August 2006 Adventures

August 2006 Adventures

The 5^th of August was another “Quince Años” (15^th birthday) celebration. This time we were in Primera Linea sharing the festivities with some twins. They are fraternal twins, but as you can see from the photo, they are very much alike. After an event such as this, most of the attendees are given a small plate of food – this may include a small piece of meat, a piece of sopa paraguaya (cornbread), and a piece of mandioca (yucca); or an empanada (fried meat pie). However; a table of food is provided for us as well as all the pastors attending the celebration. It is a great honor to be able to eat with all the other pastors.

The young man in the center also turned 15 on the same day as the twins, but boys do not celebrate their 15th birthday in the same manner. His name is Edar, and he is the son of the pastor at Primera Linea.

The day after the party, we headed north to the United States. We had the opportunity to visit with both our daughters, Ed’s father and brothers, and attend a family reunion for Linda – the first reunion in 27 years!

The family reunion was held in Texas – during August. Yes, it was HOT! However, we still had a great time visiting. From the reunion, we went to Houston to visit with Linda’s sister Martha. Please keep Martha in your prayers as she still is battling with renal cancer. This photo is of Linda with her 3 sisters – l-r Judy Grounds, Martha Cole, Linda, and Brenda Smith.

From Houston, we flew to Seattle, WA, where we were met by our younger daughter, Kara. Rhian’s boyfriend’s mother also met us in Seattle, and we all drove up to the Ironman triathlon in Penticton, Canada. This was our first time in British Columbia, Canada. It is a beautiful area, with lots of flowers and fruit trees

For those not familiar with an Ironman triathlon, it begins with a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, with a final 26.2 mile run! That’s makes a total of 140.6 miles of physical activity. In order to receive the official “Finisher” tee shirt, a competitor must finish the competition in 17 hours. They began the swim at 7:00 AM, with a deadline of midnight.

Rhian came across the finish line in 13 hours 48 min! Her boyfriend, James, finished in 11 hours 9 min. This was his 11^th Ironman, while Rhian’s first. We were very proud of them both.

Here is Ed running with Rhian at the beginning of the marathon to give her a little encouragement.

James encouraged Rhian by running with her for the last mile

Rhian, Linda, Kara

Ed’s 3 favorite women in the whole world!

We returned to Atlanta for the few remaining days in August. We were kept busy with various doctor appointments, and visiting as many friends as time permitted. Given that this trip was scheduled for our families, we are regretful we were not able to visit with many of our churches. We hope next time to have a more relaxed, freer schedule in the United States.