This morning it was my turn to pick a church to attend, so I picked one that was recommended by an old friend of mine…

I have a couple friends in Pennsylvania that I knew for many years at Portland Mennonite Church, Kevin and Sue.  Sue recently emailed me when she learned that we were in Tucson and told me that she and Kevin both have cousins at Shalom Mennonite Church.  The service was a bit more progressive than Mark and I are accustomed to, but there was an interesting aspect to the service.  I’d say about a quarter of the church is from Africa, and they picked up headphones when they entered.  There was a translator with a small microphone standing in the back translating for them.  Twice the worship leader (Sue’s cousin) asked them to come up and sing choir pieces they had prepared for the service.  They sang in their own language and style, complete with bongo drums and ululation.  There was much clapping and dancing.  It was wonderful!  Afterward, I got to meet both cousins, and as an added bonus, a woman from Portland Mennonite came up to greet me.  She said she had recognized my voice after all these years!

After church, Mark and I had lunch and then drove an hour south to Tubac.  All we knew about Tubac was that there was a quilt gallery there I wanted to see.  I had picked up a brochure for it in the office at our park.

Come to find out it’s an entire art colony:

You notice Mark isn’t wearing his jacket in this picture.  I was cold, and like the gentleman he is, he loaned me his jacket to wear.  He’s a keeper!

Mark got tired of walking, so we drove back home.

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When I got home, I spoke with my older sister, Sherill, and heard the best news ever.  She’s been on a really strong form of chemo for about four weeks, but she has only had two treatments.  She reported that her cancer numbers are down to a quarter of what they were when she was in the hospital, and her calcium levels are back in the normal range.  Praise the Lord and Hallelujah!  Please pray that she will go into remission soon.