Hitting the Road

In just a couple of hours we will pack up the van and head out to Florida. Our house will be occupied in our absence by some dear friends who are driving in from Florida to stay in Manteo for their vacation. Hmmm.  Maybe we’ll pass each other on the road!  

We have had a crazy busy week–Steve preached four times in five days and there have been a lot of extra activities packed into our days. Yesterday as we were in the early stages of packing, Steve noticed that one of our air conditioners was leaking water which has something to do with condensation building up which means things are not happy in Air Conditioning World and Awful Air Conditioning Happenings could occur while we are gone. So he is going to try to trouble shoot that this morning and (hopefully) fix it himself so that we don’t have to call in an expensive repair guy. Also, my sink in our master bathroom has decided to stop working so he will have to tear that plumbing apart before we hit the road.

Of course, we are stopping en route to pick up our new vehicle so he has been busy all week preparing for car loans and title transfers and all that fun stuff. 

On the bright side, with him having those extra repairs to do,  I have an extra minute to sit down and do a quick post before I start into my Vacation Packing Challenge.  (And no, I haven’t packed even one thing yet, although earlier in the week, I did think through what I was taking and put all the packable stuff in one spot in my closet.)

Last night our church provided food for a hundred international students who travel from all over the world to the Outer Banks every summer to work.  Some of them stay even longer and attend the community college where Sarah attended.   (Each Thursday night, a different church or organization in the community provides the meal.)

The wonderful women (and men) from our church jumped right in there and prepared and served taco salads for the whole crowd.  It was funny watching Sarah put her apron on; I think she wrapped it around herself at least twice.

After the eatin’ there was some pickin’ and some grinnin’!

Ma and Pa Smith got up and did their thing.

It was such a joy to partner with our friends, Rev. David and Kay Daniels who have been reaching out to these students for many years.  Last night they were giving away bicycle lights and reminding the students of what side of the road to ride and walk on. Sadly, almost every year, international students are killed in accidents when they are riding or walking on the busy OBX roads.  

So many people complain and talk about stuff but David and Kay didn’t just talk; they saw a need and filled it, helping provide food, housing, bicycles, transportation and who knows how many other things to these brave, adventurous students who come to our shores each summer.

Love these sweet folks!

Time to get packing. Prepare for yourself for lots of grandkid pictures in the coming week!