Farnsworth Forum

Guam switched over to Digital Only TV Broadcasting as schedule on February 17, 2009, despite the delay in the rest of the USA. We received our coupon in the mail and bought the box. We set it up today and it actually works. It is wonderful to have clear reception and PBS again for the children's favorite programs ( Sesame Street, Word World et al ). I was so glad to get it working. Maybe I'm not as much of a ditz as I thought!!!

We received word today that my sister-in-law Sherry is going to have another baby in July. Joel is hoping that his new cousin will share his and Grandma's birthday (July 11). This picture is from our visit to West Virginia to see them in July 2007. Emily and Abby are also in the picture. Please join us in praying for a healthy pregnancy. Joel really loved his time with the cousins Luke, Emily and Lauren . Of course, living here in Guam he doesn't have much opportunity to be with them. Here I am with my brother Mark and nephew Luke. Mark and I were challenging each other to jump off the railroad tressel. I did it two times, the second time to try to overcome my fear. Not sure if I was successful or not.

Algunas fotos recientes de la familia de Marisol. Ah, el internet es tan bonito. Here are some recent pictures sent by Marisol's family. Oh, the beauty of the internet! El papá de Marisol está cuidando a los cuyes, una comida favorita de Ned. Marisol's father is taking good care of the guinea pigs, an Andean delicacy and one of Ned's favorite foods. La señora Virginia es una buena amiga de la familia Bedoya Palacios. Ahora tiene nuevas lentes. Mejor para vernos, seguro. La señora Virginia is a good friend of the family and is modeling her new glasses. The better to see us, of course. . . Gisela es la cuñada de Marisol y Zoe la sobrina. Mari dice que es muy parecida a ella cuando era bebé. Zoe nació en agosto. Gisela is Marisol's sister-in-law, shown here with her daughter Zoe. Marisol says that he looks just as she did as a baby. Otra foto de Zoe. Here's another photo of Zoe.

We have been enjoying some field trips for home school. Last month we visited Fish Eye Marine Park for science class. It is an underwater aquarium, which allows you to witness real fish in their natural habitat. Joel and Amelia liked the mermaid. Amelia called her Jessica! From the pictures you can tell that we saw lots of fish. There would be more pictures if my camera battery hadn't konked out. Joel and Amelia really had a nice time watching the fish.

We enjoyed our time with the PIBC board members, who were in Guam for their annual meeting. After chapel on Friday we gathered for a picture with most of the staff, faculty, students and board members. We are seated at the front near the left hand side. Joel, Amelia, Anne and Marisol admire the Bill and Christel's fish pond. We tried to catch a fish as a companion for our fish, but we couldn't. Maybe next time! Joyce helps Amelia inflate the Valentine heart she gave her. Martin Auch, Global Missions Director for Liebenzell Germany, serves himself some yummy food from Jamaican Grill. We enjoyed a time of reports and prayer for Liebenzell missionaries around the world. It is a blessing to be part of the Liebenzell International family.

While Valentine's Day is over for us, you are still celebrating. Here are some pictures for you. Marisol's "Happy Helpers" joined her in baking the Valentine cookies. Stella, Amelia, Percia and Joel enjoyed the homemade cookies very much. They attended our community group Valentine's party last night. Joses and Chelsea shine for the camera.

We enjoyed a Chinese New Year celebration with the members of our new cell group from Bayview Baptist Church. The major attraction for Joel and Amelia was playing in the yard. Happy Belated Chinese New Year to all! Thanks for inviting us to such a lovely evening.

One of Reading, PA's own, Mr. John Updike, two-time winner of the Pulitzer prize, died on January 27. I believe he was 76. Christianity Today lauded him as an American writer who filled his works with religious themes. His publish, Knopf, will release his final collection of poetry, Endpoint , in April to coincide with National Poetry Month. Two other publications will follow later in the year. Updike loved his vocation, writing “From earliest childhood I was charmed by the materials of my craft, by pencils and paper and, later, by the typewriter and the entire apparatus of printing. To condense from one’s memories and fantasies and small discoveries dark marks on paper which become handsomely reproducible many times over still seems to me, after nearly 30 years concerned with the making of books, a magical act, and a delightful technical process. To distribute oneself thus, as a kind of confetti shower falling upon the heads and shoulders of mankind out of bookstores and the pages...

We may bemoan the salaries of sports figures. We admire and maybe even occasionally covet their abilities. It is discouraging to read of the recent news of Michael Phelps and Alex Rodriguez. Children and young people watch them and look up to them. Instead of staying on course, they have made life choices that send a message that "it is okay" to indulge in inappropriate behavior. Even if they subsequently apologize, the damage is already done. Phelps' Olympic teammate Dara Torres seemed to blame the media at least in part for the fallout, saying that everything he does is news. She added, "However, this is no way, shape or form diminishes anything that he's done. It's sort of a double-edged sword. When you're recognizable, you're looked up to as a role model. He is recognizable and everything you do gets looked at and picked apart. I guess that's the price of winning 14 Olympic medals." That is the part of fame that Phelps cannot avo...

Yes, I know: old news. I must admit I got up at 2:30 am to watch the inauguration of Mr. Obama. In general, the ceremony was moving, and Aretha Franklin set a fashion trend by wearing a new hat design while she sang "My Country, Tis of Thee." I did not really care for the poem that was recited. Not exactly my style. John G. Roberts, Jr. botched the swearing in oath, throwing off the new president along the way. I always enjoy watching the former presidents hob knobbing with everyone. Mrs. Obama wore a snazzy yellow dress, and it was fun to watch the new presidential daughters (Malia and Sasha) entertain themselves throughout the ceremony. It certainly was an historic day. We often receive anti-Obama emails. I realize that Mr. Obama was not the first choice of some people , but I would encourage you to remember one thing: we accomplish little when we complain and we accomplish much when we pray. He is our president, and we have a responsibility to support him in pr...

For Valentine's Day this year, we share this vintage picture of Joel and Amelia along with this word of encouragement from our church bulletin. Look how much Joel loves his newborn sister. He loves her to this day. Valentines of every size and description adorn store windows and other places of business this time of year. The holiday has become a time for love to enthroned as a virtue, with the heart symbolizing the romance of our lives. But the heart symbolizes not only love, but life itself! Without a heart our bodies cannot survive. Consider God's words to Samuel: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7, NRSV). The heart--that inner countenance--shows whar we really are. Samuel was to seek one of the sons of Jesse to be the new king. David, even though he was the weakest physical sp...