Happy Birthday.

Tony Campolo had just arrived in Hawaii for a conference, and thanks to jet leg he woke up around three in the morning. Hungry, he went out looking for a place to eat. He finally found a tiny coffee shop. As he sipped his coffee and munched on his donut he was joined by eight or nine skimpily dressed and very loud prostitutes.

Nice, pious Campolo, overwhelmed by all the noise and flesh, was about to leave when he heard the woman sitting next to him say, “ You know, tomorrow is my birthday, I’m going to be 39.” Her friend responded in a rather nasty tone, “So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Do you want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?”

“Come on,” the woman sitting next to Campolo said, “Why do you have to be so mean? I’m just telling you that’s all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you that it is my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?

It was then that Campolo knew he had to do something really foolish. After the women finally left, he turned to the guy behind the counter and asked, “Do they come in here every night?” “Yeah,” he answered.

“The one right next to me.” (Campolo) asked, does she come in here every night?”

“Yeah,” he said, “that’s Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why do you want to know?” “Because,” Campolo replied, “I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say we do something special for her? What do you think about throwing a birthday party for her, right here in the diner?”

The counter guy agreed, and even offered to bake the cake. The next morning, at 2:30am, Campolo went to the diner and decorated the place. As he says,” The word must have gotten out on the street because by 3:15am the next morning ever prostitute in Honolulu was in that place. There was wall-to-wall prostitutes-and me.”

When Agnes walked in, everyone jumped up and yelled, “Happy Birthday!” She was floored. She burst into tears. She was so moved. She couldn’t even cut the cake. Instead, she meekly asked if she could take the cake home, to keep for a while, not eat right away. After all, it was the only birthday present she’d ever received. She promised to be right back.

As she left, Campolo broke the silence by offering a prayer. The guy behind the counter looked at him skeptically and said, “Hey, you never told me you were a preacher. What kind of preacher are you anyway? What church do you belong to?” Campolo answered quietly, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.” The counter guy thought a moment, and then almost sneered as he answered, “no you don’t, there is no church like that. In fact,” he concluded. “If there was, I’d join it.”

-- Author Unknown ---
Courtesy of Roger Newell
G.F.U Professor

Ivy Lawn Cemetery.

Ivy Lawn Cemetery is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've
visited. Ivy Lawn is located in Ventura, California and is about 5
miles from my parents home.

This cemetery is situated by the 101 Freeway but is serene despite
the busyness that is associated with the high traffic volume. The
cemetery is also near the business park and railroad line but the noise
of those are shut out by the landscape found in the cemetery.

Each year on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day the city hosts a
event to remeber those that have served and died in our Armed
Forces. This Monday will be the Memorial Day ceremony and I
will attend along with my Father. The Memorial Day is one of the
most emotional events I've witnessed and is quite a time of remembering
those men and women who went into battle and died for the cause
of freedom.

I visited Arlington National Cemetery twice before and enjoy reading
the history of the cemtery. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is
quite a sight to see and experience. The guards who stand the watch
(Walking the Mat) are keeing the silent vigil as I type and you read.

One of the most interesting facts about Arlington is that President John F.
Kennedy wished to be buried there. While President Kennedy was visiting
the cemetery months before he died, he told a close friend "I could stay
here forever."

I could say the same about Ivy Lawn of being buried there when I die.
Ivy Lawn is a special place and will always be a place to visit for
private reflection and public remeberance.

Road trip

My parents and I just finished a road trip through Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and California. We stayed and visited family members in three of these states. During the trip I saw a variety of U.S. states license plates that featured a variety of locations. Overall, the trip was a good chance for us to visit with people we haven’t seen or met in years. The highlight of the trip for me was to visit Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada. I lived in Fallon during my last three years of Navy service. I got to be reunited with people that I had worked/ for during the timeframe of 1995-1998.

Our secret to family travel was finding space in each day to separate ourselves and do our own activities. The only disagreement we had the whole trip was figuring out where to eat and how long to stay at each house. My favorite stay was in Redmond because I was able to take a day of rest to recover after the spring semester at my school in Oregon.

Listed below are the state license plates that I saw:

Washington
California
Nevada
Oregon
Idaho
Florida
Utah
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Indiana
Colorado
Arkansas
Montana
Alabama
Illinois
Virginia

square your corners.

Here are the websites to our nation's service academies:

www.usna.edu Naval Academy

www.usma.edu U.S. Military Academy

www.usafa.af.mil Air Force Academy

www.cga.edu Coast Guard Academy

www.usmma.edu Merchant Marine Academy

Are you scared?

I was asked this question during a conversation I had with a relative regarding my upcoming trip to China. The question is a valid one and I have a response to people who may be asking if I'm scared to travel. I'm not scared about returning to China but I'm nervous about what kind of reception I will have once I arrive in China. I'm also nervous of how good of a job I will do teaching English to Chinese people. I want to make a good impression with my team mates, supervisors, co-teachers, and most importantly the students who I will be spending many hours. I'm not scared of the travel aspect of going to China as God is going before us and will give us a good flight schedule and a safe transition to our host schools. I know and understand that God will be with my team so the feeling of being scared isn't as high if I didn't trust in God. I'm anxious to meet my team members and develop a relationship with them so that we can represent our churches and schools in China. God already has a team, school, and class full of eager students for me to share my time and life with. I'm confidant that God is going before me to guide my summer not only as a service to Him but to those I will meet and serve.