A Candle in the Dark

COOL FRIENDS!

Here’s my eighty-years young writing friend, Loretta, our Road Angel.

Don’t I have the neatest friends!

Love you, Loretta! Way to GO.

People I Admire

Jan Henson

Jan and I didn’t really know each other when Bob and I moved away from northern Illinois. In a class I taught, she calmed a frightened kitten I’d brought for a lesson in empathy. Jan clearly demonstrated the lesson I wanted the class to learn and that’s my first memory of her.
After our move, I don’t remember why Jan started writing,
but she’s sent me a letter about every three weeks for almost fourteen years. I’ve never had a friend keep in contact as faithfully as Jan. We’re dear friends, though we’ve seen each other for one brief hug in all those years.

Jan’s an expert at jig-saw puzzles, beautiful, complicated ones. That requires and maintains a healthy brain. And she loves animals with all her compassionate heart. She’s faithful at important, but not noticeable duties at church, and prefers a low-key role.

Mark and Lizzie Grayson

Mark and Lizzie Grayson

We met Lizzie, from England, in Dubai, UAE years ago. When she visited our church, I was amused to see young men glance at her, then immediately trail after her like affection-starved puppies. Lizzie ignored them all. Another year, we lunched with Lizzie in Hollywood, California, where she was involved in missions work. Our next lunch date was at Covent Garden, London, England. We chuckled about meeting so many places in the world, and continued the lovely pattern when Lizzie spent two weeks at our home in the Pacific Northwest, USA. This picture is Lizzie and a friend in Sisters, Oregon. Lizzie says he was a poor communicator.

Lizzie married Mark in September, 2004, with the wedding reception at Winston Churchill’s boyhood castle grounds. Mr. and Mrs. Grayson wonderfully serve God with music ministries and children’s work. Lizzie holds assemblies in British schools, where she teaches Bible lessons. She’s an amazing young woman and we feel honored to call this couple friends.

John and Ruth Kuehl

People I Admire, Ruth and John Kuehl

Ruth, a realtor, showed me around when I was house-hunting in Oregon. At one residence, we suddenly found ourselves locked in the back yard, surrounded by an eight- foot high wooden fence, built of tightly joined planks. I’d climb the solid wood gate, reach over and unhook the latch, then despair as the gate swung shut and locked every time I climbed down. Ruth’s wonderful laugh, which spreads the good medicine of laughter everywhere she goes, finally roused a neighbor who rescued the two of us. That’s when I decided Ruth was an uninhibited joyful, zany, unpredictable treasure for a friend.

We play Scrabble often and John, highly intelligent, regularly invents new words with his tiles, adding to our game-time hilarity. We’ve never before known such a delightful couple.

Ruth, who bills herself as the ‘Cow Lady’ (mooo-ving people is her business—she says, “ Cowll Ruth for real-estate needs), grew up in Butte, Montana, along with Eveil Kneivel.
John teases that Ruth needed citizenship papers when she emigrated from Butte to the rest of the US, implying that Butte is a foreign city, and strange people leave there.

John and Ruth lead a small group fellowship, part of our alive mega-church. Bob and I co-host the group. We enjoy these small group parts of a large church, as a way to grow into close friendship.

Bill and Camille Kievith

People I Admire

Bill and Camille Kievith

Bill’s a quiet guy, so we only slowly learned how amazing he is. Born in Holland, he was California high school debate champion his senior year. Bill served as an officer in the US military until his retirement, so he and Camille have lived in and traveled many places around the world. That’s one reason my WMWM and I enjoy them so much. We have a lot in common.
They have four beautiful adult daughters, the younger two twins. They still hold hands, after many years of marriage, especially in church and out walking together.

Camille is the out-going member of this couple, and shows her warm care for people everywhere we go, by reaching out and making new friends. She and I thrift-shop, share about our wonderful children, chat, and walk together (at our own pace-Bob and Bill always scurry on several blocks ahead of us during our Sunday afternoon walks).

Recently, Bill and Camille introduced us to lutefisk, at a Sons of Norway dinner. I’d never tried this traditional dish, didn’t expect to like it, and was pleasantly surprised.

When we eat out after church on Sundays, we often ask Bill to pray over the food, in Dutch. His prayer lasts ten seconds and we chuckle as we dive into our meals.

Elizabeth Collison

Elizabeth Collison

Liz and I have many things in common. We’re RN’s, excellent dog trainers, have essential tremor, love animals, tea times together, and writing, among many other things. Liz's special loves are her son, her friends, and her dalmations.

We’ve both lived in the Middle East, Liz for more years and in more countries than I have. She’s versatile and has worked at several occupations, but now lives in Wales where she's renewing her nursing skills.

I consider Liz one of my dearest friends.

Bonnie Unruh

Bonnie Carroll Unruh
I met Bonnie Carroll Unruh when my family moved to South Dakota and I started eighth grade in the middle of the year. Bonnie and I became friends and she invited me to her church. There I heard about a Bible camp in the Black Hills of S. D.
I attended the camp simply because I wanted to see a mountain, but the Lord was surely chuckling. He knew that I’d meet Jesus/the Holy Spirit that first evening in camp and never be the same again. Without Bonnie’s invitation, I’d not have met Jesus, the God who is alive and super wonderful.

Bonnie married Jake Unruh immediately after our graduation from high school. We’ve seen each other half a dozen times in the fifty years since, and write only at Christmas. But we’ll be friends forever.

John and Lyndl Jacquemot

People I Admire

Lyndl and John Jacquemot

Lyn and I clicked at once, on meeting in a Persian Gulf country, from shared grief. We both love God, Chinese food (especially lemon chicken), and traipsing around Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Lyn formed the first ever Sweet Adeline’s group in Dubai, UAE, is an accomplished artist and photographer, and has become a master gardener. Her sense of humor gains friends for Lyn everywhere she goes. Her humor, however, comes out delightfully well in her writing

Lyn is one of the most intelligent and talented women I know. John has always been tops in his sales fields. This outstanding couple returned to Oklahoma where they work hard and especially enjoy retirement and their grandchildren.

John's a lifetime salesman, now using his skills to sell donated products thru the Habitat ReStore to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Last year John brought in funds for all salaries, overhead, utilities, trash, van, truck and trailer and had $20,000 to build homes, with not a cent for overhead. He's proud of that. This year HR paid off in full their office/warehouse.
Materials donations are improving, from stores like Lowes who move out new products that don't sell in an allotted time.
Much of the grunt work for HR is community service hours by folks getting squared away with the courts. John ministers to these people, who often return to thank him for the chance to work for HFH and with him. John feels he’s found God's plan for his retired life.

This is a chest that Lyn painted, one of many she’s done.

PK and Hyacinth

People I Admire

Hyacinth Mary Anne Ballentyne Santiago Kwatashin and her husband, PK

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Hyacinth, a native of India. and I met in Dubai, UAE, where she’d lived for many years. When we met, along the Persian Gulf shores, we didn't realize we'd later live in visiting distance, half-way around the world, still bosom buddies. I can share anything on my heart with this lively, witty woman of God. She’s a much published poet, humorist and essayist and musically talented, too. Her loveliest attribute: Hyacinth is a caring, giving person.

Hyacinth met her husband, PK, through the Internet. They both know that God Himself put them together. They now live about two hours north of my husband and I, in the Pacific Northwest, USA.

Hyacinth’s multi-talented son, Marcus, received unusual miracles from God when he wanted to study art in the USA. In three weeks, God sent over 25,000 dollars for Marcus’s education, and also a student visa in that short time, much to everyone’s surprise. Marcus now lives and works in India.

Cal and Rebecca Ponton

People I Admire

Becky, Cal and Calvin

We met in the Middle East, fifteen years ago, drawn together by our love for God, writing,
and hanging out with mutual friends in a different culture than our birth country, the USA. We prayed together many months, for Calvin’s birth. Since then, this family has lived in several Middle East countries. Becky has become a highly successful freelance journalist in the Persian Gulf area, and a dear friend.