It is perplexing that birthdays seem to come with increasing regularity. With our travel schedule over the years we are seldom with family and are able to pass the addition of another year unnoticed. But they are markers to celebrate another year of God’s blessings and opportunities to serve Him.

Bobbye transitioned to another year last week while on a road trip to North Carolina and Virginia. While respectfully not revealing her age it was the last birthday before reaching a really, really big decade birthday in 2014. Following a mission conference near Charlotte we connected with her “little hobbit friends” in Raleigh, Ashley Allen and Pam Blume, with whom Bobbye has made mission trips to Moldova. It was also an opportunity to drop in on the Antioch Community Church planting team in Raleigh, led by our dear friends Colby and Jennifer Lehmann.

We have found growing opportunities for mentoring and ministry locally when we are home, even for a few days. A group of young adults in our church are yearning to grow deeper with the Lord and ask us to share with them in their Sunday night fellowship. They responded to our invitation to enjoy Bobbye’s mexican lasagna, and it was such a blessing to share from God’s word and dialogue late into the evening. Pictured are Casey, Chesney, Kristy, Drew and Kayla who were among the last to leave.

From time to time we are scheduled to share in classes at Mississippi College (I’ll be teaching Evangelism and Missions again during the spring semester). Last week we shared our missionary call and the challenge of missions with a class of Christian Studies majors. Bobbye is pictured engaging the class is stories from Indonesia and telling about experiences of raising a family in an isolated missionary outpost.

When asked where we live we frequently respond, “Well, we do our laundry and pick up our mail in Clinton, MS.” We do find the days we have at home refreshing, especially since we finally have some coolish fall weather. Our lawn mowing is becoming more about mulching leaves than cutting grass; we are able to take walks later in the day and are looking forward to fall pruning. Our brief turn-around for this trip to Central Atlantic states followed our sojourn to Columbia, SC for a board meeting at CIU where I serve on the board of trustees. This is always an inspiring time with godly staff and board members. I am pictured with those of us currently serving on the executive committee.