the searbys

Well you didn't know you had to wait this long for my continuation did you? Actually, I wrote this awhile ago and then couldn't get the pictures to upload so here you go.....

The rest of the Missionary Convention was really good. We were able to go to some workshops that encouraged in our new role as the Mission Chairs for our church. But we also got to see Jack & Janine, the Missionaries that we worked with in Chile. They are in the picture below with 2 of their 4 children....

On Sunday afternoon we made the trip to Illinois. Our first stop was to see Joel's best friend from HS and his fiancee. Joel is with Seth in this picture...

While we were with Seth and Rachel I got a call from my parents saying my Grandma Raymer was in the hospital. That's never a good call! We met mom and dad at the hospital and spent the rest of the afternoon with Grandma. I think she's doing okay now....no news is good news right?

I spent Monday with my mom while Joel went back to Indy for a business meeting. Tuesday we went over to Lincoln to visit a few people. We stopped on campus and went to Grandma & Grandpa Parmenter's then to Uncle Tim's to see a bunch of the Lincoln Searby's.

Wednesday was a nice relaxing day. We hung out in the big town of Bellflower. Did you know that no one guarantees overnight delivery to Bellflower?

Mom made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner that we enjoyed on Thursday and then again on Friday. (Here is where the picture of Dad carving the HUGE turkey was going to be but my computer was being stupid...)

On Friday night Jodi, mom, and I had a baby shower for Melissa with all of our family. (Here is where the picture of Melissa, the cute pregnant girl was going to go....)

We left on Saturday morning and stopped at Granny & Grandpa Searby's for lunch then on to Mark & Linday's in B'Ham for the night. We were able to stop through Auburn and see John, Jessi, and Jack for a little bit and finally arrived in Gainesville around 9:30 Sunday night.

What a trip! I apologize to those of you who we did not get to see. It was a whirlwind tour of Illinois but we're glad to be back in Florida where its 80 degrees in November.

The NMC has been like a reunion for us.

Last night we were reunited with former small-groupies. They have recently joined Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) and will be heading to Dallas this summer to work at the headquarters.

This morning my mom came over with Saybrook's current Senior Pastor and his wife. I hadn't seen my mom since June. That was a good reunion. (See Below)

We were able to spend some time with Claudia, our friend from Chile that is attending LCC. It was great to see her smile and know that she is loving school right now. (see below)

Just hanging around the Lincoln Christian College booth has been awesome. We've seen people that we haven't seen since the last NMC. Others, like my former business professor, we haven't seen for a few years!

One of the best reunions of the night was with my friend Amanda who I haven't seen for a year and a half. She is one of my best friends from college and I miss her SO much.

So, why are we here? Today was about reunions....tomorrow will be about missions. We are looking for encouragement to lead our Missions Ministry at church. We have a heart for Global Ministry and we need to be reunited with that passion. So, I supose this blog is to be continued...

You know you're from a small town...

if you can ask where someone lives and the answer is:
"across from the swing set"

I knew exactly which house my dad was referring to.

I know Jen is the one who keeps this blog up...and I love reading all of your comments so keep them coming...so I thought I'd share with our few faithful readers that my colleague and I have started a new blog that is loosely connected with our company, SGS. It's called Beyond Tuesday and its a political blog and podcast for the rest of us. Its for everyone who cares about politics but doesn't really understand a lot of what goes on or why its important. We're going to try our best to talk about things that matter to all of us and we also will be doing a weekly podcast, every Wednesday. If you get a chance, check it out, here's the link:
Beyond Tuesday Blog and Podcasts

Hope you're all well!
-Joel