Washington seacoast

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!

45 years - an incredible journey!

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

Dr. Scott Peters, PhD

Scott received his PhD last Thursday night from the University of Texas in San Antonio, and his family gathered to celebrate the occasion...Jerry, Mary, Carla and Scott's three sisters, Lynn, Lisa and Leslie. We had a fabulous time with lots of conversation and sunshine. We are SO proud of Scott! Scott will be an adjunct professor at UTSA for summer school and the fall term. Way to go, Dr. Peters!

70th birthdays - once in a lifetime!

Beverly Spann (from Wichita) and I spent one full week celebrating our 70th birthdays with our husbands, Richard and Jerry, and all our friends from Disney World. It was the Spanns 26th visit to WDW (at least!) so we were in good hands, and did we ever have a magnificent time!! Pictures tell it all.... I'm sorry to be so late in posting this, but I have really been not well ever since the day we returned home. Richard (the Doctor) calls it Mickey Mouse Withdrawal Syndrom...the Urgent Care doc called it bronchitis and sinusitis--whatever it was, it has not been fun! Thank God I am feeling much better today, because we are off on an adventure in San Antonio on Thursday--and you'll hear about THAT next week!

The Tulip Festival, Skagit Valley

What a glorious day! The sun is shining, the temperature is warm enough for no jackets, and the flowers are absolutely spectacular. The daffodils were in full bloom, the tulips at Tulip Town were breathtaking, and the fields of tulips we drove by are just now beginning to open--they need a few more days of sunshine. Mt. Baker was really a sight to behold, and the Mt. Vernon Kiwanians served up a great meal in the park...so its been a super day.

Seattle, Coffee & Birthday

One thing is certain - in Seattle the drink of choice has got to be COFFEE. Everywhere you look, every corner you turn - there it is...from Starbucks to Tullys to Peets to tiny drive-through kiosks in every parking lot. In our immediate neighborhood, we have two Starbucks within walking distance, and a Tullys directly across the street...which makes it MOST convenient, especially for Birthday Boy. This was Jerry's 69th birthday (and for a few days we are now the same age). Was he surprised to walk in to Tullys for his latte and find these three cute baristas (who couldn't resist posing) waiting to serve us and wish Jerry a "Happy Birthday". Happy Birthday, Jerry - and enjoy your cup'a joe.

March 30 in Sammamish!

Who would have dreamed it? Last Sunday (Easter) it was pouring buckets of rain..and this Sunday, we see the results of the heavy snowfall during the night!

Jo's thrill - no matter your politics!

The night before the Texas Primary, Jo was one of two interpreters for Hillary Clinton as she met the voters in San Antonio. It was a night charged with energy, enthusiasm, and excitement - and Jo was excited to be a part of it. (Top Photo by Barbara Kinney. Other photographs by Leonard Ziegler) We were able to watch the speech live on San Antonio television thanks to the modern marvels of technology and our computer--and watch Jo interpreting. May we all survive the next seven (YES SEVEN) months until election time!

A farewell to "Brazil"

Our dear friend Everett Brazil of Hobart OK left this earth yesterday, St. Patrick's Day - a most appropriate day for a staunch Irishman who was so proud of his Irish heritage. Our life is a lot better for having had Everett in it for the past 44 years. Everett and Cathrine had three sons - and they were overjoyed to be able to have our two daughters in their family. They kept them as often as possible, fed us (as parents) frequently so they could have the girls with them, and spoiled them rotten--even gave Jo her first pair of cowboy boots. And Everett taught them all the bad habits he could think of--he thought it was cute to teach Jo to chew tobacco and smoke cigars....and here is a picture of them just a couple of years ago, still sharing a chew! He taught Jo to sneak the milk carton out of the refrig and take a drink directly from the carton behind the open refrig door so her Mom couldn't see her. As teen-agers, he let the girls drive his 1949 International Harvester pick-up named "Shasta" (because she-hasta have oil, she-hasta have gas etc). He took them out to check the cattle or the wheat, rabbit shooting, or whatever. Brazils lived at Komalty--a grain elevator long since torn down, but that name was always the landmark for their place. The wheat was beautiful, and there was nothing prettier than being in southwest Oklahoma for harvest. When Jo and Scott were married, guests at the wedding in Chicago were given tiny pieces of burlap filled with some of Brazil's wheat to throw at the newlyweds--and Jo and I spent a wonderful day with the Brazil's on their farm cutting up an old burlap bag from the barn and filling them with the wheat. The girls' last visit was in the fall of 2005--and Cathrine & Everett enjoyed time with their girls again. We will miss Everett, but we have memories enough to last out our lifetime...we are grateful to have shared this journey with him. Thank you, God, for the gift of his life in ours.

Same Kind of Different As Me

Have you read this book? Its a pretty quick read, and is a joy to move through. When we arrived in Midland last Wednesday, we found that the authors, Ron Hall and Denver Moore, were speaking at our church that evening...and we were there along with at least 1500 other folks, who filled the sanctuary and into the fellowship hall, where it was relayed on a big screen. The book is the story of the unlikeliest of friendships between Ron, an international art dealer, and Denver, a homeless person with a sordid past. Their story is told alternating between each man's version of the events. Ron does most of the talking...Denver saying "don't tell it all to them, then they won't buy the book!" Denver, who didn't read or write until recently, is still a very bashful person, who doesn't want to talk about himself, but will talk about the Lord. Denver tells Ron to "Just tell 'em I'm a nobody that's tryin to tell everybody 'bout Somebody that can save anybody. That's all you need to tell 'em." And through it all is the story of Ron's late wife, Debbie, who had a vision for a homeless shelter in Ft. Worth, and a vision of her husband and Denver becoming friends...not "catch and release" friends, but truly friends who love and care for one another. (Read the book to learn about "catch and release" friendships.) I highly recommend this book to you...and if you find that Ron & Denver are going to be making an appearance in your community, don't miss this opportunity. Love, Mary

BIG adventures coming up!

Jerry and I are each about to embark on adventures. I am presently in Kansas City for a week. I will be able to spend time with Carla in her home as well as spend a couple of days in Marshall MO, where Jerry served for 13 years. It will be grand to see a number of old friends and renew some relationships. I fly to Midland the following weekend for several days. Jo will join me in Midland, and we will be joining two Midland friends to attend the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show for a few days. Jerry will fly out Tuesday morning for Los Angeles to meet up with a "Faces of Children" mission group coming from Midland TX. Several of these "missionaries" have gone to Uganda together in previous years, and now they are off to Thailand to share in ministries dealing with children at risk, which is the focus of Faces of Children. To receive email updates on this mission trip, you can email claufer@facesofchildren.net and ask to be put on the mailing list. If you want to listen to some of Jerry's preaching from Sammamish Presbyterian Church, you can find this at http://www.spconline.org/pages/Misc/CurrentSermonSeries.html (guess you will have to cut and paste!), then click on "sign up for podcast". Jerry wanted me to also share with you the following website for audio sermons by Earl Palmer, Senior Pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. We have been able to attend their evening service on several Sundays. We are always blessed by the service. http://www.upc.org/worship.aspx?id=452 Earl is truly gifted, and can really open up the Word in his preaching. (Now you know what one pastor does on his Sunday evenings off!) We covet your prayers for our travels and especially for the missionaries going to Thailand, in all that they do. Much love, Mary

What goes around, comes around

In 1964, we moved to Hobart OK to serve in our first pastorate. Please meet Greg Calmes, who (as a high school junior) served on the PNC (Pastor Nominating Committee) that called us to that church. Jo, standing here beside Greg, was born in Hobart in 1965; and Carla followed in 1967. Greg's parents, Jack and Mary Jo,(please note that our eldest carries the same name) who had raised two boys, loved having our daughters as their own and had one or the other with them as often as possible. Now lets fast-forward to Christmas 2007: Carla is seen feeding Greg's first grandson, Jake, while we were together over Christmas...just as Greg and his parents, held our Jo and Carla forty years ago. Sharing this year in Sammamish with Greg and Bobbi is just very special to us--and brings back so many wonderful memories of the saints in our first parish in Hobart who nurtured us, loved us, and literally raised us--and then sent us on our way. Like I keep telling you - We're so glad we're a part of the Family of God!

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