Changeless and Changed

Faithful. Persistent. Loyal. Caring. Pray-er. Friend. Competent. Compassionate. Trustworthy. 

These are some of characteristics that I (Bas) saw in Cathy when we worked together at World Relief. She was focused and determined. Whatever happened, I always knew I could count on Cathy.

We recently spent a weekend with Cathy at her lovely home in Surprise, Arizona, where she lives with Tia, her energetic Pomeranian. Cathy moved to Arizona more than a decade ago in order to take care of her mother and two aging aunts, who have since died. During the time Cathy was caring for her relatives, she also worked for another Christian humanitarian aid organization. 

Cathy is now retired and volunteers at a number of places, including the local hospital, where her compassion and care for others encourages families in distress. 

It was good to catch up on our lives since we were last together 17 years ago. When Cathy asked about all of her former World Relief colleagues, we could show her the photos we took of many of them during our recent visits. 

She introduced us (via photos and websites) to her niece and nephew, Marci and Jimmy, who own a vineyard, winery, farm, and farm store on the shores of Lake Michigan. For a number of years Cathy has spent several months on the farm, being with her family and helping out in various ways. 

Those who know Cathy know how much she loves White Castle sliders. We thought these sliders were unavailable in Arizona because there are no White Castle restaurants west of the Mississippi. However, Cathy has found a local grocery store in the Phoenix area that carries her beloved White Castle sliders in their frozen-food case. In fact, she told us that she had just enjoyed some White Castle sliders for lunch before our visit.

Those who know Cathy also know that she has very definite tastes in food. So, we were surprised when she proposed that we go out for dinner to a Thai restaurant, where she ordered one of her favorite dishes, Pad Thai with shrimp.

And, those who know Cathy were probably surprised to see how little she has changed. To us, she looked just like she did when we last saw her 17 years ago.

Finally, those who know Cathy would be surprised to see that she agreed to let us takes her picture. She was still reluctant, but when we reminded her that her former World Relief colleagues would love her photo (as she had seen our photos of them), she agreed. Just for you--you know who you are.

In the important ways, Cathy has not changed--in her values, her prayerfulness, her faith, her compassion for others. But, in other ways, she has changed. 

We liked the things about Cathy that had not changed...and those things that had. 

Living Out Your Commitments

Jim and I (Bas) roomed together for half of our time in college--as sophomores in the dorms and again as seniors in a house with four other guys.

Jim was most comfortable in the science classes that were part of his pre-med requirements, but to his credit, he also took classes in literature, art, and philosophy to balance out his scientific studies. Jim was a very serious, well-organized student. When he read a textbook, he highlighted large portions of the text with a wide variety of colored magic markers and special symbols in colored ink. I used to kid him that the few passages in the text that weren't highlighted were perhaps the most important. Jim loved classical music and was serious about his devotional life and his faith. When Jim said he'd do something, you could absolutely count on him to do it.

Jim and Lois met in college. Like Lynn and me, shortly after graduation, Jim and Lois got married. Then they headed for the University of Michigan, where Jim had been accepted into the medical school.



While we stayed in touch over the years, our paths rarely crossed. After Jim completed his medical studies in Michigan and his residency in internal medicine in Denver, Lois and Jim moved to Phoenix, where they would be free of snow and freezing weather.

Jim's career in medicine has reflected many of the dramatic changes that have characterized health care in the U.S. In the past 30 years. Jim worked as a physician with a practice in internal medicine, at an urgent care center, on the staff of a hospice organization, and most recently as a professor in a training program for physician assistants. Along the way, he obtained graduate training in family therapy and worked for a number of years as a family therapist.

Lois is an accomplished water colorist who has received a number of awards in the Phoenix area for her water colors. While we loved her florals and a stunning painting of the Grand Haven Lighthouse, we were amused by one of her more whimsical paintings titled "Triple Sow Cow."



On the back of the painting is this limerick Lois wrote about the painting:



Lois also studies voice and sings in a number of classical musical groups as well as the choir in her church, which she loves and where she has many good friends. Kathy, one of their daughters, is a very accomplished soloist as well. We watched a DVD of her singing a Mozart aria at a recent recital.

When Jim and I roomed together in college, we had no idea that he'd wind up in Phoenix and that I'd wind up in Portland. Jim could not have anticipated all of the changes in medicine and health care financing that have shaped his career as a physician. 

Despite the turbulence he has faced in his profession and the challenges of raising three children, Jim looks almost the same as he did when we were college roommates more than 45 years ago. 

When we were in college, I admired Jim for his faith, his values, his integrity, and his seriousness of purpose. Forty-five years later, these commitments, like Jim's physical appearance, have not changed.

It's easy to make promises about commitments in college. It's another thing to live them out after graduation. Today, I admire Jim not for what he said he would do many years ago, but for living a life consistent with these commitments for more than 45 years.

A Woman Whose God Is Enough

For most of their adult lives, Jack and Cynthia have been involved in Christian ministry. While trained as a veterinarian, Jack has been a chaplain to military personnel and to professional sports teams. He has discipled hundreds of men. Cynthia speaks to women's groups around the world and writes, primarily Bible studies.



I (Lynn) first knew Cynthia when we worked together on two books she published with Tyndale House: Maybe God Is Right after All and Uncommon Beauty. Our relationship was blessed with instant synergy. I respect her honesty, her humility, her insights, and her deep relationship with God.

Thirty years ago she wrote her first Bible study, Becoming a Woman of Excellence. Her publisher for that study (and the subsequent Becoming a Woman of ... Simplicity ... Prayer ... Purpose ... Strength ... Freedom ... Grace ... Whose God Is Enough...) is releasing a thirtieth-anniversary edition of Becoming a Woman of Excellence next year.

Covers of those and many others of her books hang on the walls of Cynthia's office.



She is quick to deflect the credit for those books back to God. "God had me write those studies because He knew I needed them. He knew I needed to learn more about Him, more about surrender to Him. The fact that the studies bless other women says more about Him than about me."

Bas and I recently spent a few days around Thanksgiving in their Tucson home. Cynthia and I took up where we had left off--with good conversation and many pots of tea.



We shared stories, laughed, prayed, and cried. We met their friends. We tasted local treats: turkey and cranberry sage tamales; Hatch green chile jelly; and lemons, limes, and oranges from their patio. We drank more tea.





Before we left for Phoenix the final morning, Jack and Cynthia took us into nearby Sabino canyon, where we rode the tram up the canyon. The enormous Saquaro cacti stood sentinel on the sides of the mountains. A beautiful, magnificent place.



Jack and Cynthia love the Lord, and they love people. Their life focus is helping people draw close to Christ. This quote sums up their desire:



It was precious to spend time with Cynthia in her home. I found her to be a woman of excellence, of simplicity, of prayer, of purpose, of strength, of freedom, of grace. She is a woman whose God is enough.

The Deluxe Tour

As we have traveled around the U.S., many of our friends have asked for a tour of our camper van. We happily offer several levels of tours, including the premium tour that includes a trip to the wine cellar.

In the past weeks, we've had requests from as far away as Phnom Phen and The Netherlands to see the interior of our van. Because we can't take our van to these places, we offer this visual deluxe tour.



Our used Leisure Travel Van Freedom wide-body model sits on a Dodge Ram 3500 chassis. The inside of the van has everything we need.



A gourmet kitchen with stove, sink, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and pullout pantry:









A dining/living/office area for meals, blog writing, and card playing:



A master bedroom with an 80-inch-long, king-size bed:



And plenty of storage, thanks to the Mennonites who designed the interior, making use of every square inch of space. We have packed for a four-month trip, and we have storage space to spare. 

Several of the features we appreciate about the van, especially at our age, is that it has a toilet, a propane furnace, an air conditioner, and a water heater. You might think that with all of these features, the van must be 60 feet long. But at just under 20 feet, the van is nimble enough to take on winding mountain roads, and it fits into a normal parking space, whether in a downtown area or a grocery-store parking lot. 

However, that means the interior floor space is limited--only 3' x 7'. When we are getting dressed in the morning, we need to do a dance. Good thing we like each other a lot.

Oh, yes, the wine cellar, We're actually using it to store soda right now. It's below one of our couches over a wheel well. And, it does store about 30 cans of soda or about 6 bottles of wine.

Unless you have any questions, that concludes our tour for today.Thank you for joining us on this tour. Please stay to the right as you exit.

The Big Bend

In Texas everything is big. That includes Big Bend National Park, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The park gets its name from the big bend from south to north that the Rio Grande River makes on the border of Texas and Mexico.

The park, which is located in a remote area of southwestern Texas, is one of the least visited national parks. Its features are carved by an unusual and striking combination of mountains, river, and desert.

The mountain ranges thrust up dramatically from the desert floor, revealing mineral deposits and layers of various geologic eras.









In the center of the park the Chisos Mountains rise around a natural basin, with a "window" that opens to other mountain ranges in the desert. The aerial photo (not ours) shows the unique formation of the basin.



Although the Rio Grande River winds somewhat lazily at the southern border of the park, it has cut some deep and impressive canyons.



The most spectacular canyon is the Santa Elena Canyon. We visited it before sunset and again the next morning, an hour after sunrise.

The aerial photo (obviously not ours) shows the cut of the 1500-foot canyon along its 11-mile length. In the evening we talked with six canoers who had paddled through the canyon, risking the Rock Slide Rapids and capsizing several times.

Bas was able to hike into the canyon and said it was by far the best hike of our entire trip to this point.

The vast desert in the park is home to javelinas. We saw a number of these very strange animals but the photos we took were from too great a distance so we include this one from the Web.

Thankfully we did not see some of the other creatures that live in the park.

Ironically, in the parched desert, we saw signs indicating the flash flood levels when the few inches of rains do fall on the mountains and run off into the plains.







When we left Big Bend National Park, we drove on the Texas Mountain Trail over some of the most wild-and-scenic roadways of the trip. 

As we ascended and descended on roads with steep 15% grades (!) and roller-coaster dips, we passed through a ghost mining town, a movie set, and a valley with hoodoos and balanced rock. We also had some spectacular vistas of the Rio Grande River.In some places, the Rio Grande was only 50 feet across. It was strange to be so close to Mexico and easy to see how hard it is to guard the U.S. border along this meandering and shallow river. 

You Know You're in the South when . . .

Before taking your food order, the waiter brings you "bowled peanuts" (peanuts boiled in salt water for eight hours).



Spanish moss hangs from the trees in your neighborhood



The porches (piazzas) are on the side of the house



Not only does the local KFC serve liver and gizzards every day, but fried gizzards are considered to be the secret to life.







The rocking chairs are lined up on the porch.


Some guy named Bubba owns half the town: the drug store, the country store, the grocery store, the restaurant . . .







Most of the menu items are "Frahd"-- frahd green tomatoes, frahd okrah, frahd pickles, frahd hush puppies, frahd chicken, frahd catfish, frahd pah.





Tasty, y'all.