"A Rose for Mom"

Our son, Mike, just wrote me that the little yellow rose plant that we gave them 15 years ago had already quit blooming there in Seattle, but just produced a new bloom, especially for his mother who passed away two years ago tomorrow.  He sent me the above picture.  Notice the wilted rose in the upper left and now the bright new one. 

 

This reminds me that it's not all over when it looks like it's all over.  Frances got a "new beginning" and the Lord gave me a second charge of His "zip" and blessed me with a new chapter, too... by sending me back to Argentina to minister.

I just arrived in Argentina again this morning.  My trip was as good as can be expected.  I arrived totally exhausted as usual.  I just can’t manage to sleep in a tight seat, no matter how comfortable it is.  I need to elevate my feet to about the same level as my head.  Otherwise my feet start twitching and my sleep machine won’t switch to “on” position.  The plane was totally filled.  Every seat taken.  On the part from SFO to Houston I had the window seat and a huge guy was in the middle seat.  He was very tall, not fat, but wide everywhere.  He overflowed onto my seat.  It was okay.  He was very nice and that is the short leg of the flight, only about 4 hours.  On the long leg I sat next to a really delightful Argentine couple from Rio Cuarto, Provincia de Cordoba.  They gave me their address and phone number and invited me to come see them.  Only Argentines do that kind of stuff… makes you love ‘em. 

I rested for an hour this afternoon after getting here.  It is now almost 8:30 PM and I probably am just going to eat some cold cereal with a banana for dinner.  I had a delicious Burger King whopper at around 3 PM.  My "body clock" got all mixed up like always.  I ate two dinners last night, one in Houston and another on the plane.

My “personal” mechanic, Hugo, had my car cleaned up and waiting for me.  It looks like it just rolled out of the factory under the hood and everywhere else.  He repaired the small oil leak, adjusted the cruise control sensor, checked out the brakes and basically went over everything on the car during a period of 21 days in his spare time.  And got original parts to repair every broken item… right down to one of the little door lock plastic buttons that I had broken.  God pampers me... through His friends.

 

Everybody runs up to hug me… even people I don’t know… Friends tell their friends and then their friends think they know me.  Some were little kids the last time they saw me.  Invitations are starting to come in, some by people that grab me and some by email.  Especially youth events!  It is awesome to have young people love you when you have passed long ago into another generation.  But fact is, I’m not sure which generation is really mine, that is until they start the music… ha.  That divides the sheep from us old goats.  We run for cover… the cover of my wax ear plugs... that is... ha. 

Ralph