May 22, 2004

Jeffrey Brubaker preparing to chauffeur Anson, Sherman, Maggie & Hope. Got up Sunday morning and made a bite of breakfast for our company.  Gary preached on Nonresistance.  Ina Sue and I came home for lunch while Sherman went to Myrons and Anson ate with the Groffs.  We slept most of the afternoon.  Barnwell Christian School's commencement program was tonight.  Joshua Heatwole, William Brubaker, Franklin Heatwole and Chad Brubaker made up the graduating class this year.  After a really nice party afterward we helped clean up a little then came home and sacked.
Grandmother with her four graduating great-grandsons Monday we remembered Gideon Heatwole and Jerry Groff.  It has been two years since our friends went to be with the Lord.  It still hardly seems real at times.  Although we do not understand God's purposes we must trust him.  Our prayers are with Carl & Grace Heatwole and Sam & Bev Groff during this difficult time. 

We saw our guests off this morning after breakfast on their way to Virginia.  Ina Sue washed clothes and harvested the beets.  When I got home I worked on weeding then after it got dark I canned the rest of our beets.  We ended up with 14 quarts of beet pickle and 8 pints of beet juice. (For pickling eggs)
South Carolina's only national park.... Tuesday morning after breakfast I hurried down to Fairfax a service call at the Town hall there.  Came back home then and went with Ina Sue for a baby doctor appointment.  Everything is still going great, praise God!   Ina Sue came into to the shop with me a while in the afternoon for accounting.  In the evening we were invited to Bill Bylers for supper along with Wendell & Naomi Heatwole.  Bill had smoked, grilled and baked some chicken.  It was delicious!  We had a nice time talking together then came on home.
Ina Sue on the bank of Weston Lake We slept in a bit on Wednesday.  Ina Sue pickled eggs, tied up tomato plants, went swimming, did a scrapbook page and sundry other things too numerous to mention.  I had a really busy day at work and ended up going directly to prayer meeting from work.  For our prayer period, Bro. Wendell asked numerous ones from the congregation who are involved in different ministries to share a little about the ministry then to lead in prayer for it.  It was nice to get updated on all the things people are doing.  We didn't get done with everybody so it will probably be continued at the next prayer meeting.  After church, I went back into the shop and worked until about 12:30 so that I could take off the next day.  Very tired....!
Me and a Congaree pine Thursday was the beginning of our last two weeks before Roger's planned arrival.  I took off from work the entire day and we had a wonderful day together.  I got up in good time and mowed most of the yard.  Also pulled up the last of our spinach and lettuce.  We got left about 12:00 for our trip to Columbia.  We started out by doing some shopping.  Ina Sue had several items she wanted to return and we also bought me some new work shirts and dress pants.  Then we headed out to Congaree Swamp National Park.  This is South Carolina's only national park (It only go the designation within the last couple of months)  We walked about 4 miles on the boardwalks through the swamp.  In actuality, it is really a floodplain forest, not a swamp.  It was very pretty and only a little bit hot & muggy.  We were glad to finally make it back to the car around 7:00.  We went out to Applebees for supper.  We figured it might be the last chance we had to eat out with just the two of us for a while.  Our first date was at an Applebees.
Cindy Brubaker with Travis & Courtney Ina Sue cleaned around the house on Friday while I had a non-stop day at work.  She came into the shop around 6:00 and we left for Kents (Hephzibah, GA)  Had a chance to look at Rhonda's beautiful shade garden then had a scrumptious meal of fish, fresh potatoes, bread & broccoli with a key lime pie for dessert.  After supper I worked along with Kent on getting some of the PRMC finances setup correctly in Quicken. (He is the treasurer of the PRMC)  Left around 10:00 and drove back to Barnwell.  Ina Sue dropped me off at work so I could finish some jobs there.  Got home around 2:00 am.   The work did not go very well....

A number of men from our church were working at the church today doing earthmoving in preparation of our new school.
The graded lot, ready for the new school Ina Sue beat me out of bed Saturday morning.  I awoke to the sound of windows being washed.   I got up and finished mowing the yard then went in to Denmark for some supplies.  I started cutting down our redtip hedge out beside our house.  We had liked the privacy it gave but the redtips were getting so straggly and some had died.  It was a big job getting them all cut down and carted away.  In the process, I unknowingly knocked down a brown thrasher nest.  The one little bird fell out of the nest and even though I tried and tried to replace the bird and next back in a tree, the little bird kept floundering out.  I finally gave up and the last I saw of it the mother bird was leading it slowly across our back yard to the woods beside us.  In early afternoon, the heat got too much for me so Ina Sue and I took a relaxing swim in our neighbor's new pool.  It felt oh so good.  I finished up the hedge then went up to Lloyd Oberholtzer's to pick up a box of catfish fillets that Dwight & Crystal Lee had brought up for us.  Steve Brubakers got here about 6:30 for supper and an evening of fellowship and business talk.  It was really good to see and talk to them again.