May 3rd Phil Wrote

I just checked with Bill to make sure that I wasn't the only one that didn't get his E-Mail, and indeed, he confirmed that no one else has received it either. I told him I would sit down and start and he could race with me to see who would get done first.

We have had a great spring. I had a nice break from school over Easter, but it is nice to be back now. I just started a class on Urban Ministry. I don't know much about cities so it is quite interesting. According to one book we are reading, the US is the only country in the world where the poor people move into the cities and the rich move out. According to this book, in every other country, the poor live around the city with the rich inside. Could any of the world travelers in the family confirm or deny this?

The last two week-ends Willy and Karissa and I have been working on the shed below the house. On the first week-end,we started with about 80 holes in the roof and by the end of the day we had it down to just one hole. The problem is that the remaining hole is about 40' long and 20' wide. Last week-end we knocked off the top floor. Our plan is to turn it into a single level building and thereby lower the roof about 6'. Hopefully it will improve the view out of our kitchen window.

Willy had a bit of excitement while we were working on the shed. He jumped from the old roosts that are still up in the chicken house down to the floor, and kept on going. I heard a crash and a yell and I ran over to where he was. All I saw was a hole in the floor with two hands holding onto the edge. I grabbed his one wrist and lowered him as far as I could. I told him I would have to let him drop and that it couldn't be more then a foot or two to the floor, but it was a scary moment for both of us. (Have you ever seen Vertical Limit?) He came out all right - just a little scratch on his one arm. It could have been a lot worse.

I can't believe how fast my grand-daughter is growing up. They live far enough away that I don't get to see them real often, so when I do see them, it's hard to believe the changes.

Bradley will be graduating from Johnson & Wales University on May 23rd and will then be returning to the Reading area. Ryan was thinking about staying down there, but has changed his mind, so he will be moving back north too. I am looking forward to having both of them closer to home soon.

Please be in prayer for Pat an me as we consider what we might want to do after I graduate in a little more then a year from now. I am totally convinced that God lead me to seminary, but I don't have any idea what the next step might be.

Well... enough for now...

Remember our week-end at the Schmidt's on July 23 - 25

Love you all
Phil

PS, before I sent this I checked my new messages and Bill, You cheated! This is supposed to be a NEWs letter, not an OLDs letter