Pictures and another blog

Pictures are taking too long to upload on blogger. Please visit them on facebook. For some reason it is quite a bit faster to download them there.

Also, visit Tim Raad's blog at www.searching4theapex.blogspot.com As I mentioned earlier, he has a real gift for words. He has done a better job at keeping up to date with the blog and has had more success at being able to connect.

The students have been writing at www.clinkert.com It is encouraging to hear their words.

A difficult morning

Yesterday morning I started out the morning passing out the letters to the students. They were crying as they read encouraging words from their parents and friends back home. To my surprise, one of the students I used to help me collect letters for the other leaders let the cat out of the bag and let them know I was getting letters for them. In return I received a bunch of letters from home. Thank you to all of you who wrote. I really appreciate all of them.

Later we took a trip to the jail to participate in some jail ministry that Frontline is a part of. I Can't say that I have ever been in a jail in the states but I am not sure I have ever had a desire. This jail was filled with the happiest prisoners. I don't get it. I don't know that I would be that joyful living in that prison. Most of the females were there due to some sort of drug use. Most of the males stories are a little more serious but some of them are there just because they don't have the money to take their case before a judge. The men's conditions were much worse then the females. The men were crammed with about 40-50 to a cell. Most of them had to share beds or sleep on the floor. The women were all in one cell but there were only about 30 of them. Each of the students took some time to prepare a devotional, share some of their stories and encourage the ladies of the prison. I was really proud of all our students. Every single one of the students shared. Some of the students shared their own struggles and sins and encouraged the prisoners to let them know that God keeps no records of sins and loves them just the same as He loves those who are not in the jail. Some days these students make me feel like a proud Mom. They are so mature in their faith.

Yesterday afternoon Tim and I were invited to join some of the new interns within Frontline's leadership training class. I have gotten really used to realizing that when they invite you to join something they are really telling you that you need to be ready to "share some words of encouragement." (in other words be ready to say something profound) Although, if you asked me to do that in the context of the school building I would feel more comfortable doing that but there is something that makes me incredibly awkward and scares me when they ask me to share here or within the Christian culture. (Especially when some refer to me as Pastor Debbie.... I am not a pastor... I know we are all called to pastor sheep but you know what I mean) I have told Tim that he is not longer allowed to go first in his sharing. I refuse to follow him. He is incredibly blessed with the ability to just get up there and speak. He doesn't think about it and the things that come out of his mouth are incredible. It's a true gift from God. I am praying that I have one positive experience in that department before I leave. It's not that I want to say something profound for me but I would like that feeling of knowing without a doubt that God is going to speak through me.

I am becoming more and more impressed with Frontline Ministry. They do such an incredible job in so many areas. Not only have they established 2 churches, a child refuge center, a well know school/academy, an international business opportunity, hospital partnerships, and jail partnerships but they are going into the streets of Manila and have started small groups in the garbage dumb to eventually begin their next church sites. They could have stopped with the 1 church or the refuge shelter but they didn't. They continue to strive on to ask what is next and where they need to continue ministering. Nothing is out of the question. They take risks and really live out what it means to truly love God and love people. I am become really thankful for conversations with Jeff Pessina, Max (the pastor of the blue box), Ruel (the green box pastor) and Noriel (the dump site pastor and life groups leader).

Not really sure what my deal is this morning but I feel like I am filled with a pretty heavy heart. I don't really know how to explain it or what the deal is but I really wish I could fix it. In some context one of the most difficult things about this trip is not having people to process some of this stuff with. I have been blessed in having close friends on all my other mission trips. There are other great leaders on this trip but the time isn't appropriate to have those conversations. I am really missing friends right now. I miss having a venting outlet.

At 6 am the frontline interns asked Tim and I to lead them in a morning devotional on John Chapter 3. I was pretty excited that we got time to plan this one. (planning time isn't common here) It's probably the teacher in me, but I like to know I am prepared before I just lead something. We decided to take some time and focus on the first part of the chapter and challenge the interns to think through what it might look like if we really grasped what it would look like if we truly believed in God's love for us. Sounds selfish even to write it but honestly, if I could really believe that and buy into the fact that if I were the only one God would have given his son for me my life would be radically different. If I really got that, I would love people so much more, I would be so much more generous, and I would be so much more confident in the things I feel like God has called me to do. Tim, once again, was used in an incredible way. He had all the interns moved to tears. It was really good.

This afternoon we are headed back to the refuge center to hang out with the kids once they are done with school.

A day in the streets of Manila

Yesterday we spent the day in Manila. Although seeing life at the garbage dump was sad and humbling, there is something about the way people live in Manila that shocks me. I always have said that Haiti is the worst poverty that I have seen, but here in Manila is awful in it's own way. Although people here can get food and there is vegetation for them to grow crops of some sort, there are so many people living in such a small amount of space. Literally, the homes are stacked one on top of another. If someone relieves themselves on the 3rd level, you know all that waste travels down to the two below. It is a massive sea of people. Walking down the road reminded me of the feeling of walking downtown Chicago on the 3rd of July. We warned our group to take off all jewelry, carry nothing in pockets and keep any backpack on the front of them. When I asked on of the frontline staff if I could have my camera around my neck, he jokingly responded, "it depends if the camera is more important, or my neck was more important." Although I kept my camera around my neck the whole day without problem, Tim, another team leader, had a gentleman come up and ask him for a high five. Within seconds the guy had a hold of Tim's wedding ring and luckily Tim was able to clench a fist just in time to save it.

While we were hanging out, there was a young lady who was 14 years old. She had in her arms a child that she delivered less than a week ago. This baby looked so premature. I have seen small babies but never that small. I sat down and talked with her a little. Within 10 minutes, she put the baby in my arms and just sat with me. There is something about children and babies that melt my heart. I sat there and my heart just broke for this little boy. How on earth will he get the nourishment that he needs? Is he even going to survive? I held the baby for probably a good hour. Most of that time I just prayed that somehow, someway that little boy would survive and that he would grow up to know God and help change that community.

The afternoon was spent with different stations that we split the students up in. The kids drew pictures with paper and crayons that we brought. The other station the kids had their feet cleaned. Although hygiene wise it wasn't the cleanest, our students spent the afternoon washing the children's feet and then putting a brand new pair of flip flops on thier bare feet. In most of the cases, the kids didn't have shoes at all. There were some kids that took off their shoes, hid them to the side and wanted the new ones anyway. Either way, it's fine. At the end of the day, all the kids were given a meal of noodles, chicken and rice with a juice box to go with it.

After we served food the community, one of the frontline guys and another frontline lady allowed me to go for a walk around the area. It's pretty funny how much they protect you while you are walking. One walked in front of me and the other walked behind me. Although I never felt too unsafe, I knew there was a fairly big risk that I might loose my camera. What I saw was pretty discouraging. I can't imagine living there and it makes me sick that people have to live like that. Jeff Pasina (the founder of frontline) mentioned that Philippines is a weird country in that there is a significant amount of wealth and a significant amount of extreme poverty. The lower class is huge, the middle class is super small and the upper class is fairly big. The reality of it comes down to politics. Politically there isn't a whole lot being done to fight the poverty in their own country. There are 4 billionaires in this country (supposedly several countries in Europe don't have any) but yet people live like this. The resort area and beaches in the Philippines are beautiful but yet the city looks like this. It makes me really wonder what this world is about.

After we took a couple hours to grab lunch for ourselves and get a little break from the crowds, we headed back to a different baranguy (neighborhood) and passed out the remaining meals and some candy packets. The area that we wanted to go into was a rougher one that we were in before lunch so we make a quick stop at the police station. We learned from them that a couple weeks ago a mission group from Germany came in and tried to pass out food. They made the mistake of going in on their own and within 15 minutes, all of their personal stuff, the meals and everything that they brought was stolen from them. When they asked for the police help after that, there was nothing they could do. We figured we would ask the police to come with us from the beginning. The crowds of people were crazy. It was almost like the beginning of a riot. Upon police recommendation, we made the students stay in the car but he allowed the leaders to get out to take pictures and help distribute food. We opened the back of the truck that the students were in and allowed them to pass out the meals from the end of truck but they were safe from the mob of people. Like an idiot, I walked into the middle of the mob of people to get some pictures. Even though I got pushed, shoved and stepped on, it made me realize the level of need this borungy has. The police tried to keep control for the most part but after 20 minutes, one of the officers demanded that I get in the van, keep the windows closed and get us out. It was an unsettling experience for all of us. In their viewpoint, all they saw was mobs of people pushing and shoving to get by the van. They heard knocking and banging on the truck and they heard Jeff, Tim and Bob on the roof passing out candy. They though the riot was going to tip the truck and is scared them quite a bit. With a van full of tears, these student's hearts began breaking for what they saw in this community. They were angry, frustrated and sickened by the fact that this level of poverty exsists. As much as I hate seeing students upset, it is good for them to see what the world is like. Now I am just praying that as I continue to help them process that experience it doesn't become an "I hate the world" mentality but rather a "what am I going to do about it" mindset. If our team travels 1/2 around the world to hand out food, and minister to kids but then goes home and does nothing to continue serving, I feel like we fail in part of our experience. Serving is a lifelong process, not a 3 week mission trip.

The Green Box

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Today we headed out the the green box. The green box is the second campus of the church out here in the Philippines. Community Christian Church has partnered with the ministry out here and the first site of the church that was launched has already launched a second location. They call the first site the blue box and the second site is now the green box. Funny how our main location back in Naperville has the nickname as the yellow box and now the Philippines has followed suite with calling each of the their locations different colored boxes.

While at the church site, our students went to visit individuals who had just starting attending the church. The students spent some time in their homes visiting with them. Some of the street kids from the orphanage joined us so that they could spend time with us.

The leaders spent the afternoon going to some of the individuals who are really sick or dealing with different struggles.

Later in the afternoon we brought out all the baseball equipment that we brought for the kids. We taught the kids how to use a baseball glove. For most of those children, they have never put a ball glove on in their life. It was a pretty cool experience. I think baseball is a hit out here.

In the evening, our youth joined the Philippine youth group for the youth celebration service.

Sorry, a lot of details and not much depth but there is not a whole lot of time. Hopefully more tonight.

A day at the hospital and orphanage

Yesterday we had a packed day. We took a group of our students to the local public hospital and spent some time meeting with patients and praying for them. It was a very different experience for myself and I am sure for our students. When presented with the opportunity, I struggled and if I am honest, I wasn't really excited about barging into some strangers room. All I could think of is how I would have felt if complete strangers walked into my hospital room back in January. I am not sure I would have loved that, in fact, I am pretty sure I would have asked them to leave. Nothing like being in awful pain and having someone come in who doesn't speak your language. Although the first room was incredibly awkward for me personally, there was something in the eyes of the patients that made me really feel like they were glad we were there. I was so proud of the students. They stepped out on a leap of faith and spent time just loving these people. Billy, a senior at Plainfield South was up to pray for a patient. We walked in and heard that she had a stab wound to her chest. She had tried to take her life. Due to family troubles and financial difficulties, she felt like there was no hope. Although she was healing and doing much better, there was so much pain and hurt in her life. While we were there her and her husband came to the decision that they wanted to begin a journey with Christ. I think Billy expressed it the best when he said, "It was awesome to see that it doesn't matter who we are. I am not the best prayer and I stumbled through what I thought was an awful prayer. Instead God took that and used it in her life and now she has hope. It just shows me that no matter who it is, God can use us if we just say yes."

Today, we took the orphanage kids to the pool. As we got to know these kids stories, I am astounded at what these young kids have gone through. Their stories are crazy. Abuse, drug use, sexual abuse... you name it they have experienced it. Today, I took an incredible amount of joy in watching our students make these kids smile and laugh. Here are some of the snapshots.

We have arrived!

After a 13 hour flight to Tokyo and then a 5 hour flight to Manila, we arrived in the Philippines at about 2am local time. There is a 13 hour time difference between here and home but I think since we slept as soon as we got here we will hopefully adjust really quickly. We have a full day packed. I look forward to writing more this evening.

Just a day away

One more final exam and then I am headed to the airport to catch a plane to the Philippines! It's been a whirlwind the past couple of days but I think I got it all done and I am ready to go. I will keep you updated as much as I can as the trip unfolds. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I look forward to what God has in store over the next couple of weeks.

Heading to the Philippines

I am writing to let you know of an exciting adventure that I am going to be a part of this coming summer. On June 8th I will be co-leading a mission trip for 15 high school students to the Philippines. During our time in the Philippines we will spend time ministering to homeless and abandoned children by bringing them food and connecting them to Frontline Ministry. Frontline Ministry is a Christian shelter/orphanage where children can live and receive housing, education, medical assistance and most importantly a second chance at life. Each day, tens of thousands of homeless and abandoned children live on the streets in the Philippines; some street children are as young as three years old. On the streets, these children are subject to poverty, hunger, mal- nutrition, minimal health and dental care, disease, drug abuse, and all kinds of physical and sexual abuse. Many of the girls find themselves forced into prostitution both locally and in foreign countries. It is my hope that by being a part of this team, I will have the ability to make a difference in the lives of the children by helping get them out of streets and into a loving orphanage that will give them the support they deserve. It is also my hope that by serving in this capacity, I will be able to work with 15 incredible high school students from Aurora, Romeoville, Naperville, and Oswego and lead them through a life changing opportunity to serve the children of the Philippines. Aside from the opportunity they will have during the trip itself, I hope to instill a heart for service that will encourage them to find ways to serve locally when they return and on future mission opportunities.

Mission trips have been an important part of my personal journey. I believe that because of the experiences I have been a part of in Mexico, Africa, Haiti, and locally in Aurora, I have developed a heart of service and a greater sense of the world in which we live. I really believe that this mission trip is going to lay a similar foundation in the lives of these students. I would like to ask you to join our team in being a part of the experience by praying for the following things;

• Pray for the team as they continue fundraising for the trip
• Pray for the student's on the trip as they begin to prepare their hearts for the experience
• Pray for the team in the Philippines as they prepare for our arrival.

I can't wait to keep you updated as we get closer to the event!

It's been a winter

This winter has been full of some crazy events. It's been a journey.... but as the blog title states, it's all about the journey. Here is some of the recap...

• Been supper busy, sometimes stressed, and sometimes an emotional wreck working to complete my portfolio for the National Boards Certification. Mailed it in at the end of March and now it is just 9 months of waiting.
  
• Had a crazy Christmas break and between trips to the hospital and tests galore, I gave up the gallbladder and feel better then I have felt in years!
• Had an incredible Winter Conference for our student ministry. Took about 700 folks up to the Wisconsin Dells for an amazing weekend.
• Began the process of creating a new class for school
• In the process of studying for one of the biggest test's I will ever take in my life. Let's hope it pays off...
• Went for some R&R for spring break
  
• Praying through summer mission opportunities.
  

Although I don't know that I can say that have been the best friend, daughter, sister or Aunt during these past couple of months, I believe that once I get through the coursework for National Boards there will be so much more balance back in my life. It's all about the Journey.... all about the journey...

October 6th

Tonight opened a devotional called Grace for the Moment, by Max Lucado and looked up tomorrow's date. Here is what it read.... It could not be more fitting for me right now.

"God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished." Philippians 1:6

"The message of Jesus to the religious person is simple: It's not what you do. It's what I do. I have moved in. Religious rule-keeping can sap your strength. It's endless. there is always another class to attend, Sabbath to obey, Ramadan to observe. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection. Her inmates find work but never find peace. How could they? They never know when they are finished. Christ however, gifts you with a finished work. He fulfilled the law for you. Bid farewell to the burden of religion. Gone is the fear that having done everything, you might not have done enough. You climb the stairs, not by your strength, but his. God pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves."

Tomorrow I celebrate 29 years of life and yet I still fall into the trap or feeling the need to "improve" or "fix" different areas of life. In this next year, my prayer is that I figure out what it means to let go of that and just allow God to work.

Being a Cubs fan

I have never been more upset as a Cubs fan. I can't even explain the last three games that I attempted to painfully watch. The Dodgers deserved to win. Every moment of every inning all the Dodgers players played with a desire to win. Cubs on the other hand, you sat in the dugout, you watched good pitches go by, and you played like crap in the field. My Cubs, I love you but you stunk it up, and you took an incredible season a flushed it down the toilet. I will root for you next year but tonight, for the first time, I don't want to use the phrase "maybe next year." You don't deserve to win a World Series until you show a desire to want to win.

Cubs Win

As I walked into church tonight the Cubs were up by a run. There was part of me that thought about going to the later service or skipping all together so that I could see the end of the game but I figured that watching a Cubs game may be a poor excuse for missing church. The lady two rows behind me had the right idea. She had her phone showing her the play by play and in all of her excitement, in the middle of the campus pastor's talk, she yelled "Cubs win." It was a rather funny moment. I wanted to turn around to see who it was that screamed it out but I figured she was embarrassed enough. When church was over, she was nowhere to be found. I am pretty sure her and whoever she came with made a b-line for the door as soon as the message was done. When church was over I headed over to the sporting goods store to pick up my 2008 division title t-shirt. It was pretty amazing how many they had already sold. The lady at the store said there were costumers waiting in the store at the end of the game to be sure they got one. Cubs fans are crazy! I LOVE it! This is the year and I am loving every minute of it!

A little impulse buy

I did one of the crazier things I have done in life yesterday and it felt great! My civic that I have had for the past 6 years was getting up there in age. There was really nothing wrong with it but I knew that I was getting to the point of either having to put money into it or possibly sell it. Because the financing rates are so low right now and dealers are willing to work with their price a little more, I have been throwing around this idea of car shopping for the past couple of months. I decided this weekend that I would just "go look." I had no intention of buying. It always takes me months/years to make decisions on a big purchase but I was ready to start the process. My Dad and I had a little father/ daughter bonding time and we headed to the dealer to do some test driving. Six hours later and what I think was a fantastic deal, Herbie (the civic) was traded in and now I am the proud owner of this little guy! I LOVE everything about it. I am totally one of those crazy new car people that cringes as the miles go up, parks in the back of every parking lot, and fears the day I find the first door ding. I am in need of name for this one. It can't be Conrad (who was my first Corsica) or Herbie (the old civic). Do you have any suggestions?

The foundation

Over the past several months I was blessed with the opportunity to journey alongside a church that is getting ready to launch in Shaumburg, IL. I believe that there was a sense of oasis that took place in the journey with that team that I really appreciated. God is going to use Waterfront church in some incredible ways, and there is something that I believe that they taught me that I need to get good at in order for God to really use me the way He intends. If I am honest, I believe that it holds the foundation to what is crucial to making a great team. Waterfront was incredible at taking intentional time to care for and love one another. In planning gatherings, pre-launch church services, and every e-mail contact, it was evident that the most important agenda at task was to care for others. Because of that, the pull to be a part of the mission of the church was so strong. It is so easy in life to get wrapped up in the surplus of tasks at hand and run out of time to intentionally love people well. I want to be the type of leader where my leaders feel like I care more about them as individuals then what holes they fill in my ministry. As a teacher, I want my students to know that I care more about them as an individual then the way they behave in class or the grade they earn. I know what it feels like to just be a hole filler or one that just takes up a seat and I don't want anyone around me to feel that way. I am not sure how to get great at this piece, especially when life is filled with tasks, deadlines, quotas, and numerous other things to accomplish. When I walk through the halls of my school, I tend to error on the side of being on a mission. When I sit down and talk with a leader, I have a list of important upcoming information that the leader needs to know. If time is pushed, the personal gets set aside and the informational gets tackled. I need to reverse the strategy or find a balance between the two. I was blessed to feel a part of community of people that got it but now I need to take "it" and either reproduce it or plug it into another structure.

I threw a paper airplane in church

I have been attending/working at Community Christian Church
for awhile now and there are still days where I walk away amazed at what takes place. We are in this great new series called the leader within and this week we were talking about the vision of a leader and taking things that are a holy discontent for us and living them out to make a difference. In the beginning, there was a video clip that they showed with a story of the Wright Brothers. As the pastor got started, he made a reference to the sheet on our chair that had an outline that we could take notes on. On the back of that sheet, in order to keep with the Wright Brothers theme, there was a step by step detailed description on how to turn you notes into a paper airplane. As if that wasn't funny enough, right at the end of the message (right before communion) the pastor asked us to create our paper airplane and then had us all fly them at the same time. It was the funniest thing I have ever see to have 300+ paper airplanes (not all loosened up enough to actually fly them) flying in the middle of a church service. The only bad part is after service I went to go find my airplane to keep my notes that I wrote on the other side and I couldn't find it anywhere. Oh CCC, it is so far out of the normal church box but it is exactly what it needs to be in order to help people find their way back to God.

Jumping in with two feet

I became a student again today. Last spring, I began throwing around the idea of what it would look like to go back to school to work towards my National Board Certification. For the longest time I sat on the fence with the decision. I feel like if I finish this process, it solidifies that teaching is the avenue God is going to use me (or that I am telling God he will use me). I LOVE teaching with all my heart. I love connecting with students, I love seeing them grow, learn, and mature. I love the challenges, I love the light bulb moments, and I love the collaboration with other teachers but something still doesn't sit easy in my heart. I know ministry takes place in the classroom on a daily basis but there is still something that pulls me to the wonder of doing ministry within the church. What holds me back? I am not sure, maybe it is a lack of confidence, maybe it is not being called to switch, or maybe it is lack of faith that God will give me the skill set to be successful in ministry. Even though I feel like I don't have a clue what I am going to do the next 20 years, I felt like I needed to do everything I can to continue pushing me to be a better teacher until I figure life out.

So I am jumping in with both feet. I printed out the 300 page explanation of the portfolio assessment today and about had a panic attack. As the professor explained today, "This will be the most challenging and rigorous process you have ever been through." He compared it do the level of getting a doctoral degree but condensing it into 9 months as apposed to several years. Anyone can do anything for nine months right......

Jr High Camp

I just returned from a week of Jr High camp in Lake City, Michigan. It was a pretty incredible week. The camp was amazing. It was more like a resort than a camp. The students had access to tubing, a zip line, the blob, rock climbing, high ropes, basketball, frisbee golf, the lake front. You name it this camp had it! This was my first event with Jr High students and I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. To be totally honest, I wasn't all that excited and was pretty terrified to hang out with them for an entire week. As I had watched other Jr high events unfold, my only take was that they are super loud and really crazy. Although they can be very high energy, they are incredible. There are quite of few of them that really get this idea of living for Christ. It is fun to hear them communicate that and see the light bulb go off in their heads as the week went on. I think my favorite part about them is their love for anyone. With high school ministry you have to prove yourself a bit. There is this window of time that it takes to prove yourself cool enough to hang out with the high school student. Jr High kids love anyone who is willing to hang out with them- no proving necessary just be goofy and spend time with them and they think your great! Here is a clip of the week to get an idea of what it was all about!

A Cubs loss and a dead car

I went into the city today to enjoy a cubs game but unfortunately I watched the cubs loose and when I went to leave the ball park my car was completely dead. Lately, I have been challenged a lot to intentionally find ways to love and help others. Today I saw myself on the reverse side of that. We walked around for a good hour trying to find someone who might help us by giving my car a jump. We heard some of the most pathetic excuses as to why people were NOT going to help us. I think my favorite was an employee at Wrigley who walked right past us and said, "Sorry there is nothing I can do." When we walked two blocks down to ask another gentlemen, the guy told us to go back to the Wrigley employee that walked away because he had the radio to get someone. We called the other two back at the car to chase the employee and when one of the them asked him once again, his response was he didn't have a radio to call anyone. (The radio was clear as day on his belt loop). When Mr. helpful cub worker walked back to where I was and I explained that his co-worker told me to have him call without a response he just walked past me once again. Luckily, at the same time a group of friendly gentlemen came walking by and without hesitation, walked over to my car and got it going. An hour later and about 20 people worth of rejections, I realized just how incredible it feels when someone steps outside their little world and offers a helping hand. I hope that I continue to push myself to be that person for others. In a hurry or not, I pray that my eyes are opened to the lives around me and not just my own little world.

Girls Trip!

I just got back this evening from a great little getaway with some pretty incredible friends. The five of us have been friends since high school but with the busy life of teachers (I know it's summer as I write this but not all months are June, July or Aug), we struggled to hang out like we used to back in the day. A year ago we started a tradition where we schedule a time each month for the five of us to have coffee, dinner, or ice cream together. This month we decided to take it a step further and spend two days in Lake Geneva at one of the girls parents lake house. We all needed a couple days to just get away and laugh like I did. There were a lot of funny moments, funny conversations, and some hysterical memories of old times. Oddly enough, one of my all time highlights was being able to ride in the golf cart everywhere we went within this beach community. There were golf cart trails, under road cart tunnels, and even lined golf cart parking spots within the community. Friendship is a beautiful thing! I pray that as I grow older I always make quality time with friends. No matter what life brings or how busy things get, I pray that every month, the five of us will continue to hang out. I can't wait to be 70 years old and sitting on that golf cart with the same group of girls!

Happy Birthday David

David turns 4 today! Happy Birthday Buddy!