Almost Time to Get Down to Business

Ok it's almost time. We have been planning this teaching trip for half a year now. Brothers, sisters, and churches have been generous so that all necessary funds have been raised for our coming trip to the Russian Federation. Lorna and I will be heading out August 10 thru the 28th and plans are to use this blog as our contact point while we are traveling.

Visas and Passports have arrived safely, tickets have been purchased, most of our hotel reservations have been made, contact with the church in Moscow has been established and we're looking forward to a gospel meeting effort for the first week, meeting and studying each evening. We're still making contact with the Christians in Tula, hoping and praying that we might be of service and encouragement to them. They lost their meeting place and have had difficulty meeting regularly. We would dearly love to go and hold up their hands in this effort of worship and fellowship.

Lorna and I will be traveling with Vernon and Susan White, and with Shannon and Dana Shaffer. If you'd like another perspective on the trip, you might try Shannon's blog at http shafferlifeline.blog.com.  You may be reading this blog because you fellowshipped with us financially and received a little card informing you how to find us. You may be reading this because you love the Lord, are friends with someone here, or even just stumbled across it. Whatever the reason let me tell you that I'm glad you've stopped by for a cup and I'd like to solicit your prayers. Please pray for the saints in Russia who live in a country that is quickly heading back to a 1980's mentality toward religion, politics, and persecution. Please pray for doors to be opened and hearts to be tender so that the word of God might complete the work that God has begun in that place. Oh yeah, and don't forget to mention my traveling companions in your prayers. After all, they're going to need a lot of patience and love to spend over two weeks traveling with me.

And as one little boy was heard to say while being taken out of worship on Sunday morning to receive some corrective discipline to his hinder parts, "Pray for me, pray for me."

CATCHING UP, TO GET STARTED

Good Day Caffinaters,
Well it has been a loooooong time since I've posted and I'm embarrassed to tears about it. It is time to fire up again though. Your editor and his wife are planning to visit Russia again with two other couples and I'd like to use this blog to stay in contact. However, before I start that, I thought I should catch up on a few major interest points that I had intended to write about and just never got done. In order of importance then, let me mention...

Our grandaughter Willow (about to turn three) along with her parents Forrest and Terri moved into a new house in WoodRiver, IL last month. WoodRiver is next door to E. Alton where Forrest works with the church there. Lorna and I went down there and worked for a year (Lorn said it was just a week, but in work stress it had to have been a year) constructing, painting, cleaning, and tiling. The house is an oldie, but a goodie I think, and is twice as nice with the new bath, new paint, and new carpet. If you'd like to check out some pics of their place you can check out Terri's blog at http://mcmurraysojourn.blogspot.com.

You can check out Willow's new back yard and some of her escape moves below.

Second on this priority list is a sweet little item that your Spiritbuilding editor has wanted for decades. Last October it rolled in and this past winter was so mild that I didn't even winterize it. Rookie that I am, I found at least one day almost every week all winter long to go out and prepare for my skills test. Spring finally sprung, the test was a breeze and this hot, hot summer with high gas prices has been the perfect time to put some miles on this mid-life crisis. Let me show you a sweet ride, a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT. Yeah baby, that's 2054 cc's of hop on and hang on, all day interstate cruising, just see if you can keep it under 80, biggest V-Twin production motor in the world power. Let me repeat, yeaaahh baby. Check it out below.

Lastly, in this trifecta of catch up news is my other winter project that got mostly finished, just in time. This project was started late last summer when Forrest was still living on the property here and could help me get this thing settled and mounted on the trailer. Then with a commitment to about 5 months of saturdays, learning to use a welder that I've never had a hand on in my life, and learning to love my grinder we turned out a wood fired smoker, big as a truck that barely fits in the garage where it's stored. As I said above though it was finished just in time for the annual McMurray hog roast/barbecue that we host every last Saturday in June. My daughter Sarah, came in from CO. Willow brought my son and his wife in from IL, Lorna worked like a dog, and everyone chipped in to make it a great time. There was boat rides on the pontoon and the paddle boat, corn hole games, a hay ride for the little ones, volley ball, and a zip line as well as our regular trophy handouts for best homemade ice cream, home made pie, home made barbeque sauce and longest men's and women's hog-head throw. Oh yeah, and there was a huge pile of juicy pulled pork smoked for 16 hours over Alabama sweet wild cherry wood. It was YuuummmmO.  Check out my last winter's project below.

Don't even think that I don't know that God has blessed us abundantly with friends, brethren, wonderful children, the most beautiful granddaughter in the world, oh yeah, and with plenty of smokey, juicy pork barbeque. lol. 

That's about it for catching up with main events around the ranch here. I'll be using this blog space for keeping in touch during our upcoming trip to Russia, Aug. 10-28. Lorna and I will be accompanied by Vernon & Susan White and Shannon & Dana Shaffer. We'll be trying to give regular reports, work some pictures in, and dump it all out of a cup of Red Russian Roast, caffinated of course.

Drop back by for a cup, and I'd be glad to hear from you.

Mac