The Rescue

Two or three of us were standing by a 600,000 gallon reservoir that we were finishing at EVI. With us was ten-year old Jonathan. Jonathan was telling us that he was very good at swimming. As a matter of fact, he is a certified life-guard, he said. Jokingly, I asked a little girl, Alicia, if I could throw her in so Jonathan could rescue her. She quietly made a little distance between us. A little while later, I was at the other end of the field by the water plant. The kids came with me. Jonathan because we are buddies, and Alicia because she wishes Jonathan was her buddy.

Near the water plant we had a hole about four feet deep, a small grave like looking hole full of water. The reason it was full of water is that I broke a water line while digging with a trencher. I was working around the hole and the kids were playing in the water. At one point, Jonathan got between Alicia and me. Alicia thought the hole was just a shallow puddle. When she saw a grasshopper jump into the water she reached over to rescue it putting her foot in the water. Oops! She disappeared altogether. She surfaced, eyes big as saucers.

"Jonathan," I yelled, "grab her."

He was within arms length from her, but he seemed stunned. She went under again. I yelled again. The third time she came up he finally got his wits together and dragged her out of the water.

It was a fine rescue, a little belated, but no harm done. Jonathan couldn't wait to get home to tell his parents of his heroics. Alicia, however, couldn't be convinced to go home. She just stood shivering in the wind saying she wanted to dry up first. It looked to me like that was going to take some time. So I pretended to need to go to the other end of the field. She wasn't going to stay alone so she followed and I led her to her dad where she promptly began crying saying she was scared.

Alicia

If anyone doesn't know yet, Uncle John is a grandpa for the third time. The little girl is called Elizabeth, Michelle's new daughter.

Last weekend, Lee, our Lifestyle Director, and I met with a group of retirees in Paonia, Colorado, three hundred miles, one way. They requested that we come talk to them and had promised to pay our gas. I guess they forgot. Oh well, it's the Lord's work and I probably need to give more offerings.

The temperature just dropped from summer to winter. Dianne Hathaway just came over the mountains yesterday and said the mountains are covered with snow. It's freezing this week. Not to worry, it is suppose to warm up for the convention weekend.

Till next week. The Preacher