Equipment Shakedown

As we near the date of departure, now less than 6 weeks away, we are spending time trying to exorcise the demons of doubt that creep in to our minds during short moments of sanity.

First, we practiced loading our packs to see how loaded down our mule team would be. We were pleasantly surprised. My pack weighed 10 pounds less than I expected. With just a few sundry items left to pack, it weighed in at 25 lbs. Jen’s weighed in at 22. We will do some readjusting to even it out a little, maybe mine at 30 lbs and hers at 20. In any case, that is about 20 lbs less than I was thinking we might have to carry.

Then we put the pads and bags out on the floor and tried to sleep on them through the night. Jen made it til 2:30. She said she gave up because there is too much light in our living room. I managed to 3:00 before heading back to the comfort of the bed. That being said, the pads work great. They are self inflating pads. You just open the valve and lay them out and in a few minutes they are 90% inflated. You blow in the valve two or three times and you have a nice sleeping pad. They were surprisingly comfy.

Third, we took a trip up the mountain to try our stove out on the trail. We hiked 2 ½ miles up a snow packed trail, stopped and made a pan of red chile, poured it over some fritos and had frito pie, hot on the trail. The two pictures are of Jen making the red chile.

The trail was 5 miles up and down. We hiked for 3 hours and 15 minutes. We walked from 7500 feet up to 8900 feet where we ate. That is 1400 feet gain in elevation for 2 ½ miles in distance. The first day’s hike on the trail is 2500 feet gain in elevation. However we have 8.8 miles to do it. See how a trail hiker thinks?

We hiked 5 miles in 3 hours, we should be able to do 9 miles in 7 hours. See how a trail hiker plans?
We came home and slept in our nice comfy bed. On the AT we will sleep on the ground and get up in the morning and start another 10 mile day. See how a trail hiker dreams?

Trail Logistics

A thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail is an exercise in logistics. Many have asked us about different aspects of the hike, like; how do you get food, how to you cook, where do you sleep? Boy am I glad they made me think these thing through.
We are going to be like the turtle family. Our home is on our backs. Our back packed kitchen includes 2 pots and a one burner stove. The pantry is dried foods with a few treats. The most important thing about food is the weight. Water is available all along the way so we can rehydrate foods easier than we can carry the extra weight. We will have to carry 4-5 days worth of food at a time. At 2 pounds per person per day that comes to 16-20 pounds of food between the two of us.
We plan to resupply our food stuffs every 4-5 days. There are towns on or close by the trail for that purpose. We will buy some foods at the store and we are preparing some of things at home now and Amy will mail it to us at Post Offices in the towns along the trail. Jen is experimenting with possible menus now. Last night we had burritos with red chile sauce. The whole meal weighed less that 1 pound using dehydrated beans, hamburger, and chile powder. It tasted just like home made and will taste even better after a long day of hiking. When we get to a town, I plan to feast on burgers and fries.
We will be carrying our bedroom on our back as well. I am carrying a two person tent that weighs 6 pounds. We both have self inflating sleeping pads and down filled sleeping bags. Jen’s bag is good down to 0 degrees, mine to 15 degrees. Hopefully we won’t experience weather any worse than that. If the bags are too warm when we walk into summer we plan to buy lighter bags and mail these home. They will have to be mailed back to us in New Hampshire.
All along the trail there are shelters that are available on first come first serve basis. They sleep from 8 to 20 people, but you still need a sleeping pad and bag. Our plan is to not stay in them. On town days there are campgrounds, hostels, and of course hotels. We will spend some nights in those as well.
We will have a cell phone for outside contact when we make towns. Their use is frowned upon while on the trail. Last summer Jen and I took a hike in the Wasatch. After several hours of climbing we reached the summit of Mt. Aire. There was a lady at the summit on her cell phone. She was having an argument with her daughter. I have to say, it was a wilderness experience spoiler. On the trail we will only use the cell phone in emergency.
Along the trail, at hostels, hotels, campgrounds, outfitters, and other places, you can borrow or buy internet access. It is there I will post updates on our progress to this blog and send an email to Amy. Amy will send an email to any who are interested telling them there is a new posting at the blog.
“How will you get to the trail?” is another question we are often asked. “Where will you leave your car?” is another. We will leave our car in the garage in Salt Lake and catch a Delta flight to Atlanta. We will arrive about midnight on the 14th of March. After a night at the red roof inn at the airport our plan is to take MARTA, the Atlanta subway, to the northern most depot. There we will be met by a friend who will take us to the trail. Our hope is to hike 8.8 miles that day to Springer Mountain and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. After that it is only 2174 miles to Katahdin Mountain, Maine.
One last question we are asked. “And you are doing this because?” If that is your question, read the previous blog.
48 days til we leave. 49 days til we hike.

Under Two Months

Things for the hike are beginning to fall into place. We have all our equipment saving a few odds and ends and Jen hasn't decided on a sleeping pad yet. She is still weighing (and that is a good way to put it) the benefits of a thicker pad vs the weight of a thinner one.

We have our plane tickets to Georgia. It is really strange buying a one way ticket. But, who knows when the return flight will be? If everything goes according to plan we will return around October 20 from Baltimore. But for seven months we will be one injury from having to return home with the trail unfinished.

We will be leaving March 14 and hopefully on the trail March 15. I know, I know, that is the ides of March, but as I told my friend Barbara, I am not Julius Caesar so I don't think we need to "beware." (Hopefully most of you recognize the reference. If you don't check here. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0311_040311_idesmarch.html

My plan for documenting the hike is to post to this site each time a computer is available which I am told is quite often. Then I will let someone (I don't know who yet) know that a post has been made and they will send the notice out to an email list. If you want to be on that list, let me know.

For Holladay Church

This post is for the members of Holladay Baptist Church who want to know more about why Jen and I have decided to hike the trail. Sorry for its length, but it is necessary to adequately explain our seeming foolishness.

OK, friends and family. So when did I go off my rocker? What is the Appalachian Trail silliness all about? What in the world would cause two seemingly sane persons to decide to drop everything and play like a cow pattie, you know, hit the trail?

It was twenty years ago, February, 1987 when Jen and I first became aware of the Appalachian Trail (AT) when we read about it in National Geographic. “A Tunnel Through Time; The Appalachian Trail.” We discussed the article and talked about how much fun that would be, but our baby was 6 and our oldest was 13 with a 10 year old in between. The AT was a pipe dream.

Using cheap, heavy equipment we had taken several backpack trips in the days before children. They were primarily camping trips that involved hiking rather than hiking trips where you had to camp.

The next step was in 2002. Bill Bryson’s book on the AT came across our path. We read “A Walk in the Woods” and laughed and began to talk again about how much fun it would be. But it was still pretty much a far out there, maybe someday kind of thing. Jen was in a waiting room and saw a magazine article about the White Mountain Huts in New Hampshire on the AT. In 2003 we took our vacation and with son Nathan and his wife Amy we hiked through the presidential range of the AT staying in the huts. It was an exhilarating time except for one afternoon when my knee gave out on me.

After that experience we kept talking about hiking more of the trail, first in North Carolina where Josh was living, then in Virginia close to Baltimore where Josh moved to. In 2006 while visiting our new grand baby two things happened. We drove to the Shenandoah National Park and hiked on a side trail and we went to Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is the official midpoint of the AT and the location of the AT offices.

In addition to a short hike on the trail across the Potomac river we went into a bookstore where we purchased, “Long Distance Hiking on the AT for the Older Adventurer.” After reading the book we became serious about taking the hike.

Then there was a Baptist Press article about a ministry that works with the AT community. As I looked into their website I read every day of the journal for a couple of hikers. We began to make plans to hike.

Here is our list of reasons, excuses, alibis, whatever.

1. Dream. You only go around once in life. When you have thought about something off and on as often as we have the AT, you either try it when you still can, or you get to the age when you can’t and wish you could. We don’t want to get to the place where we regret not giving it a try. If we don’t like it, we can quit. If we can’t be retired we can go back to work for another 10 years. But if we wait 10 years we will be too old to attempt it.

2. Jubilee. Thirty years is a long time. Since August 1976 we have been responsible for a church with no break. That is 1560 Sundays. Every week for over 1500 weeks I have had the next sermon and/or series of sermons on my mind. There has always been the list of people I need to see. There is always one more prospect that could be contacted. It never ends and you never get it all done. It has been thirty years of having one more thing to do than could possibly be done. Until today. I have no idea when I will preach my next sermon. However I will still be doing the Wednesday night Bible Study at Holladay until we leave in March.

3. Simplify. One of the real attractions for me is the opportunity to live a simple life for 7 months. What are you going to do today? Walk. What decisions do you have to make? Where do I stop and spend the night. What will you do tomorrow? Walk. How do you introduce yourself? “Hello, my name is Flint. I walk.” Flint is the trail name I have chosen for myself. Jennifer will be Jubilee.

4. Weight and health. After 200 miles of hiking a person gets into trail shape. I am looking forward to being in trail shape. The average male loses around 30 pounds on the trail. I have a little more than average to lose, I am hoping for 40. The combination, better shape, less weight, less work stress, will work together to lower blood pressure. I am counting on it.

5. Time together. Not unlike most couples, Jen and I have spent a lot of time meeting the needs of others rather than spending the time together. We are as much in love, more really, than we were 37 years ago when we decided to get married. But we have spent much of the last 30 years raising kids and working. We are both looking forward to spending seven months involved in meeting a joint goal. I don’t think this can do anything but strengthen our marriage.

6. Spiritual growth. In the same vein, we will be spending a lot of time immersed in our own thoughts while walking. I hope to spend a lot of those walking hours in communion with the Lord. I have a copy of the NIV Bible on my Ipod. I plan to listen to the whole Bible, at least once while walking. We will be meeting a lot of people outside the Pastor/lay person roles we have met people in for the last 30 years. I hope to be able to share the grace of the Lord Jesus with other hikers.

So if you have made it this far on the post you may be interested in knowing that this is where I plan to document our progress. If you want to follow along, send me your email with a request to receive posts as they arrive. Send your request to rodger.russell@gmail.com or you can just check on the page now and then.

God bless you all.

First Book of the Year

Happy New Years. I spent my first day of 2007 reading my first book of 2007. My favorite mystery writer, Tony Hillerman has released a new Navajo mystery. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn chases the Shape Shifter in "The Shape Shifters." For you Hillerman fans, tell me, does the famous Leaphorn live in Window Rock or Shiprock? I am confused.

I have finished my list of books read in 2006. There were 45 of them. If you would like a copy of the list, I would be glad to send it to you. Reply to this blog and leave me an email address.

A New Direction

OK. the news is out and can be discussed now. After 30 years of Pastoral Ministry without a single break, Pastor Rodger is going to take one. I submitted my retirement effective Jan. 7, 2007. Since the day that Jen and I made that decision I have had a peace beyond comparison. It feels like the load of a universe has been removed from my shoulders. So what am I going to do now?

1. I am going to work to get our affairs in order so we can live on a substantial smaller income.
2. I am going to take a hike, from Georgia to Maine. 2174 Miles.
3. I am going to work on my health. Basically lose weight and decrease blood pressure.
4. I am going to finish one book that is about 75% finished. Work on another that is 25% started and begin one that is still just an idea and an outline.
5. Pray about what God has next for me.

Except for the hike, we have no immediate plans to move from Salt Lake City. Barring injury or illness, we will be on the trail from March to October. Wish us well.

Ski Day

Let'er start. Ski season. Snow = great but low. Rocks = Sharp. Skis = need repair. But the season is on.

Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, or Merry Christmas?

Why make such a fuss? When I am out fighting traffic and crowds shopping for cards, decorations, trees, and gifts, I think the term Happy Holidays is just fine. There is nothing intrinsically Christian about those things and I admit I am not really thinking of God’s supreme gift to the world as I am searching for the perfect gift. Until the current fuss about the war on Christmas I assumed that Happy Holidays was referring to Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.

When I am putting up a tree, hanging the lights outside, planning for parties and special events Season’s Greetings speaks my thoughts perfectly. It is the season for indoor trees, decorated yards and houses, parties, and special events. Greetings to you as we meet during these times.

As I put together a series of messages designed to direct our thoughts toward the meaning of Christmas then the former terms will just not do. It becomes, “Merry Christmas.”

Holidays are for gift giving and feasting. The Season is the calendar dates and walking in the winter wonderland. Christmas is the Lottie Moon Mission Offering, the worship services, the advent candles, the carols that celebrate the coming of the only begotten son of God to dwell among us, and the reading of the Gospel story from Matthew 1 and John 1 and Luke 2.

I do believe there is a real culture war instigated by those who would remove every vestige of Jesus Christ from our culture. Christmas has become one of the battlefields only because it is a time when even nominal Christians begin to think about “religious” things. But the real truth is that the materialism that is so rampant at Christmas is so far from the meaning of Christmas that Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings works just fine for me.

“Here’s your credit card Mr. Russell” (as Grandma got ran over by a reindeer plays in the background) “Thank you so much for spending oodles of money in our store for toys, electronics, groceries, pastries, wrapping paper, etc. Have a Happy Holiday.”

“Hey neighbor, your house looks good.” (as up on the rooftop is on the radio) “ Where did you get those really unique decorations? Seasons Greetings.”

“Pastor Rodger, thank you for that service that reminded me of the blessings God has given because ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’” (and as Silent Night plays softly in the candlelit auditorium) “Merry Christmas.”

A Going Problem

“Go to church, go to church, all the time, all the time, go to church.” This was my little brother’s observation as a preschooler when he was told, get in the car, we are going to church.

I was raised in a church going family. I raised a church going family. My brother, the same one as above, raised a church going family. Sometimes it seemed that, yes, we were always going to church.

Some people think that going to church is a problem. The church expects way too much of them to be going all the time. Our current culture has pretty much limited church going to a once a week journey, usually on Sunday morning. The number of attendees at mid week services or even Sunday evening services has plummeted.

Ask people to make another journey to the church building for worship, prayer, study, service, or any other reason and we are accused in a busy culture of creating a going problem. If you have the additional audacity to suggest that people “go on mission,” you really create a going problem.

With apologies to Avodart, whose commercials you see regularly these days, perhaps we don’t have a going problem, but a growing problem. I may be that our unwillingness to invest time, energy, and resources to the things of the Lord doesn’t reflect so much our unwillingness to go, as our unwillingness to grow.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jen and I wish all the readers a happy thanksgiving. Last weekend was a tough football weekend around here and all the teams I root for. First, on Friday night the Moriarty Pintos lost 41-14 to Roswell Goddard. That ended their perfect season and their hunt for a state championship. Then on Saturday the Aztec Tigers, the high school Jen and I both went to, lost in the same state championships. On Saturday late afternoon the Lobos lost to BYU in a romp. Then on Sunday the Broncos couldn't hold on to beat the Chargers. And to top it all off, after Monday night's game I lost in my fantasy league for the first time in 5 weeks. Can you say Loser?

But we will have something to be football thankful for this weekend. It all starts tomorrow with the Broncos.

On a note other than sports. The Lord has blessed us this year. Our little Andrew is healthy and growing. We are loving being grandma and granddad. It would be nice to be a little closer. Video conferencing is better than nothing, but it is better for businesses than grandparents.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Theology is a Bargain

OK, get ready for this one. It is a little contorted. I am warning you. In Salt Lake City there is a sports store that has a big ski sale every year. They call in sniagrab. For those who dare to ask where in the world they got the name, the answer is "it is bargains spelled backwards."

I was visiting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about the distorted view of theology many of todays churches and christians have. It was preacher talk. In our conversation I told him about the ski sale at Sports Authority and what Sniagrab stood for.

Later he said, maybe the problem is like Sniagrab, the church has theology spelled backwards thinking they are getting a bargin. So we got out a piece of paper and tried it out. Theology spelled backwards is ygoloeht. But if you sound it out and respell it you get, well almost you get, "ego less".

Maybe what we need is more Theology spelled backwards. OK, I warned you it was contorted. But that doesn't make it untrue.

I Hate What Our World Has Become

I hate what our world has become. Yesterday I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things on the shopping list Jen gave me. As I was wandering in the aisles hopelessly looking for dried cranberries there was a cart with two young children in it. Their mom was just a few steps away closely examining her proposed purchase. I wanted to stop and try to strike up a conversation with the two little ones. I love to talk to children and treat them like real people.

Then I remembered an incident at the church the night before when we were doing the harvest festival. 100’s of children were in our building, most with their parents. I was roaming the halls doing my Pastoral duty and had stopped to talk to one of our men who was helping direct traffic. He was sitting in a chair and had a large bag of candy. As each child or group of children came by he directed them down the proper hallway and offered them a piece of candy. Most children eagerly checked through his bag and took the piece they wanted. Some asked for two.

One little girl drew back in fear when she was spoken to. She just stopped, looked at John with a blank stare and didn’t move. I assume it was her mother who came along just then, looked over the situation, reached into John’s bag for a piece of candy, and said to John. “It’s ok, you’re a male.” She took the little girls hand and off they went down the hall.

I don’t know the family, I don’t know the story. There may be a history of abuse or it could just be our culture of fear. But remembering that incident I passed on by the two children in the grocery cart and continued the search for dried cranberries. I never found them by the way. But that is ok, she wanted fresh cranberries anyway. I finally figured that out.

The incident in the hall reminded me of another conversation earlier in the week. Jen and I were at lunch with a guest preacher for our State Convention . The conversation somehow came around to accountability. He told us of his accountability partner whom he has to answer the accountability questions for. In the conversation he made reference to being able to say he wasn’t alone with a woman. “If I am on an elevator by myself,” he said, “and a lone woman gets on, I get off.”

I guess I understand the implication. “If I stay away from being alone with women I won’t be tempted.” Or is the implication, “If the elevator door opens on the next floor and I am seen in this elevator alone with this woman it will be bad for my reputation.” Either way, what a mess our world has become.

Later that day I was at the airport awaiting another arrival. I was standing at the coffee bar line waiting to pay when a traveling woman stepped into line behind me. My first thought was, “Gee, should I get out of line so we won’t be seen in line together?” I laughed first at my self, then at the whole situation. I went into the waiting area and called Jen and told her, “If I am on an elevator and a woman gets on, I am not getting off. Is that ok?” Her response. “Huh?” “What are you talking about?”

Did I say, I hate what our world has become?

Broncos 13 Ravens 3

Andrew needs a refreshment break as we watch the Broncos defeat the Ravens. Hint. Andrew is the one with the Bronco Pajamas. Jen made me leave mine in Salt Lake City.

. . . And The Rockets Red Glare . . .

I had no idea what the rockets red glare was until I went to the visitor center at Ft. McHenry. Check the website for a description.

I love history and Ft. McHenry is about history. It played a part in the War of 1812, the Civil War, and WWI.

The star spangled banner was written durin. g the bombing by the British of Ft. McHenry during the battle of Baltimore. You have sung about the rockets red glare a million times. But do you know what the rockets were? I had no idea

They were long sticks with a canister of propellant attached. On the top was a bomb. They were not very effective in this battle although they had been in the past.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/5/hh5l.htm

Across The Nation

Left SLC, UT, Monday AM, 8:15 MST; Arrived Baltimore, MD, Friday PM, 4:00 EDT; after a drive across America. Spent one day in Nebraska at Harold Warps, Pioneer Village in Minden.

Why did we drive? Don’t feel sorry for us. We drove because we wanted to. And I am really glad we did. My only regret is that we didn’t have time to stop at more places than we did.

Pioneer Village is a day well spent if you are at all interested in how our ancestors lived in and settled this land. There are buildings Mr. Warp saved from the 19th century that show what life was like in the Prairie states at least 100-150 years ago. There is a family stockade with cabin, a school house, a general store, a train depot, a church, a pony express way station, and a replica sod house built to authenticate life in the past. Included is all the tools of the era, as well as the tools, equipment, and especially the transportation from the 1800’s through the 1900’s. As my friend Cliff would say, “very worthy.”

Several of the museums we drove right past without stopping between Nebraska and Baltimore were dedicated to Herbert Hoover, Rutherford B. Hayes, Ronald Regan, We went by the birthplace of John Wayne. There was the Bob Feller museum and the College Football Hall of Fame. We might have stopped at the last two except we went by them well after they were closed.

We are having a great time with our kids and our new grand son. Andrew Wyatt Russell

In His Grip.

This week I was introduced to a realatively new ministry called, “In His Grip.” (See link at the bottom of the page.) It is a golfing ministry designed to reach men for Christ. It is another tool in the toolbox that if used correctly could be effective in outreach.

In His Grip uses golf analogies to teach men about life and about the Lord. There are a lot of similarities between life and golf, as well there should be. For millions of men and women golf is a part of life.

I am certainly glad that life isn’t just like golf though. Golf is harder. You can know all the right things to do. You can plan on doing the right things. You can practice to execute the right things. And then you duff it. I have discovered that if I put that much effort into life, I usually manage to get it right in life. Not in golf.

Many times my best efforts, even after a seemingly sufficient number of practice swings ends up in the rough, or in the trap. I fall short or I over hit. Sometimes I seem to have it in the bag, in the fairway, onto the green, everything lines up and then. . . a three putt.

Maybe golf is more like life than I want to admit.

Habits Are Hard To Break

Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

I stopped by to see my parents this week. We were driving to Glorieta, New Mexico and stayed with Mom and Dad for the night. They still live in the house we lived in when I was learning to drive. The neighborhood has changed quite a bit though. When I was first driving, the street we lived on was filled on both sides by houses with young families with children. It was a rather narrow street and made a turn that decreased visibility. Even today you have to be really careful and alert when driving down Parkland drive.

There was another way to get to our house. Instead of turning on Parkland you continued straight on Heiland until you came to Iris. Then you turned on Iris to Parkland and came out right at our house. There weren’t as many houses on those two streets. Dad told us teenagers we were always to take that route to the house. He didn’t want to see us driving down Parkland.

Today houses line both routes. There is no appreciable difference between route one and route two. I am 57 years old. I can drive down any road I want to. But I still feel just a little guilty, a little rebellious, if I turn on Parkland and take the forbidden route to the house.

Out where the highways come together there is a stop light. You come down the road from town, reach the highway intersection and there is a traffic signal. When I was growing up and learning to drive, there was only a stop sign. You came to the highway, looked both ways, and if it was clear, you entered the highway.

The traffic signal has been there for at least 30 years. Just the other day I came down the road to the highway, stopped, looked both ways and ran a red light. It was totally unintentional. It was reverting to the days of my youth, reacting to what I had been taught 43 years ago.

We are creatures of habit. We should make an extra effort to see that our habits are good ones.

Houston, we have a name.

My understanding is that one of those Texas cities was in the running for a while. Not Houston, Austin. The name that wins the honor of adorning my grandson is Andrew. (Still awaiting a middle name.) For the birth and death certificate they still need a name for Baby B as well.

Andrew. I like that. It is the name of a president and the general at the battle of New Orleans. Andy is the name of my High School Basketball coach and biology teacher as well as the name of my predecessor at Holladay Baptist Church. It is the name of one of the deacons here until he moved to Alaska. It was the name of one of my sons best friends in school, and the same friend became Drew and team mate on his High School football team. I can think of a few Drews but I don't know that is a regular nick name for Andrew. Is it?

I like all the Andys I have ever known. I am sure I will really like this one to. Vote on what you think his call to dinner name should be. Andrew, Andy,Drew,Ace, or some other nick name. Of course, the decision will be further complicated when he has a middle name, and the final decision will be made by his mom and dad.

I will gladly follow their direction.

What Do You Call A Grand Parent?

Granddad, Grand father, Grandpa, Gramps, Grand Pappy, PawPaw, Popsie. Those are all names given to the male grand parent. Who gives out the names? Who decides what you get called by your grandchildren?

We are still awaiting a name for our new grandson, but say, what about our new name? Grandma, Grandmother, Gramma, Grand Mammy, Mopsie, what do we call her? I mean, my name for her hasn’t changed in the 40 years since our first date, but what will the name be for the grand son?

My kids mostly called me dad when they were little. Today they call me all kinds of things, they just don’t call me enough. So Grand dad works for me. That was what I called my grandfather Russell, as I remember, though he died when I was 13. My other male grandparent was Bompie. By the time I was old enough to remember my older cousin had already named him and when he died at age 99 he was still Bompie. I think the only two people I regularly heard call him by any other name were my mom whom I heard call him daddy, and my grandma (and that is what we called her) who sometimes called him Alfred. (Probably the name she knew him by when they had their first date, some 80 or so years earlier.)

My kids call my dad Granddad. I think my brothers kids do too. But Jen’s dad is Poppa. Both Grandmas are Grandma. When they need t differentiate between them their given names are added. Grandma Betty and Grandma Mary. A friend of mine says his grandkids call him Utah Grandpa.

Actually I don’t care what he calls me. I still have a couple of years before he calls me anything. I am just thankful that he is here and healthy, and I pray he grows up to call me something.

If you want to view other pictures, use this link. http://web.mac.com/therussellist

Brazilian Report

Our Mission to Brazil is going very well. We have had our hearts blessed, our heart strings pulled, our eyes filled with everything from the beauty of creation to the poverty of sin.

Good things in Brazil:
Beautiful Country
Beautiful Beach
Wonderful, friendly people
A language more understandable for me than Arabic, Japanese, or Korean. (Other places I have been to on mission.)
Plenty to eat
Nice place to stay
Great group to work with
The work that our missionaries are doing in Brazil with the poor, the lost, the drug addicted, the orphans, the virtual orphans. (Kids with parents who would otherwise be on their own while the parents take care of their own needs.)
Churches with a heart for the needs of their own country. All the places we have worked in are missions and mission churches of Brazilian churches.

So So things in Brazil
The food. It is not bad, but it is very bland.
Travel. It seems to be a long ways to everywhere we go.
The communication. Of the places above I mentioned, the Brazilians understand less English than in any of the other countries. The people in our group who don’t at least know significant Spanish have trouble ordering at McDonalds.

Not so good things in Brazil
The poverty
The lack of basic amenities in many neighborhoods. (Running water, electricity, sewers)
Trash everywhere.