The sound of the grass under my feet is horrible! It crunches and crackles like old dry straw. It looks like old straw for that matter. Brownwood got a brief rain last week, but nothing to write home about. It hurts to see the country so dry and barren. Everything is going up in price and our ranchers are hurting. I forget where the girls and I were on the day we passed field after field of dry dead corn. It does not bode well for fall prices! Bill said we should have a break in September. I’m wondering how many small farms will be able to hold on for that long. Cattle prices are up and supposedly should stay up for sometime. That’s good news for sellers; bad news for buyers! So the bottom line is this; it’s time to get serious about praying for rain. To that end, our mayor and local pastors are having a prayer meeting at the Community Center on Thursday at 7:00pm. Everyone is invited and we hope there will be enough of us there that God will look down and change the wind and rain patterns for us. All we can do is pray for rain.

Vacation Bible School went very well. Mike and Debbie Phelan were the directors, Kathy Brockman handled the crafts, Kay and Gerald McKee did the Bible lessons, I did the singing and Beatrice Soto, Carol Bryant and Jessica Starr handled the pre-school children. Pam Starr was working with Kathy in the craft department, but had to excuse herself when her mother was admitted to the hospital. As usual, our faithful Louise, Panzi and Gladys prepared our meals. We had to run out and get some fresh armadillo meat for the favorite sandwich of VBS. We had plenty of helpers and there were over 40 children in attendance each evening. That’s a wonderful turn-out and I sincerely hope as the children think over their week that several will step forward and accept Jesus as their savior. It was a rousing good week of fun and Bible study. Brennan and Brooklyn did a great job on our daily skits with assistance on several occasions from Deanna Grady. Thank you everyone for giving your time for our kids. We had a few guests as well. Kathy had her three grandchildren, Emily, Aron and Hailee down for VBS. Aron is the young lady who was baptized last week. Little Alecia showed up Thursday and showed off her rattle snake bite. Special thanks are extended to the teens Brennan, Antonia, Brittany, Brooklyn and Deanna for all their work during the week. It was a tremendously successful week.

I had Danielle and Sarah down for the week. They were a little awkward, since they didn’t know anyone, but they enjoyed the crafts and took part in the song service. We went to Bend Park on Tuesday. Our goal was to rent the kayaks and float the river. The river did not cooperate. I saw these things near the edge wiggling their way around. I think it was big carp with part of their bodies sticking up out of the water. We left disappointed, but decided to make Schlitterbahn our next outing. We left early Friday morning and managed not to get lost, which is an amazing feat for me. We were amazed at the number of tanks, creeks, streams and rivers that were totally dry, or so low there was very little water moving. Fortunately the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers are spring fed so we had plenty of floating power. We had a great day and headed back home. We pulled into the driveway just before midnight. We had a very long, but satisfying day. Saturday we met parents in Stephenville and so ends another wonderful visit with my grandkids. I guess I’m getting old; I love having them, but after about four days, I’m ready to be quiet again.

Carol Bryant was shocked to see Junior Moreno drive into the feed yard Saturday. Not only has he been sent home to finish healing, he is driving and making his way around. He is a walking miracle, that’s for sure! Paul Gibson is headed for another round of radiation and some aggressive chemo treatments. Some improvement has been shown, but more needs to be seen. Please pray for him as he undergoes these treatments. Mrs. Foster is home from the hospital and is doing much better. Robin Crisp is having more tests done to determine what is wrong with him. I have told you that he has to be the best barbeque cooker around, haven’t I? Ralph Martinez needs our prayers as does Abby McMillan. She is the young lady who is going to need a heart transplant after suffering a viral infection that destroyed her heart, I think that is correct. Candi Lewis is back on her feet, but moving very carefully.

There is going to be a fund raiser for Paul Gibson on Saturday the 23

My teapot has arrived from Germany. It is the second piece of Polish pottery that Scott and Heather have bought for me. It came with a sugar bowl and creamer. The colors are so vibrant and rich. They have my permission to send me more pieces any time they want! Also in the box from Germany were three discs with pictures from my vacation. I expect to spend a few hours reliving a wonderful experience. I’ll show some of my students landscape photos when school starts. It’s not as good as being there, but at least you see other parts of the world.

If you have the time, please come out to the prayer for rain meeting on Thursday at 7:00pm. We need prayer for our country, our President, our lawmakers and most of all for our precious troops and their families. We need prayer for all the families that have suffered with floods, fires and tornadoes around the country. It has been a rough year! I guess God needs to hear from us and we need Him to bless America.

rd. This event will be a co-ed softball tournament. They will have a meal, concessions and other types of fundraisers to help with his medical bills. The teen kids are headed to camp on Monday. Nine of our finest youth and three counselors will be headed for the camp at Lake Brownwood. I know they are going to have a great time. I was trying to think of a good prank to play on Jessica, but after a week of VBS my brain is on pause! Don’t forget the Richland Springs rodeo coming up the last weekend of July.