Fast Food

Recently I was involved in a discussion concerning which is the best way to consume fast food. Let us assume you purchase a Biggie Fries, Big Bacon Classic, and a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. Now, which of these three items would consume first? Do you eat the biggest sandwich first and work your way into the smaller sandwich before tackling the fries? Or do you eat your fries first and then gnaw on the hamburgers? I normally eat the hamburgers first, starting with the biggest. I save my fries for last because if I manage to be to full of hamburger to eat the fries, I am not missing much. I am also curious if you are driving while eating does this change your routine?

Sickness

Sickness has invaded our home. Rachel and Jackson are the two humans in our household who seem to have normal health. The rest of us are in varying stages of the dreaded head cold. Sierra has a rather nasty sounding cough. Aleya's cough is similar to a dog barking. I have this little problem in the vocal cords as well as some sinus issues. This is really an inopportune time because I need to leave in an hour or so and go ministering with these faulty vocal cords. VOP has been asked to sing at a church function in Lynchburg this afternoon and has another engagement in Appomatox this evening. If you think about it you could remember us in prayer, specifically my inability to vocalise at a pitch higher than two octaves below middle C. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration but not much.......

Dusty Feet Part II

I must say I am little disappointed the previous post has not generated more discussion. I will give my view and maybe this will generate more discussion. I am of the opinion that their is a time and place to cut ties. I believe when the ties are cut it may be a wise thing to have a discussion with the party you are removing yourself from. Explain to them why you believe you need to reduce the amount of time you spend with them. Sure, they may not like it but at least they know you have a concern about their lifestyle and how it is affecting the way you live. I do not believe cutting ties should include being unfriendly. For example, just because I think it is wise to reduce the amount of time I spend with an individual does not mean I will ignore them when I meet them in town or at the gas station. It does not include ignoring the wave they toss your way when you meet them while traveling a certain local route. I think at times it is wise to spend less time with certain people. It would be silly to have someone over for a meal when you believe it will put your family at risk. Should a missionary spend all of his time focused on one individual, working hard to restore a relationship or convince the person of their sin while the rest of his flock suffers and the end result is everyone going to hell?

Dusty Feet

Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off of their feet and condemn the city if a city or town refused to listen to the message they had to share. Several months ago, may have been a year now, we had a Sunday school lesson on this subject. Someone asked if there is a time or place for us to shake the dust off of our feet in our time. There are missionaries who struggle with churches where natives do not respect the minister and this struggle over the truth and God's word seems to never end. There are the worldly neighbors who we try to talk to and encourage who never seem to realize they have a need. Is there a time or place where we need to say my relationship with an individual is not helping him/her develop love for God and therefore the relationship should be terminated or scaled back? Certainly we would not want to lose our own souls in the process of trying to win souls? Is there a point at which a father needs to say this situation is not right/best for my family? Therefore, I will remove my family from this situation?

Sierra Janae Part Two

We tried to get some sleep after she had received her pain medication but we were to wound up to sleep. About 1:00 the nurse thought it was time. Sierra was born at 3:21 AM on Friday, Oct. 27, 2000. They moved us from a delivery room to a new mother room we finally settled in around 7:00. People came to visit that afternoon. I remember feeling like I was in a daze as I blindly invited them into the room and proudly showed them our daughter. I am so thankful for mother-in-law's support. I have never felt so helpless in my life. This ordeal lasted 52 hours but Sierra's heart beat never faltered and she was a healthy baby. Praise the Lord.
I wonder how you fathers coped with this type of situation.
Does any one know what the name Sierra Janae means?
Last I want to wish Sierra a very happy birthday. Daddy is proud of you and I want you to know I love you.
Daddy

Sierra Janae

Five years ago, Oct. 24, Rachel went into labor. Now, you may need to know this pregnancy occurred after wise, smart, intelligent people told us we had 1% chance of having biological children. This pregnancy came after struggling through infertility treatments and deciding God wanted us to adopt someone. My wife decided to use a midwife with Dr. backup. The only problem was the midwife was located in Charlottesville Va. which is an hour and a half drive. On Oct. 24 Rachel went into labor and we waited. Her mother came down on this day and she thought a ride in the pick up would be a good way to to help her get the show on the road. I was more than willing to show them the countryside and we proceeded to cover some very rough terrain. When we woke up on Wed. the 25th, things had progressed enough that we thought we should take a ride in the van to the midwife. There was some discussion as to whether her mom should go with us. After pondering it a little I decided she should go along. This turned out to be a very wise decision. We arrived at the midwives establishment around eleven in the morning. Got settled and waited. She labored and labored and labored. I labored and labored and labored. Her mother labored and labored and labored. On Thursday the 26th, we had just about had enough. I was turning into an emotional wreck. Rachel was no closer to having this baby then she was on Tuesday. After much discussion the midwife decided we should go to the hospital. There was only one little catch the hospital in Charlottesville did not like the midwives so, guess what, we got to drive an hour back to Lynchburg. I really wanted to go 100 but I managed to keep the speed around 80. After arriving at the hospital around 5 it took them 2 hours to give her an epidural. I will never forget I had finally had all I could take and I called my mother. When she answered the phone I just started weeping. She knew the baby had been lost.... She kept asking me if everything was all right and all I could blubber out was yes. The funny thing was the nurse that gave the epidural came in the room while I was on the phone. I am sure he thought I was some kind of lousy husband weeping like a baby......

Why?

Why do you read blogs?

Belonging

Yesterday morning our Jayden and Jackson were dedicated. My wife's father spoke on what it means to be a father. He touched on the incredible responsibility we have. The way we as fathers relate to our children and how that affects there view of life. How it affects there view or perception of our Heavenly Father. He talked some about how our children react to the way they are treated, do they feel loved. This thought led nicely into my dad's thoughts as he talked solely about belonging. How do our children expect to feel like they belong to us when we often mistreat them. Don't say were sorry or tell them we love them. Do we communicate with our children? The importance of having a relationship with our children. What are some ways you parents are using to develop relationships with your children. Those of you who are not married, what are some things your parents did that helped you develop a relationship with them?

Blogs/Computers

Oh, I am so very irritated at the present moment. I have tried to add two links to my side bar. The first time I did this all of my links, not the blogs, showed up in the top right above the post. I took both links off before it went back to the left place. I then added the Love Worth Finding link and all is well. I then tried to add the other link and it will not show up in the links even though it appears to be done correctly. Computers seem to have a mind of there own and appear to do what they want whenever they want regardless of my command. I would like to know why? Is this a common problem?

Tuck

Tuck is a man who loves to talk. He is a person who loves training beagles to chase rabbits. He is a man who loves children. Tuck is a man who is my friend and I enjoyed talking to him. Tuck left this world this morning at 6:00. Our school sale spirit was dampened because of this. He enjoyed attending our sale and enjoyed bidding on quilts. I was told Tuck was lying under a quilt he purchased last year at our school sale. I have reason to believe Tuck became a Christian about two weeks ago. He struggled with bitterness because a Dr. did not find the cancer which was growing in his body and should have been very obvious. I had noticed in the past year Tuck did not seem as bitter about the things that had happened to him. I hope you will take the time to remember to pray for Tuck's family as they work through the funeral details and deal with the grief. Tuck's wife died about a year ago I believe. I will miss Tuck and I regret not going to visit him last week when I thought about him. Will we ever learn to tell people we appreciate them before they leave us forever?

School Sale

The school sale is upon us. If you think about our church tomorrow please remember us in prayer. The goal is to be light in our community as well as generate funds for the school/gym. If we are not a light we will have accomplished nothing.

Questions

I wonder how life would be if Pilate would have heeded his wife's misgiving concerning Christ's crucifixion. Would there have been a crucifixion? Would they have murdered Pilate and then crucified Christ?
Another question: What did Christ do with coin He got when he was asked about whether people should pay taxes or not. He took this coin and proceeded to explain why people should pay taxes. Did he give the coin back or keep it?

Honesty

Is it possible to be to honest? Does your spouse/friend need to know every little fault you have?

The Wreck

One wintry December evening in 1986 our family was on the way to choir practice at church. The church drive is located on the top of a hill. As we were slowing down to turn a car popped over the hill. Daddy slowed down some more but the car continued to travel directly toward us. Daddy drove into the ditch and the oncoming vehicle followed us into the ditch before slamming into the front left corner of the car. The car, a Volvo, was demolished however, a cop told us if the car would not have been a Volvo Daddy probably would have been killed. The way the car was made prevented the other vehicle from climbing into the drivers seat. My mother was not wearing a seat belt and her delicate jaw made rapid contact with the tape deck. Both items were broken and the jaw experienced more pain than the tape deck. I was not wearing a seat belt either and my hard head made direct contact with the head rest on the drivers seat which resulted in a concussion. My chiropractor tells me this is why my head is not on straight and I thanked him for giving me a good excuse. My sister, Juanita, was not hurt and disappeared without telling anyone where she was going. This frazzled the mother quite a bit and she spent a considerable amount of time looking under the car trying to find her before people came pouring out of the church and informed her that Juanita had gone into the church to get help. She had dashed into the church and shouted "We had a wreck." To which the director moaned and said "Oh great, silly children!" thinking some kids had smacked into each other.
I have no recollection of this incident except for a few minor things.
1. I can see to round headlights headed for us but I have no memory of impact.
2. I remember lying on a church bench and hearing Chris Good laughing at me for repeating myself. I also remember wondering how mamma was doing.
3. I remember one split second of the trip to our family Dr. Grandaddy drove us down to Brookneal. I can see Dr. Carwile's face with his normally grim expression.
4. I remember Daddy and Dave Gingerich took me to the emergency room and I remember one point while we were there but that is all.
These memories are of the very brief sort and in some ways I hope they never fully come back to me.
Have you ever been in an accident?
Oh, by the way, the guys that hit us, they were playing basketball in our barn within the next week. Right after the wreck they jumped out of the car and started throwing bottles into the woods. I do have a vague recollection of seeing them standing at the truck and hurling beer bottles into the woods. Sometimes it feels like a bad dream......

School Sale

We are having our school sale this weekend and one of our concerns is how to keep the focus on the community not the monetary end of things. How do you find the balance between raising money and witnessing when the two are so closely tied together? It is very easy to get wrapped up in the amount of funds the auction/sale generates and forget we can use this as a witnessing tool. What would be some ways we as a congregation can focus on witnessing as well as fund raising?

Day Of Rest?

Traditionally Sunday is viewed as a day of rest or the day on which working is wrong. How do you decide what is acceptable or unacceptable Sunday behavior. Here are a couple of examples.
1. Swimming
2. Sports activities: Volley Ball, Basketball, etc.
3. Purchasing gas.
4. Traveling in general.
5. Working: dairy industry, pizza hut. Is there a difference?
These are few things to tweak your thinking.

WCPE

I was listening to wcpe this morning while milking and I heard something that I thought was rather pathetic. Someone was advertising the station. He said something about people who are looking and searching for comfort should listen to great classical music on there station. Now that sounds fine and dandy, however, great classical music is not going to restore your soul. He made another comment about how the music they play will help calm your spirit.

Kissing???

Did you know men who kiss there wives before they leave for work
A. Have fewer accidents
B. Make 20-30% more money
Have you found this to be true, oh wait, your still single.......

Sin Questions

So we have decided divorce isn't sin but remarriage is. I agree with this, however, I wonder how this affects our view of those who are remarried. For instance, there is a local Baptist preacher/beef farmer who is divorced and remarried. He is a good man and an excellent speaker. He knows the Lord, is he going to hell? Why is it okay to worship with them and then not have them lead us in worship? Are we not all sinners?

Divorce

Oh no, I must be crazy, not this topic.
Is divorce wrong? Is there ever a time when divorce is a good thing or the right thing? If I am not mistaken the Bible does give two valid reasons for divorce. The first is abandonment. When one spouse leaves the other. The second is adultery. When one spouse has a physical relationship with some one other than the spouses spouse. Wow, that is wordy....
What about abuse? Physical or verbal abuse. Is this cause for divorce? I have come to the conclusion there is time for divorce. Can we look at divorce the same way we look at excommunication? Before excommunicating someone the church will send two or three brethren to talk to the individual about the sin that has been committed. If the erring brother is still unrepentant, the church moves forward with the excommunication, hoping this will bring the erring person back to the Lord. Can the same be done with divorce? If the spouse who is in the wrong does not change after repeated admonition, why shouldn't the other spouse leave or divorce? I wonder if divorce would be a way to work on marriage problems. I believe it should be used as a last resort. However, I also believe if both people really want to fix the problem there never would be any divorce. Now, I also want to mention this little fact. I am discussing divorce, not remarriage. These are questions I have and I am wondering what your thought on the subject is. Maybe it is impossible to separate divorce from remarriage.

Mud

This afternoon a load of cotton seed arrived and was looking forward to being deposited in our new commodity shed. Due to slow electricians not all of the grading has been done so there was quite a bit of mud at all the wrong places. The dirt in our area is a red clay. This red clay turns into a slippery mess when it is wet. In the past week we have received 8 inches of rain. This ingredient turned the dust into a slippery, slimy mess. First we tried to back the truck up to the shed using the existing lane. This worked well until the trailer wheels were caked full of mud and the tractor began to spin. He pulled forwards and tried again using a bit more horsepower. This resulted in more spinning and not much movement. We proceeded to option 2 which produced the same negative result. This time we were in the yard but the yard was, in fact, a lake yesterday. After this failed we tried option 3. This was a quick spin over to the neighboring farm to see if his building was empty. Another grand idea that was unfruitful. We proceed to option 4. I made a phone call to a friend of mine who pumps sand and rocks out of the Staunton river. Shock of all shocks he was home and was more than willing to bring me a load of river gravel/sea shells. This load of gravel was strategically placed. You can only imagine my glee when he successfully placed this load of feed into my shed. You see, this load cost me about three grand and I really wanted it in the barn out of the weather.

Unanswered Questions

I asked a few questions earlier that have never been commented on. Here they are.
1. What is a conviction?
2. Is pain/suffering God's comlpliment?
3. Isn't everyone a hypocrite to a certain degree?
4. What do we base social acceptance on?
5. Is premarital counseling worth it?

Why I Don't Hunt

I always wondered why I don't hunt. I hunted when I was a lad because everyone else did but as I got older the desire to hunt dwindled. Last night I discovered why I don't hunt. Eldon, first cousin of mine and Lowell's brother, stopped in last night and told me he had shot at a deer but it galloped off over the hill and he couldn't find it. He used the phone to call his dad before going off into the murky darkness to search some more for the love of his life. By the way, his father did not answer the phone and now I understand why. Thirty minutes later Eldon rapped on the door again. He had located the deer but had been unable to lug the horned creature, battery pack, and flash light back to the truck. I, being such a nice guy, not mention nieve, willingly offered to help drag his kill out of the bushes. The spot of the kill was in some of cut over land located behind our barn. This cut over land happens to be home to tons of weeds, briar patches, and honey locust trees. These trees take great pride in there ability to grow razor sharp thorns. We were able to get the truck within 200 yards, give or take a few miles, of the kill. We then drug this animal out of the jungle to the pick up. Due to the size of the deer and the physical condition of one of the draggers, we were propelled to rest quite frequently. I don't know how much this buck weighed but by the time we had him to the truck it felt like he weighed well over a ton and I had no idea how we would ever hoist him onto the bed of the truck. Eldon, with great woodsmen strength and power, hoisted him onto the truck while I grunted feebly and acted like I was trying to be helpful. After the project was finished I collapsed in a heap in the truck. As Eldon drove back to my house I moaned, "Now I know why I don't hunt. It's to much work....."
Eldon classified this buck as a nine pointer. After dragging it to the truck we figured we should count the other small tine which would land it in the 10 point category. What did it weigh? I don't know, couple thousand lbs I think.....

Part Seven

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding. The wedding began at 1:00 with Voice Of Praise (VOP), with the help of two ladies, singing You Are The New Day. The processional was Holy Holy Holy, arranged by Jon, my brother. As they sang this song the bridal party solemnly filed in and took their places at the front of the sanctuary. I, then, carried my parents up the aisle to their seats before waiting, once again, at the front of the church. Slowly Rachel’s parents brought her down the aisle to stand by my side.
Ushering my parents up the aisle was one small final way to honor them as a single man. I also wanted this to be a public statement of their support, a public endorsement.
It was also very important to us that Rachel’s parents give her to me. I was in the process of taking their little girl out of the fold. Rachel was their first daughter to marry and leave home. Imagine the questions they would be asking. How is Glen going to lead Rachel, spiritually and emotionally? How far from us will they live? How often will they come home?
Because of this Donna and I were struggling. I felt like she was trying to control me and what I wanted for my family. I realize, now, this was not what she was doing and they had a God given right to be asking themselves, and Rachel, questions about our plans. Taking this into consideration, it was important to us that they give Rachel to me.
Rachel’s grandfather, Menno Kauffman, asked the question: "Who gives this bride away?"
Bob responded, "Her mother and I."
We needed to know they were willing to make this statement in public. They, also, needed to know they had done it. I believe this is a very good way to start a marriage. With both sets of parents publically giving there consent.
Rachel’s Grandpa Kauffman read 1st Corinthians 13, the love chapter, and lead in prayer before the Sweet Fellowship was sung.
This song talks about fellow-shipping with one another, as we’re walking in the light. It is possible to have fellowship when the Father is in our midst. Is there a better way to start a marriage then basing it on fellowship with the Father?
After this song my father spoke on the need to be honest. Following the sermon we were married by Uncle Leon. I was amazed at the awesome responsibility that we were agreeing to. To love and cherish each other in sickness and health, in prosperity and destitution, in fertility and infertility. These solemn promises, I soon discovered, would take an immense amount of work.
We then lit the unity candle with the message of the song Holy Ground reverberating through the auditorium.
We are standing on holy ground,
and I know that there are angles all around.
Let us praise Him, Jesus now.
We are standing in His presence on holy ground.
Uncle Leon then presented us to the witnesses. Mr. And Mrs. Glen Zehr. I was very proud to walk back down the aisle to the singing of, Lord, I Will Praise You.
I was rejoicing, praising the Lord for, His faithfulness. The Lord who had created all things, He had created Rachel and I and, He cared deeply about us. He had led us together and , He would continue to lead. I joyfully hummed along, Oh Lord, I will praise, You.
There was a reception immediately following the service in the adjacent fellowship hall. The rest of the day is very foggy in my memory. I was honored that so many dear friends had taken the time to celebrate this day with us, I was determined to stay until most of the guests had left.
As we were leaving, about 5:00, I was amazed I had a wife. I was amazed God allowed us to begin our journey with a beautiful day. We did not know what was around the corner or how God would lead us. For the next week, life was carefree. As I write, it is easy to dream about those carefree days. If I could redo them, I would try to squeeze more out of them, because around the curve were many hard, tearful battles with life, struggling with God’s goodness.

Part Six

The Next Six Months
Life continued to putter by and we continued waiting and while waiting I milked cows. I got tired of waiting and I got tired of cows. Milking 30 cows twice a day is one thing, but 200!!! Waiting and cows were becoming an inconvenience. I remember calling Rachel one night asking her if there was any way we could change the wedding date. Could we have it in March instead of May? She calmly put me off, telling me it could not be changed. It would not suit, they would not be able to get the church, and the invitations were already printed. She had many other noteworthy reasons why the date could not be changed. I finally gave in and continued to wait.
Eating, sleeping, and working. There were two things I did not take advantage of. First, I did not improve my relationship with my heavenly Father. Second, I did not go out of my way to make new friends and be an integral part of the church I was attending.
I wonder at times if the path I was treading would have varied if I had made the afore- mentioned items a major priority? Learning to know the Father would have made me a better person. I would have become more established in my beliefs. Why do I believe ladies should wear the veiling? Why do we believe you can lose your salvation? What do I believe about the beard and mustache? How should I handle my children after I am married? How many children do I want and how soon? There were so many questions I could have addressed that would have saved us headaches and heartaches in the future.
Becoming an integral part of the church there in Hanover may have helped me address some of those tough questions. I would have made new friends that could encourage and help me identify some of the issues that I needed to face. However, this did not happen and I continued to muddle through life. I was an unenthusiastic Christian, if there is such a thing, and this view of Christianity would affect my marriage and my children.
The 28th day of May 1994 finally arrived. A warm springy day. Soft clouds floated high overhead and the trees waved gently in the breeze. The sun tossed lazy shadows on the ground as it filtered through the fluttering leaves.

Lowell

I must take a quick break from Our Story to mention Lowell. Tomorrow morning Lowell will be leaving for an indefinite amount of time. He is headed for Guatemala and will be working with MAM. Lowell is my friend and I will miss him. I will miss discussing life with him. His flight leaves at 6 tomorrow morning. So, Lowell, I will try to pray for you as I think of you. God give you strength as you struggle for Him.

Part Five

My heart ached, if she was not on that plane, my mental stableness would take a swift and dreadful fall into the black hole of depression. I refused to think about it. I called Val Yoder at SMBI, He calmly told me, with a chuckle, "Glen, she is more than likely not on that plane." Being the optimist that I am, I told Donna, "Listen, lets go over to the airport, nobody knows if she is on the plane, she could be." So we jumped into my car and scooted over to the airport, found the gate, and began waiting.
People started pouring through the doorway. We calmly stood there on our tip-toes peering eagerly over the top of the crowd. Like a child at the dollar store, trying to get a glance at the coveted pocket knife. Then, like a song in the night, I saw her. Oh joy, oh delight.
We had made arrangements for Rachel to stay at Choice for the night before her and her mother went to SMBI the next day. I would be taking them to Indiana for the weekend.
On this trip, Donna kept wondering when I was going to talk to Bob about getting married. She knew, somehow, that we were engaged. After Rachel and I discussed it, we decided that I should talk to him. I did this with confidence, asking for his permission to marry his lovely daughter. He wanted to chat with her before giving me an answer. So I promptly offered to mow his grass so he could talk to her. As I mowed, I watched them, Bob on his knees begging her to think about what she is doing!!! Oh wait, he’s pulling weeds in the flower bed, and my lady is sitting daintily on the porch swing, like a kitten licking its paw.
I discovered he had indeed given his consent. We set the wedding date, May twenty-eight nineteen hundred and ninety-four. Six more months, oh ponderous, torturous, slow-moving life.

Part Four

Where will the wedding be?
Down in the swamp in the Hornoe tree.
What will the wedding supper be?
Fried mosquito, and a black-eyed pea.
We were engaged. Where would the wedding be? When would the wedding be? We knew having a wedding the summer of 1993 was impossible. Rachel would be taking part in SMBI’s WATER program and was looking forward to working in an orphanage in Romania operated by Christian Aid Ministries. I was serving at Choice Books. Because of these circumstances, we decided getting married would need to wait.
I began to realize life consists of waiting. I am always waiting. Waiting for letters, cards, paychecks, and airplanes. Airplanes that are leaving and airplanes that are coming. There wait finally ended as Rachel, and three others, flew from Dulles International Airport. Her parent’s and I, took them to the airport, making sure they boarded the correct plane. After they boarded the plane, we were extremely lonesome, and morose. It was over-whelming, five weeks looked endless. How would we survive the waiting?
Waiting: How do we handle waiting? Do we crawl in a dark hole, wallowing in self-pity? Because life consists of waiting, I have discovered it is what we do while we wait that brings meaning to life. This concept would make a big difference in our lives in the coming years. Wait, I am getting ahead of my story.
After the plane departed, we stopped at Dairy Queen, while picking at our food we decided Rachel needed a box full of goodies. So we stopped at Food Lion, purchasing items that we knew Rachel enjoyed. Dale Schnupp was traveling to Romania and said he would be glad to deliver a box for us.
Rachel called when she got to the orphanage. I was very relived to hear her voice on the phone. Knowing her plane had not fallen out of the sky into the murky ocean, or her train had not derailed brought us great joy.
I faithfully set my alarm clock for two-o-clock every Tuesday morning, seven-o-clock Romanian time, and placed a call to Rachel. Due to low funds, I was making eighty dollars a month, most phone calls were short and sweet.
One particular phone call was not so short. I had been offered the herdsman position at Hillcrest Dairy, located in Hanover, Pennsylvania. They wanted an answer very quickly, and due to the upcoming nuptials, I felt the need to discuss this with my fiancé. This phone call lasted twenty minuets, costing me close to one hundred dollars. We decided I would take the job. Pounding out the details was difficult. I would need to break my commitment to Choice Books.
Another wrinkle Rachel needed to work through was her parent’s decision to move to Faith Builders Educational Programs. Rachel would be adjusting to major changes after she returned home.
Knowing I was getting married, and needing money, I wanted to leave as soon as possible, however, I never told the manager of Choice, Simon Schrock, why I needed to leave despite a fairly long conversation. I realize now this was a mistake, I should have told him.
Simon wondered why I wanted to leave. I told him things like: "I feel unfulfilled." "I don’t enjoy my work." These things had been true, however, I was really beginning to enjoy my work. Simon suggested I stay until the end of October, completing half of my one-year term. One thing I tried to do, was working hard regardless of my unhappiness. I must have succeeded, because Alfy told me one day, "Glen, thank-you for doing a good job and not moping even though you are not totally satisfied."
Well, the decision was made, I would be moving to Hanover. However, there was one more gut-wrenching episode that should be mentioned. My lovely ladies return from a far away land. The horrid train operators had gone on strike in Romania, so we, Rachel’s mom, Donna, and I had no way of knowing whether Rachel was even on the plane. I called the orphanage and was told that Rachel and those with her had left for the airport but they did not know whether they had gotten on the plane.

Part Three

"I think Ben and Juanita could come down" he responded
However, they went on a major detour, missing the turnpike exit and driving all the way to Pittsburgh on route 79 before realizing they were miserably lost. A two-hour wait at the rest area became a five-hour wait. We enjoyed the peacefulness that is found when sitting at a picnic table located a stone’s throw from the worst hard top road in America. Eighteen wheelers soon lost our interest and our minds wandered. Eventually we ran out of things to talk about. I realized a new topic of discussion would be appropriate. So.... I asked her to marry me.

Part Two

Had I been athletic enough to do cartwheels across the parking lot I would have. Instead, I took it like a man, and immediately galloped off to call Rachel’s Mom. This phone call resulted in plans that Rachel was unaware of. Her mother and I decided I would ring the doorbell at six-o-clock on Friday morning. In order to arrive at six-o-clock, I needed to leave Fairfax Thursday evening and drive through the night.
I was well ahead of schedule and stopped to rest. However, I soon realized that rest was not a possibility. I called Rachel’s mother and asked, "Is it okay if I am thirty minutes early?"
"Sure," Donna replied, "We will be looking for you."
As I drove timidly in the lane, Donna came slinking out the door. "Rachel is still in bed. Come on in and make yourself at home."
We quietly slipped back into the house and I realized I was not the only visitor. Audrey Henderson, one of Rachel’s friends from Dryden, convinced Rachel that she needed to make a trip upstairs. Rachel finally consented, pulling herself out of her bed and came stumbling up the stairs. As she came reeling across the living room, she saw someone sitting on the rocking chair. He had a goofy looking grin on his face, like the hound dog you catch gnawing on your shoes. That goofy grin shocked her vocal cords into action, and as she fell limply onto the sofa and shrieked, "I am not dressed, my hair isn’t combed, I look like a fright!"
Well, Rachel soon got over her fright and returned the favor by driving her little bug at an incredible speed for such a quiet young lass. As I bounced around like a cork in a bottle, I thought my goodness, she really needs a husband, she drives like a maniac!
She, like me, must not have understood what the word slow meant, in driving, or in our relationship. On different occasions both sets of parents solemnly tried to explain to us that a slow relationship would be in order. I should state that "slow" was not a word I was acquainted with. I had never done anything slow in my life, why start now? I was courtin with sword and pistol by my side.
May twenty-eight, nineteen, hundred and ninety-three was a big day for us. Rachel caught a ride to Breezewood, Pennsylvania. I picked her up there, and we began driving to Guys Mills, Pennsylvania, where Rachel would officially meet my parents, Milo and Mary Sue.
We were traveling west on the despised turnpike, when our romantic mood was brought to an abrupt halt by a very loud and disturbing, KAPOW.
"Flat tire," I said pulling over. I got out and calmly began putting on the itsy-bitsy spider tire. This tire looked like it was lacking in the air department also. We crept ahead, the speedometer registering a paltry thirty-five miles an hour. When we reached the next rest area, I grabbed the air hose and applied the nozzle to the valve stem. Gazing into my fair lady’s eyes my mind strayed far away from the task at hand. I was brought back to reality when this tire also gave an exasperated BLAMO. I looked down in disbelief. Lying on the ground in front of me was my spider tire, a shredded piece of rubber. I told Rachel, "Uh, I think I put to much air in that tire."
"I see," she replied calmly.
"What should I do now," I muttered quietly under my breath? The service center was closed. "Guess I will call daddy."
I found a pay phone and dialed the phone number. When Daddy answered the phone I said, "Daddy, we have a flat tire and have no way of getting one that isn’t flat. Could someone bring us a tire or come down and help us?"

Our Story (part one)

I was considering doing this before In His Image wrote his. There will be some big differences in our different stories. However, we would both agree, I wouldn't recommend you doing it this way. Now, I should also tell you I started this book so I could give our children a copy. Something they could read and understand more about how we felt while struggling with infertility and adoption, both failed and successful.

Froggy Went A Courtin
Froggy went a courtin and he did ride.
With sword and pistol by his side
Rode right up to miss mouseÂ’s door.
Gave three raps and a very load ROAR.
Took miss mouse upon his knee
Said miss mouse will you marry me?
Froggy went a courtin and I did too. It all began in the confines of Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute (SMBI). I was there for Night of Music. Night of Music is really a reunion. Everyone that has attended this fine institution comes home for a visit. Afterthe service my friend, Brian, and I were strolling through the gym. Brian stopped to chat with a young lady for a few seconds, and I stood silently by, making mental assessments. Good looking, mature, soft-spoken, modest, the list went on and on. They finished the conversation, and she continued on her journey. Where she was going, I did not know. As Brian and I moved on through the gym, I asked, "Who was that?"
"That was Rachel Kauffman. She is going is coming as a student fourth-term" Brian replied, "You interested? I can set you up" he said laughing.
"Oh, not really" I replied. Then I promptly forgot about her, until we were both fourth-term students. We were both students and became very good friends. For some reason we ended up at Best Way quite often, eating pizza, and doing homework, sort of. Of course, we never went alone, the people we took with us were friends of the cause, and we were able to make significant strides in our homework, I mean, in our relationship.
Our relationship had progressed to a point where I felt the need to have parental support. So when my mother was there to visit one weekend, I made SURE she knew who I was in love with. After six weeks of confinement in a building whose floors took great joy in creaking and groaning, we prepared to depart on a three-week chorus tour, into the vast country of Canada. While on this trip I got very sick, Rachel was the school nurse, so this increased our chances of building our relationship. Not only was my body very feverish, I realized how my heart was burning with the love of youth.
I knew her parents had been talking to some of my friends, trying to determine if I was worthy of a relationship with Rachel. I realized that these friends must have convinced RachelÂ’s parents that I was okay when she said, "I think it is time for you talk to Dad."
I distinctly remember calling Bob on the phone. It was Sunday evening, and we had a very good discussion about life and what some of my goals where. My goal for the immediate future included going to Choice Books of Northern Virginia, located in Fairfax, to spend a year of voluntary service. This was a good thing to have on my resume, because RachelÂ’s parents, Bob and Donna, had spent close twenty years serving at Northern Youth Programs, and they appreciated the fact that I wanted to be involved in ministering to human souls.
I moved to Choice Books two weeks before RachelÂ’s high school graduation, and she was wondering if I could attend. I felt uncomfortable taking off work, because my job had just begun, and decided I would need to miss this monumental occasion. This decision brought on a very serious illness called moping. Due to this illness, I decided time off of work would be a very good thing. I would talk to Alfy, my boss, and get his opinion. Alfy told me, "I think you should go."