Oficionado

The title represents my Spanish word for the day. Our view here has transformed me into a sunset aficionado. Yesterday while busy at my computer I happened to glance toward the patio doors opening to the balcony. The entire sky was red. I went out to behold a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. The photo below hardly does justice to the impact of being present in the actual scene ...

No photo manipulation in case you wondered.

Sometimes there are groups standing down by the water's edge at sunset and they will applaud the display once done. It's applause that belongs to our Creator of course. It's impossible not to think of him and his genius when standing before such magnificence.

The Story of the Wayward Sweater:

Upon our arrival, when Carol disembarked from the plane, she forgot her sweater, a favorite, on her seat. Exiting abruptly into 90 degrees F weather fails to jog the memory regarding a sweater so its loss was noted only later when unpacking.

Of course airlines collect these forlorn objects and store them for a while, so we considered returning to the airport and attempting retrieval. A substantial distance away, the taxi fare there and back would cost about the price of the garment. We judiciously put the matter in abeyance.

Enter Jorge, a brother in the congregation who we learned, serendipitously, works at the airport. He agreed to look for the wayward sweater. A couple of days ago he texted me with photos of several orphaned sweaters. Carol recognized hers. Dear Brother Jorge brought it to her at last night's meeting. In this way a brother, plus modern electronic communications, helped undo a moment's forgetfulness three weeks ago on the airplane. 

OK, it's a bit of trivia but when you first discover an item is missing, especially left on a plane, doesn't it seem the chances of retrieval measure less than zero? So, like the lady who found the lost drachma coin, we want everyone reading this to rejoice with us. :-)

Something of more substance:

A small group, of which we were a part, sat at a restaurant table enjoying the evening. One American sister described a conversation she once had with a friend. The subject was witnessing in the USA during an election year. Some say they find this challenging because so many people have only politics foremost in their minds. 

The friend said, "Personally, I just love to preach in an election year. Yes, politics is big in the minds of many, and most are unhappy with the way things are going. They want change. So I ask them, 'Did you know that Jesus taught us to pray for a change of government?' Then in the Bible I show them The Lord's Prayer where it says, 'Let your kingdom come.' It leads to many worthwhile conversations."

Interesting approach.