Friday, July 17, 2009

Vision Trip friends interviewed on Birmingham FOX

Our new friends at IMS/IOS have been busy getting the Alabama community aware of their vision of assisting Mercy Ships. This is an interview that Gene Robinson, CEO/President of IMS had this week with the local FOX affiliate. It is a great piece and I invite you to view it as he and his wonderful daughter, Sharrie, share their perspective on our trip!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Back to Reality as I know it.....

Today is my first day at home. The trip home was relatively uneventful. When I arrived in New York City I received a text message from a friend that a very dear friend of mine had been taken that morning to Hospice. My heart was broken. I couldn't get to Texas fast enough. All I could think of was Bill.
Katie picked me up in Dallas and we started the long trek home. We visited some about my trip, but most of it I am still having a hard time putting into words. I feel very sure that it will take me a while to process all that I have learned on this trip. I can tell you one thing tho, I will never be able to look at life thru the same set of eyes that left but two short weeks ago.
I got to Tyler about midnight and headed straight to Hospice of East Texas where I was able to spend some time with Bill. He had only a few lucid moments in the day, but I was fortunate enough for one of those moments to have been with me. He asked of my travels and was so very glad to see me. It seems while time seem to have stood still for me while I was in Africa, life continued everywhere else. I left his bedside at almost 3 am, my heart heavy with grief. An amazing man, a man who provided me with so much strength, now labors for every breath. I hope he has the opportunity to go home soon.

Trip to the Agriculture Project




On our last day we got an opportunity to visit the agriculture project. A wonderful man named Jean Claude leads this project as they train leaders in the community to grow food not only to feed their families, but also to make a living.


But more importantly they also feed the soul. As we drove up on the site, Jean Claude was leading a bible study before they started for the day. It was amazing.........here they were in the middle of nowhere, studying God's word. They certainly had their priorities in place.


These are my two favorite photos of the visit.

4 wheeling photo!