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Let’s Be Frank…

As promised, here is the summary of my visit with Ryan Frank… Let’s be Frank… Let me be Frank with you…. Ryan Frank began his ministry at Liberty Baptist Church the same year I came to my present church, 1998. However, for Ryan, it was the church he grew up in. While marrying the pastor’s beautiful daughter may have helped in the job interview, sine then he has shown himself to be both a creative and resourceful children’s pastor. This was not my first time to his church. Ryan has been a long time contributor to Kidology.org and has been a trainer at Kidology events. Though I wasn’t able to visit on a Sunday during this visit, I did get several opportunities to sit down and ‘talk shop’ with Ryan. I asked him to share some of the lessons he has learned from being faithful to one ministry for seven years. I told him to feel free to be ‘Frank’ with me… DEVELOP A LEADERSHIP TEAM Ryan said one of the critical things he has learned is the importance of Team Building. An effective children’s ministry leader has got to surround himself with qualified and dedicated people. He emphasized the…

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Be Encouraged Chicagoians!

And I thought gas was expensive in Chicago! (and this was the lowest we could find!!) We have arrived in Everett (20 miles North of Seattle) Washington. Decided to get in the mood for our miles and miles of driving… Where is the red convertible when you need it? We’ve arrived at Kim’s house… a childhood friend of Sara’s from the Philippines who was her Maid of Honor when we got married. More pics to come! Another buddy named Nathan!

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A Vacuum Powered Goat and More!

UP-DATE: A.R.M. 4000 XL Video below… Finally time for an update on our adventures! Bloggin’ on the train… The Amtrak ride was fun. There will be some more pictures and video later, but overall it was a good trip. It was relaxing, and fun to watch the scenery. The bumpiness was ok, though walking was sometimes rough, it was fine while sitting/sleeping. The bed was NOT very nice, planning a chiropractic visit upon my return! :) But, on the bright side, I found my retirement home… This is where I will retire…. if there is Internet, of course. 37 hours later, we arrived in Spokane. Contrary to online reviews, we arrived right on time… exept that ‘on time’ was 2:40am (4:40am Chicago time) so that added to an already rough night. We were greeted by Darth Vader, and Daniel Bigler. Our illuminated transport. The picture is blurry to capture the lights underneath that were also under the seats inside, the children’s pastor’s ministry vehicle. (see I’m not the only CP with a cool car to interest kids!) Non-blurry pictures coming in photo gallery. WOWIE! Fancy Schmancy! They surprised us by putting us up in the fanciest downtown hotel called The…

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Arrived in Spokane…

Rich Stafford anyone? We have arrived in Spokane WA after a looooong but fun train ride (pics to come, this is a Palm post). In addition to our visit at Shiloh Baptist, we are hoping to track down a college friend, Rich Stafford, who went to MBI with me and stood up in my wedding, but I’ve lost his contact info. Anyone know Rich and Donna Stafford? Let me know!!!! More later! Rich has been found! Check out his website: www.staffordstudios.com He now lives in Portland, and we are planning to see him NEXT WEEK! THANKS to those of you who helped, and especially to Pastor Rick who tracked his info down.

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On the Road Again, er, TRACKS

Or should it be ‘trackin’ with the Bastians? Well, we are off on the next phase of our sabbatical… I stopped by the office to grab a few things and was SHOCKED to see a new sign on my office door! Soon we were at the station… Sara booked us a huge comfortable room… With views out BOTH sides of the train! Soon we were leaving Chicago behind… We went from tall building to farmland within 40 minutes… I’m not sure how fast this train is, but it seems FAST – my guess at least 80mph if not overa 100 just trying to imagine a car going this fast… the train looks very old and worn, but is comfortable, and the ride isn’t too bumpy… we’ll see how it goes. Yes, I am bloggin’ from the train via my trusty cell phone which gets my laptop online. I was curious if I would get this post posted and not lose my connection, so far so good. Keep in touch! Post a comment below and say hi! Good Bye Chicago, be back in a few weeks!

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