Just Among Friends
Trinity Baptist Church recently concluded Vacation Bible School which was held at the church. The theme for this year was "Finding True Treasure". There were many participants who enjoyed the well planned activities which were all geared toward expanding and enriching the knowledge of their faith with child oriented content.
The mission project for this summer's Bible School was collecting school supplies for the Philadelphia Police Department's Back to School Project which will be held prior to the opening of school. During the Wednesday night RA/GA on July 7, Chief Lyons and Staff Sgt. Bracket, came to pick up the supplies donated during VBS. It was also a great opportunity for the children to interact with our policemen. During the visit, the children gathered around the officers to offer a prayer for their protection and in thanksgiving as our policemen perform their daily jobs.
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Happy Birthday, Catherine Hardy, who celebrated her 92nd birthday on July 4th. Her daughters, Ellon Hardy Stovall and Cathy Hardy Tolbert and their families and friends spent the day having fun together which included great food and cake! It was a wonderful 4th of July for Mrs. Hardy.
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Happy Anniversary to Dwayne and Kathy McDaniel Ridout who were married for 53 years on July 6! The couple spent some of those early years living In Germany where Dwayne was posted after Basic Training in Ft. Polk.
Their son and daughter, Chad Ridout and Christie Ridout Tillman, along with their families, also reside in Philadelphia. Congratulations and best wishes for more anniversaries together.
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It was a dream of a trip for Cheryl Newell Mars who embarked on an Alaska vacation with a tour group for two weeks. They traveled by airplane and motor coach to 6 different Townes or places where they stayed for two nights in each one. They explored and toured the countryside around them
Alaska is famous for its magnificent mountains covered in snow even in June, wild, and marine life, and, of course, glaciers. There were forests, fields with wildflowers, rolling hills, and something beautiful everywhere they looked.
They hiked about a mile to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls and went on two different day long boat rides to see glaciers, wildlife and marine life. Sawyer Glacier was her favorite. On one boat trip, they had to go slow through an area of small icebergs. They even saw one "calve" or big chunks of ice break off and fall into the water.
Sawyer Glacier gave them their first bear and whale sightings. The North Pole, the REAL North Pole, was another attraction where they saw Santa's Workshop and mailed postcards. Historic totem poles were displayed in one of the places they visited.
The last stops were Talkeetna, Girdwood, and Seward before flying out of Anchorage home. The lodge in Talkeetna was their sighting for Denali Mt. Peak (formerly Mt. McKinley), the tallest mountain peak in North America. The quaint little town was scattered with decorative moose cutouts. A jet boat ride took them for a close up view of the Susitna River Rapids, and a small plane ride gave them an aerial view of some of the Alaskan Mountain Range. They also visited kennels where the sled dogs for the Iditarod Race were trained.
Cheryl brought back many happy memories of her trip from all that she saw and the fun she had. What a fabulous adventure!
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It seems as though there is a whole lot of cooking, canning, and freezing going on! I have been admiring the jars of salsa, tomatoes, green beans, corn, and all sorts of vegetables that are displayed on Facebook. They look like works of art and probably will taste like Blue Ribbon products this winter when fresh garden vegetables are only a fond memory.
Fair cooking and freezing of food has already begun for many cooks who plan their menus ahead of time and prepare so that no one has to spend so much time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.