An Intern Weekend

Last Saturday the intern group drove to the outskirts of San Antonio, destined to help a new Christian family related to a VF staff member move in. As will hopefully be our custom, we were the first to arrive and got right to work as soon as introductions were made. With our help, the initial crew amounted to about six and work seemed to be going at a good pace. Then a few minutes later, two and then a third vehicle drove up and more smiling VF staff members pilled out and helped make short work of the oversized U-haul. With guys constantly going in and out of the truck and house we finished unloading the entire task in about an hour. Then after setting up some beds and rearranging some furniture we all left a very kind and grateful family behind with big start to life in the new community.

After leaving, we interns decided to make the most of our few minutes of free time and stopped along the sides of the old, winding, and decrepit Texas highway to snap a few pictures. First we pulled over at the top of a hill that descended , slightly rolling up and then down, finally ascending to the other side of embankment. This spot looked great for a snapshot so Chris and I jumped out. Unfortunately, Chris’s picture turned out much better than mine so you’ll have to go to his site for the great view. We then continued retracing our route home and stopped on the far side of a bridge which spanned a beautiful, yet foul smelling, river. The dark, rough, mature, and steadfast trees which grew along the bank stood in contrast to the cool, blue and flowing river which winded lazily through the landscape. After a few shots here, and a slight fright by a dead snake “lurking” on the water bank, we moved on. Our next stop brief photo shoot at an old church which blended well with the Texas colors of the land and just looked kind of neat.

We then journeyed on to another sort of destination which we knew would comfort us with somewhat of an at home-type atmosphere. That place was Costco. Now if you’re not part a big family then you really wouldn’t understand just why Costco plays such an integral part in life. In light of a kids perspective, there’s tons of books to sit and read, plenty of free food at every corner, and the often times happy ending of a Costco pizza or at least a pretzel. Any, so we were heading to Costco and started writing down the list of items we needed to buy. Apparently, our kind driver (note: Mr. Kent will not be specifically be named here as the driver) seemed to come to the conclusion that we needed more time to compile our list, so he missed the correct street and wound up driving over 4 miles in a circular attempt to reach our destination. “Isn’t this a nice drive?” he asked us all while smiling ear to ear. Three blank stares returned his carefree question. Then we all started laughing.

The last adventure of the day for me was to get my hair cut. Now this was no small chore because frankly I’ve never gone to a public barber in all my life. That may seem odd to you but averaging about 1 cut a month to the price of about $8 a cut for a period of about 19 years, there’s a savings of about $1,824. Good thinking mom. But as I was saying, I needed to get a cut so I stopped by the PX (Post Exchange) after a brief trip to the commissary. After viewing the average hair cut, a close shave around the head with a hair cutter followed by a electric shaver which left only a tuft of hair on top, I asked that my hair was not cut too short. The barber nodded in agreement and went to work. 10 minutes later she handed me a mirror. I was shocked. Now mom may nick me on the ear if I I’m being mouthy, but she would never butcher my head in this fashion. Oh well. Welcome the uncaring world I guess.

I have much more to share but this post is getting long so I’ll add more in a few days. I hope all those reading my blog, from my dear friends in Washington State to the friends and family of Chris, Jason, and Tait, will continue praying for us as we endeavor to serve with all our strength and energy in our work here at Vision Forum. Thanks for all of your support , from keeping up and commenting on our blogs to sending us “Care Packages” (want our address?).

I will work on keeping this site updated a little more consistently, so stay tuned.