This morning began with a rather cool ride through the morning fog and bright sunshine as pastor Joe and I headed to Gowanda for Keryx training. Keryx is a prison ministry we were invited to join by the same guy in our church who got me into Koinonia. I suspect Ted is getting even with me for some of the projects I've gotten him into! Seriously, I've seldom met a more dedicated and tightly-run group of volunteers. The trainer was top shelf. I have to admit I'm somewhat nervous, not about going into the prison, but about the long term commitment I suspect this will involve. The people who organize this weekend, like those who pull together the Koinonia weekends, are of the highest calibre, and the results in the lives of those who attend is ample testimony of its value. I am glad to be a part of it all.
But it's the ride over that caught my heart. The sun dancing off the fog settled in the valleys, leaves on the maples just beginning to flame into color alongside the road that twisted and turned its way through the hills only to open out upon fields of harvested corn or Amish haystacks, roadside stands just beginning to shake off the early morning dew; it was a breathtaking ride through a part of the world where time seems to have slowed down to a stop.
Dayton. The road snakes down a hill, crosses a train track and stops at the intersection that bends into view only as you slow down to stop. A few broken down old buildings, remnants of stores and businesses line the road on our left, but to our right is a huge commons on the other side of which looks like an old hotel getting a long-needed facelift. I wonder what it was like in its heyday. I can almost picture it buzzing with activity, children playing in the dirt, old men smoking and talking outside the hardware, horses and wagons drawn up alongside those new-fangled automobiles; but today, the ghosts of the past are more populous than the inhabitants of the present.
After the morning's training, we headed home. I arrived, let Emma out for a run, and settled down to read my Bible, during which Linda called to let me know the women's retreat was over and I could come to help clean up any time. The crew had most of the work done when I arrived, but it still took an hour to finish up, after which we went out for dinner, just the two of us. That doesn't happen often, so it was a rare delight. The retreat was outstanding, as I knew it would be, given the quality of the preparation and the presenters. The theme was forgiveness, and powerful testimonies were given of what God has done in their lives. This was the second women's retreat our Park women have created; what they do is equal to anything being done today on a larger scale by organizations and churches with much larger budgets and audiences.
We ate and talked, came home and walked our land, taking in the cool evening, the sound of the creek beside us, the beauty of all around us, thanking God for all our blessings, especially the people he has placed in our lives. I cannot imagine better friends than we have been given; however glorious be the countryside that surrounds us, far greater it is to be surrounded by those with whom we have had the privilege of sharing our lives! They are truly God's gift to us.
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