In the “Groove”

Fr. Beiting is still enjoying a well deserved respite in our winter hometown of Punta Gorda, Florida. We have been back here in Louisa for a few weeks from our quick trip to Punta Gorda.
We have just completed a major project with the Mission Center; developing all the forms necessary for the groups to visit us. There is the group’s form itself indicating the folks which will attend, medical form, photo release form, etc. Many things to think through.
We are settling in on our responsibilities with Fr. Beiting Appalachian Mission Center. As volunteer coordinators, we are responsibility for all aspects of the volunteer program. Currently, we are working on gathering information on the groups which will assist our Mission Center this year. Most of these groups visit us during the summer, but we do have a number during the off-summer months. Currently, we have the capability to have two groups each week consisting of 30 and 50 individuals. Our smaller facility is here in Louisa and the larger facility is in Martin County. The summer is quickly filling up; most weeks have one group already and some have two. There is a lot of work corresponding with the groups, finding out there needs and how we can best connect our groups with our clients here in Louisa and

Mike's Engaged!!!

We have great news!!! Mike has asked a lovely young lady to marry him and she said YES!!! We couldn't be happier. Although this is not the official engagement picture, it is good of both of them. The big day is going to be the summer of 2011. We just wanted to share our good news.

A new year....

I am finally get refocused on our mission after spending the last few weeks enjoying family, friends and the holidays. We do have snow on the ground, and it is cold, and I did ask myself a few times, "Now why am I here and not enjoying sunny Florida"?.....I do know that I am where I am suppose to be!!! God has been calling me, and I finally said YES - What a great feeling that is. My hope while working for Fr. Beiting is to bring people closer to God - in essence - to further the Kingdom of God. I hope I can - or really I should say I can as long as I allow God to continue to lead me.

One quick item I feel compelled to address since so many of you have mentioned that you have been donating to Fr. Beiting for years. FBAMC is not the same as the Christian Appalachian Project(CAP). Fr. Beiting began/founded CAP decades ago, but they separated paths probably 15 years ago. CAP still is in the area and is still doing great work, but Fr. Beiting is no longer associated with them. He began Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center when he left CAP. I only mention this because so many of you thought your were giving to Fr. Beiting and the mission we were working with and that is not the case if you were donating to CAP. If you want more information on FBAMC or want your contribution to go to his mission, please check out this web site. www.fatherbeiting.org (copy and paste if need to)

Our rich American Heritage

Well, could there be a prettier place to be in January than Florida? If there is, I have not seen it.
Elaine and I just returned from a quick week trip to Florida. We took Fr. Anthony with us for a part of the trip. He had to return a bit earlier than we did, since Fr. Beiting was leaving for Florida prior to our return and Fr. Anthony had responsibilities while Fr. Beiting was gone.
The flight from Huntington, WV to Clearwater/St Petersburg was a bit rough. In fact, it was one of the more turbulent flights Elaine and I have had. For Fr. Anthony it was particularly difficult. During the roughest part he said he was able to get a rosary in! We found out later during a meal with my family that he was so concerned that he gave everyone on the flight absolution!
Fr. Anthony was like a little kid at Christmas, he was so excited to go to Florida, even though he had no idea where Florida was. We told him Punta Gorda would be like ½ way between Disney World and Miami. He had never heard of either of these. I was surprised, and after a little bit of prompting he figured out who Mickey Mouse was but had never heard of Disney World. Miami, he was clueless about. When we asked him to name any cities in the USA he knew (other than the towns around us) he could only name four. Which ones do you think they would be? See the end of the post for the answer. But on reflection I could only name three cities in India off the top of my head, and India has a population 3x the USA! See my three cities below. How many can you name? Sorry, Miami, you aren’t that big of a deal to an Indian!
After the rough flight, I thought the trip might be a little lackluster for Fr. Anthony, but was I wrong! We only had two full days, so we were pretty short on time to see things. We decided to go to visit Fort Myers and see Thomas Edison’s home, a place I love to visit. I remember that the largest banyan tree in the world was somewhere in India and the second largest was on the Edison estate. Go to the link to see what a banyan tree is if you do not know http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2007-03/banyan-tree-aerial-root.jpg
(This feels like an educational paper as opposed to a blog post, oh well!)
So the conversation continues, “Ok, Fr. Anthony we are going to see Thomas Edison’s home …. I know you do not know….”
Fr. Anthony suddenly interrupts me, “Thomas Edison! The man who invented the light bulb and the phonograph! I studied all about him in school!”
He was so excited, his face lit up like a light bulb! Sorry, Mickey Mouse and Don Johnson (Miami Vice), you loose.
What a great joy Fr. Anthony was! He was so excited about everything and everyone. How much the Indians can teach us about the joy of the little things of life, thank you Fr. Anthony!

(Answers: NY, Chicago, LA and SF/Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi)