A BIT MORE TRAVELING

Rita and I took our vacation in December for two weeks to Hilton Head island, South Carolina. It was our first stay in that area and we left with great impressions of a very beautiful and restful area to spend a few weeks during the winter. I would suspect that the conditions would have been much hotter and crowded during the summer but the weather was fantastic when we were there. The first week we saw temperatures in the high 70-mid 80 degrees and although the temperatures dropped to the low 70 degrees the next week it was so pleasant. We stayed at a time share connection we have just a few blocks through the trees from the beach. Our condo was a three bedroom so we had a lot of room and it was deep in the beautiful live oak trees that are everywhere. Since we had a lot of time our routine was to hit the beach early in the morning for our daily walk, move on to our "mochas" at one of the "Books and Borders" type locations. After we recovered from those experiences we explored every location we could. Hilton Head does not have good visibility of the shops, beaches,stores etc. Most everything is hidden in the trees and you have to learn where to go by just driving into a clump of trees and tropical vegetation. They do not want the signs and look of a tourist community, which is great during the day but sometimes challenging at night. Anyway we found many beach areas, and it was always a surprise to drive into a forest area and find a large shopping area and sheltered coves and harbors. We spent some time in Savannah, Georgia(we had been there before and wanted to eat at a restaurant we enjoyed the last visit)and Dan, my nephew reminded me of going to Beaufort, SC. Beaufort was certainly one of our favorite small places to visit and we went there several times during our stay. There are over 90 restored homes in Beaufort and it is small city on the coastal waterways with those fine large southern plantation homes all throughout the location. We found a beautiful beach a few miles along the island waterways that was secluded and a wonderful State Park to park our motorhome someday on our next trip back. Well anyway look at the pictures and who knows, maybe someday we might be writing you from our home in Beaufort or Hilton Head....

SOUTH CAROLINA

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA

HILTON HEAD BEACH

THE BEACH AT HILTON HEAD

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

HILTON HEAD

HILTON HEAD

CHRISTMAS CACTUS IN BLOOM

Christmas Cactus

I took pictures of my Christmas Cactus when she started showing her “buds” on October 27th – you won’t believe it, that’s my birthday! Right away, I pointed that out to Dan and we were excited as we discovered uncountable buds coming out from the stems. If I tell you the story where we got this beautiful plant and how bad her condition was when the first time we saw her (I call “her” Chriska… as it’s meaning for Christmas), you won’t believe me.

This is the story: One day (summer 2007) Dan and I drove around a new neighborhood called “Mexican War District” in Pittsburgh, http://www.mexicanwarstreets.org/history.html -- just trying to familiarize ourselves to the Pittsburgh areas. When we saw a “MOVING SALE” sign on one of those historic homes we were drawn to it like a strong magnet (smile). Chriska didn’t look very good as she was very sick and almost died at the time we saw her. Anyway, to make it short, we paid $10 for Chriska, as I thought if we couldn’t save her, the pot itself it’s worth it (the previous owner thought the same thing too). If we couldn’t save her, I had a plan in my mind to ask my wonderful husband to do the dirty work to repot the plants we have!!!

Anyway, after telling Chriska that everything would be okay and that we loved her and gave her the water and food she needed,within two weeks she started showing her gratefulness of our caring and love for her. Within four months later, she is as beautiful as she can be and now smiling at all of us. Isn’t she beautiful?

If this little Chriska can show her joy of being loved by her caretakers, we all, as God’s children, who are loved by our Heavenly Father and created with His own image can do more than Chriska. Let His Holy Spirit control our hearts so we can please Him every day and every moment of our life. The God we know in our Lord Jesus is real. He gave me His peace and joy (John 14:27) even though I didn’t feel His presence when I was sick. He said “Rita, my child, you don’t need to feel My presence, because you know, I AM with you, and I love you”.

When we face trials and tribulations in our lives, His words will come alive to give us joy, comfort, and peace. This is the Spirit of God, our Comforter who is in our hearts as we have the privilege to be called God’s children. HE will remind us what we have learned, heard and known about Him, and HE will give us joy. Just listen carefully as He speaks very softly and sometimes He whispers!!!

To my family in Indonesia, kami berdua Dan mencintai kalian semua, dan semoga kasih Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus menyertai kalian semua seperti Dia juga menyertai kami disini. Kalau Tuhan menghendaki, pada satu saat kita akan bertemu kembali, kalau tidak di dunia ini, kita akan bertemu di rumah Allah Bapa kita di sorga.