Back in Charlotte

The Chicago trip to welcome grandson Jeremy home on his return from Israel turned out to be a much larger event than planned. Our original plan was that Sue would come from Michigan and me from Charlotte but it turned into a family reunion. Sue and Jeff decided to go a day early and stay over night at a hotel. Justin and Laura joined them and James and Liz along with Joshua and Lydia came from Wisconsin. When we heard about their plans, Keith, Gavin, Calli and I all decided to join the group and to our surprise when we got to the hotel, Karin also joined us coming directly from her law classes. We had a wonderful time together that evening and then had a BIG surprise for Jeremy when he arrived.

What a tremendous experience he had studying in Israel this past semester. Our time went all too fast but we were able to hear about a few of his experiences. I know that we are all eager to hear more at a later date. Our time together was far too short, but we all needed to get back to our responsibilities. We will continue our visit together at a later date.

I returned to the lake where friends from Michigan stopped to spend some time with me on their trip home after five months in Charlotte and Florida. We had a fun time catching up with each other and working together on a few tasks. What a blessing friends and family are!

I drove back to Charlotte today and had a nice uneventful trip. The mountains are beautiful with the leaves displaying many shades of green and the Dogwood and Redbuds added extra color to the landscape. There has been plenty or rain so everything looks so fresh.

Tomorrow is an early morning for me. I will be at the office by 4:30 am to go pick up donated bread for the mission. It is a blessing to be able to supply the guest house and dining rooms with these free items. Also as we have extra, the folks working at the office get to benefit by it too. With that in mind, I had better get things put away and to bed early to catch up on my rest after a nearly twelve hour drive today.

Love to you all,

Chuck