Last Sunday

Hello,

Well Leroy has delivered his last sermon in this place. It was a nice service as the choir sang a special song that was used when the last pastor left. It seems we fit in the tradition.

Then there was cake, thanks, and gift at a reception. Luckily the gift was small with some money in addition. We will not have to work hard to find a place for either. There is something uplifting about leaving a place because so many people tell you what you have meant to them. Luckily, of course that is just the positive comments. Somehow we often feel more valued in leaving than in being in a place. Too often we forget to tell the people around us what they mean to us. Find someone today and tomorrow to tell how much they have a place in your life. There that is my sermon for the day.

Our plans are becoming more firm as the moving day gets closer. We will spend Saturday night in Chariton and go to church in the morning to visit with those wonderful people. From there we are thinking of stopping in Missouri Valley where Leroy had his first parish, to visit more wonderful people on our way west. Following that we head into the “wilds” of Nebraska after we figure out how to get across the swollen Missouri River. Many people close to the river have been living outside of their homes and routines for a couple months now. I can not complain as nothing in my house is damaged by a natural disaster, just stored safely away.

I do have to say that our elimination fever has changed. We might keep the stereo as we have been told about software that we can buy which uses our equipment to convert the contents of records, tapes, and CD’s to an IPod or MP 3 player. At this point we no longer have the time to deal with that so we will keep the stuff and move it one more time. Also there is no line of people at the door waiting for the chance to be the new owners of the stereo. The 15-20 year old TV might instead be a candidate for discarding as it appears to have some funny lines in the picture. My problem is that I hate to get rid of anything that is still working. Leroy too says it would be best if it dies all the way and not just half way.

Paula