New York begins

(Warwick, NY 14-18 April) One of our objectives in this journey we are taking is to reconnect with the many wonderful people God has placed in our lives at different times. People who have impacted our life and who we know will always be a part of us. We met Bill and Sara Payton while Ed and Bill were students at Dallas Theological Seminary back in 1977. Sara is a wonderful, energetic, talented, creative, and hospitable person and she and Bill share a deep love for the Lord and desire to share that love with whoever God places in their path. They are so easy to be around and full of fun and laughter. We had such a great time with them and appreciated sleeping in a home, with a great shower and the use of a washer and dryer! We also enjoyed several delicious meals that Sara provided for us. But the deepest enjoyment was the encouragement and fellowship we had while sharing the joys and hurts we have both experienced over the past 30 years. Just as God placed special people in our path over the past few weeks to give comfort and counsel He has continued to bring people into our lives, for such a time as this, who have walked where we are walking and can give us the comfort with which they have been comforted. We prayed with and for one another and even in the short time we were there saw answers to some of those prayers! They are in the process of making some "life transitions" and we are excited that we have the opportunity to pray as they wait for God to show them what's next. ( Sara, I'm praying for Colorado!!!) We left there this morning after a trip to New Jersey to their favorite breakfast place. It was a great reunion!

**As a footnote to this we want to thank Bill so much for all the help he gave us in making our trip to New York successful! He graciously helped us figure out what things we absolutely needed to do in the few short days we had. Then he even drove us to the water taxi and went with us over to New York and got us somewhat acclimated to the subway, taxis and even helped us make some backroom deals in Chinatown. Shhh! I think if he hadn't gotten us started we'd probably still be in Times Square trying to find the subway! New York, what a crazy place. But more on that later.