Friday

Hello there, good morning! Friday. Another beautiful, perfect in the eyes of several, day awaits us. It is going to a busy one for me, but that's quite alright. I still have a lot of Sunday stuff to finish up, a lot of Honduras stuff to finish up, ribs to smoke, a yard to mow, and a bunch of other stuff. It's all good.

Luke and Lydia surprised us by coming in last night, instead of today. It was a very nice surprise. I thought it odd that Lester texted and wanted to come over last night. He came over for popcorn. I thought maybe he wanted to talk about his marathon on Saturday. While we were chatting with him, Luke and Lydia walked in. Everyone but Kedra and I knew about the surprise. Good stuff.

Well, the big trip starts Sunday. I think I have all the needed documents in place to cross 3 borders. They are getting notarized today. We are also taking a limited amount of supplies down with us, including a bunch of soccer balls and cleats.

Ryan R has been busy organizing a collection of soccer equipment. Yesterday he reported having more than 60 balls already plus lots of cleats! It is going to be great to take these things down. They will be a blessing to lots and lots of children in Central America. Marc and I are thinking some of these may be good incentives (could read bribes) for border agents to let us through (ha ha). If we have to give up a little as we go, then they would still be put to good use.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year. The Persimmon 5K is always fun and festive, and then the parade in the afternoon is always enjoyable. Tomorrow's weather will enhance the enjoyment. Having all my children around will take it to an even greater level.

I doubt I will be able to post next week on my trip, but if I can, I will try. We appreciate your prayers for our safety and for the ambulance to make the trip trouble free. My portion is right at 3000 miles. Thanks!

Thursday

Good morning! While we have not yet seen a boat pulled by a buggy, we have seen some pretty interesting things out in Amish country. One evening we saw a woman standing on a big wagon pulled by a big horse. Hitched to the big wagon was a tiny little wagon, the size of a Radio Flyer, and in that wagon was another woman. We passed them on our bikes. It would have been an interesting picture.

This weather, in my opinion, is just about perfect. Cool mornings and warm afternoons are hard to beat. Sounds like we have a few more days of it. This is perfect for the Persimmon Festival. I went to the festival last night for a little while. I confess that it's just not my thing. Oh well, I hope that doesn't make me a lesser person. ha ha

The big trip to Honduras starts Sunday. I took the ambulance for a good trip to Bloomington yesterday. It drives very well and is quite comfortable. I have in the back a box spring and mattress, which will be a nice place to sleep while we are driving straight through to Mexico. According to Google Maps, that is about a 22-23 hour trip without stops. I doubt we will stop for very long, so I'm thinking we cross into Mexico about midday on Monday. Marc is talking crossing at McAllen, Texas in Reynosa.

Today is Sunday prep day. First, I need to crank out another 5 miler this morning. It will be the 4th one this week. I'm just taking it easy, hoping for fresher legs for the Persimmon 5K. I will just run it hard and see what happens. I would love to get everything done in time for a little bike ride sometime tomorrow afternoon. I need to take advantage of this weather. Once I get back from the trip to Honduras, marathon training kicks in pretty hard.

Lester is running a marathon Saturday in Columbus. He is trying to break 3 hours. He has had some niggling injuries, so his training has not been totally according to plan. I really wish I could be there to watch/help him, but we need to stay around here for all the Persimmon Festival activities. Luke, Rebecca, and Lydia all did a couch to 5K program and are going to run the 5K Saturday morning. That will be fun.

OK, I need to get going. My mind is racing -- all good, exciting stuff.

Wednesday a.m.

Luke & Lydia

Good morning! Wednesday! It will take me a long time to not associate this day with the talking camel in the Geico commercial. One of our rides through Amish country goes right by a farm that has a couple of camels. Really, I'm not making this up. Of course as we go by we all re-enact the commercial. It's not that creative, but it makes me laugh every time.

Yesterday I spent considerable time getting things ready for the big road trip to Honduras. The biggest challenge in some ways is getting the documents in order. Coached by Marc Tindall, I created documents for crossing into Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.

I wrote the documents in English, and then, using Google Translate, translated them into Spanish. Then I sent them to Marc to see if they made sense. He gave me thumbs up on all of them .

Google Translate is pretty cool. I have a fair amount of confidence in it. I have Facebook messaged with one of my friends in Honduras who speaks very little English. The other day we carried on a conversation that lasted probably 45 minutes. I would translate his words into English, and then I would type mine in English, translate, cut and paste. He never asked me to repeat anything, so I guess it was all good. Of course he could think I am totally nuts and engaged me purely for entertainment value.

I wonder if we could use Google Translate around here with some people who speak extreme forms of hick? ha ha. Just kidding. It does crack me up, however, that some of the reality shows from the south and other places have subtitles. Hmmm. Now, I don't watch such shows. A friend told me all this.

Today is another gift from God and I want to live it the best I can. That means driving the ambulance around. I will take it to Bloomington today. I want to get it out on the road and run it for a while. If it is going to have a problem, it is better that it happen here rather than in Mexico.

By the way, I am not worried or scared about driving through Central America. For me it is an adventure, for sure, but it is also a matter of faith. I believe God will protect us. We are doing something in the name of Jesus to help the poorest of the poor. This is not some crazy thing, you know, like jumping out of an airplane. It actually has a purpose.

I need to go. I have a lot to do today. I hope your day goes really well.

Tuesday a.m.

Good morning! Another beautiful day awaits, another gift from God. Rejoice and be glad in it.

I am thinking about how I am going to end my day today. Knowing how it (likely, probably) ends helps me to back up in my mind to see what I need to do before I get to the day-ending activity. Beginning with the end in mind is a good approach for just about everything. Right? Probably a sermon in there somewhere. I will spare you.

OK, so how does my day end? I know everything could change, but I am planning on driving a bus to Paoli for a cross country meet. It's a big one and a good one. It's going to be a perfect night for it. While I am waiting for it to get going, I will take some things to study, which will help move me toward being prepared for Sunday.

Before I drive today, I have several things I need to get done. Some of them involve driving an ambulance to Honduras. I need to get some documents together for border crossings. I also need to continue working on a detailed list of things to get together and to purchase. Yesterday I bought my airplane ticket. I fly out of San Pedro Sula at 12:29 on Thursday and get back to Indy at 9:30. Not bad.

I really  wish, in some ways, I was going all the way to Ojojona, but that would mean missing Ben's football game. While I would love to see my friends, I do not want to miss any of Ben's football games. Life is full of choices.

The Persimmon 5K is Saturday. I can't say that I am super looking forward to it. I have not trained very well for a 5K, so I will just run it and see what happens. The 80 mile challenge was really good for me, but it left me a little tired. I'm taking it a bit easier this week.

Due to the bus trip I am going to miss the bike ride tonight. That's a shame, because there is going to be a ESE wind, which is perfect for the time trial course. The diminishing daylight is going to be a challenge for further Tuesday night rides. I will miss next week too. I should be somewhere in Mexico next Tuesday.

Hey, I hope your day goes really well! Try to enjoy it.

Monday, Monday

Monday, Monday, be so good to me! Please. Hey, I had a busy, busy weekend, so I need a good day today. The first line is a reference to an old song. I'm sure Tim the elder got it. So how are you on this Monday morning? Looks like a wonderful day is ahead of us. Fall has arrived, and it is my favorite time of the year.

I did have a crazy busy weekend, but it was all good. Friday morning I finished up the Mizuno challenge, running 80 miles in 14 days. Due to scheduling issues I did in 2 days less than I had to. It was a good little boost to my marathon training.

Friday around midday I left to go to Terre Haute for the wedding rehearsal. It started at 3 and finished around 4:30. Now I had the challenge of getting to Crawford County for Ben's football game at 7 p.m. I knew it was about a 3 hour drive. I only missed a couple of minutes, but I was able to listen to those on the radio. I knew it was going to be a good night when I walked in. Right as I could see the game, Ben put a big hit on a kid. He went on to have a good game. The highlight was probably an interception that he returned about 30 yard. Mitchell won, which made the soaking rain tolerable.

It was nice driving home with Kedra, instead of driving the bus like I usually do. We got home and waited for Ben. Then, for me anyway, it was off to bed. I knew I had a short night of sleep followed by a longish bike ride.

We got up and registered for the 62 mile ride. Rand, Scott, James and I took off around 7:40. We had a very enjoyable ride in cool and windy conditions. The ride was well-organized and the course was really good. It was a good time with good guys. Yesterday between church and the Vesper Service, Jim, Bill, Scott, Dan, and I rode another nice 21 miler. Beautiful day!

After the ride and a little time at home, it was time to go to Terre Haute for the wedding. All that went well, and Kedra and I made it back home a little after 9. While at the wedding, we both had missed calls from our second son, Luke. Luke had some news to share. He asked Lydia to marry him, and she said Yes. We are very happy about this! So 2014 we see us add 2 more females to our family. Lester and Maddie will bring us Cora Jane, and Luke will bring us Lydia. I am so very happy about both.

This week I will be working hard to get ready to drive the ambulance to Honduras. We plan to leave right after church on Sunday, returning late Thursday p.m. Keep praying!

Friday

Well, hello there! Friday. Wow, I think that picture is starting to annoy me. Oh well, I'm going to stick with it. Friday is football day for us. It has been since Lester was a freshman in high school, which was quite a while ago. We took a bit of a break between his graduation and Ben getting to high school. From mid-August until late October, football is the Friday focus.

The weather may be a factor in tonight's game. I just hope they don't cancel or postpone. Ben said it would be at 4 p.m. tomorrow, if that happens, which means I could not attend. It seems we as a culture have become so "soft" about weather. I know the fears about lightning, but sometimes .  .  . Oh well, we'll see.

This morning is going to be busy. I need to finish up my
Sunday stuff, do a few others things, and then head to Terre Haute about midday. The rehearsal is at 3 p.m., which still amazes me. The drive from TH to Crawford County seems to be about 3 hours no matter what route you take. I will go south and hit I 64, heading east. It is more miles but less time. I hope to get there during the first quarter.

After a short night, I hope to ride a metric century in the morning. That's 62 miles for you non-metric types - ha ha. It is a ride that benefits Nick Mullis' work and should be fun. It's nice to have support out on the course. Scott B and I plan to be in saddle moving at 7.30. Come join us! It starts at Mitchell High School. We will register a little after 7 a.m.

After the ride, I will get home and change clothes and take off for the wedding. I hope Kedra can drive so I can take a nap and do my final prep. The wedding is at 5, with a reception following immediately. It is still going to be a fairly late night. Sunday morning will come quickly. I am speaking at Spring Mill Park at 8:30 on Sunday, followed by my normal activities. Poor planning, I know.

OK, I hope you have a great weekend! I should see you Monday.

Thursday morning

Good morning! Looks like some rain is on the way. I hope I can get my run in this morning before it arrives. After that I hope it rains. We need it. And I need 13 miles today and tomorrow to meet the Mizuno Mt. Fuji Challenge.  I got my new shoes yesterday and am hoping they help with my right leg problems. It's nothing serious, so it should clear up quickly.

Yesterday was a good, varied, busy day. Normal, I guess. We picked up the ambulance from B & L Auto. It is completely serviced and completely inspected. I am going to drive it around some for the next few days to get a feel for it. I also want to see what kind of mileage it is going to get. I am estimating that we will need to buy about 300 gallons of fuel to get there. I hope it is less, but. . .

Today is prep for Sunday day. It is also prep for wedding day. Yes, it is going to be a fairly active, busy one. As I said earlier, I hope to knock out some more running miles soon. I am needed again this evening for bus driving. Tonight's assignment is more enjoyable. I am taking the junior high cross country team to Salem. I love the coaches, the kids, and the sport. Plus we get home at a decent hour. What's there not to like?

OK, here we go. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday a.m.

Uh oh! Guess what day it is?

Well, there you are again! Here is Wednesday again. My favorite TV commercial right now is the Geico camel commercial. Not sure why? It always makes me laugh.

Yesterday was wall to wall activity. It started early and finished late. It was productive, no matter what measurement category you use. I saw several people and hopefully provided some help and encouragement along the way. Plus I got some reading and writing completed.

I ended the day in Paoli, driving the junior high football team there for a game. Once there, I found a table, a chair, and an electric outlet. It was go time! For the next 2.5 hours, while enduring some curious looks from passerbys, I was able to get a lot of work done on my sermon for Sunday. This will be helpful since I also have to prepare a wedding ceremony, which I hope to get started today. Plus I am speaking at Spring Mill Park on Sunday morning. Bad scheduling on my part.

My arrival time at home last night was a little before 10. Kedra was busy grading papers when I got home. Her student teaching is going really well. It's hard to believe but she is half way through. She is going to be a great math teacher and hopefully soon. We are hoping she can find a job at the start of the second semester. It will be good for her to have a job again!

Nineteen miles to go for the Mizuno Challenge. Nineteen miles to do today, Thursday, and Friday. That's doable, if my hamstring stays OK. It was OK yesterday morning. I'm hoping my new shoes arrive today.

Ben goes back to the doctor today to see how his thumb is. He's played two games with it taped up. I know it hurts when it gets hit, but Ben doesn't complain about it. I think he will probably have to wear the splint 2 more weeks.

Sounds like I missed a good ride last night! Riding is going to get more challenging as the daylight diminishes and the weather cools. One of my goals for the year was to ride outside in every month. So far so good! October, November, and December are still to come.

OK, let's go do this!