July 13 – “Tales of the Crazies …”

I had to leave the house pretty early yesterday morning.  I was scheduled to meet Steve the bug guy at the church for our regular spraying.  Apparently some of the folks staying in the retreat center have seen a critter or two, so we can’t have that.  Steve was already there when I arrived.  In fact he had already done some spraying for the ants he had seen outside.  He regaled me with bug stories as I followed him around the building.  He said there is a new species of ant on the Island that made its way here on board ships from the Caribbean or somewhere exotic like that.  Crazy Ants.  There is another name to go with that but I forgot it.  Non-essential information, I guess.  Apparently these crazy ants stake out a territory of five acres or so, set up five or six queens and go to town.  The systematically destroy every other species of ant in their terrain, including fire ants.  I asked if they did damage to human beings the same way fire ants do.  Nope.  In fact the only negative he has ever seen about them is the fact that they seem to love electronics, engines and the like.  That would put at risk automobiles that remain idle for a time and air conditioning units.  Interesting trade-off if you have a fire ant infestation, I suppose.

Steve completed his task and left, but I stuck around for a few minutes to talk to the leader of the group currently staying in the center.  They are having a great week working with Galveston Urban Ministries.  They were really interested in the story of how the retreat center came to be.  They were admiring the wall mural beach scene with me baptizing a girl, so I got to tell the story of the youth group that came with the artist.  When she took a break to catch a quick nap, they came in behind her and painted in some shark fins in the water right near the baptism.  Very funny stuff.  The artist, however, was not amused.  They were also happy to see the bug guy.  At least their kitchen ladies were. 

After a good staff meeting and prayer time with Jim I headed back to the house hoping to get some work done.  I have had some back and neck pain issues this week, so it’s been hard to concentrate.  I really needed to get the teaching on track for this week before Cailyn arrives later this morning.  I made a little headway before I had to take a break and walk around.  Chris saw that I obviously needed to stretch, so she asked if I would make a quick WalMart run for her.  She was making some potato soup for a Seaside lady, and she needed something to put it in.  I was hoping for a little taste myself, but this was strictly a ministry batch.  Oh, well … something to look forward to.

James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Father, be with Steve as he battles the bugs, with the group in the center as they minister, with our sweet Seasider as she deals with her issues, and with Chris as she does her home ministry projects.  Amen.