Agustin Being Interviewed This Minute!

Asking for prayers as my husband continues looking for a new job. He is in a promising interview right now. It began at 3pm our time.

I miss you all so much. I hope to get back into a routine soon.

EDT: Agustin just returned from his interview. It lasted only 40 minutes. He feels like it was just getting a "foot in the door" type meeting. However, he found that two of his former employees from Olive Garden are now employed at that same restaurant he interviewed for!

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Here are a few more photos from dad's surprise event on September 26th. It was such a sweet time of hugs, surprises, fellowship, kind-heart felt words! A great time of remembering how God intertwined so many precious lives! Dad was truly amazed and oh so blessed.

Ron and Pat McQuain surprised all of us - (Yes, even me!) by flying down from Ohio. What sweet testimonies these two had to share with us. Pat was her usual, funny self. FYI: Ron used to be Secret Service back up for Richard Nixon! He installed all the radio and communications in the presidential limo for Nixon, which is now in a museum! He said seeing his work in a museum sure made him feel old! :)

Aw, Bob and Fern West! They only had to drive over from Ocala area. What a sweet Christian couple these two make. Bob's testimony dealt with how my dad spent time with him, praying and sharing scriptures, as he struggled with the security of his salvation. Dad finally said, "Bob you just aren't believing God's Word." Bob then realized that was his hang up. Since that day, he has decided to take God at his word and now lives a victorious, Christian life.

Fern is by far one of the most godly women I know! Fern had a book with her which my dad gave her all those years ago in Ohio. He saw in her a natural, God given ability to teach women. The book was titled, "Competent to Counsel". Her testimony brought tears!

Joe and Cindy West! Two of the sweetest people you could meet! He was called into ministry while dad was their pastor.


Bob and Becky! Great couple with a thriving youth ministry in Jacksonville! He too was called while attending our church in Ohio. He had us both crying and laughing during his testimony.

The huge surprise of the day!

I had mom and dad turn to face the baptistery while Pastor Kaster and his wife Linda approached the platform. Pastor Kaster ordained my father into the ministry back in the seventies. Dad served on the deacon board which called Pastor Kaster to our church there in Greenville, S.C. My parents and the Kasters hadn't seen each other since the early 1980's! It was quite an emotional outburst when mom and dad turned around and saw dear friends on the platform there with them!

Max and Linda drove down from South Carolina.

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Hopefully, I can share more about dad's big day soon.

Hugs!

Pam

Our Lives Have Been Turned Upside Down, But We're Alive and Well!

Just wanted to let you know I'm still around and kicking! And howdy Rancher! I can't believe I had a comment from you after all this time! I hope to get back to regular blogging soon. In the meantime, my days are full of resumes, job interviews, phone calls, agents, etc.

Agustin resigned from his job two days before dad's big party!!! Can anyone say-STRESS!?? But God has been with us through it all and I'm closer to my hubby than I've ever been before. One day I may be able to divulge more info but let's just say he had to remove himself from an ugly situation. It's amazing how two or three bad people can affect and impact the lives of so many other's-both in a negative or positive manner!

I do have to take the time right nowto say that dad's party was awesome! I mean-how can anything go wrong when it involves surprises, old friends from all over the country, great food, hugs, cameras, music, special words to honor a great man!!!??? I'll enclose a few photos to tide you over! I promise to download some of my parents from the camera as soon as I can!

My brother John with former high school classmates -Kim and Robin!

Me and my baby brother! He deserved the slap, believe you me!

Myrna surprised us by flying in from Michigan!! She was the school secretary in the same school mom and dad taught at in Arcadia, FL back in the eighties!


John and I visit with more old friends!

I was so thrilled to see Cindy and Joe West, along with Bob and Becky Lynn, friends from my Ohio days!



Hopefully I'll be able to visit you all soon!
Love,
Pam

Oh My-It's So Dusty Around Here!

That's my blog I'm referring to!!! Things have been so busy around here that I've once again been neglecting my poor, little blog! It needs a good dusting off and some attention!







You see, I'm helping my mom and a fellow church member plan and execute a special SURPRISE celebration! We'll be honoring my dad's forty two years as a faithful servant in ministry. Things are coming together wonderfully, except for the little dvd I'm trying to produce with Window's Movie Maker. It's fun but I want it to be cohesive. I need to narrate some parts of it. I'm getting a little stressed! Guests are coming in from all over the United States. We have video clips from family members and friends who can't make it. We have several special speakers lined up to speak live. Dad doesn't know any of this! Please pray that this huge project will come together nicely for us.







We've been living in the mission's apartment at my dad's church for the past week. I felt I needed to be on site to get some big projects done. Dad thinks we're hanging around the place, helping out because the church's Homecoming celebration is on Sept. 27th. His party is the 26th, but as I said, he doesn't know that yet!! Bwhaaaa!

Below are a couple of photos I'll be including in the dvd.

Pam - in the checkered outfit, Mom - has the big hair, Dad - tall and handsome, Rita - cute dimples and piggytails, Johnny - cuter dimples!

Dad's yearbook photo used in the Bob Jone's University VANTAGE 1971.

Y'all Are So Sweet!

Your prayers and sweet words have kept me going these past couple of days. I am feeling so much better and think I know the reason for the terrible flare up. I have a new, huge bulge on my left arm, right below the elbow. It was a nodule but now it's about the size of a golf ball. I wonder if while it was growing and manifesting itself, my body was trying to fight it off? I can almost close my hands now and my typing is some faster. LOL I can also turn my neck to the left and almost totally to the right; and I can bend my left knee! I ask for your continued prayers as I still have much to do in preparation for my dad's surprise party at the end of the month!

Psalm 5:11-12

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them. Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee, for thou Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him with a shield."

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FYI: Shane posted yesterday! See his blog at Mustang Dreams. His link is on my right side bar. Thanks!

Have a wonderful, safe Labor Day weekend.

Begging for Your Prayers Today

I'm having a terrible flare up with my RA (rheumatoid arthritis). It has been a year or more since I've experienced this much physical pain. It kept me up all night, in tears off and on. I'm on my way to lie down; hoping sleep will come. I'm at the point where I'm shivering as though I have a high fever. This happens when I'm overtired and inflammation has set in.

Please add a little prayer in there for my Shane too, as he will be on his own today. He's a good boy and will do his school work and check in on me often. I just regret we won't get much accomplished today. It will be a lost day in my life.

I'm wishing my sister were here or I were there(Paraguay) as I am longing for a hug from her and her shoulder to cry on. Oh boy, I hope this doesn't sound like a pity party for that is NOT my intention.

Mom and I are planning a surprise "get together" for dad on Septmenber 26th. I'm producing a video of special moments, photos, people, memories, etc. to be shown on the big day. I added a couple of really short video clips here to give you a small sample of some of the heartwarming testimonies we are gathering for our DVD.

Here is my nephew, Joshua Vernoy and his wife. As Josh tries to share his thanks to my dad (his grandpa) he becomes emotional. I cried while I was filming and I cry each time I watch it. It is a blessing to know that I have such a godly father who has impacted the lives of so many in a positive way!

Take 1

Take 2

Take 4

For some reason, Take 3 wouldn't load. It was the best as it is the one in which Josh is composed and able to share his heart. I will try it as a new post and see what happens.

First Sunday of my Nephew's New Ministry

A special blessing was bestowed upon us this month and I just have to share it with you. I know that most of you who read my blog are fellow believers and will receive just as big of a blessing from this as I did.

While my mother in law and brother in law were visiting with us, we had the honor of attending the first service at my nephew's new ministry here in Tampa. Under the umbrella of Southside Baptist Church and Pastor Kerry Nance, a new Spanish ministry is being established near MacDill Airforce Base. My nephew Josh was approached a few months ago, asked to pray about joining Pastor Nance and starting up this new church. Josh is a talented, articulate young man who loves God and seeks after God's heart. His wife Naomy, is a precious young lady who delights in being his completer. It's obvious she is exactly the gal God intended for my nephew to marry!

My heart was so full of emotion during that first service. One reason I think I was so emotional was because there, in attendance with us, for this first monumental step in ministry for my nephew, was my mother in law. She had ministered to Josh's parents when they were young missionaries living in Mexico as language students. I'm sure during those days of welcoming them into her home, serving up her delicious food, caring for their child Jackie, she never dreamt she would be in the states one day, sitting under the ministry of that young couple's son!

Josh did a phenomenal job that Sunday morning! He had it ALL on his shoulders. The welcoming of guests, the leading of the music, the order of service, the preaching, then the invitation. And what a great sermon it was! He preached about the woman at the well who was living in sin. She had a thirst for men, which caused her to be weak in certain areas.

"What is your thirst in this life?" he asked. "What is that weakness in your life which causes you to sin over and over again?" Then he shared how Christ is there ready to forgive and forget. All we need to do is confess our sins and receive him as our personal Savior. Christ and Christ alone, can change your life for the better! It was a great sermon.

My eyes are tearing up now just typing this; but I hope I've conveyed clearly to you why my emotions were running so strongly that morning. At the end of the service, while singing the invitational song, I had tears streaming down my face and the emotions came flooding over me.

Josh, I know you never read my blog, but I want to express here just how proud I am of you and how honored I feel to have had the privilege of attending your first service!

Joshua leading the singing. I think a total of 16 in attendance for that first sermon.

Pastor Joshua Vernoy and his lovely wife, Naomy.


Naomy and Joshua Vernoy, my mother in law, brother in law, and my niece Jewel.

Most of those in attendance for that first service on August 9, 2009.


Mom and John met us for lunch after church. An added blessing for me that day was Peggy, my neighbor. She wanted to tag along with us to the service simply because she wants to learn Spanish! She was so excited to meet my family and practice what she has been learning!

The other end of the table!



The congregation singing. The pianist didn't attempt playing this song due to it being her first time hearing it!



Josh preaching.

Please join me in praying for this young couple as they labor and toil to plant this new church for Spanish speakers in South Tampa.

Mission Aviation History to Hitch a Ride on Space Shuttle

I found the following article to be especially interesting due to the life my sister and her family have lived as jungle missionaries. They understand and relate to the significance of a small aircraft assisting with the important work of missions. I know she (my sister) will find the following very exciting!
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From: Stephen Saint
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009
18:44:26 -0400

Guys,

Mart Green just sent me this reminder that part of 56 Henry is going into space tonight. I gave the astronaut a small piece of the plane and then forgot about it. On my flight back from PA today I wondered what the big red restricted are on the coast was. It is the space shuttle.Can you imagine what Dad would have thought if he had heard that 54 years later part of 56 Henry would be going up to the international space station. God keeps writing new chapters to this amazing story of His.

Steve Saint

Mission Aviation History to Hitch a Ride on Space Shuttle Astronaut Taking a Piece of Nate Saint’s Piper PA-14 on ‘Discovery’

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Proving that space flight is not the highest calling for a pilot, astronaut Patrick Forrester is taking a bit of missionary history on board space shuttle “Discovery,” which is scheduled for liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of Aug. 25. The aim of the two-week orbital mission is to equip the International Space Station.The item comes from martyred missionary pilot Nate Saint’s Piper PA-14, which is on display at the headquarters of MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) in Nampa, Idaho. Saint and four other missionaries were martyred on a sandbar in Ecuador on Jan. 8, 1956, by a tribe of Waodani Indians.The incident sparked international news coverage and renewed interest in missionary service. Several of the tribesmen that killed Saint and the others were later converted to Christianity by relatives of the slain missionaries.“Bringing attention to and renewing interest in missions would be a great result of this experience,” said Forrester, who was born in El Paso, Texas, the year after the martyrdoms. “My deepest intent is to honor Nate Saint, the Saint family and all missionaries around the world.”The piece is from the Piper’s battery box and has received approval for the flight from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after conforming to strict size and weight restrictions. Forrester, who will be making his third shuttle flight, has logged more than 4,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft and has been with NASA 16 years. In addition to his time at NASA, he spent over 26 years as an Army aviator. Yet his dream has been to assist with the high calling of missionary aviation. “I’ve always had a heart for missions,” Forrester said. “When I visualize what I might do after I end my career at NASA, always in the back of my mind is going into the mission field in some way. If I could go tomorrow and be a pilot with an organization like MAF, I think that’s what I’d do.” Whether you are an astronaut, a missionary or something else, Forrester has a simple approach to discovering what career journey you should take. “There are so many needs out there,” Forrester said. “People need to figure out where their passion and their talents intersect with God’s plan for the world.” Forrester heard about Saint and the other four missionary martyrs while attending a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. “He told the story of the missionaries who had gone down and had lost their lives,” Forrester recalled. “That story just fascinated me, and through that I heard of the book ‘Through the Gates of Splendor.’ That’s when I really first understood about MAF.” Forrester asked MAF to provide a part of Saint’s plane for the shuttle mission. When the mission is completed, Forrester will return the piece to MAF, providing a certificate confirming its presence on the space flight. MAF plans to display the battery box part and certificate at its headquarters. Forrester noted that Saint “could have never imagined that we would have the opportunity to take it to a space station.” As for himself, Forrester sees missions in his career flight plan. “We are all called to serve God in some manner,” Forrester said. “I have had the opportunity to participate in several short-term mission trips to Uganda, Canada, Puerto Rico and South Africa. Each time I have developed a heart for the people we served. I believe my wife and I will continue to serve in the mission field for the rest of our lives – whether it is at home or overseas, short-term or full-time.” Founded in the U.S. in 1945, MAF (http://www.maf.org/) missionary teams of aviation, communications, technology and education specialists overcome barriers in remote areas, transform lives and build God’s Kingdom by enabling the work of more than 1,000 organizations in isolated areas of the world. With its fleet of 130 bush aircraft, MAF serves in 55 countries, with an average of 242 flights daily across Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America. MAF pilots transport missionaries, medical personnel, medicines and relief supplies, as well as conduct thousands of emergency medical evacuations in remote areas. MAF also provides telecommunications services, such as satellite Internet access, high frequency radios, electronic mail and other wireless systems.
Photo: Astronaut Patrick Forrester


Photo: In this 1955 photo, MAF missionary Nate Saint shows gifts he received from Waodani Indians. Saint was martyred the next year. A piece of his Piper PA-14 airplane will travel to space this week aboard the space shuttle “Discovery.”