Church, Weather, and Work
Sunday's share time in church involved more "heavy" stuff than usual, but people who spoke of painful realities also testified to experiencing the goodness of God.
Keith talked about the daunting day he and Miriam had last week when they saw four different doctors, all who are on board to help usher their unborn baby safely into the world when the time comes, and then provide the necessary medical interventions to give the child a chance at as normal a life as possible. Ultrasound has revealed significant abnormalities, including open spine. The day contained one very bright spot when they met their obstetrician and discovered that she is a fervent Christian. Keith thanked all who prayed for them in the small group the evening before, knowing that the following day could be difficult.
Jerry asked people to pray that his family could experience peace and joy as they walk through this difficult time in their life. Jerry and his wife are here from PA/MD for wheat harvest with Jerry's parental family, although Ruth is quite ill with cancer and was not able to be in church. "God is giving us that [peace and joy], now already," he added.
Harold thanked people for praying over the time of his mother's death. "It's hard," he said, "but not as hard as I thought it would be." He attributed the grace he felt to the prayers of Christian brothers and sisters.
*********************
On Sunday we received our ballots for election of the deacon's committee. The three people who are eventually elected will serve as long as six years as assistants to LaVerne, who is our ordained deacon. On the ballot are Lorne K., Lowell M., Dwight M., Titus N., and Marvin Y. This is a new aspect of church leadership for our group.
Also on the agenda soon is a meeting to discuss the possibility of an ordination later this year.
********************
Between Saturday morning and this morning we had four and one-half inches of rain. Hiromi started out for Hutchinson this morning by way of 4th street, and turned around to go around the south way on US 50 because of high water. He didn't actually get to anything that was impassable, but he knew that the area near Fun Valley floods easily, and, based on how nearly the Salt Creek bridge on Partridge Road was inundated, he guessed that other areas down the line would not be safe to drive through.
********************
Hiromi and 1, 999 other people filled out job applications on Saturday for Siemens, the wind generator nacelle (the hub of the windmill) manufacturer that will open a new factory in Hutchinson within the next few months. One hundred people will be hired initially, so about 19 out of every 20 who applied will not get a job now.
The odds do not inspire optimism, but Hiromi was pleasantly surprised to see how well his past job experience and training meshes with the kind of skills Siemens is seeking. Designing and installing wiring harnesses and control panels for custom fire trucks and ambulances seemed like one of the best things to talk about in the job experience line. But the fact that he has expertise in both electronics (an associate degree and quite a few years of work experience) and electricity (He is a journeyman and worked as a construction foreman for multi-story buildings in Japan.) probably doesn't hurt either. Most people are one or the other--not both.
Hiromi was curious who all he would see there, but he had the bad luck to sit where looking around would have been way too rude and obvious, so he spied only a few familiar faces. One was a former co-worker who still has a job where they both used to work, but Hiromi knows he was treated very shabbily, and hopes that a job switch will be possible for him. Our daily paper quoted someone from Wichita who was there looking for a job on Saturday. I doubt that the workforce traffic between Hutchinson and Wichita usually flows in the Hutchinson direction, but when the getting is good, lots of people apparently try to get on board.
Hiromi pointed out to me that this company coming to town will mean a lot of re-shuffling in existing companies as people seek to improve their financial situation by going to a higher paying job. So the jobless who apply are competing, not only against other jobless people, but against people whose current jobs have survived the shrinking job market.
We trust the Lord to work things out according to His purposes.
********************
I stopped in today at my cousin Howard's office to pick up a special rain gauge used by people in the CoCoraHS network of precipitation observers. Howard wasn't in at the moment, but I was impressed that he's got a great job for a person who is a farmer at heart, but can't quite put together a way to make a living farming. He works as manager for the Cheney Lake Watershed Management Area, which is partly under the auspices of the city of Wichita--the largest user of the available water in Cheney Lake. That's why they have a vested interest in making sure that upstream pollution is minimized. So one of Howard's jobs is to work with landowners to manage waste and runoff so that topsoil and pollutants don't get flushed downstream where they would add silt to Cheney Lake and foul the water supply.
********************
My dental hygienist told me today that her four and eight year old daughters love to play with toads. With the recent rains, toads are easy to find, and she helps them fix up a toad house where the they can stay for a few days while the girls watch and take care of them.
I think she's a good mother, at least when it comes to interacting with wild creatures. Releasing the toads, but letting the girls enjoy them first strikes a good balance between preserving the wonder while preserving the wildlife.
She also told me about the wonderful sunset she saw last night. The clouds lifted in the west just as the sun was setting, and the heavy line of clouds contrasted sharply with the brightness of the area of clear sky on the horizon. She called her sister in town so she could go look, but the view was too obstructed, and she couldn't see it. Another evidence that she's a mother I can admire.
Keith talked about the daunting day he and Miriam had last week when they saw four different doctors, all who are on board to help usher their unborn baby safely into the world when the time comes, and then provide the necessary medical interventions to give the child a chance at as normal a life as possible. Ultrasound has revealed significant abnormalities, including open spine. The day contained one very bright spot when they met their obstetrician and discovered that she is a fervent Christian. Keith thanked all who prayed for them in the small group the evening before, knowing that the following day could be difficult.
Jerry asked people to pray that his family could experience peace and joy as they walk through this difficult time in their life. Jerry and his wife are here from PA/MD for wheat harvest with Jerry's parental family, although Ruth is quite ill with cancer and was not able to be in church. "God is giving us that [peace and joy], now already," he added.
Harold thanked people for praying over the time of his mother's death. "It's hard," he said, "but not as hard as I thought it would be." He attributed the grace he felt to the prayers of Christian brothers and sisters.
*********************
On Sunday we received our ballots for election of the deacon's committee. The three people who are eventually elected will serve as long as six years as assistants to LaVerne, who is our ordained deacon. On the ballot are Lorne K., Lowell M., Dwight M., Titus N., and Marvin Y. This is a new aspect of church leadership for our group.
Also on the agenda soon is a meeting to discuss the possibility of an ordination later this year.
********************
Between Saturday morning and this morning we had four and one-half inches of rain. Hiromi started out for Hutchinson this morning by way of 4th street, and turned around to go around the south way on US 50 because of high water. He didn't actually get to anything that was impassable, but he knew that the area near Fun Valley floods easily, and, based on how nearly the Salt Creek bridge on Partridge Road was inundated, he guessed that other areas down the line would not be safe to drive through.
********************
Hiromi and 1, 999 other people filled out job applications on Saturday for Siemens, the wind generator nacelle (the hub of the windmill) manufacturer that will open a new factory in Hutchinson within the next few months. One hundred people will be hired initially, so about 19 out of every 20 who applied will not get a job now.
The odds do not inspire optimism, but Hiromi was pleasantly surprised to see how well his past job experience and training meshes with the kind of skills Siemens is seeking. Designing and installing wiring harnesses and control panels for custom fire trucks and ambulances seemed like one of the best things to talk about in the job experience line. But the fact that he has expertise in both electronics (an associate degree and quite a few years of work experience) and electricity (He is a journeyman and worked as a construction foreman for multi-story buildings in Japan.) probably doesn't hurt either. Most people are one or the other--not both.
Hiromi was curious who all he would see there, but he had the bad luck to sit where looking around would have been way too rude and obvious, so he spied only a few familiar faces. One was a former co-worker who still has a job where they both used to work, but Hiromi knows he was treated very shabbily, and hopes that a job switch will be possible for him. Our daily paper quoted someone from Wichita who was there looking for a job on Saturday. I doubt that the workforce traffic between Hutchinson and Wichita usually flows in the Hutchinson direction, but when the getting is good, lots of people apparently try to get on board.
Hiromi pointed out to me that this company coming to town will mean a lot of re-shuffling in existing companies as people seek to improve their financial situation by going to a higher paying job. So the jobless who apply are competing, not only against other jobless people, but against people whose current jobs have survived the shrinking job market.
We trust the Lord to work things out according to His purposes.
********************
I stopped in today at my cousin Howard's office to pick up a special rain gauge used by people in the CoCoraHS network of precipitation observers. Howard wasn't in at the moment, but I was impressed that he's got a great job for a person who is a farmer at heart, but can't quite put together a way to make a living farming. He works as manager for the Cheney Lake Watershed Management Area, which is partly under the auspices of the city of Wichita--the largest user of the available water in Cheney Lake. That's why they have a vested interest in making sure that upstream pollution is minimized. So one of Howard's jobs is to work with landowners to manage waste and runoff so that topsoil and pollutants don't get flushed downstream where they would add silt to Cheney Lake and foul the water supply.
********************
My dental hygienist told me today that her four and eight year old daughters love to play with toads. With the recent rains, toads are easy to find, and she helps them fix up a toad house where the they can stay for a few days while the girls watch and take care of them.
I think she's a good mother, at least when it comes to interacting with wild creatures. Releasing the toads, but letting the girls enjoy them first strikes a good balance between preserving the wonder while preserving the wildlife.
She also told me about the wonderful sunset she saw last night. The clouds lifted in the west just as the sun was setting, and the heavy line of clouds contrasted sharply with the brightness of the area of clear sky on the horizon. She called her sister in town so she could go look, but the view was too obstructed, and she couldn't see it. Another evidence that she's a mother I can admire.
posted by Mrs. I at
6:05 PM
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