Today is a much calmer day than yesterday. It’s cooler but the wind that blew this cold front in has passed. We could use some sunshine though. But —- we take what we get. 

I don’t know if you have been following the news about the earthquake in Turkey and Syria or not but last night the news channel reported 21,000 people have been killed by that earthquake. 21,000 — how horrible is that? The video footage is horrible to watch and I can’t imagine being there on location. I spent a year plus in Turkey as Commander of a unit and it was one of my better assignments. Being away from Ms. Kate for that year wasn’t fun but the assignment itself was great. The location was way out in the middle of nowhere. The closest town was Malatya and it was I think nine miles from the base. The hills surrounding the base were “short-grass” covered and rocky. It was good for sheep to graze on and that was predominantly what people did for a living anywhere around the base. Houses were mostly made of wood and mud, or so it seemed. The absence of trees made the hills appear to be barren and I could just imagine the Apostle Paul walking along the sheep paths on his way to Greece. This area was part of the area Paul in fact traveled through. 

I loved dealing with the Turkish people. I found them to be very genuine and they were honest extremely hard working people. One of my people lost his billfold in town and a Turk found it, and came the nine miles to the base to return it to him. Everything was still in it and the man refused to take a reward for his effort. I loved the Turkish food and I loved the Turkish hospitality. Being the base Commander, I was invited to a local resident’s home for a meal one evening. It was an eleven course meal and went all night long. I was both stuffed and exhausted when I returned to the base. So — to hear about this terrible tragedy breaks my heart. I urge prayers for them. No, they are not Christian and most are Muslim, —- but they are God’s creation and God’s children. They are men and women and children with broken lives and broken hearts. 

Ms. Kate is doing fine since her biopsy as expected, and we are still of course waiting anxiously for the results. Patience is a virtue and sometimes I am not very virtuous. But, pacing and worry has no effect on some unknown doctor who takes these things one at a time. So, I will set it aside and wait like a good soldier who learned to “hurry up and wait” many years go. 

That’s it for this Friday. Have yourself a wonderful weekend. “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy”. Those aren’t my words; — they came directly from God. Peace.