Technology is GREAT...When you have it!!

So our last post was June 3rd -  let's see - in those couple of weeks we have been from DC to Baltimore, MD to Newport RI to Brimfield, MASS to Acadia, ME to Farmington ME.   YIKES...WE GOT A WHOLE LOT A CATCHIN UP TO DO!!!  :)


The reason for the delay is that we have been OUT of the connection to the world....NO Internet to post the blogs...So we will try our best to keep it short and sweet since we have almost a month to tell you about on here....  We are going to break it up into 3 posts and give you lots of pics at the bottom of the posts for you to enjoy as well....


First of all - we miss you all terribly!  We are going into our 3rd month and well, let's just say...prayers and notes would be great from back home!  I for one am feeling a little unsettled with all the moving...I will just say now that God is so good to have us settled in Farmington for the summer.  He knew at this time we would need a little normalcy I guess you could say.   We are all settled in and are looking forward to the work ahead of us.  But that is for another post on another day.  We are here to talk about the past :)

Ok - our last post was leaving DC heading to Baltimore, MD for the Southern Baptist Convention.  We stayed at Patapsko Valley State Park (HIGHLY recommend - it's just beautiful there) right outside of downtown Baltimore.  They had the most amazing hiking trails down to the river.  Loved hiking there always saw at least 4 deer when I went and one day I saw a baby fawn asleep by a tree.  Soooo cool!  Anyways we were only 12 miles from convention center....and only took us an hour to get there each day....AHHHHH!  My favorite part of the SBC was the Commissioning Ceremony of the International Missionaries and the North American Missionaries.  This was the first time in like 25 years or so that they did a joint commissioning.  It was so touching to see and hear from each one of them as they shared a brief testimony and where they were going to be serving.  At the very beginning of the ceremony the flags from the 50 states and the however many countries were brought in and placed around the front area.  We were a part of the volunteers that were invited to carry the flags in.  It was so cool to be a apart of that time.  Daddy even got to be the first one in carrying the United States flag.  Oh they also had a Native Praise choir and let me tell you, Amazing Grace in Cherokee is the most beautiful song I think I have ever heard.  It was so very touching when the leader shared that they would not be there if it wasn't for the missionaries that come to them and share the Gospel. The choir was made up of 12 different tribes but all united in Christ - just beautiful!!

I was so excited that we would be there early so I could go to the Pastor's conference.  I got to hear two of my favorites David Platt and Francis Chan and so enjoyed that time.  But, I will still have to say...Eric Gervais is still my favorite!!!  (He's my pastor if you don't know...hehehe)


We also got to attend the 125 birthday celebration for WMU - Women's Missionary Union which was really cool to be apart of. 



Moving on from Baltimore we went to NEW YORK CITY!!!!  WOW oh WOW!!!  Well we actually stayed in Jersey City, New Jersey overlooking the harbor with Lady Liberty in our back yard....Really pretty cool....I couldn't find it the day we got there and thought...pffft they lied...we can't see the Statue of Liberty....Until the next day when my precious friend pointed the other direction that I did NOT look and taaaaa daaaaa there she was all big and proud...Yikes...ain't easy being me!  :)


God was so awesome to give us two of the BEST tour guides for NYC.  On our first day Crystal (Mouton for those of you from Salt Springs) and her precious daughter Taylor picked us up and we road the PATH to the city....We got to see Freedom Tower and the Footprints, the monuments from the twin towers.  One of the most surreal moments - seeing the names - seeing it all - brought back the feelings and memories from that day.  Crystal shared what it was like for her being there - looking over in to the sky and the towers were just gone - So this was a very special place and so glad we were able to visit there.  We then ventured on and walked and walked and walked....oh but wait...we, ok well I was on a complete mission to eat pizza, pretzel, bagel and a hot dog, no wait that would be a dirty water dog.  And I am proud to say... I ate it all!  It was great, but full of crazy preservatives that we won't talk about right now....lol.  Our second day we were blessed with another awesome tour guide Kathy (Paskey for those of you from Salt Springs).  She brought us an everything bagel for breakfast and then we were off....took the ferry over to the city...AWESOME!!!  We got to see everything we didn't see the day before and more...Between the two days I think we walked over 13 miles and the second day we did the double decker bus...lots of walking there for sure.  We were so excited to be able to hook up with my cousin Gary who lives in New York for most of the day as well.  My favorite part of our time in NY was first and foremost getting to see Crystal, Kathy and Gary.  The second part was after it was all over, we headed back onto the ferry to go back to Jersey and when I looked back the first time....to see the city at night all light up...breathtaking.  Absolutely beautiful!  So this little country mouse survived the city and was so glad to be heading out of it too.  From DC to Baltimore to NYC - I was so ready to get to some open spaces.

Kitchen window view

My precious cousin Maria

Which now leads us to Newport, RI.  We stopped there to visit another one of my cousins, Maria.  It has been so great getting to visit family on our trip too.  We got to meet her awesome family, Paul, her husband and her precious little boy, Max.  As we were coming into Rhode Island all I kept saying is OMW I love it here - it's beautiful - I love it - then we got to the coast...WOW again.  Yes I love the water, but I am blown away at how different it is up here than in FL.  I thought the water is water...wrong....I loved all the sailboats everywhere.  So anyways, Maria had us over for some wonderfully prepared Italian food (did I mention she is my cousin from Italy?).  I didn't want to quit eating :), but don't worry...I did! :)  The next day she took us into Newport to play tourist for the morning and then we all met back up at a great place on the water for dinner.  We had such a great time with her and her family, just hated the short visit.

  

Maria, Max and Paul

           RHODE ISLAND

 
 

Sunset view from Maria's house

 

NEW YORK

BALTIMORE

My friends doing flags :)

The Native Praise Choir

the tiny fawn - see the spots?

Now guess what....we are at an end of this post. Hope you enjoy the pics....Next post is going to be about Brimfield, Massachusetts, where we helped Friendship Baptist Church with scraping and painting of their parsonage that was built back in the 1800's.

Next post awaits me....

Love you all and keep us in your prayers....
Kristi ~
Galatians 6:9-10

Donations and Sponsorships are welcomed!
Giving is a blessing for others as well as a blessing to us.

Pay Pal account -

enter kristiskreations1@yahoo.com (my business account) and follow the instructions.
If you do NOT have a Pay Pal account there is a .59 cent fee for the transaction.



To mail a check - please send it to our home church ~
First Baptist Church Salt Springs
C/O Mary Beth Gervais
24100 NE Hwy 314
Salt Springs, FL 32134.

Either way, whether you choose to make a contribution or not, please know that your prayers are very much wanted, needed and appreciated. We are walking by faith and know that God will provide! Thank you and God Bless!