A new focus

A new year, a new beginning, a new presentation and a new focus--my word for 2019.

The new header, title and description reflect the change.
For years now, I felt increasingly compelled to gather and write down my life stories. Documents and resources have come to me and the memories bombard me faster than I can record them.
There are so many phases and layers to the long years and the many wanderings. Perhaps that explains my difficult progress. The task is overwhelming.
To aid in the process, I decided to take note of those reminders from the past as they come to me. In the first week alone, each day brought back a glimpse into a different time in life.
This transition from photo journal to memoirish posts will likely be gradual and experimental (it's hard to break old habits) and I may continue to include the memory-making highlights of the week.

January 1
The melody and lyrics of a Spanish hymn repeated throughout the day as a reminder of my life-long goal.

Jesús, yo he prometido servirte con amor.

Concédeme tu gracia, mi amigo y salvador. 

No temeré la lucha si tú a mi lado estás. 

Ni perderé el camino si tú guiando vas.

Jesus, I have promised to serve you with love. 

Grant me your grace, my saviour and friend. 

I will not fear the struggle if you are by my side. 

Nor will I lose my way if you are guiding me. 

That was the day we heard that Malachi became engaged to Lexi Meacham!

I thought about him and reflected on what he shared with the family during our family talent night. He is preparing for youth ministry, working toward an MDiv degree.
I could see him with his Bible and notebook, and wondered whether he keeps a record of each talk, date and place, like my Dad, his great grandfather.
One of the treasures I inherited is a large box of Daddy's sermons.

January 2
Michael discovered what had caused the "sonic boom" we heard and felt on New Year's Eve. The strong winds that night brought down a large tree that had the zip line attached to it. The cable in turn brought down, and broke in two places, the corner post holding up the deck. That was memorable.
He has been working every day since then to repair the damage.

January 3
My brother Lynn was born 71 years ago in Río Cuarto, Argentina. This is his second celebration in heaven, if such happens there! We are left here for awhile with only the memories.

January 4

We were reminded of the day 31 years ago when the first O.M. ship ran aground. Here is a good collection of photos and the story of that memorable event.
Before the M/V Logos set out on its first voyage, we were onboard for a couple weeks. Michael was helping repair navigational equipment.

January 5
Ivan, brother number three, was born sixty one years ago on this day. We were in the US for a year living with my grandparents in Pennsylvania. I was in eighth grade.

This is also a big day for the robotics team, the Kick-Off to reveal the 2019 game--Destination: Deep Space. Michael gave a fascinating presentation titled, "What's Up In Space?" Unfortunately, the brilliant sunshine pouring in through enormous windows made it impossible to see the power point on the big screen. Fortunately, it was readable on a tv screen on the side.

January 6--Día de Reyes (Day of the Magi, King's Day or Epiphany)
A memory, appropriate to the holiday, both sweet and sad, is this favorite photo of the foster grandchildren we were blessed to enjoy for sixteen months before they were relocated. They were dressed up as the Three Kings for our Nativity scene that Christmas.

We may never understand why they were taken away, nor ever know what became of them. We trust God to look after them, now teenagers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Throughout the week communications arrived from different sources around the world, each representing a different era of my life.

Mari, from Yucatán, Mexico, sent a very meaningful greeting for the New Year. We met when I was teaching at Indiana Wesleyan University and took student groups to her small town, Xocenpich. She was a very bright and promising teenager. We saw her through college. She is now a manager at a large department store.

Her mother, Herlinda, was the cook for our team. She and I jogged together, talked and shared about faith and life. The little town has since entered the cyberworld and even the humblest have access to the internet. Herlinda signed onto Facebook as Linda, sent me a friend request, and later attempted a call. I am just as inexperienced using that feature, so our atempt at conversation was very awkward, but we did see one another after ten years!

Jazmine was a most helpful student assistant the year I was the only full-time language instructor at IWU. I wished her a happy birthday and she responded that she now talks about her experience as lab assistant in a Pilot Program that prepares students to survive college life. Many of them are headed to American universities. She lives in China with her husband and daughter.

Another chat was with Celia, who lives in southern Argentina. We were in the same graduating class and were paired for our student teaching experience. She sent me a photo of the note I wrote in her memory book back in 1962!

My life growing up in Argentina will be the focus from now on. My grandmother's five-year diary (pictured in the header) was one of the resources I started with.

Which of the stories mentioned will be included in Part 1 about my early childhood?

Which one of the eras or memories would you be most interested in reading about?