A day with friends

On Monday, Faith was kind enough to invite me to go with her, NJ, Liv and Auntie to the museum of science and industry. I haven't been there in several years, so it was a nice treat to be able to see the many exhibits they have, although alot of them are under construction. We also went to the Smart Home exhibit, which featured all the most recent environmental friendly, efficient, recycled materials home in the U.S. They had countertops made out of recycled glass and fly-ash; they collect rain water to use; the furniture was made from recycled materials from a bar or car wheels... it was really neat to see the things we can do to have a very modern, comfortable home and still be nice to our environment. Heating was done by solar power.. and with the amount of heat we're getting these past few days, everyone hear should have solar heating :-)

it was also neat to see the large tractor, the toy factory, the submarine, the trains and of course the hatchery, with the little baby chicks there. I envied NJ and Liv for they had so much energy to run and climb :-) I wish I could bottle their energy and drink some myself :-) I had a very nice time with them and was thankful that I was able to walk with them inside an airconditioned building. The heat was very oppressive outside. I came home and took a 2-hour nap :-)

Jerma, Erbe, Joshua and Janeen came over around 5:30 p.m. Poor things had to get their luggage, check into their hotel and then drive all the way to our house in all that heat. We went out to dinner and the poor kids were falling asleep. They had to wake up @ 3 a.m. in order to catch their flight... it's really hard when you have to fly from a smaller regional airport because you can hardly ever get a direct flight. Almost all the flights have stop overs somewhere. The adults ended up talking for a couple of hours before we finally let them get some sleep. Frendell and I are so grateful to them for taking the time to go out of their way to stop by Chicago before they went on to Michigan for their meetings. They shared their experiences from their missionary days and it was so encouraging to hear about their faith in God, in spite of the challenges they've had to face and continue to face. Jerma and I have been friends for almost 30 years and she has always challenged me to live out my faith; she is not one to just join the fray for the sake of joining.. she thinks things through and asks questions when things don't make sense to her. I always enjoy spending time with her and have always felt sad that we've been separated by thousands of miles for the last 18 years... nevertheless, we've tried to see each other whenever the opportunity is there. For the years that they lived in Africa, every time I was out in California, I told Ats that I missed driving down to see them. Now that they're back, our routine will again be established :-)

I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends, who take the time out to see to my well-being. Faith, bless her heart, in finding out that I have been feeling depressed, invited me to join her family in their outings this week. Jerma & Erbe, by their living example, continue to give me courage and challenges me to always re-examine my faith and my attitude towards God. I wish I could remember all the great sayings and poems and quotes about friendship... all I know is that I am thankful to God for my dear friends, who in their own special ways have showered me with love and support.