Old Friends

Yesterday in the mail I received a Priority Mail envelope stuffed to the gills with buttons. My dear friend Marie had sent them to me. We have been friends since 1986ish and were roommates in the Army. When she entered my 'world' I had my own room in the barracks and I wasn't too happy that someone was going to be encroaching on my space. =) Another friend had told me, 'Cheer up kiddo, she will probably become your best friend." Well, 20 years later we laugh at how I didn't want her to be my room mate.

(Is it kind of ironic that as I type this post the song 'Old Friends' is playing on my computer from the Gaither Homecoming CD.)

Old Friends, after all of these years, just old friends,,,
Through laughter and tears, Old friends
What a find! What a priceless treasure....
Old friends, like a rare piece of gold,
My old friends, makes it great to grow old, Old Friends
Through it all I will hold to old friends.

As time passes we know why God sends some people into our life to strengthen, inspire, and to enrich our lives!

Thank You Marie!

When People Need You (and you don't even know it!)

I remember when we lived in Hawaii, I would see an elderly couple of about 80 years in our town. I would see them getting on the bus and walking around occasionally and I assumed they lived in our area. I was talking to a storekeeper who was a Christian, and she told me that one of the local churches in our town had 'sent them home' I was puzzled. I had seen them every so often and I assumed this WAS their home She had went on to explain to me that this couple had come to Hawaii on vacation. They were robbed of their possesions and were living down the street in a park!!! I had seen them over the span of many months, How terribly sad! How I wish I had spoken to them before!!!

Yesterday, I was walking and came across an aquaintance of my husband's. We stopped on the street and were talking about our town, local stores and, it seemed to me, nothing of great value. Today, he talked to my husband and told him how he was so glad I took the time to talk to him. He said that he has been going through quite a lot and was glad to have someone just to listen to him.

It got me to thinking... how many times have I not spoken to someone when I could/ should have. We never know the impact that our words ( or lack of words) have on others and their lives, no matter how trivial and common our words are. I don't want to be too absorbed in my world and circumstances where I cannot look out and see the needs of others around me.

Brenda's and my hearts

Brenda and I planned on swapping hearts when the Hand Emb List first started. There wasn't enough interest back then, so we postponed till a later date and could get morepeople involoved. She has kindly made this heart for me and I have made mine for her. Awww..... looking at her heart and comparing to mine makes mine pale in comparison. Hers is the pink "Poor Baby" heart and mine is the fushia, purple and lavender heart. I hope you like it Brenda.

Kindness from Cher

Cher and I have been in many round robins together and what a surprise it was to me when I found a package in the mail from her. The customs form said lace and I was confounded why she would send it to me. When I opened the package it said 'Just Because'. =) Here is a pic of the vintage crochet and bobbin laces she sent. She really made my day. =) Isn't that sweet?

Sera's Trip- 4

Please scroll down to see the first three posts on Sera's trip to Afghanistan/ Dubai.

Sera had said that there are many different nationalities living in Dubai, including many Indian. How can I not resist posting some of these pics. I would love to get my hands on one of those garments in the first pic! The fabrics and glitz are beautiful.

More tomorrow!

Sera's Trip- 3

Here are some of the mosques that Sera encountered along her journey. I particularly like the photo of the woman walking down the street with the mosque in the background.

Sera's Trip part 2

These are pics in the beginning of Sera's trip while they were still in Dubai- at the mission house, the homes, and a Dubai sunset. Sorry they are not in order.

Sera's trip to Afghanistan/ Dubai

Sera has so kindly given me photos of her trip to Dubai and is allowing me to share them here. I have tried to group the photos together by topic but am sure they are not perfect. Sera's English is wonderful, but we still have a bit of a language barrier. If there are any mistakes, they are solely mine! I might not have the whole story 100 percent correct, but you will have the gist of it.

If you recall , I had mentioned that after Sera had left for Afghanistan, my husband had heard on the Armed Force Radio Network (Paul Harvey) that there was a group of Korean Missionaries that were going to Afghanistan and that the Muslim Clerics were protesting their arrival. The clerics wanted the government to not allow them to come into the country and realizing that it was Sera's group we began to pray for them.

The next day we heard on the news that one of the men in the group had a grenade in his bag. This is what we heard reported on the news and yet the story is SO very different. Am I really surprised? No. I must digress a bit to explain-so please bear with me.

Korean storekeepers, labor workers, etc, often wear vests that have a netting on the front and also many pockets. Instead of carrying a handbag or tote, they can keep the cash and other valuables in a safe place- on their body. You have to understand how common it is for people to wear them over here. You see them everywhere. This kind of vest is what they found in one of the Korean men's bag. They did not find a grenade but this vest. I assume they thought it looked paramilitary. I have posted pics of these vests I took last Friday when I went to the market so you can see what they look like.

Sera's group was held at the airport at Singapore and they were not allowed to travel on to Afghanistan. All of their medical supplies and computer supplies that they were going to use for missions were taken from them. They decided to go to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where there was a Korean mission and church. The first night of their arrival they slept in the sanctuary of the church and were moved to another building nearby

Please stay tuned! More pics to come!

Squishie for Debbie

Thank You Debbie! =) Debbie has so kindly did some shopping for me in the States and sent me some goodies that I am in need of. In return, I have gone shopping for her and am sending her these CQ goodies that I have purchased in Taegu. What I really like about many of the strip laces is that they can be cut apart and used as motifs or used as a strip lace. I know I went haywire on the colored strip laces but they look different when you place them on top of different colored fabrics. The butterflies can be used as a strip lace or cut up for motifs and they dye up great. (Just in time for the butterfly round robin, eh?)

Hope you like these my friend... I coudn't get everything in the pics so this will have to suffice until you recieve these in the mail. =)

Welcome Home Sera!

Welcome Home Sera!

I am still having difficulty uploading pics so this post will be without them. It is such a shame since Sera has wonderful pics. Hopefully soon blogger will let me post pics...

I saw Sera this weekend and she seemed grateful that there were those who were praying for her. Thank You all.

Sera and her group were going into Afghanistan and at the airport in Dubai were held up. On the news, we had heard that there was a Korean missionary group that was going into the country was halted because a grenade was found in a bag. My first thought was that was absolutely absurd unless it was planted there by a customs agent who did not want them going into the country. Before they even got in the country there were muslim clerics protesting their arrival. The news media had gotten the story wrong and I am not surprised. There was no grenade. (Am I really surprised???) Many of the street vendors here wear vests that have many pockets on the front. They wear them to stash their cash and other neccesities needed throughout the day and use these vests as a handbag/ catch all. One of the pockets has a webbing on the front that could look as if it is paramilitary.

With the Afghanistani government not allowing them to come into the country, they called a Korean church and decided to continue their mission in Dubai. They were brought to the Korean church and stayed there for the first night. On the second day they were moved out of the sanctuary to another building. They formed into groups of four people and were going to the various areas outside of Dubai in the country.

I will leave the rest of the story for tomorrow and the coming days.