Another Beautiful Day in West Texas

Another beautiful day was in store for us in west Texas today. It was still rather breezy and unseasonably warm, but it was a nice day nonetheless. We spent part of the day down in Iraan, where Belinda attended a ladies Bible study at the Baptist church. Several of the ladies from the United Methodist Church attend the study, and Belinda went to see what all the excitement is about. She really enjoyed the great study and the wonderful fellowship! Charles finished work on the e-newsletter, which has found a good response from those on the mailing list.

We took time to delight in the lovely bluebonnets blooming outside the Baptist Church.

And before we returned home to McCamey, we joined some of the ladies from the Bible study at Isabella's Mexican food restaurant. Others joined us, and we had a fun round-robin discussion throughout lunch.

Praise be to God for a wonderful day in His Kingdom!!!

Monday in McCamey

Our Holy Week got off to a warm and windy start today, with unseasonably warm weather. (And it is due to get hotter tomorrow.) We seem to have gone from late winter to early summer in just a few days. Charles had a meeting in Crane this afternoon and then continued to Odessa to have some printing done for the services at the First United Methodist Church in McCamey on Thursday and Friday. It is nice to have access to "the city" when we need it!

Palm Sunday 2010

What a wonderful Palm Sunday was today!

Windy Day in West Texas

A windy day was in store for us here in McCamey, with many more such days in store. We took advantage of the warm weather to tend to some more chores outside. Bobbie and Bill Lester stopped by as we were working outside. It was nice to take a break and enjoy small-town life. Roy Kephart and his grandson Randy Brown continued working on the recycling shed behind the parsonage. It looks fantastic: Bring on the cans!

Planting at the Parsonage

Thanks to today's Garden Club plant sale, we had plants to plant. What a difference they can make to the look of the landscape: Praise be to God!!! (Note the difference between the spring 2010 look and the December 2009 look.)

Cacti Garden at the Parsonage

Pastor Charles is establishing a cacti garden on the side of the parsonage. He is moving cacti that he is finding around the parsonage property to a central place on the side of the parsonage.

Update on Parsonage Recycling Bin

Wow! Thanks so much, Roy Kephart and grandson Randy Brown! Your hard work to build a "better-than-ever" new recycling bin behind the parsonage is so appreciated. This evening, Pastor Charles was looking at the work they have done so far; how amazing it looks! Praise be to God for faithful folks who care enough to work to make things better!!!

Garden Club Plant and Bake Sale Today!

Yea! This morning, the McCamey Garden Club had a plant and bake sale. We were told that their building used to be a service/gas station. The sale was in the area where the car-service-pit used to be. Now it is a lovely place where friendly folks congregate to learn more about gardening and one another. We got some lovely plants to plant at the parsonage. Praise be to God for the gift of living in a small town!!!

We're Back from San Angelo

We have returned from our overnight trip to San Angelo. Belinda got lots done with her mom, while Charles attended a meeting with other United Methodist Church pastors in the area. After we got home, we enjoyed a visit with Bill, who gave us some great advice about lawn/garden care at the parsonage.

On the road to San Angelo

We had a busy time this morning as we shared in the preparation for the monthly gathering of "Badgers for Christ" at First UMC in McCamey. We had a great gathering with over 40 students, staff and volunteers in attendance. The meal was spaghetti and meat sauce and garlic bread! YUM!!!

After the clean-up was done, it was back on the road to San Angelo. Our first stop was to the San Angelo District office (for the UMC in this area) where we took several boxes of greeting cards that were donated by the McCamey church. After a quick stop at the store, it was time to get to Belinda's mother's house where we'll be spending the evening.

Tomorrow Charles has a meeting with other UMC pastors and then we'll head back to McCamey and get ourselves ready for the weekend!

McCamey's Dinner Theater Tonight

The reviews are in! We have some very talented young actors in McCamey, Texas!

The Park Building was the place to be in McCamey tonight. A delicious dinner of stuffed baked potatoes, salad, cake and tea was enjoyed by all. And the play was great!

McCamey High School students involved in the one-act play "Limbo," are to be commended for a wonderful performance! They are ready for the district University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition this month, that's for sure!

(Note: One person's review of the play can be found here.)

Visit to the Rankin First United Methodist Church

Charles travelled to the nearby town of Rankin this afternoon to attend the weekly lectionary study group gathering of local pastors.

He was there at the invitation of the Reverend Jennifer Kelley, pastor of the First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in Rankin. (She is standing on the right in the picture just above.) Also in attendance was the Reverend Blaine Wimberly, pastor to the Crane and Grand Falls Union UMC's.

The church has a lovely quilt displayed, featuring quilt squares from the various members of its UMW, i.e., United Methodist Women's organization. And their children's banner is really lovely too! The Rankin FUMC is sited on the site of the first church erected in Upton County, which Charles found to be very interesting, indeed!

We had a wonderful Sunday, the first Sunday of the spring! With three worship services, a meeting and a study group, it seemed as if every moment was leading to the next!! Sunday evening is our time to recover and regroup as we launch ourselves into another week here in west Texas!

A blustery start to spring

Amazingly the mild weather of just a few days ago has vanished with the arrival of spring today. On Thursday the temperature was in the mid-70s, today it is in the low-40s! There was a strong wind all day yesterday which summond the cold front that we are now experiencing. The cold front was announced with a thunderstorm just after midnight which shook the parsonage!

With a start to spring like this one, we made sure the birds that visit our yard were taken care of!