Yesterday Preacher's Wife and I, along with Ernie and Lyn Fitzpatrick and a few friends from their church, were given a tour of Guadulupe River Ranch eight miles north of Boerne. For sometime now we have been looking for a place to have ministry retreats or a place for spiritual renewal and refreshing. We were highly impressed with this place. But you know me I was looking for a picture.
I would think everyone knows what it is like after being away from home for a few days, to finally get back home to friends, family, your faithful dog who has missed you, and most of all YOUR OWN BED. It was great to be away with Preacher's Wife for a total of 20 days. But sitting on the plane looking out over San Antonio as we approached touchdown we looked at each other and smiled and both knew what the other was thinking. The yard was green, the house was clean and our King Charles Cavalier BO (Bogart) was so glad to see us.
I think since so few even read blogs on the weekends that I will take a couple days off and do absolutely NO-THING.
Preacher's wife has truly enjoyed herself while in Jordan. She seems to be able to fit into any culture. Friday evening before we left Jordan we were taken to a very nice Jordanian restaurant. The food was spectacular and we had a wonderful time with our new friends Dikran and Annie Salbashian, and our long-time friends the Hibberts from London. I passed on the sheep brains but ate just about everything else that was set before me.
I learned a long time ago to mix a little pleasure with my work. Preacher's wife and I were in Amman for 4 days meeting and sharing with pastors. Then on Sunday I was invited to preach at a local church, morning and evening, where Dikran Salbashian is the pastor. We enjoyed ourselves immensly. On Monday we headed for the Dead Sea to spend a few days relaxing and enjoying the scenery. The time is soon coming to an end when we will leave Jordan and head back to London for a week of ministry before returning to Texas. It has been a very enlightening trip for me. I have a somewhat different perspective of the Middle East having been here just a week.
We arrived safely in Jordan and have settled in for our Pastor/Leader Conference. I thought you would enjoy this picture. I had just finished reading Leonard Sweet's book, The Gospel According To Starbucks. This picture intrigued me. Amman the capital of Jordan has a population of two million people and 5 Starbucks. I guess I didn't expect even one, but boy am I ever pleased.
We arrived in London Monday morning and spent the rest of the day recuperating, after our long flight. Today our friends the Hibberts took us to Kempton Park to what they refer to as an antique fair. In Texas we call it a flea market. I think the reason it is called an antique fair is because everyone was speaking proper English and drinking hot tea. Call it what you will, it was an upscale flea market.
We leave tomorrow for Amman, Jordon where we will be for the next 10 days. I am not sure we will have internet access. If so I will post pictures for you.
Preacher's Wife and I leave Sunday for Amman, Jordan. This is our first trip to Jordon where we will be doing a Pastor/Leader’s Conference with our friends Ron and Gretel Hibbert from London.
Politically and Spiritually, Jordan is one of the most strategic countries in the Middle East. Along with Egypt, it is one of the more tolerant countries in that region. 
There are only about 30 spirit-filled churches in the whole country. Pastors and Leaders do not have access to training and therefore it is easy to become discouraged when faced with restrictions.
These leaders live and work under great pressure and need good Bible based training, as well as prayer and encouragement. This is what we will endeavor to do. We will keep you posted with updates and pictures throughout our trip.
I thought I would post some pictures of our 25th Anniversary Celebration. On Saturday night the CFC elders, the CFC founders along with our family enjoyed an evening together. Then we enjoyed seeing all the CFC family on Sunday morning and evening. If you are interested in seeing the photos click this link:
25th CFC CELEBRATION
Preacher's Wife and I, along with the family were in Harlingen this past weekend celebrating the 25th anniversary of Christian Fellowship Church. It was Easter Sunday 1982 that we had our first service. It was so good to be back and to see so many long time friends, as well as meeting many new CFC members. I am in the process of putting together pictures of the whole event to post on this sight. It will take me a day or so. Please check back. This is the Casa Rama where our family stayed for the weekend. Amazing, I lived in the Rio Grande Valley for over 25 years and didn't know this place existed. Very nice!!!
