Farnsworth Forum

Pepe the Clown made a special appearance at the Fall Fun Day at Heritage Baptist Church at Clarks Summit, PA. He took a hayride with Joel and Amelia and helped with the bean bag toss. Joel and Amelia enjoyed the carnival rides.

The resident dog at Missionary Retreat Fellowship is a pug named Oscar. Only this Oscar is not a grouch and loves children. Joel and Amelia love to throw acorns for him to fetch. Fun to watch.

We had a wonderful time with the pastor from our church in Reading, Tony, and his family on Monday. Of course, Joel and Amelia enjoyed having friends to play with and it felt like "old times" to have friends from Reading here. Thanks to Tony, Jessica, Lisette, Cristina and Jared. Hopefully Manny can come next time. Notice the bare trees. The cold weather outside reminds us that winter is on the way!

Yesterday our boss Bill brought a very special guest to our house. Edgar Luz, the Liebenzell field leader in Ecuador, came to the USA to visit churches who have sent missions teams to Ecuador in the past. It was great to visit with him and to hear his vision for the team's work. We also discussed our future work there. It certainly gives us something to hold on to and to look forward to during this year of home ministry assignment in PA. It would have been nice to have Ede's family here, too. We will see them next year. We sat down for the picture so that he was not towering over all of us. Thanks for the great visit, Bill and Edgar.

A couple weeks ago my mom called me with some very sad news. My friend, Steve Johnson, died when the modified bicycle he was driving collided with a local ambulance. It is hard for me to describe the empty feeling that overcame me at that moment. I met Steve in the early 1990s when both of us were working at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club in Glenside, Reading, and his zest for life and love for people made a deep impression on me. He always sported an infectious smile. Over ten years ago Steve had a bike accident in which he lost the use of his legs. I remember how upbeat he was when I visited him in the hospital in Allentown. He certainly didn't complain about his circumstances. When I decided to go to Ecuador as a missionary in 2001 Steve and his wife Kate invited me to their house to find out more about my plans. Since then he and his family have been good friends and supporters. Especially this summer during our difficult transition back to life in the States they invited us ...

We are enjoying our new place. This fall Joel and Amelia like to play in the leaves and at the playground. Other than the shock of the cold after being in Guam for four years, we are doing well. There are hard days, when we shed a few nostalgic tears, but we thank God for what He is teaching us and preparing us to do when we return to Ecuador next year. We will try to post more pictures soon, as long as I don't forget how to operate our new computer. I'm trying to be diligent to learn. I'm not a technical type of person. I'm not good at it, nor do I particularly enjoy it.

Thanks for the prayers for my dad. The surgery lasted one hour and forty-five minutes, and Dad spent 2-3 hours in recovery. The doctor believes that he was able to remove all the tumor. Joel and Amelia enjoyed visiting Grandpa in the hospital. Now Dad is home, and Mom is nursing him back to health. Please pray for grace for both of them during this time. We are supporting them as we are able to, driving back and forth on the weekends. We appreciate your support in prayer. Please pray for him as he has an appointment with the doctor on November 3 to check on his progress and to determine if anything else needs to be done at this time.