Shelter work, Victoria, Ben and Marie

It was a beautiful weekend. Saturday, I worked outside from sunup to sundown. Always in a light jacket or a Carhart vest. The weather was beautiful. The sky was clear. The temperature was perfect. There were several times I wanted to take a break from putting siding on the goat shelter and go fishing for a few minutes, but I stuck with the more important project until I literally ran out of screws to attach the metal siding. To put up the last piece I had for the lower portion of the walls, I scrounged in every nook and cranny of the shop to get what I needed. Even at that, realizing I was short on screws, I put only a few in each panel trying to make them go further while still getting as much siding as I could attached. I also built a small deck inside the shelter so the bucks could have a resting place off the ground. They started using it right away. Mama was happy enough with the outcome. Even though the metal sheets were used they match in color and style. At some point we will paint the metal to match or at least compliment the shop. For now, the bucks are protected from most of the wind and rain. This evening, I will get the roof painted and sealed to limit the drips into the shelter from holes in the metal from its previous uses. Yes, I have used this metal on several projects. But I think it has now found a permanent home. Mostly.

Victoria was able to get everything settled at work. Her leave of absence was approved and her time off was accepted without the absences being counted against her. She did not get paid for the personal time off she requested during her stay in Honduras, but that is a favorable trade off to have the absences dismissed. So, she is back at work as normal. That was a relief to her – and to me and Mama as well. She is still very tender in her back. Every wrong move or every sudden jerk - while playing with the dogs, for instance - reminds her that she is still not completely recovered. She is slowly mending, but it takes a very long time to heal from such an injury. Something I am very familiar with.

Victoria and Mama were at the table the last several evenings looking at the pictures Victoria got while in Honduras. She and Nate, Cori and the kids went to the ruins of Copan. An extensive archeological site in central Honduras. It has been largely restored and reconstructed. The architecture of the ruins is very impressive especially considering the time when it was built. But what the kids loved more than the ruins was Macaw Mountain. It is a rehabilitation facility near Copan. The vivid colors on the birds is beyond description. It is also beyond explanation as far as evolutionary theory is concerned. Such variety, such beauty, is wholly unnecessary for life. It is there simply given for us to marvel; to enjoy the pleasure of color and form. Mama wants to go there if we are not able to afford a trip to Roatan when we visit Nate, Cori and the kids early next year. We will evaluate that as we get nearer the date of our visit. I would like to do something with them that they would not do on their own. We will see.

Ben Muldoon had lunch with us at the restaurant Sunday. He is an impressive young man. He is a delight to be around. Careful, thoughtful, but quick witted with a great sense of humor. A gifted listener. Fluent in sign language. Always looking for a way to serve the Lord. All the kids in church respond well to him. The adults love his as well. He grew up in a very remote mission station in Papua New Guinea. His parents continue in that mission work. Ben and Nate-and-Cori’s-Marie are engaged to be married in June next year. Marie, also fluent in sign language is currently serving as the on-staff nurse at the Children’ s Home in Honduras. She is the antithesis to Ben’s studious, analytical, disciplined application to all areas of his life. Marie is scattered, busy, distracted yet connected. Taking on everything in a mad rush. Like a hummingbird marrying an owl. A raging rapid cascading into a large, calm pool. They are in for a fun life together.

It has been a funny, strange sort of long-distance dating and engagement for the two of them. I assume they have met in person, but I am not sure that is true. Regardless, October was the month the two of them were praying for guidance as far as whether they should get married. Mama and I were praying with them as they sought God’s direction. I have to assume the answer was affirmative based on the setting of a wedding date. But at the outset Marie was not sure hers would be a yes answer to his proposal of marriage. She flat out told Ben that she did not like his voice. He does not have a manly voice. It is not as feminine as any of the males in one family in our church, but it is definitely pitched in a less masculine way than you would expect to look at Ben. I suppose love conquers all.

It will be a lot of fun to see this all get worked out.