Farnsworth Forum

Tomorrow we're off to Japan for a week to use some of our frequent flier miles. We'll be doing a bit of siteseeing as well as visiting my good friends and supporters from my Houghton College days John and Susan Edwards and their children David, Joshua and Esther. I'm looking forward to introducing my family to them. I'll never forget attending their commissioning service to work with Send International back when Joshua was a baby. I held him in my arms. How the years go by. Amelia and Joel have enjoyed practicing with chopsticks in anticipation of our trip. We'll check in again after we return. Sayonara!

Here are some pictures from our last trip to the USA in summer 2007. Hope you enjoy a quick trip down Memory Lane. Grandma had put some snowballs in the freezer for Joel and Amelia to play with. They enjoyed playing with snow very much, something we don't have in Guam. We spent a morning at the Exeter Community Park with my sister Laura and her children Cole and Erin. Grandma posed with her sister Jeanne. I love this picture of Uncle Dave with Amelia and Joel on the swing on his front porch. Binnelly is a longtime member of our hispanic church in Reading, PA. Here I stand with mis hermanos Carlos, Homero, Cesar and Emilio from Iglesia Bautista Betania, Reading, PA. Cole and Joel horsed around in my parents' tent. Marisol's former English teacher from Motivated Moms, Miss Dorothy, took us out to eat one afternoon. Please pray for her; her husband Neil suffered a stroke last year. We were very glad to spend time with Hermana Teresa. I call her mi mamá puertorriqueña. Joel sho...

From time to time I post pictures from the past. Here are some vintage Farnsworth pictures from our trip to Ecuador in August 2006. We visited the volcanic lagoon Cuicocha ("lagoon of the guinea pig"), complete with live air bubbles, with Marisol's parents Wilson and Zulema. Joel was 2 and Amelia 8 months.

The awards ceremony for the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest was recently held at the Guam Planet Hollywood. Joel took third place in the kindergarten division for his story "Friends of the Sea." We all awaited the debut of Joel's reading his story with great anticipation. It will air on PBS Guam as a promo from June 1-December 1, 2009. Joel was happy to be with the other first grade winners as Sonia announced their names. Joel received his prizes from Dr. Sam, program manager of PBS Guam. I do not know the name of the gentleman with her. Joel posed with all of the other winners. Joel couldn't finish the BIG piece of cake he received. Here we are basking in Joel's accomplishment. We had a great time at the celebration. Thanks to PBS Guam and all the corporate sponsors.

Well, almost. This is a recent picture of most of the PIBC faculty, staff, students, and board members. We are seated at the left hand side of the photo.

Recently another of the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz (my favorite movie) died. Mickey Carroll died on May 7, 2009, at the age of 89. We had the privilege of meeting Mickey at the Ozfest in Chittenango, NY (Oz author L. Frank Baum's hometown) in June 2006. He performed a little gig for us when we met him and seemed quite vivacious for his status as an octogenarian. We're glad we got to meet him. I believe that puts the known surviving munchkin total at five. Mickey's fellow Munchkin Clarence Swensen died in February at 91.

Recently the Liebenzell Mission Impact team from Germany that we worked with in Palau last summer held a team reunion. I wish we could have been there. Here are some pictures. We will never forget "The LOVE Song" that they taught us. Very, very nice song with actions. Nico, Sarah, Moni, Manuel, Chris and Anette enjoyed freshly baked pretzels for breakfast. Yum! Anette's husband Dave was playing the guitar in the first picture. We are looking forward to seeing Anette and Dave when they come to Micronesia to lead a new Impact team this summer. They will stop over in Guam for a couple of days. Thanks to all of our Impact friends for the good memories.