September 29, 2010
by familynews
in The Sower: Helping You Share Your Faith
Tags: fort, God, God is, restaurants, St. Augustine, travel, true stories
Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine
“Are you from St. Augustine?” I asked our waitress.
“No, I grew up in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
“Wapakoneta? Neil Armstrong’s hometown!” I stated. “My fourth grade teacher was from Wapakoneta. It was unusual at the time (and a real treat for the kids), but our teacher brought a TV into the classroom for us to watch the live TV coverage of his walk on the moon.”
“My grandma knew him.”
“Why did you move here?”
“I’m legally blind and so my parents moved here for the schools when I was little.”
“Oh!” I said sympathetically. “I noticed the light seemed to bother your eyes.”
Later, when it was time to leave a tip, I wasn’t sure whether to leave a tract for Vikki because of her poor vision. After I’d left the table, though, I thought, she can see well enough to waitress, so I should try handing a tract to her.
I went back out to the balcony with the view of the harbor and the fort, where Vikki was clearing our table.
“Vikki, if you’d like it, this booklet is about Jesus.”
“Yes, I would, thank you,” she smiled. “It was nice meeting you.”
God is amazing!
He used a childhood memory from growing up in Cleveland and of knowing someone from Wapakoneta (175 miles from Cleveland) at the very time of Neil Armstrong’s historic moon walk.
Almost five decades later, and 938 miles further away, I meet someone else from Wapakoneta (population 9,474) and our small connection gave me an opportunity to talk to her about Christ.
September 6, 2010
by thesower
in Family News, Family Photos, Josh, Mike, Sus
Tags: family, family life, highway, interstate, National Park, pictures, Prayer, restaurants, road trips, South Carolina, St. Augustine, things to do, travel
We had a great four-day trip to help Josh settle in for his first job after college.
The movers picked up his things on Thursday, August 26th. We drove about eight hours on Friday to South Carolina and shopped for some things Saturday. The movers arrived at 8 PM on Saturday. Twenty-four hours later, we had assembled the IKEA furniture Josh had purchased in Orlando and had most everything unpacked. So, we just had enough time to do everything we thought of to help him. (The photo is of Mike and Josh celebrating with some root beer floats on Sunday night, using Josh’s new table.)
As we were driving back home on Monday, we were near St. Augustine around dinner time and decided to stop. So, we walked around the town a bit and ate delicious fajitas at Acapulco Mexican restaurant overlooking the harbor and the Castillo de San Marcos. It’s always a treat to stroll around St. Augustine!
Thank you for praying for Josh’s new job and for a safe move. We could see God’s hand behind many of the details in getting a job, finding an apartment, and moving.
Related Post:
Sus had an opportunity to get into a bit of a spiritual conversation with the two men who moved Josh’s things. Read more…
June 6, 2010
by thesower
in Ben, Family News, Family Photos, Jenn, Josh, Mike, Our Ministry, Sus
Tags: beach, Disney, family, family life, Florida, highway, I-95, Jesus, lighthouse, Orlando, pictures, recommended, restaurants, road trips, St. Augustine, State Park, things to do, tourist attractions, travel, university, videos, zoos
See yesterday’s post for a photo and links for the first part of our Memorial Day weekend, including a day at Sea World and a day in Gainesville, Florida.
Monday, Memorial Day, we headed for St. Augustine. We picnicked and then walked out to the beach at Anastasia State Park. We recommend this beach if you would rather not go to one of the crowded, popular beaches along a hotel strip. We also camped here about a dozen years ago. It’s a great spot and close to all you can do in St. Augustine.
It was warm and very windy so that the waves were too strong for most of us. We took walks and Josh and Jenny made a sand castle similar to Castillo de San Marcos. Sus enjoyed looking for shells. She found quite a few razor clams and a few dollar-size green jellyfish. The big find was a stick with live Pelagic Goose Barnacles. (See the video of them feeding in our bucket, above.)
We headed over toward St. Augustine. Discovering that Bonnie had never seen a lighthouse, we stopped at the St. Augustine light station, just to walk around the grounds.
Of course, the fort was new for Bonnie, so we walked around there next. Castillo de San Marcos was going to close at 5:00, so get there before 3:00 at least, if you want to go inside.
Walking around the historic, old buildings of St. Augustine, America’s oldest city, we decided on dinner at Café Del Hildago. The Hidalgo Salad was very good, as well as the gelato for dessert. Gelato, an Italian ice cream, was new for a number of us. (We liked the white chocolate kiss, the mint, the chocolate peanut butter, and the pistachio flavors.)
We spent another hour walking around after dinner and ended our day enjoying the beautiful Spanish Renaissance architecture on the campus of Flagler College, whose centerpiece is the Ponce de León hotel, originally built as a luxury hotel in 1888. Here’s a peek inside. The college offers tours of the hotel.
Tuesday morning, Ben and Bonnie drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Ben worked in the parking lot for the Animal Kingdom for three consecutive summers during college. Bonnie was impressed with the size of the parking lot and they saw some elands and other animals around the lodge.
When they returned home, we all headed out for lunch and to see Campus Crusade headquarters. We visited all the offices where Mike, Sus, and Jenn work and the prayer center and then took the Jesus Film tour.
Sus put together a slide show with pictures from our fun-filled family mini-vacation.
Want more ideas about visiting Central Florida?
See older posts on St. Augustine, Gainesville, and Sea World. This post is part of the series of recommended tips for enjoying I-95.
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