Years ago, in the early 70's, Dean Builter, a good friend and neighbor from Junior high through college, held up his right hand right in front of my face. One finger wouldn't stand up like the others. He said, "I stuck up my hand up to signal my platoon to advance, and a bullet went straight through it, right there," as he pointed to the wound.

Greetings to you all,

Many congratulations to Bishop Carl this week as he celebrates the second anniversary (May 2) of

Dear Friends, Towards the end of the gospel reading from Luke 24 for Sunday we hear our travelers reflect, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" v.32 What will set our hearts on fire again for our Lord Jesus or as someone put it, how to share "a common enthusiasm for the raw relevance of Jesus...God's priceless Son!"*

Dear Friends at New Covenant,

Several years ago, I proposed to Marci and she accepted. Afterwards, we announced our good news to our families. Sound familiar?This involved going to various homes we both knew well, (we grew up in them) and telling people who loved us (and anticipated that this news would eventually arrive) that we were getting married. Simple.Amazingly, this obvious next step created odd feelings in us both as we made the drive from place to place. Excitement, anticipation, and some real anxiety. We wondered if they would join us in our celebration. (They all did.) We wondered if they would wonder if we were old enough. (We might not have been.) I wondered if her father would bury me in the back yard. (He didn't.)

Here are a number of incredible servants of grace I met island hopping the past couple weeks. Their faithfulness and the light of our Lord shone brightly.

Making plans for Summer? Be sure to include VBS! Ages 3 years (potty trained) through entering 6th grade. The theme for this year is "Mighty Fortress". Contact Jane Trnka at jcthrc@aol.com for more information or to sign up to volunteer.