Oak Haven Convention

I’m in flight from Michigan. Janet, Jason and his family, and I had a great experience at the Oak Haven Convention. It was great to be together and to watch those three granddaughters explore new territory. There is an element in them that says they should have been boys. However, I assume that by the time they start having pimples, they’ll become attractive mademoiselles. At least the beauty part isn’t missing.

On Sunday we had our annual Oak Haven boards. The Constituency meetings were downright boring, which is the best kind to have. If boring, it is because there is no trouble. The board itself wasn’t nearly so uneventful. I really don’t know what to make of it. The staff at Oak Haven is either prone to complaining, or the leadership just never learn their lesson. In the end, for all the complaints, they really had no choice. There isn’t anyone available with the potential to do the job. So, they are all stuck with each other for another year. Isn’t the Lord good? We’ll either learn to get along or to live in our misery.

Janet and Jason left Oak Haven early Sunday morning for Canada. Wish I could have journeyed with them, but alas, I am “shackled to a heavy burden, pressed beneath a load of care.” Well, it isn’t that bad, but my responsibilities do keep me from straying too far. I assume it’s my last hurrah. If I manage two terms (big if) with ASI, I’ll be 68 years old. That will be a good time to walk into the sunset, perhaps disappear into some African desert or jungle, or wander from my igloo into a snowstorm. (How dramatic is that?)

This week I have three days at home to be ready for ASI. I preach in Dallas, TX, next Sabbath to the baptismal candidates from the Youth For Jesus efforts. (Brianna is one of preachers. I am so proud of her. What a treasure.) Her sisters are in Hungary doing a Youth For Jesus program there also. Who would have predicted?

I am to preach the Keynote Address at the ASI meetings. I am still working feverishly on a sermon. Then I get to do a series of seven sermons at the North West Youth Congress in Spokane, WA.

Ok, the plane is going down. (Not crashing, I think, but landing.) When I retire, then we’ll have a family reunion, if any of them remember who I am.

My wife a few years ago. Or is that Emily?

So says the Preacher to his tribe.