Some
months of our lives lend themselves to trips down Memory Lane, but also require meeting legal requirements in
preparation for going overseas, and dealing with necessary health issues.
MEMORY
LANE. It was good to spend time the first week of
August in Lexington, Kentucky, with my older sister Pat and have lunch with
cousins Pam and Shirley after my July 30 high school reunion. While in Kentucky,
I enjoyed visiting Epperson Church of God and Northside Baptist, both in Winchester.
I happened to sit exactly where my missions minded late Aunt Fanny regularly
sat…and not far from my late aunt’s very best friend.
On the way
back to town, I drove the “Old Ruckerville Road” from end to end, passing the
church my father attended, my Grandmother Watts’ former home place…missing the
house full of memories, passing two
former houses of relatives.
That evening
I attended Northside Baptist Church on Winn Avenue in Winchester - next
door to where I grew up as a child. The spot where our little house once stood
is now a playground and picnic area. The parking lot here replaces the gravel
driveway where I fell at age 5 and got tiny small rocks in my head. I received
a warm welcome at the church and reminisced with former neighbors.
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8/11: The big
day for my double eye surgery – a vitrectomy (macular hole repair) and cataract
removal in my left eye…followed by five days of face down 45 minutes of each
hour. I was prepared with a tabletop face-down support system secured from
amazon.com.
Post-op
appointments with both surgeons went well. The macular hole had closed.
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FORMS & LEGAL DOCUMENTS: Passport
renewal application was mailed and a new one received that is valid until
8/24/2026. Request for my home state
Criminal Records Check was sent, received at end of month. I had a physical exam, chest x-ray, blood
tests and lab specimen tests…this and more required to accompany the Philippine
visa application that I worked on. Most items are to be duplicate originals,
several have to be notarized.
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August 29: Woven Women of NewarkNaz, Ohio and
others were inspired by local author
Dixie L. Merrill as she shared her story and her book, Pictures of Hope. This
guided study was developed while she served as a Grief Care facilitator at a
religious retreat on Lake Erie, and later at a Church in Granville, Ohio. Dixie
has used this book as a tool in Grief Recovery and has facilitated the Grief
Share program. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
Pictures of Hope is a love letter to
wounded hearts. God is able to lift us out of our dark valleys of despair, into
“His Valley Called Blessed.” Fruit grows in His valley; a fruit of love that
empowers the weary to rise and lift up another weary soul with the same hope
they have experienced in God’s love.
