The Old Young Peoples' Group!

With the arrival of Bert and Colleen Elliot on Wednesday, comes the revival of the old
young peoples' group! There will be get-togethers, visits, re-newing of friendships in
the weeks ahead, as we gather together to honor and refresh our enjoyment of these
two special people!



It will begin this morning with Western Seminary having a graduation in which Bert will be
honored with an honorary doctorate degree to commemorate his sixty years of
missionary work in Peru.


There will be a handful of brave 'old youth group' people who will attend this
graduation ceremony.



Since they are only to be here for three weeks, there will be lots of activities packed in.
On Sunday we'll have visitors from around town at our Fellowship, who will be there
just to get a chance to visit with Bert and Colleen.



On Monday I am taking them out to lunch so we can have a good visit and I can just
soak up the love of God they radiate! We will talk of many things, remember many
good memories together, and before the lunchtime is over, Cousin Bert will say, "So,
how is your walk with the Lord, Joanie?' ...and I will have to confess to just "coasting"
too much of the time.



On Thursday we will have breakfast with them with my brother and his wife joining
us. Again, it will be a time of warm fellowship and just loving each other.


Then on the second of May, we begin with an extended family breakfast together. (We
are a pretty big crowd when we are all together) Bert's sister, Jane, will be here from
Wheaton. Jane and I are exactly the same age and have been close friends since we
were toddlers, so I'm so excited to see her and spend some time!!

Joan,Jane-11 months old at back of Elliot home

Here we are at age four in front yard of Elliot home at 7272.

My brother, Bernie joins us.

Elizabeth Elliot and husband Lars, will not be able to come. They were in Peru in
February with Bert and Colleen so will not make the trip now. We had thought Jim
Elliot's daughter, Valarie, was coming, but the last word is that she will not be
coming. I was disappointed about that, as I haven't seen her in years.



In the afternoon there is to be an Open House at a local Bible Chapel, built to hold
several hundred people. This will be a time of celebration of Bert and Colleen's
sixtieth wedding anniversary and their sixtieth year on the field in Peru.



That's when the 'old young people' will flock together and have a rip-roaring time
revisiting the past with long-forgotten memories revived, laughed over, and
remembered with pleasure.
































We did have fun!! Hayrides and backyard cookouts! Simple, but such good times. That's me in the white 'pedal pushers' and plaid shirt in the barn!




I love these get togethers when we see friends and relatives we don't get to see too often.


So........for the next few days there will be lots of excitement in my life. I like that!

...and the decision is......

Staying put!!

Home Sweet Home

My offer was not accepted, but they countered back with a very affordable offer....however I discovered a lot of things about myself this past week as I had to decide whether or not to accept their counter-offer.

I discovered that I'm very attached to my 'things' and having to part with so much was really tugging at my heartstrings. I know "this world is not my home, I'm just a passing through..." but while I am here, parting with the things I've collected over the years would be hard.

I looked at things realistically and I can't do a move like this. I would have to depend on my family to help me get packed, sorted, sales, etc. and I realized the stress would do my back in.

My realtor was very understanding and its not on the market, I'm sleeping at night again, and just walking through the rooms of my house, savoring each one of them.

"A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" has been on my mind all week as I debated my choices. I don't think I'm unstable, but I am impetuous at times. I'm just praising the Lord they didn't accept my original offer, as that was how I had asked for specific leading. The counter-offer was a great one, but wasn't the original offer, so I felt I had my answer if I wanted out of the deal and as the week wore on, I had no peace about the second offer....so here I am, with my wonderful yard, my attached garage, my guest room, and still my family room.

I DO stir up hornet's nests for myself from time to time.

So now, when you come see me, you will have a bedroom all to yourself...and your own bathroom. The door is always open!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I have come to the place where I feel a need to simplify my life.....and because of that I have put my house on the market and made an offer on a condo. I will be 77 this summer and I would like to make this move before it becomes a necessity.

(my home)

My Mom lived in the same set of condos where I have made an offer, moving in at age 75 and staying there for 21 years. They are one of very few condos built on one floor, are beautifully maintained, and have a wonderful clubhouse for large functions, as well as a summer time pool.

That being said, if my house does not sell, I, of course will stay right here. I adore my home, but I really don't need 1600 square feet, yard maintenance and the other things that go with home ownership. In the condo all outside maintenance is provided. The one thing I will miss is my garage. I love driving in, closing the garage door behind me and going straight into the house with my bundles. I will have a covered carport at the condo.

And so, I have "laid out the fleece" and I will be directed by what happens with my house, I have never had a house on the market for over 4 weeks, so we shall see what happens in this market.

I am motivated to be in Portland as most of my friends are there, as well as my church and my sister. It would cut down on the amount of driving, plus where the condo is located, I would have fairly close freeway access to Salem where my kids live.

This is the place I have an offer on. It is only two bedrooms and one bathroom, with 965 square feet. It is the one on the left.

The following two pictures show the front yard and circle at the end of the culdesac upon which the units are located.

The condo will need a lot of TLC, some simple rewiring, and paint and paper....but that is right up my alley--I love fixing up! Fortunately it has an updated kitchen, and bathroom. My second bedroom will be my craft room, so for the first time in 20 years I will not have a guest room. I plan to invest in a good quality 'hide a bed' for the living room which will fit in with my decor....and I will be without a family room, so the TV will be in the living room, but in a cabinet with closing doors!! I've never had a TV in my living room in all the years I've owned homes!

I will still have room for you to come visit--if you are older than I, then I will give you my room, but if you're younger, you will get the living room! Also, I will still have room for dinner parties.

If this all falls into place I plan to take a lot of before and after pictures. I'm already checking out prices, looking for things that I will need. The Internet surely cuts down on looking in stores. I'm going to have a ball getting things fixed up.

This will be a HUGE lifestyle change for me...and I realize that this will be a new chapter in my life. I hope that if it comes to pass, I will graciously adjust, make friends easily, and get involved in the activities.

Will keep you posted!!

Resurrection Day Greetings

Somebody Special

I would like you to meet Bert and Colleen Elliot, Missionaries, who have served in Peru since 1949. They will soon be home for a few weeks, with many special events planned for them. Since I will be writing of these wonderful family occasions, I thought you should be introduced to two of the dearest people in my life.

Where do I begin? Bert, I have known all my life, and Colleen almost as long. Even as young people, they were exemplary in their walk with the Lord.

As a very young couple, they were willing to follow God’s will in going to minister in Peru. Now in their 60th year of service, only eternity will reveal all that God has been pleased to do through these two dear servants of God.

They began their work in in a hot humid river town called Lagunas. There they shared a tiny cottage with another missionary couple. Their shared house had rammed earth walls and a dirt floor, without benefit of electricity, running water, bathroom - or privacy. They lived for several months, as newlyweds, in this situation. (Its hard to imagine isn’t it?)

They have lived in the high mountains, as well as on the jungle rivers where they spent time on their boat, the Maranatha. For several months of the year, they ministered to many little riverside towns and villages.

In their early years, part of their ministry consisted of Bert pulling teeth and Colleen delivering babies. As they begin to see fruit in their labours, little groups of believers began to form in Yurimaguas, where they lived for many years, and in the river villages. They grew into churches as they studied the Word and recognized leadership.

Since 1988 they have lived in the seaside town of Trujillo.

Elizabeth Elliot’s husband, Lars, wrote after a visit, “They are available for any who call or that ring the doorbell, whether expected or unexpected. Along with open doors there are the Bible Studies, their involvement in the Christian School which is part of the church that was started years ago. Plus there is an exceptional drug program leading addicts into a new life based on Scripture. Not all make it, but many respond to the Gospel.”

Lars goes on to write, “All this after 59 years on the field with no thought of rocking chair or hanging out a shingle saying, ‘busy, please call again.’ What a life of service!”

Bert said to Lars on their last day visiting that if he had been given paper and pencil and told to draw out the perfect wish and plan for his life, it would not have been half as good as what the Lord opened for them. He quoted from Psalm 16, “the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

In looking back over their lives in Peru, Bert says, “It is like looking back from a moving boat. You see the beautiful patterns in the wake. We found God’s will and now look back with wonder and adoration to see what God has done.”

As I gathered data for this collection of thoughts, my own observations over the many years we’ve been friends, as well as cousins, are rich in warm, wonderful memories. They are such happy people, always smiling, and radiating Christlike love in all of their comings and goings. Several years ago, they both had bouts with cancer, a knee replacement, and they continue to live with the general problems of aging bodies.

Home on furlough, a long time ago, we were all at a family picnic and I asked Bert to look at my six year old Susie’s tooth which was growing in strangely. He asked our Uncle Ted for some pliers and calmly pulled her offending tooth before Sue knew what had happened.

From the time my Jonathan was about three, every time “Uncle” Bert came home, he would be just enthralled. When he was about three or four, whenever anyone came to our house, he would sit them all down, pass out “Bibles” to everyone, then announce he was going to preach to them like “Uncle Bert” does, and he would proceed to “preach” just telling Bible story after Bible story, until he ran out of stories. He would close his Bible, say “amen” and that was the end. I had a few neighbors that used to stop in just to hear him “preach”. Just a funny little kid story, but what an example Bert was to Jonathan....the beautiful part of that story is that Jon’s son, Elliot, is just as enthralled with “Uncle” Bert as his Dad was!

...and today, Jonathan, the grown man, preaches.

I cannot close this without mentioning their music. They sing together in beautiful harmony. Their melodious voices can lift the spirits like none I’ve ever heard! People were drawn to them in the town squares of the many little villages, they visited, by their singing, with Colleen playing the accordion. Bert then had the opportunity to preach.

Over the sixty years we’ve seen them every few years when they came home for furlough, we have spent many happy hours together in my home. I never let them leave without blessing us with a duet to complete the evening.

I want to close this with the meaningful words from a hymn I have heard them sing in duet many times.........

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
***
And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

Stay tuned for more!

A Glorious Sunday

Today 'Mr. Golden Sun' is shining! It is a marvelous day. Seventy degrees and blessing us all! We have so many dark gray days in Oregon, that it feels like rebirth when the sun comes out!!

I feel like a different person when the sun shines. I've been just rejoicing since I woke up with renewed energy, and a happy heart.

This is indeed ' the day that the Lord has made'....and I am rejoicing in it! I hope it is followed by many more identical days!!

Just thought I would share our good news with all of you!!