Saturday, August 6, 2005

10:44 PM I’m writing this note from my room at Word of Life Inn in Schroon Lake, New York. We’re about an hour and a half north of Albany and about 50-60 miles south of Lake Placid. This is vacation territory—skiing in the winter and hiking, boating and camping in the summer. This week hundreds of people will be attending one of four Word of Life camps—the Island (teens), the Ranch (children), the Campground (families), and the Inn (mostly adults). I’m speaking 11 times between Sunday morning and Wednesday noon. I start tomorrow morning speaking to the summer counselors on the Island. Tomorrow night I speak at Mountainside Bible Chapel, then Monday-Wednesday I speak at the Inn and Campground in the mornings, plus I’ll speak at the Inn one evening and the Campground one evening. Plus I am doing devotions at Word of Life headquarters. That’s a fairly typical week here. They keep you busy, which I enjoy. Coming to Word of Life for me is like coming home. When I was student at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, I spent the summer of 1971 as a counselor on the Island. And four weeks before I got married in 1974, Ricky Suddith and I drove from Chattanooga to Schroon Lake as a kind of final “bachelor fling.” I’ve spoken at so many Word of Life events for so many years that the people here seem like family to me. Wayne and Ruthie Lewis picked me up at the airport. I happened to run into Rick and Linda Warken at the boat dock. Then I saw Larry Bollback on the Island. I chatted with Charles Wagner a little while ago and saw some friends from Word of Life Florida. One other note. Since I’m speaking to the summer counselors tomorrow, Word of Life assigned me a particular topic (the only time they do that). For some reason, I misunderstood and prepared a message on something else. I happened to run into someone who gave me the correct topic. That means I will need to do some adjusting between now and 9 AM tomorrow. 11:02 AM I’m rushing around because in less than 30 minutes, I’ve got to leave for the airport to catch a plane to Albany, New York. I’m speaking Sunday-Wednesday at Word of Life in Schroon Lake, located as Jack Wyrtzen liked to say, high in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. 10:55 AM Last night we had our final big family outing before Mark leaves for China next Thursday. We went to the White Sox game and sat in the upper deck just beyond the left field foul pole. It was Elvis Night so we saw “The King” everywhere. Most exciting moment: When the three “flying Elvi” (Is that the correct plural for Elvis?) parachuted into the stadium while the loudspeaker blared C. C. Rider. The Sox managed to lose 4-2. Marlene and I were dead tired when we got home about 10:30 PM. Naturally Mark and Nick decided to go to Chinatown to meet Tolee Chang. I have no idea what time they got home. Just a few minutes ago all three boys left to go back to Chinatown with Tim and Dave McKee to visit a restaurant that specializes in Dim Sum, a term applied to a variety of Chinese appetizers. The phrase literally means “touching your heart.” 10:52 AM Quick notes … This morning I rode my bike from Oak Park to Millennium Park on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. I rode along Lake Street under the el tracks through the west side of the city. A beautiful day and not much traffic. Sat on the bench at Millennium Park enjoying the scenery, then back on my bike and rode home … Marlene and I went to the Farmers Market where we bought some corn, cucumbers, squash, and of course donuts and fresh blueberries. Saw Marge Utigard while we were there. Channel 5 had a mobile unit there doing a story, for tonight’s news I presume. 10:52 AM 1475 miles.