Needles Hwy and Mt. Rushmore

We don't have a clear winner as to the Lynch Family favorite.
Here are our choices Bad Lands, Needles Hwy or Mt. Rushmore:
Dan - Needles Hwy
Sheila - Bad Lands
Madisen - Mt. Rushmore
Parker - Al of them

Our next adventure will be Colorado Springs and Pike's Peak!

Healing Adventure

Driving across the United States was not what I had in mind for the summer!
I was trying to be positive and tell myself it would be fine but before we left Haiti I would randomly spend a good bit of time on-line looking for a great deal on Travelocity trying to find tickets so we wouldn't have to spend so much of our trip in the car. It made me crabby just thinking about it but we just didn't have the extra cash to pop for tickets.

We had tried to sell our car many times over this past year and a half and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why no one wanted it. It was a great car for a kid going off to school, but we never did get a bite on the darn thing.

We left Atlanta with my source of irritation now looking like a really great blessing. We had it packed to the brim, the new portable DVD player hooked up to the head rests and the trunk packed just right. Packing is Dan's gift not mine, if I would have packed it things would have fallen out every time we opened it. The same rule applies to our suitcases, this is why we can never share a suitcase!

The greatest source of irritation was now the thing that was suppose to help us never get lost! It is beyond me how we ever lived without a GPS! I mean really, what is wrong with a map! I will admit I am not good at reading maps but it seems to me that when you have the GPS you throw your common sense out the window at times believing that this things knows where it is taking you. I will just say we got lost more than once with this stupid thing.

We did have to get new brakes when we finally got to Minnesota, but $125 and a few hundred dollars in gas, hotel and food was looking more and more like it was the better deal. We had the freedom to come and go as we pleased and we took our time, that in itself was a gift.

As we passed through South Dakota into Wyoming the thought that you can find healing in the adventure came across my mind. It was now clear that the time away from our busy life on the mission field of Haiti, hundreds of miles of beautiful green fields, random coffee breaks at rest stops, long conversations on a cell phone with out needing a new Digicel card, seeing friends and sleeping in past six every morning in a/c seemed to be the medicine the good Lord knew we needed.

There is a simple beauty and pleasure, healing if you will, in everything being so green, something that is good for your soul, something you can't put in words.

You just know it is happening as the miles, the sunsets and days slip past.
Many times I have whispered thank you Lord to myself.

The Bad Lands, SD

My Three Sons - No Wait Four!

(Mike #3, Jim #2, Craig #1, Dan #4)

For the sake of blog readers this is the Reader's Digest version of this story.
Nevertheless it is a powerful story. It is about Eileen's search for her son.
It all started when God answered the prayers of her grandson, Michael.
Every single night Michael had been praying for his dog to come home, surely God could do that and he knew it.
Months later the phone rang with a strange woman saying she had the dog and wanted to return it.
It turns out her boyfriend had taken the dog when they made a quick stop for gas at a truck stop. Both cars had stopped at the same time all needing potty breaks and some how the dog was taken.
Mike and Roxy had no choice, they had to leave with out the dog.
The stranger said she had broke up with the boyfriend, found the dog tags in a kitchen drawer with the phone number on it.
She put two and two together, made a phone call and sure enough the prayers of Michael had been answered.
That was all it took for Eileen.
For years she and Jerry had been holding a secret.
Her mother said she should never speak of it, it was done and in the past.
But it wasn't her choice and she couldn't forget about it. It is just how her family dealt with it "in those days".
She knew that if God cared enough to bring home a little dog, He could find her son.
One by one she and Jerry told their three sons that they had a full blood brother that had been given up for adoption before they married. They explained that it wasn't optional, the choice was made for her, she was sent away to have the baby alone. When he was born he would be placed with a family for adoption and she was not to talk about it again.
February 1st could come, she would say to Jerry, today is his birthday never forgetting about her son.
Forty years had now passed and she was trusting that God would help her find him.
She made a few phone calls, finding a list of adoptions made around the time it all would have happened.
She made three phone calls. The first two ended in a dead end but the third phone call was answered by a woman who said, Yes! The voice on the other end said, Yes, she and her husband had adopted a son with the same birthday, but she couldn't be sure.
Eileen talked to her for awhile, asked if she could send a letter with a few pictures, the woman agreed.
Weeks went by with out an answer until one day she got a phone call saying yes, it was in fact her son.
His name was Craig, he was married to Sharon, they had two sons and he had lived in Duluth, MN his whole life.
She would meet him much later.
It was strange. He had a mom and a dad and a life that he had lived. She wanted to be respectful of that.
While she was in Haiti with us we told her we would be in Minnesota for Faith's wedding.
She had said how much she wanted all the boys to be together just once and this seemed like a perfect time. Maybe she would ask if he would please make the trip to the cities so that the whole family could be together. He agreed and later admitted he almost chickened out several times on the way. Who could blame him.
Some prayers take longer than others, but for the first time in fifty-three years all of the boys would finally be together.
It was a sweet thing.....

How To NOT Get Dirty!

In life there are rules we must follow!
Some we agree with and some we don't.
One of them is Don't Get Dirty before a wedding 'cause your mom will kill you.
Jack knew this rule and wanted to follow it.
For Jack this is an easy rule because he hates getting his fingers dirty.
The problem was the apple carmel crunch muffin that was calling his name.
He had to figure out how to eat it and not get dirty before the wedding.
Hhmmmm....
Mission accomplished!
It just goes to show that when you want something bad enough you will figure out a way to get it.

Happy Father's Day!

First, I want to say Happy Father's Day to my dad!
In honor of Father's Day I wanted to share a story my dad just told me during our short visit in Atlanta.
It isn't about him, it is about my grandfather, Papa Don.

My grandfather always had a story, but he did very little talking about his time in WWII.
It always seemed like an unfinished puzzle. We knew he worked as a bombers mechanic and flew with his plane, went to Scotland, met his grandmother in Scotland and never had a failed mission, ever.
That was it in a nutshell.
My dad has started doing some digging on the Internet and found a woman who has been collecting history about my grandpa's squad for years.

Here is what she had to say....
As for how good your dad was at his job, I found an entry in the 576th Sqdn
history that said the 576th Sqdn Engineering Section "established an
enviable record by keeping all aircraft in commission from 1 July to 21
July 1944, when one plane was kept out for a test flight. During this
period, 63 aircraft flew on operations." Furthermore, "During the month of
July the Squadron averaged 98.5% of all its planes in commission with a
Group average of 95.3%. And aircraft of the 576th averaged 78.5 hours
flying time for the month compared with the Group average of 74.1 hours."

The 576th history for April 1945 is where I saw that your dad and M/Sgt
Arthur Madonna were awarded Bronze Stars during
"Salute the Ground Man Week."
It said the 576th Engineering section "set another record by
dispatching 278 aircraft between 28 Feb and 25 Apr with no aborts for
mechanical reasons."

The Bronze Star....one little detail he forgot to mention!
My grandpa has been gone for nine years....I wish I would have had the chance to say how proud I was of him while he was still here. But, I didn't, so I will take this time now to honor him on Father's Day!
I do miss him on days like this.

Faith and David's Wedding

The big day is finally here! Everyone was dressed really casual for the out door wedding!
This scored really big points in our book!
Outdoor wedding, casual clothes, beautiful Minnesota summer afternoon and purple hydrangea's everywhere.
Friends and family all came together to celebrate...
Mr. and Mrs. David Cunningham!
Faith is Jim's, Dan's brother, youngest daughter.
Dan and Mike did the grill work cooking enough chicken kabobs for an army!
Or should I say Marines - for Joe and Andrew! Forever Faithful!
This was a non-alcoholic wedding, so instead of a traditional bar we had a "candy" bar! Yikes!
Can you say sugar hang over!
This was Maddie and Parker's first real family wedding. The dance was a big hit!

Minnesota

We left Georgia, traveled through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin and into Minnesota.
Our first day went pretty quickly considering we drove 750 miles. It is amazing how far and how fast you can go when you are driving on good roads and not dodging pot holes every thirty feet.
We stayed in "Normal" Illinois near Bloomington.
We figured "Normal" was the place we should stay since a farmer was burning brush in the field and it felt like Haiti when everyone on our street burns their trash.
It is so amazing to look out over the hundred of miles of beautiful green fields. Dan and I commented on how Haiti has "patches" of green farming fields on the side of the mountains and in the States it is hundreds of miles, state after state. It is such a clear picture of the difference between the two countries.
It was nice to drive with out being on a time clock. We could stop and enjoy our time.
Dan and I look at driving very differently.
I like to stop, have a coffee, sit in the grass at the rest stop, let Parker run and enjoy target practice with his new Nerf gun.
I am sure at times it killed Dan to sit and watch all the cars we already passed go zooming past us again as we sat at the rest stop. I know he was keeping a mental list of the make and model of every car that passed us so he could cross it off the list of cars we needed to pass again in order to make up time lost while wasting time sitting in the grass.
But, he handled it pretty well.
He and Parker took turns using each other as the target for the Nerf gun.
We have been to see the house Dan grew up in and had a piece of pie at Baker's Square.
The Mall of America was insane with four floors of eating, rides and shopping.
We will have to go back to ride the rides and return the dresses I bought for the wedding. I bought three because I can't shop under pressure, I finally picked one and will return the other two.
I am not a good mall shopping person.
My favorite store on the planet is still Target. Life is good with Target!
I think we are finally set for the big wedding day!

Adjustments

I am still in the I need to get everything done as fast as I can mode of thinking. I still think I am leaving in a week. It hasn't completely sunk in that we are here for two months and I need to chill. I still have to tell myself that I don't need to stop at Wal-Mart or Target every time we drive past one just in case I need something. When I do go to the store I fight the need to stock up on canned chicken, cereal, hair dye and Gatorade.
We are still in major junk food mode!
I think the produce section in the grocery store is now my favorite thing in the States. Well, that and all the green grass!
I still can feel very out of place at times.
It is funny how quickly you can fall back into thinking you "need" the newest, latest and greatest everything.
The States is a funny place.
People have everything and still think they have nothing.
The States is a place of abundance. Truthfully, the abundance is what makes me feel uncomfortable at times.
Haiti and most of the world has so little. Yet, in many respects, it has so much.
Most people just can't see it that way. Which is not so very different from being here.
It is a shame really. People in Haiti are forced, in many respects, to live a very simple life. Many of them are always wanting more and think life would be better in the States.
Here many are trying to figure out how to get less and manage what they have now that they have the American Dream and now can't afford it.

Two very different worlds with so much to offer each other.

1st Annual Purses For Pride Benefit Ride

Today we had the 1st Annual Purses For Pride Benefit Ride in Douglasville, GA.
My friend Annie, her husband Dave and their daughter Alexa helped Laurie put together what we hope becomes an annual event here in Georgia to help support the Women's Program.
As part of the entry fee everyone came with fabric donations for the sewing program. I love great ideas!
About thirty horse trailers pulled up with so many beautiful horses all going out to ride to support the ladies in Haiti. I wondered what on earth the ladies in Haiti would think about something like this.
Someone said to me, "I thought you would bringing some of the ladies with you so we could meet them."
Little did they know most of the ladies in our program will never have the chance to leave Haiti, even if they wanted to.

I was amazed at how much work it was to take your horse out for the day. I had no idea people could teach a horse "tricks". These guys can smile, shake and bow - who knew!
As everyone stated to unload their horses, Dan said, hey, something is wrong with these horses! They are so fat and you can't see their rib cages sticking out. It is true, we are used to seeing a much different looking breed of horse.
I have to say, "Sir Henry" was the favorite for me. He was huge! The owner said, he is a gentle giant.

Everyone got ready and went riding for a few hours in one of Georgia's really beautiful parks. Another thing we don't have in Haiti that I really miss. It was the perfect afternoon to be outside. Not to hot, no rain and a wonderful breeze.
Around lunch time everyone took a break from riding, ate a really yummy Southern style BBQ lunch, listened to some fun music while we had one really big purse party. There was more riding and a raffle of horse stuff for all the riders later in the afternoon.


Laurie had found this scripture while she was doing her devotions and felt like the Lord had given it to her for this event. She posted it on her trailer as a reminder to everyone as to why they had come to this event...
Luke 12:33
Sell what you have and give the money to the poor.
Make yourselves purses that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it.
This was the first of four different benefits we will be doing while we are out this summer in the States.
So far our summer is off to a great start!

Cartersville, GA

Alyssa has wanted to take Maddie and Parker out for a day of picture taking for weeks. I wasn't so sure that they would be game for it but the day we got in to Atlanta she warned them to be ready in the morning. The next morning they got up after sleeping in late and off they went. McDonald's for lunch was all it took to convince them she had a good idea.

Life In The States

We will be in the States for two months.
I am thinkin' life in the States may take some getting used to.
As we waited for our plane to get into Miami because of the bad weather in Atlanta we passed the time people watching and eating really bad airport food that costs too much money.
I told Dan, when we are in Haiti we talk about how limited and expensive food is at the grocery store and when we are in the airport in the State we talk about how expensive and limited the food is in the airport.
Based on how many times I burped bad tasting airport food while we waited I pick the food in Haiti. I am hoping that changes soon.
I knew being here was going to take some getting used to, when I went to the bathroom with Parker for what seemed like the twentieth time and I saw a woman brushing her teeth with tap water.
I panicked because she was using the tap water to brush her teeth.
"You can do that here", I said to myself as I gasped for air thinking, I hope she travels with Cipro.

Sewing School Graduation #2

We started Monday with our second sewing school graduation.
Big events like weddings and graduations always crack me up in Haiti because you see a totally different side of women.
Not only do they all look different with the new hair they just bought, they suddenly come out of their shells and act like run way models. We worked hard at making the program nicer for the ladies this year by adding special little things. We added special report cards and fancy certificates of completion for those who graduated. I put together a video of all the different things that happened during the year. Haitians love to see and get pictures of everything. When I asked about music for the program, Wyclef Jean was the music of choice. Every event in Haiti must have food, so Beth and I made chocolate chip and M & M bars that got eaten by the handful.
It was a good time. The other funny thing about big events in Haiti is they never start on time. But we operate on American time so when we had guests show up an hour and a half late I had to laugh. We had already started to clean up and move on to the next event. Sewing ladies would start sewing soon, the literacy ladies would be coming for class soon, Marjorie would be matching fabric and we needed to do some serious packing.

Parker Boy

Today at lunch Parker said when he is a grown up he is going to make video games and make books.
He said he will make games like no one has ever played before.
I asked him if he was going to write the books he makes or if he would just make books for other people. No, he would write them and make them.
In Haiti everyone says they are going to a lawyer or a doctor.
I wasn't sure what I thought he would say.
But, we are definitely living the life that will help him come up with good ideas for video games and books.
Everyone who comes to Haiti says, driving here is like being in a live video game.
The adventure of driving here creates an adventure every time you go out of the house.

Exeception To The Rule

We have a list of like one hundred things to do in the matter of a few days before we leave for the summer.
One of those things was getting Sarah and Roseline their new sewing machines!!
I have to say... I LOVE this part of the sewing program.
I have this picture in my head of a chalkboard with a couple million white lines on the left hand side representing the women in Haiti who need help taking care of their children that says in big bold letters,
"most families live on LESS than $2.00 per day"
and another column on the right hand side that says,
"exception to the rule".
They each took their $200.00 they had saved in their business account and personally handed it to the man who they purchased their machines from!
As of Monday we will have eleven ladies graduating from sewing school.
From our two graduating classes we will have thirteen ladies on the right hand side of the chalkboard who are now paying their way because of the purses they are selling.
In the sea of things I had on my mind that I wanted to get done this was a pretty good reminder for me of just why we are here in Haiti and what a milestone these times really are in the lives of these mothers and children.

Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness.
We want all our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the grain without the pain. We want the words of Christ's salvation to be easy.

- John Macarthur

Committed To Passion

We have been standing on the sidelines cheering for Brenden for a long time.
When I think about Brenden I think about someone who is committed to passion no matter what the cost.
Passion for his wife, his son, his family and friends, his love for God and his passion for worship.
Cheering for him as he believed God would use him to start a band for our youth group. Cheering him when he believed God would teach him to play piano. Cheering him on through college and he shared his heart with Janell and they got married.
He understands a commitment to passion and remains true to his passion.



http://brendenhojara.com

I believe music can change the world, and I would love to be a part of true change in our world.

I cannot remember a time in my life when I was not singing! After realizing this it finally hit me. Maybe God has a purpose for this gift He has given me, and maybe its purpose is bigger than I can imagine. If there is one thing I have learned in my short life, it is that I can truly do nothing without my Father in Heaven. Any dream I have had has always seemed impossible, and now I see the reason. It is because they are not my dreams, they are HIS, and to me they are impossible. But with HIM anything is possible.

My dream is to see music change the lives of people around the world, especially young adults and children. I dream of building schools in places where education is a privilege, so that children who normally would have very little hope for their future, would receive what they need to walk in their destiny. Music can send a powerful message, a message of love, hope, and unity! And a people united can make real change in the world.

In 2004 I began leading worship at my Church. The next year I married my beautiful wife, and we began Pastoring the Youth as well. We found so much joy in encouraging those young people, and saw God work so powerfully in our lives and theirs. We witnessed a group of young people who had never truly experienced God's presence in Worship transform into a mighty army of God who desired the sweet presence of their Father God. Even after our time of leading came to an end, this group of young people continue to amaze me in their genuine, and bold walk with their Father God! It is such an honor to be used by God to plant seeds in the lives of younger generations.

We all have purpose in this Life, and each one of us has a different purpose. But each purpose is important, and every passion you have was given to you by your creator. So don't stifle those passions, and don't let the world tell you your dreams are impossible. Give your dreams and passions back to God, and watch Him create endless possibilities. This is the message I desire to spread to God's people, young and old!