gardens

Many local people have gardens, we sold more vegetable plants from our greenhouse this spring than in past years. With the price of fuel and food both increasing many are relying on their gardens to provide food for themselves. I too have grown a garden and the first produce has arrived, crook-neck summer squash. My garden is not as well weeded as others that we pass on the road to town but its pretty hard to kill squash. I hope to have melons, peppers, tomatoes, and maybe some other stuff too, we will see what makes it.

Mom and Dad R's visit

When Eric and I returned from our home Annual Conference meeting at the beginning of June, we brought my mom with us. She spent the week with us, working in the library with me and hanging out with us in the evenings. She got to spend some time with Mike and the Lemonses, and she got to meet many of the people that we tell stories about. (Too bad they missed Lori, though, 'cause she's up north--hopefully she'll be back in time for their visit in July!)

The seventeen-year cicadas were out in full force while she was here. These are the guys who live underground and only come out every seventeen years to mate and sing to us (or scream at us, depending on your perspective) for a couple of weeks before dying. They're big bugs--over an inch long--and they were everywhere!

My dad drove down that Friday, making impressive time--only eleven and a half hours--and he joined us for the weekend. Of course we made the rounds at the Settlement, showing them the campus and the lower farm and telling them all about everything.

Saturday we walked part of the Clear Creek Hollow trail.

Here are my mom and dad in front of the tunnel.

My dad considered impersonating Indiana Jones on this old hanging bridge.

Sunday my parents went to Sunday school and church with us. It was really great to be able to introduce them to many of the wonderful people in our Hope Church family. (Faye has already mentioned that I need to bring them to her house when they return for work camp in July.)

After church, we went to Webb's restaurant in Cumberland Gap, TN, for some good homestyle cooking. Then we went up the road to the National Park and drove up the mountain to see the incredible view of three states at once from the Pinnacle Overlook.

While we were there, a landed butterfly caught our eye, and it obligingly climbed onto my mom's finger for a photo opportunity before she passed it on to another visitor at the Pinnacle.

It was great to have my parents visit. It was wonderful to be able to spend several days with my mom, and I was so glad to be able to show them around and have them meet our Kentucky friends and learn about what we're doing. We're looking forward to their return in July with a work team from the Lehman-Idetown UMC!!

Tuppers' newsletter

Here's the newest edition of the email newsletter from Mike and Lori Tupper.

Michael's Journal

I've been blessed with children, youth and seniors this month.

Henderson Settlement hosts about 150 work campers every week in the summer. Most of the work campers are youth. I have the privilege of meeting with them every morning at 7:00 at Vesper Point. We watch the cows become visible through the mist in the valley below as we share in Morning Devotions. God's presence is felt in the beauty of creation which surrounds us. I lead the Closing Worship on Friday nights. We hear testimonies every week to the ways God is at work. Last Friday a pastor shared about his experience of baptizing an elderly lady who lived at the home where they were working that week.

Henderson Settlement ministers to about 75 children and youth every week in the summer. This Day Camp type program includes recreation and reading activities. I've been reading a novel to the older children and reading one-on-one with the younger children. I also have fun with them out on the playground and in the swimming pool. I push the kids high on the swings. (Only one has fallen off.) I let the kids jump off my shoulders in the pool. I'm known as Mr. T.

Henderson Settlement also sponsors baseball for the community children. There are over fifty kids involved. I get the chance to cheer, umpire, and pitch to the children. It's amazing how well they are able to hit the ball (even five year olds!). I was pitching well the other day until the end of the game. My pitches became erratic, causing the children to strike out. So when Chenoa came up to bat, I called for a "reliever". Chenoa's dad replaced me at the pitching mound. Unfortunately, Chenoa's dad struck her out. She was crushed and cried for a while. Later I told Chenoa I used to be called the "Strikeout King" because I would always strike out as a child. She said, "I'm going to just keep trying. My mama always says, 'practice makes perfect.'"

My ministry to children has also involved playing with the children in the swimming pool. Most of the parents do not get in the pool with their children. Some children are left at the pool for many hours. It gives me a chance to have fun with them – throwing a ball back and forth, watching them learn to swim, and letting them swim around on my back. Thank God for children!!

This month I performed another wedding. The wedding couple, Margy and Billy Ray had visited the church recently. They are in their sixties with spouses who have been gone for many years. Margy called me up and asked if I would perform a wedding ceremony. I asked about the date. She said, "Tomorrow." I told her that was fine but she needed to bring at least one witness.

The next day, Margy, Billy Ray, and Margy's 88 year old aunt arrived at the church for the wedding. I picked up a tulip tree blossom off the ground and teasingly gave it to Margy. She actually pinned it on her jacket. It was her corsage for the special day.

We had a brief service up in front of the sanctuary. Afterwards, I took six pictures of the wedding couple with her disposable camera. Then we signed the wedding license. Margy's aunt said, "I won't sign. I'm not going to be a witness." But she was just teasing. She signed it and they were officially married.

The newlyweds have been coming to church every Sunday since that day. Margy has been singing for our special music with her two cousins.

Thank you God for blessing me with children, youth and seniors this month.

Thanks for your prayers.

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Lori's Journal

It has been an interesting month of reminders of how different it is up north compared to the beautiful mountains where my home is now. I miss our church people, Michael, and my dog, Jezabel. But it is exciting to see how God is working in all parts of the world and how he has sent me an entire host of traveling angels. Our daughter, Sarah, traveled with me the first week of June and we faced several trials—the biggest being making sure she got her visa for her six months of work in South Africa. With Michael managing things from the Kentucky front and the help of a Wheaton professor, she finally received it the day before she left from O'Hare. We also faced, car problems, a lost credit card, an accidentally canceled debit card, 3 people in a very small 1 bedroom apartment, and 3 rainy nights at a campground. But on Tuesday, June 10th, our package was delivered safely to Chicago's O'Hare airport and she had a beautiful smile on her face as she walked through security, ready to change the world one child at a time in South Africa.

My talks have gone well and I feel like awareness has been raised of issues that are faced in Appalachia.

My first stop was at the very first church we were appointed to in Hammond, IN. I was amazed at the onslaught of memories as I greeted people that were still there from the 1980s.

As I greeted one couple, I felt overcome with emotion. My mind went back to a time when I went with Michael to the hospital to visit them and their young daughter, Katie. Katie had suddenly lost her sight and Lynn, her mother was laying in the bed talking to her softly when we entered the dark room. Bob, Katie's father, was standing at the end of the bed looking on as his wife and small daughter cuddled. We talked quietly for a bit, learning that the doctor was confused by Katie's sudden blindness. As we talked, Katie suddenly paniked when she couldn't find her stuffed toy in the bed. Lynn comforted her and helped her find the stuffed toy. I watched Bob as he suddenly broke down sobbing without making a sound. It appeared his heart was literally breaking in two at the helplessness of his daughter. I remember trying to hold my own tears back and thinking how God must feel the same heartbreak when we, His children, are suffering. Whenever I saw Bob and Lynn after that experience, I could sense their pure, intense love for their two children. Now as I greeted them on my first day of speaking, I was transported back to that hospital room and felt intense emotion. I was happy to hear Katie is now a mother herself. She had eventually regained her sight and was fine. It is just one example of how God used so many people to shape my life.

As I travel, God is challenging me not to worry about where I will be next school year. In my talk, I emphasize how God has it all under control—and with His subtle humor intact, he is requiring me to live that message.

Please continue to pray for us. It is the best gift you can give us.

I am looking forward to meeting Michael on Sunday, the 22nd and then leaving with him for 10 days on Prince Edward Island to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Pray that this will be a time of fun and renewal for both of us.

Peace to y'all.

Steve's ordination

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was privileged to be present for the ordination of Steve Springer as an elder in the United Methodist Church. Steve has worked long and hard toward this goal, and everyone at the Red Bird Missionary Conference's annual meeting was excited and happy for him.

Steve is the pastor of the Thousandsticks and Lower Beech Fork UMCs. My home church, Center Moreland UMC, has been helping to support the ministry of Steve and his wife Dianne since I was in high school. In my English class when I was a senior, we had to write an "I-Search" paper, which involved interviewing people around a theme. Since I was interested in missionary work, Steve and Dianne were two of the people that I interviewed. Five years ago, Eric and I went with a group from the Center Moreland church on a trip to Thousandsticks to help a family in need in their community, and we loved the area and the idea of doing service work in an impoverished rural community.

So you can see that Steve and Dianne's ministry has had a significant impact on us. We hope to be able to spend more time with them this summer and to visit their churches.

Here's a picture from Steve's ordination. (I meant to add more, but Blogger isn't cooperating with me!)

better late than never......right?

I just looked at our blog, and it's been six and a half weeks since I've posted a blog entry. That's a really long time. I apologize.

Six and a half weeks ago, we were in Fort Worth, Texas, for the UMC General Conference. We arrived back in Frakes physically and emotionally drained, wondering about our church and how we fit into it. Before we went to Texas, I was sure that I wanted to stay here at the Settlement for several years if possible....something at the Conference (I'm not sure what) caused a shift in my thinking, and now I'm not sure what I want.

The weekend after General Conference was the Red Bird Missionary Conference's annual meeting, and I went as a delegate from the Settlement. It was a nice time--Bishop King loves and is loved very much by the people of the Red Bird Conference. One real treat was that I got to be there for the ordination of Steve Springer, the missionary that my home church in Center Moreland helps to support.

The week following was hectic with Eric taking an intense but quickly finished class to renew his lifeguard certification. (I'll get to fall in love with the lifeguard all over again this summer!) The long hours really tested his body, and he became sick at the end of the week, spending much of one entire day sleeping--poor guy!

The week after that, a group from the New Milford UMC (where we had been attending before we came to Henderson Settlement) came to work on a community project here in Frakes. Five gentlemen from the church and the pastor's son from Ohio were the only work campers at the Settlement that week, and it was great to spend some time with them. They used their experience here not only as a way to help someone in this community, but also as a way to look at the Settlement's work camp program in hopes of starting a home improvement program in their neck of the woods--Susquehanna County, PA. It's great to know folks with such willingness to serve their neighbors!

I got sick at the end of that week and spent a day in bed....then we were off and running again! We headed toward home (by way of Richmond, Virginia, to see a baseball game) for Annual Conference. I hadn't been looking forward to Conference....I was TIRED OF MEETINGS....but it was so laid back compared to General Conference, and there were so many people I liked there, that I enjoyed myself a lot!

We brought my mom back with us from home, and my dad joined us this past Friday evening. They headed back north this morning, after having the chance to get to know the community a little. This was one time when my usually-cold mother had the advantage--it was over 90 degrees every day this past week, so she was comfortable most of the time! It was great to have them here, and we look forward to their return in July with the Lehman-Idetown UMC work team!

And my sister and her husband are in Europe. I am jealous, but I'm excited to hear all about it when they return next week!

I know that this was a very wordy entry with no visual stimulation. Now that I'm back into the swing of things, maybe I'll post some photos over the next few days.