Serving your family - They Deserve it!

Today was a very interesting day. I am sure Sue will go into more detail about it on her blog; however, it was special for me to see three people I have grown to love go back in time and visit some places that had been special to them.

We drove east of I-70 toward St. Louis to find the old Calvary Baptist Church. Sue's dad taught himself how to lead singing and lead a choir and became the music director at Calvary. The church had great preaching from a pastor who was incredibly talented. Not only was he a sensational pulpiteer, he was great on the organ and piano. Reverend Nelson Reagan was a great influence not only on Sue's dad, but caused her to want to learn to write. The music, under the direction of Sue's dad had to be great. This little church grew to number over 1000 in Sunday School and had to move their service to the Pauline Theater where the aroma of popping corn caused worshippers to sometimes stray in their concentration. Today, the building still stands as a church and is suprisingly well-kept. We took a picture of Sue in front of the church and also one of her mother and dad. We drove by the house where Sue's parents lived when she was born. Except for the church, the surrounding area has not been as well-kept as we might like. The memories of Sue and her parents were memories of great joy. That is a good thing.

We drove south on Goodfellow ave. to CoteBrilliant street only to find that the four family flat where they one called home was no longer an edifice. A vacant lot between two houses brought a little sadness. Not far from that address was a school where Sue went to kindergarten. Although it appears that the building could use a bit of "fixin' up," it is still in use and is a very attractive place of memories for Sue. We then headed west on Natural Bridge to Brown road and drove to another elementary school where Sue was a student. That school was close to her home, which at that time was on Bobb Street. We drove by the house where Sue lived until she went to Oklahoma Baptist University (a poor choice of colleges when Baylor was available). The house on Bobb is still an attractive frame house and Sue and her parents recalled many joyful events that happened while they resided there.

We drove back to St. Charles on I-70 and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. It was fun for me to listen and watch mother, father, and daughter look back at their very special hereitage. One of the most special things that they enjoyed and still enjoy, is that Jesus is Lord and He has directed their paths.

A Week of Press Conferences

This had been a week of press conferences. Wednesday, MOHELA held two press conferenes, one at the Science Center in St. Louis and the other in the board room of the Metropolitan Community Colleges in Kansas City. Business, education, government, and labor leaders met to discuss national and state recommendations for addressing challenges in engineering, math and science. At these meetings MOHELA announced the details of new investments to help Missouri address these challenges. Following the meeting in St. Louis, we flew to Kansas City to announce the MOHELA initiative on the western side of the state. The press conferences were attended by a capacity crowd in both cities with television crews from three cities in Missouri as well as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star.

Today, a press conference regarding volunteerism was held in the Holiday Inn in Wentzville, MO. Rick Warren was very interested in what is taking place in the Westplex area of Missouri. One important announcement was that the city of St. Louis is joining in our effort. Governor Matt Blunt has already pledged his support. I made a presentation regarding the characteristics of serving leaders. John Howard, the great American cycilist was present and he shared a bit about his outstanding career and his winning endeavors in three olympics.

God has been opening new doors for me this year and I am grateful for that. It is a good thing to have the opportunity to represent Jesus in the secular world. When I speak of serving leaders, where could I find a better one than the Son of God.

Have a great Memorial Weekend!

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER & A TRIP TO MISSOURI' CAPITAL

Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. President Harry Truman (a Missourian) began that program in 1952. My day began by attending the St. Charles Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. Patti York is our mayor and she is a very attractive lady who has led our city in a very special way. My friend Ed Watkins was the MC of the event and he asked me to bring a "Dove Award" to the breakfast so we could honor Sue for her achievements. That was fun to hold the award up so all could see. Todd Worrell was the featured speaker. He is a former great relief pitcher for the Cardinals and later for the LA Dodgers. Todd is presently the pitching coach for Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. That school is outstanding and they are fortunate to have some fine students who are the sons and daughters of professional athletes who have been excellent in their field. Todd stressed the importance of relationships, especially having a relationship with Jesus.

After the prayer breakfast, Ed and I drove to Jefferson City to meet with some of the elected leaders of Missouri. We talked to Rep Sally Faith who is a WAJonian. Also we visited with Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, Senator Chuck Gross and Rep. Tom Dempsey. Tom had just returned from Springfield where he had accompanied Governor Matt Blunt to the Prayer Breakfast there. Former Senator and Attorney General John Ashcroft was the speaker and according to Gov Blunt and Rep Dempsey, he was dynamite.

I had scheduled an appointment with Governor Blunt for Ed and me. I talked to him, his chief of staff, and deputy chief of staff about the direction the Missouri Higher Loan Authority would be taking following the passage of Governor Blunt's "Lewis and Clark Program" in the Missouri House. The Senate has already approved it. We will be funding $350M to help colleges and universities in Missouri with some of their building projects. I believe it is a good program and will not affect any student from obtaining a loan from MOHELA. Ed shared some things that resulted from Rick Warren's visit to St. Louis a few weeks ago that involves volunteerism in Missouri. Governor Blunt was a good listener and said he would help us. He is 37 years old and looks about 25. More importantly, he is a great Christian. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT. It is special to have such a man as the leader of our state.

Ed came away so excited about our visit and the promises Governor Blunt made. It was a good day.

I will be glad to have Sue home for a while. She is special.