Well after a productive and enjoyable stay in Malawi, Africa I'm back home. Those of you that go on a work trip know it serves two purposes. First it gives you an appreciation for the place and the people you visit. And second it reminds you how good you have it and how much you appreciate the folks back home.
Much was accomplished back home while I was gone. One day son Kurt says, "Well Dad we got along pretty good. If something were to happen to you I think we'd get along ok even though we might miss you a little." :) A father's responsibility is not to create a business that's dependent on him but to bring up the next generation to not only run that business but to be better at it than you.
Jan has extra responsibilities when I'm away and I owe her a big Thank you. She has been very busy coordinating folks who borrow the cabin and keeping it clean.
She feeds the guys if she knows they are going to be around and also cooks on Thursdays for the kids at Pella Christian High.
She still watches grandkids on most Mondays. This gives the Moms a day to get something done other than kids. It also teaches the kids to play together, share together, and enjoy each others company as cousins.
Jan loves to sew, especially quilts. It serves two purposes. It gives her the satisfaction of making something beautiful, especially if it's for someone else, and it gives her an opportunity to go shopping with her sister for more material.
The guys organized and put tools and parts back in their place while I was gone. Often tools that are used end up in a tractor or pickup or just back on the work bench that soon starts to run over. Extra parts do you no good if they are not in their place and you don't know where to look when you need them.
Son Karl and part time helpers Andy and Ryan spent a week in Cary, Mississippi roofing for folks. Kudos to Karl's wife Kristin who took care of the young pigs while he was gone.
I serve on a board of an association who's goals are to keep our freedoms and our moral values in state and national government. I added this picture of these dedicated friends because when one's gone visiting places that don't have all the freedoms and values we have it's a wake up call to the responsibilities we have as Christians in the civic arena. I truly think we are a country full of good people who are apathetically watching a few taking our freedoms and values away.
Grandson John had a third surgery on his elbow this past Friday. He is back home and doing well. Kudos to Cassia for the time spent in Des Moines and friends who took care of his brother and sisters while he was gone.
Grandson Jackson's blood platelet counts have been steady for the last couple of weeks for which we are thankful.
This is Pablo. He is a part time helper and a very good friend. I mentioned earlier in this blog that a father has a responsibility to raise the next generation. Although I was never privileged to meet Pablo's father he must have been a good man by how polite and how caring he raised his son. Pablo received a call from Jamaica that his father had suddenly and very unexpectedly died yesterday. Pablo and Paula, those of us that know you promise to wrap our love around you and pray for you as you grieve and make plans.
So our home is where our heart is as we travel through life. However this life and where we live is not our destination. This life is just a journey to eternity. Our home will also be where our heart is in that life. Is your heart in the right place?
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