Florida Frolics

"Home is where you hang your memories"

...or maybe it's where your heart is.....or where you lay your head at night.....or where you unpack your suitcase.....

In any case, you can at least feel at home wherever you go, can't you???

On May 2nd, we found ourselves packed up and heading to Inverness, Florida. We only packed the total necessities such as.....

an emergency radio (that couldn't stay on a channel).....

the cell phone (now you really know you're a redneck if the antenna on your cell phone is an aluminum nail).....

a pillow (for good company).....

and a hot (sweet) potato sundae complete with lots of butter on top.

Sunday we spent the whole day with a sweet church near Inverness. Our family sang and played their instruments, and Ray, Sr. preached. Sunday afternoon we had the privilege of participating in their nursing home service.

Monday morning, the pastor and his wife had us over for a wonderful breakfast, then we took off to San Antonio (still in Florida : ) to visit some dear friends of ours. The few hours spent with the Hurons flew by way too quickly, but what a blessing to be able to see them again!

Among all the ways that Ray is useful, the #1 way seems to be a jungle gym. : )

Ray with Samuel and Titus

Allison and Olivia

Sara playing football with Samuel and Santi

Always something to laugh about.....

Anita and Christina

Always a smile.....

Luke and Ray, Sr.

Never a dull moment. : )

Cilicia, Valerie and Alexis

The Huron Family
How can there be a dull moment with 23 people around?!?

That evening we pulled into our next stop where we stayed for the rest of our time in Florida. Deland, Florida.....another of those "home-away-from-home"s. We had been to this church several times and were to be with them for their special Mother's Day service.

One thing about Florida is that there are loads of interesting creatures to take pictures of, inspect, and maybe play with if they look harmless enough.

A Tuesday evening visit to the detention center with John and Shirley Rich is always a highlight when we are in the area. Ray, Sr. was able to share some verses from the Bible as well as share with them some of his life experiences as a young man. As our family sang a few songs people would peek around the corner then disappear down the hall again. Afterward, one of the guys that lived there came into the room and said, "Man! you guys are loud!" Hmmmm.......was that a complement? : ) When there are 6 people singing in a building with tile floor it's not exactly a prime location for muffled tones. : )

We didn't have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday night so we conveniently dropped in for the service next door (we were staying in the mission house). It was nice to spend time with old friends as well as make some new ones.
Friday we went to a nursing home with a group from the church. It was such a blessing to be able to minister to the elderly people. Afterward a few from the group took us out to Barnhills Steakhouse for lunch. We enjoyed a rendition of "He will give me grits and gravy" (to the tune of "Where He Leads Me I Will Follow") as we ate some of the best catfish in town. ; )

Summer just isn't summer without a cookout. Friday evening, John and Shirley Rich invited us over to their house for hamburgers, hot dogs, and some fun and fellowship. We had all of the above and then topped it off with some ice cream.

Mom and Mrs. Rich

Since we're from North Carolina, citrus trees are somewhat foreign to us. Maybe even a novelty..... : ) It was fun to be able to pick our own grapefruit from the trees in the Richs' back yard.

The trees were loaded with them in spite of the many that had already fallen to the ground.

.....and so was our bag. : )

After our exertion, we went inside and had a time of fun, talking, games, and music. Of course, there was no cutting up, joking, pranks or anything of the like......and if you believe that, there is a bridge we would love to sell you that begins on a remote island just between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. : )

The Mother's Day service was a special time spent honoring our mothers. What a blessing it is to have a mother worthy of being honored! "Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." (Proverbs 31:28)

We sang and played a few instrumentals throughout the day, and Ray, Sr. taught Sunday School and preached in the evening service. After church that evening, a family from the church, the Carlsons, brought pizza over to the mission house. It was fun getting to know them better as well as finding out some interesting facts.....both families have ancestry in Ireland with the surname of Campbell. The roots of our family trees cross somewhere.

Monday came with great anticipation.....we were going out on "Visitation" ~ the pastor's pontoon boat! Pastor Rickles and his wife hauled it out to the St. Johns River, and it wasn't long before we were floating merrily along with not a care in the world other than the fear that we may have overloaded it. But don't worry ~ there was a life jacket for everyone and a whistle just in case there was a major mishap. The game warden that stopped us made sure of that.....

This is what greeted us as we parked at the boat landing. Ugh! Those little bugs were everywhere!

Mrs. Rickles helping to guide the pontoon boat safely off the trailer

Pastor Rickles and his First Mate ~ no pun intended : )

The crew

This picture looks more like a scene from Gilligan's Island!

The peaceful serenity and the gentle motion of the boat were so relaxing!

You can certainly understand why "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" ends with "Life is but a dream". I wonder what they would have thought if they lived in the days of gas-powered motors.

Finally, but almost rather reluctantly, we arrived at our first destination......Hontoon Island.

We took a tour through the little museum and then enjoyed a picnic lunch.

We were there just in time to see a space shuttle take off.

There was beauty everywhere we turned.

And then there were what we call up in NC (but are regular occurances to Floridians) exotic creatures.....the animals ~ not the people. : )

Several hours later it was time to board the boat for the second leg of our journey. This time, after much questioning, we conquered our fear of the alligators and got up the courage to put our feet in the water.

It was neat to feel the temperature of the water change from warm to cold within a matter of seconds as we traveled along.

Ray was a bit tuckered out.

We watched for alligators, birds, and turtles basking in the sun along the edge of the water.

Blue Springs was a place of vivid colors, crystal clear water,

beautiful birds,

and the friendliest squirrels you would ever want to meet.

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! It was just one more evidence of a powerful Creator Who spoke the worlds into existence.

Boy! once you get your feet in the water it's hard to get them back out!

And then came the splashing....

It looked too fun to pass up, eh?

We learned that it's not a good idea to bask in the hot Florida sun too long ~ especially floating down the river. You come out looking like a lobster. Needless to say, some of the not-so-fortunate learned the hard way. That's what they get for not heeding the warnings.


The neatest thing was when a plane took off from the water. We had never seen that done before!

That evening, Rachel Carlson agreed to do some recording for us at the church.

We put 10 songs on the CD including the ones we had recorded last year.

Rachel at her post in the sound booth

Tuesday we said our goodbyes and pulled out at 3:00 with our sights set on home. Of course, we had found new necessities to occupy our time in the van.

Yarn and knitting needles (don't let her fool you....those knitting needles are dangerous weapons in disguise!)..... : )

the computer.....

an electronic game of Sudoku.....

a camera (it is questionable as to whether this is a useful tool or just something used to torment those who are napping).....

a CD player.....

a sense of humor (this is totally indispensable).....

and, of course, a pretty smile to boot. : )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

Isaiah 43:1-2