Week 48

The memorial service for the brother who died was very brief, but nice.  He had been cremated the day before, so his urn, a picture, and the folded flag were on a small table at the front.  He was a Viet Nam veteran and spent 22 years in the Navy, so he had full military honors.  After a 21 gun salute outside, three men in their dress Navy uniforms marched to the front, removed the flag from the table, opened it completely, then folded it again and gave it to the widow.  I had only seen flags removed from coffins and folded, so it was interesting to see the difference in this flag folding.  The majority of people in the audience were not members of our church, and the service was much more somber than we typically have.

Now, Tender Mercy Number II.  The car that acted up so that we were available when needed (see last week's post), and then ran perfectly allowed us to go to the mortuary to dress the brother, visit the sister on Saturday, got us to church on Sunday (taking the elders down and teaching our Sunday School and Personal Finance lessons), and to the memorial service on Monday.  Tuesday when we came out of the gym, the car wouldn't start.  A man we always talk to at the gym came out right then and tried to jump start our car, but no luck after several attempts.  We called AAA and had to have the car towed to the garage.  It turned out to be a dead cell in the battery, and a new battery was not terribly expensive (relief!).  Of course it took most of the day, but Tuesday was our most flexible day this week.  We continue to marvel at the timing of these car events, and are so grateful we had the car when we needed it and were never stranded far from home.

It was a hot sticky week, but the only time we really notice it is when we go to the food bank on Mondays.  We come home dripping wet (corrugated metal warehouses don't lend themselves to comfort).  Our longest walk outside is probably at the prison getting from the first entry building to the next entry building and then across the compound to the chapel.  That's only about six or seven minutes outside, but we can sure feel the humidity.  Sometimes they are transferring a prisoner when we get there and we have to wait outside the building for a while--that gets a little uncomfortable.

Speaking of prison, it's amazing how much we love going there.  The men we work with are so appreciative of us coming and frequently tell us that hour is a spiritual break from prison.

Our apartment building is surrounded on two sides by fields.  Our city dweller eyes can't tell how many acres there are, but it's pretty to have all that green around us.  We finally decided they are soybeans. 

The view around us

See the beans?