few fitting lines for the Deputizing Bixbys as they return today from their first road trip.

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. [insert qualifying acknowledgment of Providence here]

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too!

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

. . .

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're dark.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right and three quarters! Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a min-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confuseda
that you'll start in to race
down long wiglled roads at a brak-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space
headed, I fear. toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place. . .

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing. [insert willingness to go to places that may not be as conservative as you]

. . .

On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tack
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

So. . .
be your name Buxbaum or BIXBY or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you'r off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So. . . get on your way!

Mall of America

They are somewhat arbitrary, but here are some pics of our Columbus Day together for all those who were asking.

When You're Young You Do Crazy Things.

Last Saturday morning Jennie and I were feeling like we could conquer the world. We had slept almost the entire night without a crise (as the French would say). Corban only had one asthma attack. Anyway, as I was drinking my fresh Starbucks Verona coffee in my reformerware mug, I told Jennie that I just didn't think it was right that the two brothers would be so close without having the distinct pleasure of the eldest among them. We actually thought about driving up and back in one day - Saturday. Common sense ruled that out.

Instead I asked Jeremy to prepare something for Sunday night and we took off after the morning service (actually around 3PM) to surprise the Dan and Tim Bixbys. We sort of got lost in Burnsville, but we didn't want to call Dan and ask for directions so we ended up knocking on the blue door around 10 PM. Their kids were just settling into bed. Circumstances radically changed for them and when we left to go to our motel room a couple hours later some were still awake.

We philosophized the evening away trying to resolve the issue of nationalism, patriotism, the difference between the two, and what the right stance is toward flags as symbols in the Christian pilgrimage. It was quite pleasant and we all came away from the conversation happily persuaded that we each have found the right balance even though a careful listener would have noticed three distinct applications.

Next day. Monday. Brenda produced the mother lode of delicacies in a breakfast/brunch one-two punch that knocked us off our feet. We were dazzled. And stuffed.

Lazed around a bit. Pontificated some. Then we took our clan to the Mall of America to burn mammon on the altar of ephemeral pleasures like the Paul Bunyan Log Chute and the Tornado Twister at the covered theme park. It was fun to waste money as a family. As they say, the family that wastes money together stays together.

I still owe Tim twenty bucks.

Pizza from a place called Figaro's capped the night. I told the folks that if we didn't roll out of there by 8PM we would have to accept their invitation to spend the night and leave early the next morning. We rolled out at precisely twenty-some minutes after eight.

Kids and dog (Milou came along) slept the entire way. We only stopped to stretch our legs, circulate our blood, and do twenty jumping jacks in desperate attempts to keep awake so we made record time. The Bob Bixbys of Rockford were snuggling into their own beds at 2AM on Tuesday morning (Corban's ninth month birthday)after having spent approximately 23 hours with the Burnsville and Greenville Bixbys.

Good times.

Pooped.

Surprise!!!

Guess who knocked on the door at 10pm Sunday night?

Finally here!

We are so excited that Tim and Ruth are finally here!
We have already had a good time and are looking forward to a good next few days. The kids are getting ready for a slumber party tonight.
Just thought you would enjoy the pictures.

Favorite Shots

Some more Family fun in Rockford!

We had a great time with Tim and Ruth's family! Wednesday we were able to visit the "Pumpkin Patch" with the other missionaries and the Metras. We all agree that we got the picks of the Patch!! Of course, the most exciting part of that venture is was the ride on the bus! Then today we are just enjoying sitting around and chatting Bixby style (A few laptops were present!) and the kids played to their hearts delight. But once again we proved that excitement is drawn to the Rockford Bixby's when a Fire Truck parked outside of our neighbor's house. (He is a retired Fireman and they were apparently just visiting!) The Firemen graciously allowed the kids to climb on the truck and take lots of pictures! Michaiah was especially impressed! It made their days!

Morning Star Missions Conference

OK. So I'm working on Jennie's computer, and struggling a bit. Will post more later, but at least this will get us started. The center pic shows all the missionaries at the conference. The others are just a few of what was going on.

Kenai River, AK

We've been too busy the last couple of days to post!We have had a good time, but can't wait to get back to the family. At least I can't! Mom and Dad probably want to rent an RV and camp out for a while! I think this place has brought new meaning to "God's Country!"

We stopped at a conservation center on the way down and were able to see some animals (bears, moose, reindeer, etc.) in their natural habitat. We saw a lot of eagles on the river, and a moose on the way back home. The guide had seen a mother bear and two cubs along the river we were fishing, but we didn't see her.

We went fishing in the afternoon. We fished for Rainbow Trout. It was fun. We hooked a total of 22, but only landed 16. The scenery was spectacular.Pictures really don’t do it justice, but we’ve taken quite a few. Stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a couple cans of soup that Mom prepared for us. None of us were really in a “restaurant” mood after a full afternoon of fishing.

So This is France!

...as Grandpa Bixby would have said! Michael and Liz Cole and baby Viviane arrived here yesterday for a survey trip. We are looking forward to showing them around some during the next three weeks. Viviane was an instant hit with Papi!