The True Meaning of Christmas

We have just returned home from a truly magnificent experience with our church family at Sammamish Pres. The Mission Committee decided many months ago to partner with World Vision in providing Caregiver Kits for the caregivers of Aids/HIV patients in Tanzania. The goal of purchasing 500 kits was set...the presentation was made to the congregation....and we were off and running. It soon became obvious that the goal was set way too low. The culmination of the process was our "One Life One Night" tonight - in which over 400 people from the smallest to the oldest gathered in every nook and cranny of the church facilities to be organized into groups and begin to walk around each assembly table, writing a note of encouragement and hope to a caregiver to be placed inside each and every kit and then filling our bright orange plastic containers with all the necessary equipment--from cotton balls to gloves to medicines. We packed 1,762 caregiver kits which will touch 17,620 patients with a total of 352,400 caring visits. WOW! Isn't that incredible? And that's what Christmas is really all about, isn't it? For Christmas this year, we purchased a Caregiver Kit for everyone in our family - so our kids, my brother and sister-in-law, and our nieces and nephews were all represented in that endeavor. Our thanks and love to each of you! One of our 11-year old girls celebrated her birthday today - her young friends were invited to contribute to purchasing caregiver kits in lieu of birthday presents, and her party was coming to the gathering this evening and participating in the assembling of the kits. What a witness to all of us--young and old! And now we are only ten days away from the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus! May the next ten days bring peace and joy to your hearts, as you hear from friends via the mail, listen to the music of the season, and rejoice at the great gift God gave to each of us.

Advent - a time of preparation!

Can you believe it is December already? And the time of preparation for the birth of our Lord Jesus! What a delightful and busy time, with the beauty of all the Christmas music, the lights in the neighborhood, and plans for our family to join us here in Washington. We are very excited about this month! We had a delightful few days with my cousin Carl and his wife Sue - Carl is the son of my Dad's sister. Its never been our good fortune to be anywhere near my cousins, even as we were growing up. Now, in our retirement time, it is marvelous to know that we will have some time together with Sue & Carl, who live on the Olympic Peninsua in Sequim (which I misspelled in our Christmas letter--oops!) Carl is a retired National Park Service ranger, and both of them are a wealth of information on this area. We plan to go to their home tomorrow for a couple of days to do some exploring in their area. They came over in their 5th wheel, bringing us some additional items to make our apartment living just a little bit better. Are you ready for another small-world story? Here is Carl with Stan Humann, a member of our new church family. It seems Carl and Stan were at Washington U forestry school together and had not seen each other since then - over 45 years ago. You can imagine the conversation they were engaged in after church as they played "catch up" on classmates and careers. Carl had noticed Stan's name and address on a card by our telephone while he was here, and commented that he had gone to college with a person by that name...and now you know the rest of the story! One of the trips we took (twice) over the holiday was to Snoqualmie Falls. It is breathtaking! The first trip the combination of the steam/water rising up from the falls, and the lowhanging clouds from above, made a visual sighting of the falls nearly impossible--tho we could occasionally see 4 kayakers down below us. So we returned on Thanksgiving Day, which was clear as a bell. When you come to visit us, this is a "must-see" spot. We ended our holiday by shopping for our lights to decorate the balcony of our apartment, and Sue surprised us by "wearing" one of the strings when we returned to the truck. A great way to begin the holiday season--with a personally decorated cousin! What a neat sense of humor! Now as we all prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Lord, may your days be filled with a sense of peace from the Prince of Peace...and may you enjoy your time with one another, with the stranger in the grocery store, the delivery man who brings a package to your door, and especially, time with Jesus. Love, Mary and Jerry

A Blessed Thanksgiving to YOU

We are thinking of you at this season of thanksgiving, and rejoicing that you are our friends and that we are sharing this journey together. "I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith int he Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints." Paul wrote that to his dear friend Philemon, Jerry preached on that text last Sunday as we spoke about thankfulness, and now we send it on to you --grateful for your friendship. These are views from our apartment balcony as we overlook the Sammamish shopping area. We are about to see a glorious sunrise. Or perhaps we will be having low-hanging clouds and drizzle. And then we close the day with this gorgeous view-- May you take time to reflect on all your blessings, even in the midst of hard or difficult times...even those of you special folks who are dealing with new knees...and know that we are grateful for our friends and family. Love, Mary and Jerry

First Sunday at SPC

The family of God - there is absolutely nothing like it, is there? Jerry's first Sunday in the pulpit was a glorious day for us--folks were warm and welcoming; the music was absolutely heavenly--a choir (containing more men than women--who else has that kind of situation?)--with an anthem that fit perfectly in to the theme of the sermon and worship, a praise band that contained not only 3 guitars, drum and piano but also included a flute and trumpet (warmed Jerry's heart, needless to say); and many new folks to meet and greet. But the best part of all were the old friends who were present for this first Sunday at FPC: Joe and Jane (Imlay) Skeen, who reside in Port Orchard. Jane's family are friends from Marshall MO days..Jerry and both her parents were in college together, both families moved to Marshall about the same time, where the Imlays were active at Covenant Presbyterian Church, while I also worked for her Dad at Missouri Valley College. Jane often looked after our girls, who were five years younger, while we parents did fun things together. Kate Massie and Adam Hedgepeth...Kate is a college student from Midland TX where Jerry served as her pastor for twelve years of her life. Adam is also from Midland and his Dad and Jerry know each other well. Katie is doing a brief physical therapy internship in this area, while Adam is employed by Microsoft in Redmond--and because Kate's Mom shared our new address information with her, she and Adam showed up. Kate says she will be back for the time she is here--for its a little bit of home out in Seattle! Diane and Peter Wilson, friends that we met at Bloys Cowboy Camp in Ft. Davis this past August. Diane's family is one of the Bloys families and they return for Cowboy Camp Meeting every year. The Wilsons worship at University Church in Seattle - and we are about to head over that way to go to an evening service with them, and have the special opportunity to hear Earl Palmer preach. Earl is one of Jerry's favorite preachers, and he is very excited to get this opportunity. Plus you remember in our last blog I told you that Greg Calmes is a member of SPC, and our biggest supporter in getting us out here - and Greg was a youth in our first church in Hobart OK. So add it up - three folks in worship this morning represented three of the church congregations Jerry has served--and he's only served in five! I keep telling you, like a broken record, that there is NOTHING LIKE THE FAMILY OF GOD!

Sammamish Presbyterian Church Interim

Back in 1964, Jerry Hilton received a call to serve his first pastorate at the First Presbyterian Church in Hobart OK - a small church in a small town in southwest Oklahoma. That small church family loved us, nurtured us, and enabled us to grow in our faith, as Jerry began to develop his style of ministry. Serving on the Pastor Nominating Committee for that call was their youth delegate, Greg Calmes, then a senior in high school. Greg's family became very special friends--in fact, our living room in Midland TX still centers around a marvelous round oak coffee table that once belonged to Greg's grandparents. Fast forward a number of years - and you see the Hiltons visiting Greg and Bobbi Calmes in their home in Sammamish WA in 2005, when we were on our way to Vancouver BC to meet Carla. Fast forward two more years - and our youth delegate on the PNC is now a retired (yes, you read me correctly--one of our "kids" is old enough to be retired!) Alaska Airlines pilot active in the Sammamish Presbyterian Church, and he calls Jerry to tell us that his pastor is resigning and Greg wants to submit Jerry's name as an interim candidate. If you cannot locate Sammamish in your atlas, your atlas is probably a few years old. Sammamish is a new city, formed by incorporating a portion of Redmond. The church is only 20 years old and has had only one senior pastor in its history. We are eager to learn about SPC, our new community and the great northwest as well. Here you see a photo of the rest of the campus of SPC - these buildings house the church offices, classrooms, youth building and meeting rooms. The church sanctuary would be to the left of the photo, while up on the hill behind these buildings, you will see part of our apartment complex. We are so excited about getting moved in to our apartment, which has been furnished through the generosity of our church family, under the leadership of Greg and Bobbi. There are very exciting days ahead of us - and we will love sharing this adventure with each of YOU.

Treasures in friends and scenery

What a glorious day we spent yesterday, Saturday, November 3rd. We were camped at a KOA campground just outside of Corvallis OR for two reasons: 1) the drive from Corvallis to Newport came highly recommended to us (by both the Houston-Henckens in Las Vegas and our niece Sally in Las Vegas) as something we should NOT miss and 2) a very special friend from Marshall MO days lives there. So, thanks to Carol's generosity with her time, the two things were combined, and Carol became our driver and guide for the entire day as we saw some of the most magnificent ocean sights we have ever witnessed.

When we lived in Marshall MO (from '72-'85), our girls had a surrogate grandmother in "Grandma Marge"--what a blessing she was to our entire family. (On the other hand, is it a blessing when Grandma Marge tells your daughters not to be too concerned about their grades because no one goes through life with their GPA tattooed on their forehead!) Carol is Marge's daughter...and over the years in Marshall, Carol and her brother Frank both became our friends--after all, we had been adopted into Marge's family! We have all kept in touch over the ensuing years since Marge's death. and we have seen Frank on a couple of occasions, but this was our first personal visit with Carol--and what a great time we had. We shared stories about Marge all day and evening (and there were MANY!).

Carol took the pictures of us as we walked an area of beach and rocks and later explored a majestic lighthouse, where we climbed the 114 steps to the top--with great admiration for those persons who kept those lights burning to guide the sailors to safety!

One thing the signs warned us: don't turn your back on the ocean. But the waves were not coming in very far, so we were intent on trying to find a starfish nestled in the rocks...when a "sneaker wave" (aptly named, I must say!) came in on us and caught us unawares--and the rest of the day we hiked with wet jeans from the knees down, cold feet in very wet socks, and squishy tennis shoes!

Over supper at Carol's home, we had the opportunity to share more stories with Carol's husband, Dave...look at more family pictures that hung on Carol's walls... and a very special opportunity to get acquainted with their AFS (American Field Service) son, Michael, from the Ukraine. Talking with Michael brought back so many memories of our year with our AFS daughter, Ani (from Indonesia). We rejoice with Carol, Dave and Michael for the experiences they are sharing this year - and building a relationship that can last a lifetime.

His presence is enriching their lives as well - in fact, Dave is studying the Russian language at the university with Michael there as an at-home tutor! The city of Corvallis has a sister-city relationship with a city in the Ukraine and Dave &/or Carol have made 7 or 8 trips to the Ukraine before this year.

Our trip to Washington has been on-going for the last three weeks -- its been incredible, gorgeous, glorious and amazing - and tomorrow we will arrive in Sammamish WA, where we will make our home for the next year. As soon as we have internet service at the apartment, I will tell you all about that!

Love and prayers, Mary & Jerry

Earthquake!

On Tuesday evening, we were sitting in our motor home watching TV and enjoying ourselves when the coach began to sway and shake...we heard dishes hitting each other....and decorations hanging from the walls were moving. We were very startled, needless to say, and Jerry questioned if the wind had suddenly come up. So we opened the door and looked out, but all was very still. And it was over. We wondered if it might be an earthquake - but there was no one around to ask. Now we have read in the newspaper about the 5.6 quake that struck just east of San Jose CA, with shaking felt as far away as Sacramento - and there we were, right in that location! So now Jerry has experienced his first earthquake tremor ever (and hopefully his last), while it brought back memories for me of earthquakes when I was very young and lived in California. Another new experience for this trip!! Yesterday the drive up I-5 was spectacular (I am running out of adjectives for all of God's glorious creation!). Mt. Shasta was awesome - but the sunlight was so bright, I don't think I got any decent pictures. While my husband is a superb RV driver, I must say I didn't much enjoy those steep downhill grades (seeing run-away lanes beside us!) But all went very well. Today we are going to camp near Corvallis OR with a drive to the coast to see more of beautiful Oregon and a very special friend from Marshall MO days - more about that later! Love, and happy November (my but time is flying!), Mary

California here we come!

First of all, before we leave Nevada - I just want to share one picture with you of our kids, Peter and Paige, in their home in Las Vegas -- what a great time to be with them again!

And now into California - we did thoroughly enjoy ourselves at Buck Owens Crystal Palace - the country music provided by his son, Buddy, and the Buckaroos was a delight...his museum is marvelous, all thru the Palace, with photographs, albums, awards, and larger-than-lifesize bronzes of ten country music greats.

Just driving through this state has been an "ecstasy overload" as we like to say in our family! There are so many variations in the landscape...I thought the drive from Barstow to Bakersfield was spectacular scenery..but then we headed north into the valley with all its agriculture, loaded fruit trees, nut trees...and today we were in to rice fields, and olive trees and almond trees -- simply amazing!

Yosemite National Park is not to be missed! We are so glad we were able to spend some time there. We hit the fall colors at their absolute peak - so we didn't get fall in the Ozarks but we were more than blessed by the fall colors at Yosemite. At both the Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias, we were fortunate to take the ranger guided tram tours - and it was the best choice ever...We learned so much.

The last two days we camped at the California Delta. Our campground was just west of Lodi, CA, on the river. We saw a glorious sunset the first night, but last night the sky was too cloudy. Today, Halloween dawned perfectly--with lots of fog, very spooky, and just right for this trick-or-treat day!

We spent time yesterday with Jerry's Aunt Roberta, his Mom's sister, who lives in Livermore. She is amazing - 92 years young...she and Jerry went from one family story to another! Jerry has been out to visit her several times in the last few years. We are so grateful we had this opportunity to visit her.

And tonight we are camped just outside of Redding CA. Mt. Shasta rises up just in front of us, and tomorrow we will be driving in the mountains heading for Oregon. We are excited about the beauties of God's world that still lie ahead of us as we head north. Its all new to us and we are constantly amazed by His creation.

Westward, ho!

The wagon (i.e. Itasca Suncruiser motor home) has begun its journey westward beginning on Monday, October 15th. On November 11, Jerry will begin an interim pastorate at the Sammamish Presbyterian Church in Sammamish, WA - so travel with us as we head west!

Our first stop-over was in El Paso, where we spent a couple of days catching up on our visiting with our cousins Bill and Wayne...I wish we could say we sat on their patio and watched the spectacular view of EP and Juarez, but unfortunately, the winds were horrible, which confined us to inside, but didn't slow down the conversation one little bit!

Fortunately, the winds had subsided when we left for Arizona, which is a good thing - I have always wondered about those roadside signs that say "Dangerous winds." I think I would have understood that better on this trip had the winds still been up! This is a beautiful time of the year to travel Interstate 10 and we were constantly marveling at the scenery. After an overnight in Tucson, we became squatters in front of my brother's home in Phoenix. Jim and I haven't changed a bit, have we? (see picture) We were able to visit with their two adult kids who live in the Phoenix area (Nancy and Steve) as well. Brother Jim's weekend was perfect with OU winning their football game.

Our next stay was Las Vegas NV - you will remember we spent two months there shortly after Jerry retired, with Jerry assisting Jim Houston-Hencken, pastor at FPC LV. The city continues to build and build - everywhere we looked, more construction. We spent the evenings with Jim and Kathy, and our "grandchildren", Peter and Paige...who also continue to grow ...I just wish we lived closer to them so we could see more of them...but we will take whatever time we can get!

You will see Jerry with our other niece, Sarah, in front of their new home...our "home" while in LV was the big driveway at Sarah's former home which is on the market presently..anyone want to buy in LV? What a treat to spend time with her over lunch at a great local Mediterranean restaurant..later on that evening, Sarah, her husband, Ray, and son, Ryan, stopped by--so we got to spend some time with all of the family.

Yesterday we left Nevada and entered California - destination Barstow. The drawing card was Peggy Sue's Nifty 50's Diner - and it lived up to all its advertising!! The place is an absolute museum of memorabilia from OUR generation - and we loved it. 50's music filled the dining rooms, with so many photographs and movie posters on the walls, it would take a week to look at them all. We toured Barstow this morning - its on historic Route 66, also a restored Amtrak train station, with a Harvey House museum (anyone remember the Harvey House?)

We watched the sun set last night through particles of smoke beginning to float in from the wildfires in southern California --and woke this morning to the smell of smoke as well as a hidden sun, sometimes barely visible through the smoke. What a horrible experience for all those folks!

Tomorrow we head for Bakersfield, so we can enjoy country & western music at Buck Owen's Crystal Palace located there, before turning north. We already miss our friends and family in the midwest, but are eagerly looking forward to living in the great northwest for a while and meeting a new church family. God is so good!

Love from the Gypsies

Fall in the Ozarks

It may have been the fall months in the Ozarks, but we certainly did not have fall weather - it was hot when we arrived, and hot when we left! But even tho we didn't see the fall colors or the leaves falling, we had a fabulous time being there. Jerry is seen overlooking the Kansas City skyline from the top of the Liberty Tower. Below the Tower, the WWI Museum has opened this year--and you don't want to miss visiting this fine display if you find yourself in Kansas City. One of the highlights for the fall was the opportunity Jerry had to work on his fiddle skills. You will remember that he bought a fiddle while we were in Wichita and has been practicing. He had the opportunity to participate in several "jam sessions" which were super learning experiences for him. Above you see Jerry getting a fiddle lesson from Violet Hensley--she is in her early 90's. and this is her 41st year at Silver Dollar City. Jerry remembers Violet being present in the City, where her skill was making her own fiddles--a gift she can no longer continue because of macular degeneration. But she can still fiddle a mean tune, and she was more than happy to give a lesson to an aspiring fiddler! Jerry and Carla are enjoying a great gospel concert during the Gospel Picnic at SDC - even in the rain...we sat through at least 3 concerts that week in the rain, but it didn't diminish our enjoyment of the music. We shared the Gospel Picnic with many friends--Spanns from Wichita, Carla, Garretts from Monett, Tim & Heather Garrett from St. Louis. And we were able to spend time with many other friends whose lives have crossed paths with ours, and we are grateful to God for ALL of you on this marvelous journey. It was a good time! We left Table Rock Lake on Oct. 7th for a trip back to Midland with an overnight stop with Jo and Scott...and a full and busy weekend at home before setting out on another BIG ADVENTURE....but more about that in the next blog.

Catching up on the Summer

  The biggest problem in being on the road again is the uncertainty of internet capability - so its very hard to keep you posted on our travels--and traveling we are. These last two months we have spent some quality time with some of our "adopted" grandkids--here with Garrett & Shannon Worley while we camped at Babler State Park in St. Louis. It was fun to go to Shannon's soccer practice (bless those coaches!) and Garrett's baseball game as well. While we were in Gunnison, we were able to spend some time with precious Abby and Jonah McCown, who now live in Colorado Springs, and we just don't get to hug very often. Jerry celebrated his 50th high school reunion in Crane MO - and here are the class members gathered around some '57 cars that also came to the reunion. It was GREAT fun, especially for the classmates, but fun for us out-laws too! Silver Dollar City and the Southern Gospel Picnic was just great! We were joined during the ten days by Carla, Richard and Beverly Spann of Wichita, the Garretts from Monett and the Garretts from St.Louis -- and other friends we just happened to run into wandering the City. We had more than our share of rain - and this is just ONE of the 3 or 4 nights that we sat in the rain to hear a gospel group sing..and they were all worth it! If anyone can tell me HOW to get the pictures and the text in a blog to be located together, I would greatly appreciate it! It seems an impossible task to me - but I am sure all of you can mentally get it together! We are presently camped at Heartland Presbyterian Center in northern Kansas City, one of our favorite spots, and will be having supper with some of Jerry's kinfolk (Jim and Jane Carney), getting to see Carla, and this afternoon - of all things - I was in the checkout line at Hobby Lobby just down the road, and right behind me in line was Joyce Hohensee--Joyce and her husband were members of our church in Enid OK quite some time ago, and are now members of the church Carla serves, Pine Ridge Pres..and we were both stunned to see each other. As I've mentioned over and over, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God! Love and hugs - our next adventure involves flying to Seattle on Thursday to meet and visit with our next church family at Sammamish Presbyterian Church--and I'll tell you all about that next time!

118th Bloys Campmeeting begins Tuesday

NEWS RELEASE: JEFF DAVIS COUNTY - the 118th session of Bloys Campmeeting will open with the 8pm service on Tuesday, August 7th, in Skillman's Grove. About 5,000 persons are expected to be in attendance during the week-long session, which will end on Sunday, August 12. Bible study will be held daily at 9 a.m., with regular worship services at 11am, 3pm, and 8pm. Prayer meetings for men and women are held each day at 5pm. Youth and children's services, ranging from pre-school through college, are held at 10am and 8pm, with scheduled activities for the older youth daily. Everyone is invited to attend and participate in any of these services. We are getting ready to leave for Ft. Davis TX to participate in this week-long annual event - and we are most excited about it. Over our years in Midland, it has been our privilege to participate for a day or two on several occasions - but this will be our first full week. This is its story, taken from a couple of news releases: "To describe campmeeting in a sentence or a paragraph cannot be done...perhaps thats why the Bloys Campmeeting Association chose to simply post the camp hymn on its homepage - "How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word." Building a strong foundation for the people of this region is what the Rev. William Benjamin Bloys set out to do when he organized the first campmeeting in 1890. Bloys, a Presbyterian missionary serving in Ft. Davis, rode from ranch house to bunk house in the vast tri-county area, ministering and attending to his scattered flock. It was in the home of John Z. Means that he began to formulate the idea for something called a "camp meeting." In 1890, Bloys was pleased to see 43 worshippers gathered under a brush arbor in Skillman's Grove for two days of fellowship. They stayed in canvas tents, ate as a congregation and socialized, too. As the number of attendees swelled over the next years, tin cabins were built and the group was split into separate camps according to the founding families." (There are now a large number of cabins built by the growing families - all built according to the same plan, simple and utilitarian, and all only available for use for about two weeks each year. There are no kitchens in the cabins, for everyone takes their meals together in one of the 4 family cooksheds. Now the campground also includes an RV park for use only during Bloys.) Each of the 4 denominations participating in the Campmeeting choose one to be in the pastoral leadership of Campmeeting. The Presbyterians have traditionally provided the Bible Study leader who teaches each morning at 9 a.m. Jerry will be teaching on the early chapters of Genesis this time. By tradition, the preaching rotation for the other services is not announced in advance! The United Methodists are represented by Bishop Bill Hutchison of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Disciples of Christ by the Rev. Tommy Potter of Brite Divinity School in Ft. Worth; and the Baptists by the Rev. Jim Dennison of Dallas. We are so eager to hear Jim preaching--my friend from Monett, MO, Phyllis Garrett, has told me about Jim's morning devotions on the internet, which she reads faithfully--Jim begins his day early with his coffee, the Bible and the newspaper, and after spending time with all 3, he writes his daily devotion on the web. (You might want to check it out!) Located at a higher elevation than Midland, in the Davis Mountains, the weather is generally cooler than here at home. The skies are incredible, and I read in the morning paper that there will be plenty of meteor activity on the last weekend of Bloys Campmeeting. Some day, YOU might want to put Bloys Campmeeting on your list of travels - its a once-in-a-lifetime experience of Bible Study, preaching, worship, fellowship, outstanding food, and unbelievable music. The music is one of the strong memories I have from our previous visits - John Hutchison on the organ, Janet Pummill on the piano and Doug Pummill as song leader - and what great old hymns we do sing! Its quite a site to be sitting inside the Tabernacle, which is all open on the sides, seeing all those cowboy hats hung from the posts and rafters, and thousands singing praises to our Lord! Do stop by some day..it always begins on the first Tuesday of August, but you better plan ahead - motels, hotels and nearby RV parks fill up quickly! You won't be hearing from me again until Bloys Campmeeting is over and we return to Midland - but then I'll send pictures. Love and hugs to all of you! Mary

Fisher of men AND fish

When Jerry took up fly fishing after we moved to Midland, he fell for it hook, line and sinker (if you'll pardon the expression!) Finally - after a long absence from fly fishing, we are back in Colorado and the fisherman is at it. He has now survived five days in a row of fishing and has had an incredible time. The fish on the right measured 22 1/2" - surely one for Jerry's record book.

We are having a marvelous time..the weather is cool and gorgeous, the rains come and go, we have to wear jackets some of the time...we are staying with the Beals (Midland) and Jerry has fished with two of his buddies who went to Argentina with him fly fishing a number of years ago.

Tomorrow we will leave South Fork and head for Spring Creek outside of Gunnison, to visit Abbe Mahone (Hobart and Oklahoma City) and see others. Tomorrow we will also get to spend some time with Jo & Scott's good friends, Conner and Naomi and their two children, whom we adore (See Jo's website for photos of Jonah and Abbey). We look forward to worship at Tin Cup on Sunday. AND more fly fishing on Spring Creek and Taylor.

Life doesn't get any better than this!

Reflections on a visit

Spending the week in San Antonio was great for me - it gave me a gllimpse into the kind of lives Jo and Scott are leading, their busy schedules, with no two days being alike, and helped the time pass more quickly for me while Jerry is in Uganda.

And when you have a daughter whose passion is her photography, you just never know what you will be doing!

You may be the subject of her camera....or you may be the one shooting the photograph as she works on a "hand collage", pouring glue all over her hand and drizzling blue beads on it so I can take her picture; or catching our dog napping in the quilt.

YOU might want to go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/johilton and see some more of Jo's photos from the weekend.

In the meantime, Happy Independence Day as we take a moment to express our gratitude to God for our country...and a prayer for the safe return of our Mission Team!

Uganda Adventure continues

Our Uganda team of missionaries has been gone for one week now - and we are delighted and overjoyed at the way the Word of God is being received, and grateful for all those new believers in Jesus Christ. The team is getting pretty tired, but they are over the hump, and grateful for each new day with renewed strength. They are encouraged and bolstered by all the prayers. Above you see a picture of our team, and as you look on them, please say a special prayer for their health and their boldness--the team ranges from 9 years old to those over 70, so it is a diverse group.

These last two days of the the week, there is a free outpatient medical clinic, and some of our team will be on hand to assist Dr. Patrick. (Our team has worked with Dr. Patrick every year. He is a native who received his medical training and then practiced in Philadelphia for ten years, before both he and his wife--in separate dreams-- felt the call to return to Uganda and practice their medicine.) The team took some suitcases with medical equipment to assist Dr. Patrick. Its heartbreaking to see children dying and people so sick from preventable disease, but at the same time encouraging that we can now help with a free medical clinic. The installation of freshwater wells will be a big asset to helping folks keep healthy!

The Sunday School teacher's seminar was a HUGE effort and success... in the U.S., we might have 30-40 people show up, mostly from our own congregation--right? When our team arrived at the Mbale Presbyterian Church, there were more than 250 teachers from over 60 congregations waiting to learn how to share the gospel with children.

The evangelistic crusades are drawing great crowds each afternoon. There is a lot of singing and dancing as people come to the church campus to hear testimonies and preaching. While our adult preachers have been well-received and are preaching from their hearts, the testimonies of our youngsters has been extremely heart-wrenching. Wouldn't it be amazing for us, sitting in our pews at home, to hear our 9 and 14 year olds tell how Jesus has impacted their lives!

The other picture I share with you is of my pastor's wife, Kathy Schorr, at FPC Midland - and its entitled "side by side" - what a beautiful witness and testimony in and of itself.

We are so grateful for all those who went as missionaries, for all those they left back at home, and for all of the folks who are supporting them in prayer. They are scheduled to return to Midland one week from tonight, and I can hardly wait.

I received word today from my friend Sally, whose husband is rooming with Jerry in Uganda, that she talked to her husband, Ralph--late last night (our time) just after their breakfast this morning (their time)-- and things are going well. Jerry's suitcase was one of the missing ones for the first two days, but he had stuck a change of clothes into Ralph's suitcase "just in case" and they all managed. One of our missionaries, Pat Hunter, volunteered to make the 8-hour trip back to Entebbe to pick up the missing suitcases--she is indeed a saint in my book! Ralph has a cold, the team are all getting tired, and they all appreciate our prayers.

Meanwhile - as Jerry's adventure continues in Uganda, my adventure has taken me to San Antonio where I am having a wonderful week with Jo and Scott. The 3 dogs are delighted to have someone home with them every day so they can go in and out of the house at their pleasure. My main project was to assemble my scrapbook/album from our Christmas trip to London and that is done--all but the journaling, which I will do at home. I have been cooking evening meals for us, trying new vegetarian recipes, and so far I am a success! This household rises early and hits the bed early at night. Jo and Scott have an interesting life with a great deal of variety in it--the schedule is different every day of the week for all 7 days, and its been a blessing to be a part of it. Today Scott was not to be home until after 7, but pouring rain meant the cancellation of a class this afternoon, so we are both home. Jo gets in about 5:30 this evening and we will be in for the night.

If you are interested in reading more about the team's adventure, please go click on this link, and click on the Ugandan Updates--its a great read and more great pictures! I just read that Jerry was the crusade preacher today and did a superb job.

http://www.fpcedmond.org

Love and greetings to all of you...until I write again!

June 7, 1964 ORDINATION

On June 7, 1964, Jerry Max Hilton was ordained into ministry by his home presbytery of Carthage-Ozark. Last week, on the evening of June 7, we joined two other couples for a quiet dinner and a toast to Jerry in honor of the occasion. Here is the limerick composed by our friend, Glenn Rogers:

There was a young man from Crane

Who heard God calling his name.

To McCormick he went in the fall

Spring 64 he was waiting a call

June 6, 64 Crane Pres proudly proclaimed

Jerry Hilton was duly ordained.

Now we here all know the rest,

Jerry and Mary are simply the best,

Our Pastor and friend,

Our love for them never will end.

Those participating in Jerry's ordination service included the Rev. Dr. W. J. Willis, who was 93 years old at the time and had baptised Jerry when Dr. Willis was Jerry's pastor. Jack Kurtz preached at Jerry's ordination--Jack and Jerry were students together at Missouri Valley College after having known each other through Westminster Fellowship activities during their youth. Jack and Jerry roomed together one year at seminary before Jack married one of Jerry's Crane cousins, Betsy. And it was Jack and Betsy who set up the first date Jerry and Mary had (chaperoning a youth hayride!). Jack's last pastorate before his death was back in Virginia--and a couple from his congregation were members of our congregation last year at Eastminster in Wichita (once again, God's family is all one!)

So it was a wonderful evening to celebrate Jerry's ordination and his life in ministry for these 43 years. And who knows what God has in store for our future? We hope another interim will open up come late fall, but in the meantime, we are enjoying our lifestyle and giving thanks to God for all His people!

Uganda Mission trip underway June 21st

For the fifth year, First Presbyterian Church, Midland TX, is sending a team to Uganda under the guidance of the Presbytery of Eastern Uganda. Our purpose is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help to establish another new congregation. Each year we have sent money ahead which is used to build a church, secure a pastor, buy a cow and a bicycle for the pastor, and build pastoral housing. Our particular work will include house-to-house evangelism and village-wide rallies each evening. In addition, members of our team will visit schools, prisons, and assist in the medical clinic.

One of the highlights each year is the opportunity for some to return to churches that have previously been established, and to see them thriving and continuing to grow.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, aren't they? So I am sharing with you some pictures from previous trips. Last year is the first time we have had families go and this year that is happening again--it had a tremendous impact on those families as well as on our Ugandan friends, and the youngsters all wanted to return again this year.

If you would like to be a part of this mission and ministry, here are the ways you can be involved:

1) PRAY. Jerry will be a part of the team this year, along with 27 others from our church family. I covet your prayer support for him and for the entire team-- for safe travels, health, and bold voices to share the gospel of Jesus. The name of the village where we will be planting the church in Uganda is Kanyolo, and the new pastor is Denis Mukua, so we can be very specific as we cover them all with prayer.

2) FINANCIAL. If you would like to be a part of this trip, no matter how small the gift, you can send your check to First Presbyterian Church, 800 W. Texas, Midland TX 79701, with the memo noted "Hilton team". The trip itself costs $3800 per person, and all extra monies will be used to send Bibles for our Ugandan friends.

3) BE INCLUDED WITH EMAIL UPDATES. If you would like to receive by email any information the team sends to us, I would be so happy to share it with you during the two weeks that they are gone, plus a follow-up after their return. Please let me know by sending your email address to marymhilton@aol.com.

The bottom picture is the congregation gathered for worship at one of the churches planted on a previous trip! Praise God for all those receptive hearts, and their pastors. Jerry wishes each of you could meet the wonderful young pastors who are part of the Bible Training School. They are bright, deeply dedicated, and Spirit-anointed young leaders of a growing Church. It is his hope that he might have an opportunity to work with them during this trip.

Thank you for your love and support. Remember the dates: June 21 - July 5 to pray for the Uganda Mission team.

A Little Bit of Heaven - Table Rock Lake

Dear Ones - ever wonder what heaven is going to be like? Surely it is going to be a lot like the Cape Fair Campground on Table Rock Lake!

Back in about 1969 or 1970, some families in our church in Aurora, MO invited us to go camping with them, using their extra trailer..and we were hooked! We got our own trailer (a tent up off the ground actually) and started spending every vacation at the same campground. At that time, it was because Pop Hilton had boat there we could always use..but after the boat bit the dust, we still kept returning. And here you see our campsite for this spring. It was the perfect site--wonderful view of the lake and all the boats, very quiet (excluding Memorial Day weekend), and we felt like we had found a little bit of heaven right there.

During our two weeks there, we had lots of neat times--Sally and Scotty Campbell from Marshall MO (bottom right picture) showed up one late afternoon to spend the evening. Sally is some kind of kin to Jerry (from Crane MO of course) and Scotty and Jerry are fraternity brothers from Missouri Valley so we go back a long way together. We have camped together over the years numerous times (our daughters are all one year apart and all their names begin with the K sound--try calling for them to come in from the woods: Carolyn, Karen, Carla, Kathy...eventually it just became 1-2-3-4!) Mike Price (another Missouri Valley grad) and his family also camped with us--their daughter just graduated from high school in Springfield and we got to share that special occasion with them.

We had several delightful days at Silver Dollar City. This time the Bluegrass festival was going on, and we did enjoy the Ricky Skaggs concert this past weekend. We were there with the Campbells...and one day with daughter Carla (on the climbing swing, NOT to be confused with the BIG SWING new ride SDC is offering!)...and with Mike and Phyllis Garrett from Monett.

We celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary in Monett with the Garretts, which gave us an opportunity to drive out to Camp Barnabus. The top-left picture is taken there with our college friend, David Bingham. David was about 4 years old when his Dad chaired the PNC that called us to FPC Midland--so he and his family have been special friends for many years. David will be a sophomore at Oklahoma State and working this summer at a wonderful camp for special needs kids. I recommend you check out the camp's website if you want to see spectacular and life-changing camping opportunities for wheel-chair bound children. Its a joy to see David involved in this ministry.

And now we are on our way home...last night we were camped on the parking lot of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita and today we head west. I just finished reading Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time about the dust bowl days, and want to stop at a couple of museums in Guyman - the XIT Museum and the No Man's Land Museum - and another one in Canyon TX..and then home.

I hope each one of you has your own little bit of heaven someplace on this journey - always knowing that God saves the best for last--when we arrive Home with Him! God bless you!