Friends,

This time I'm involving a little wider circle of regular prayer supporters, in addition to folks who will be hosting me on the trip itself.  I appreciate each one of you.  I continue to recognize the need for this kind of support and spiritual protection.

Please pray that my wife Annette, my son Dawson, and my daughter Monica have an enjoyable and productive two weeks while I am gone.  Dawson will be coming home to Colorado Springs tomorrow (Monday) from NNU, having completed his junior year.  I wish he could have returned before I left this time, but the Monday flight was a good deal less expensive.  Pray that he'll succeed in landing a summer job very soon upon his return.  Annette was a trooper -- worked hard to keep the family running during the two weeks -- and made it pretty clear to me when I got home that I'd been missed, and she was not referring to anything kissy.  I recognize the need to get busy with household, financial, and relational tasks, in fact I've already started.

Dawson still needs to find a job.  He is working on a summer on-line class in the meantime -- music orchestration -- that wouldn't fit in his regular semesters.  He and Monica both finished their academic semesters with very excellent results, and now we have two "mighty mighty seniors" in the family.  Next spring at this time, Lord willing, our family will experience two graduations. 

Pray that my 6 professional lectures and two evening Bible study/discussions will be well received and directed by the Lord; that I will show Christ to all whom I meet, including seat partners on the airplanes; that the Texas family reunion will be enjoyed by those who are able to come, and that Christ's working will be evident among the family members; that I can get considerable research work done on-line in the hotels; and that my times out walking in scenic places will be times that the Lord talks to me about my life, my family's life, and His ongoing plans for us.

Monday May 11 -- Fly Colo Spgs to Dallas; call on cousin Jim Finger who is rehabbing following an auto accident in Dallas; drive to Temple, TX, some on-line work, then lead evening Bible study there  On the first flight I was next to a Hispanic gentleman who was headed home to Miami after seeing his son in Colo Spgs.  I did not find an opportunity to bring up spiritual issues with him.  The time with Cousin Jim was brief but enriching.  He is ahead of where I would expect, with his recovery.  I met and thanked three of his therapists in the rehab program.  I got to Temple in time to knock off one important on-line job; then went to a physician's home where I met 15 residents and medical students for a Bible study (theme was Jesus' physician-patient type encounters described in the gospel of Luke).  I had fun leading it, had a delicious supper with them, and made some new friends.  In all three encounters in Temple (see Thurs and Friday to follow) people were incredibly gracious and appreciative. 

Tuesday May 12 -- Drive back to Dallas, give noon embryo adoption lecture at Texas Health Presbyterian; drive to Houston, supper with brother-in-law Dave Dwyer there, drive on to Galveston
The presentation in Dallas went quite nicely;  you can see it at http://media.texashealth.org/090512B03A if you have the right media players; I don't have them right now, I will get to downloading and making it work a little later on.  In the meantime if you want to try it feel free.  The time with Dave was excellent too; he has been away from his family (they're in Oregon) for 7 months, and much of our discussion and prayer revolved around his plans to get them moved to Texas.  God has prospered Dave on his job quite a bit lately -- something that wasn't happening in Oregon.

Wednesday May 13 -- Give embryo adoption lecture at UTMB-Galveston; time alone on Gulf coast; overnight at Palacios
Galveston is still recovering from last September's Hurricane Ike -- there was definitely a sense there of "trying to survive".  The folks at the hospital appreciated my coming and would even like a return visit next year.  The attendance would probably be higher if I did.  My host, Dr. John Phelps, went out of his way to make me feel welcome.  I then went on to Palacios.  This was not exactly on the way to my next destination, but I had a day and a half to spare, and this is a small Gulf Coast town where my Dad had pastored briefly, and Mom taught school, in the 1940s.  The hotel there is a very old and quaint facility, a great place to rest!  I had picked it out for its low cost.  When I learned that the proprietors had been in that community for many decades, I told my family's story and was directed to call another couple in town who, sure enough, remembered my parents.  Turns out, my folks had even visited them, probably it was 1991 from what I could figure out.  They didn't seem all that surprised to hear from me, they knew exactly who I was.  They would have had me out to their house, but they had a respiratory bug they didn't choose to share.  I also visited the church building where my parents once served.  It is a little frame structure, it's been remodeled, and now houses a Spanish-speaking congregation.  The pastor there was very welcoming (he's bilingual, I wish I were) and since it was a Wednesday night I stayed for a little of the Bible study.  I also had some time to look out over the Gulf and pray during this visit.

Thursday May 14 -- More on-line work; drive through San Antonio and Austin back to Temple; lead evening bioethics discussion in a host's home
I wound up not going through San Antonio or Austin.  I called one cousin in SA, but she was not available to visit, and I already knew my friend Fred Brown was not going to be in town.  So I headed straight for Temple and got some more work done.  Then, on to another physician's home, where I led a bioethics discussion on the subject of conscience.  Pastor Gary DiSalvo, a friend of my accountability partner Dr. Walt Larimore, and about 20 others participated.  The Lord helped me to be concise and effective on this evening.  The physician couple who had hosted Monday also came, and it was great to see them again.

Friday May 15 -- Give embryo adoption lecture at Scott and White hospital in Temple; drive to Fort Worth to see cousin Lonnie Beagles
I don't think this presentation was quite as sharp compared to some, but the folks received it very well.  We had a packed-out room (about 40).  Some of the folks I'd met on Monday night were there.  The evening with Lonnie and Donna was a quiet one.  By this time, I'd also finished a book that had been given me in Pennsylvania in March -- Amish Grace.  An incredible story of forgiveness after the school shooting in 2006. 

Saturday May 16 -- Family reunion in Arlington
In one respect, this event was terribly disappointing because a few of us cousins had had hopes that we might break our prior record of 13 cousins at a reunion (there are 18 of us).  Several family members have had significant spiritual renewal in the last few years, and we were hoping to see a lot of family members we hadn't seen in a long time.  At the end of April, we had an RSVP count of 54 extended family members coming.  Then we had a whole raft of cancellations.  Ultimately, 27 people showed up for the reunion, including 8 of the cousins.  However several people did open up from their hearts during sharing time, and Cousin Dan brought a very thoughtful devotional ("our family's physical and spiritual DNA").  Reflecting back on the event that night, Lonnie felt strongly that God had been present, that it was a most wonderful time, and that there was every reason to believe the efforts had been a success.  That's where I had to leave it.

Sunday May 17 -- worship at Arlington First Nazarene; fly to Boston arriving in evening
Much of the worship service was devoted to honoring the church's high school graduates; the rest was a missions report from the South Pacific.  It is always good to connect with folks in worship settings, especially in the Church of the Nazarene, where I have so much history.  On the plane, this time I rode with a gentleman who was returning to his Boston home from vacation in Panama.  He was cordial but not up for extended conversation.

Monday May 18 -- more on-line work, some time alone at Cape Cod vicinity
I wrapped up my work pretty early in the morning and got to visit Plymouth Rock as well as Cape Cod -- went all the way out to Provincetown on the end of the cape.  This was a day for talking to God quite a lot.  I love the long walks on the beach, just looking out on the ocean.  Some of what I prayed about -- involving the Nazarene Universities especially, I will share with some of you individually at the appropriate times.  At Provincetown, the Governor Bradford restaurant was training staff so I got my seafood entree 50% off (my employers actually were the ones to benefit, but hey).  It tasted great.

Tuesday May 19 -- drive to Connecticut, embryo adoption lecture at U-Conn Fertility Center
I knew that Tuesday through Thursday would be drive, work, drive, work, work, and I was right, but it was rewarding to ramp up the professional activity a little bit.  At both places in Connecticut, I was asked questions that I needed to research with my TN colleagues and get back with answers, and I did so.  This is how I learn and get better. 

Wednesday May 20 -- more on-line work, noon embryo adoption lecture at Norwalk, CT fertility center, drive back to Boston

Thursday May 21 -- morning grand rounds at Massachusetts General Hospital, meet with faculty afterward for discussion
I had asked several people to pray specifically about my talk at MGH, and wow, how special to have those prayers answered.  This is an incredible hospital, perhaps the nation's most famous hospital because the case records of the New England Journal of Medicine come from there.  It is actually about 12 hospitals and clincal megaplexes in one -- it is, I would say, to all hospitals as the Gaylord Opryland facility is to all hotels.  I succeeded in pointing out in lecture, without making too big a deal about it, how incredible it was for me to be invited to lecture there, given the reputation of the place.  Incredibly, they seemed to feel that it was privilege for them to have me come.  God helped me to do the best job I think I've done in an embryo lecture.  I also got a one hour tour of the complex from the assistant chief of service, a very kind older gentleman who has been around Boston most of his life.  In the noon discussion with the clinic staff, again questions were raised that I needed to research answers for, but I got emails back to them and to the CT folks before I left Massachusetts.  I wrapped up all the work for the week that evening, and still had time for a luscious seafood dinner at the "99" restaurant near the motel.
 
Friday May 22 -- more on-line work then to Maine for some alone time, stay at Portland, ME
I left early for Maine -- though I had to be jump cabled by the roadside assistance people because I had failed to turn off the headlights when I last used the car (Wednesday evening).  I thought all newer cars had automatic shutoff or else the car squealed at you to turn the lights off, but I guess not.  But I did reach Portland, ME by 10 am, where I met my boyhood friend Kevin Whittemore.  I actually thought about seeing him after I'd already started this trip.  Two other potential contacts in the northeast had not been able to see me.  It had somehow been six or eight years since Kevin and I had been in touch, and we had a lot of conversational catch-up to do.  He is a spiritual leader in his family and local congregation, and I found myself challenged to grow in a few ways.  He treated me to a delicious light seafood lunch at Cape Elizabeth.  I then took him back to his office so he could get set to drive some athletes to a meet, and I started out for Acadia National Park.  Indeed, it was a long drive for a short stay at the park, but so incredibly beautiful, all those little islands dotted around the coastline, the forests, the hills ...
 
Saturday May 23 -- drive back to Boston and fly home to Colo Spgs via Dallas
This time, I actually got home when I was supposed to.  We went between all the thunderstorms I guess.  On the first flight I was with a young lady, student at Harvard, returning home to Texas for the summer.  She is an art major and I'm set to connect her up with two of my friends who just graduated from NNU in art.  She is interested in their particular art subspecialties.  On the last flight the gentleman was coming home to Colo Spgs after two weeks in the Dominican Republic.  He had been in the DR looking after his company's medical device production plant. 
 
Thank you so much!!!!!!

Reg