July 24 – “Bus man’s holiday”

We had a really good day at church yesterday.  Around 50 or so people there.  That included several new locals checking us out.  One was a young couple.  She was pregnant with their first child, so they felt like they needed to get back in church for the sake of the baby.  He said that he personally hadn’t been in church since 2002.  Before that he had been extremely active.  Welcome back.  As it turned out (What a coincidence?) they ended up sitting on the same row as another first time visitor couple who just happened to be their neighbors.  She has been coming to the ladies Bible study.  He just got hired on as the newest Jamaica Beach police officer.  Glad to have you guys as well.

Chris got to spend some time talking with another family of visitors.  They came to Seaside originally from the Dallas area, but most recently from Tanzania.  They have lived all over the world.  I remember Chris mentioning New Zealand.  That would be a far piece to travel.  The wife told Chris that her heart is for missionaries who need respite, a place to come home from the field and rest and in many cases heal.  They are seriously considering a move to Galveston.  Come on.

In the afternoon we had a babysitting job.  Apparently Jachin set it up first by texting with Chris, and then told his parents.  Kel and Christina kept it pretty simple as dates go.  They just walked around the Strand.  Bus man’s holiday.  Bet you haven’t heard that one in a while, have you?  Back in the day when people actually used to rely on buses for transportation, it was a big deal for someone who drove a bus all day to take a vacation by driving a lot to get there.  A bus man’s holiday.  In Kel’s case, he walks that route every day as a mail man, so for him to return just to stroll around seems strange.  He said he did get recognized in one of the shops.  They asked the proverbial, “I think I should know you” questions, and responded by teasing a bit, “I come in here every day.”   He finally fessed up and said he comes in to deliver their mail. 

The kiddos were great as usual.  We finished watching the Astros game (sadly, a loss).  Then Jachin started telling us about his first trip ever to youth camp.  And he didn’t stop talking until sometime after his parents returned.  I think the boy had a good time. 

1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Father, thank you for the new folks at church and for the time with the grandkids.  It was a good day.  Amen.