May 23, 1963- we were married in the chapel of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City in the presence of friends and family, which included both of Jerry's grandmothers, and my maternal grandparents who had also been married on that same date 57 years before. Little did we dream of the incredible journey that was ahead of us. We lived one more year in Chicago while Jerry completed his seminary studies, followed by five pastorates--Hobart OK, Aurora MO, Marshall MO, Enid OK and Midland TX, for a total of 40 years in active ministry. We were blessed with two daughters both born in Hobart.
Last year, near our 44th wedding anniversary, we had the opportunity to be back in the chapel of Westminster Pres. in Oklahoma City. Our journey has been filled with the opportunity to serve some wonderful churches, make lots of friends with whom we continue to be in touch. You know from reading these blogs that we are now in Sammamish WA, near our special friends Greg and Bobbi - and Greg we have known since we arrived at our first church in Hobart 44 years ago. (Please pray for Greg as he battles cancer right now.) The people God has placed in our lives over these years have been such a blessing to us - and we are better persons for knowing YOU.
We have marvelous memories of our travels as well - the Holy Land, Greek Islands, England on several occasions, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, beaches of Normandy, Oberammergau for the Passion Play, Mexico, Canada, and Jerry's special trips to Uganda and Thailand.
And then came retirement - and how grateful we have been for these four years together to travel in our motor home, see many of you during those travels, and serve God when He has opened a door for Jerry to minister again in Wichita KS and now Sammamish WA. We are so grateful for these 45 years together--the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, all woven together in a magnificent tapestry that we can call our marriage. Thank you to each of you for being a part of that tapestry in some way. And thanks be to God for this incredible journey!
We love you! Mary and Jerry
Our camping trip to the coast was marvelous! We were camped near the beach and could see the waves breaking from our motor home picture window-on-the-world, and sleeping at night you could hear the sounds of waves breaking. Of course, it was VERY cold on Thursday but we walked the beach anyway, but by Friday it was overcast but much warmer with very little wind and we were able to ride our bikes on the hard damp sand which was like riding on asphalt.
Do you know what this is? We do now. This is the bubble in the sand that indicates that a clam is below buried in the sand. On Saturday we watched a clam dig...lots of folks all up and down the beach with their shovels, tools, net bags and buckets, with lots of dogs and kids. It was a perfect morning for it - warm enough for them to be walking in the water barefooted (or some in their waders!), and we got quite an education...and all this before the pancake breakfast at the campground.
This is what the beach looked like all up and down our coast, as the diggers leave hole after hole in the sand, to be filled in once again when the tide comes in. And while folks dug for clams, we gathered up a few beautiful sand dollars that came in with the tide. We are grateful for this adventure!
