The Best Wishes

Sunday evening was a very nice farewell party offered by Covenant Presbyterian Church. Although only two people and a cake are pictured above, there was actually a great turnout of both people and food groups. Some people came from as far away as Ocean Grove and New Zealand, some food from as far away as India (mmmm!). Thanks to everyone who organized, cooked, arrived, emceed, played guitar, cleaned, and spoke or wrote words of encouragement to us. A very generous gift was also given, which will be the subject of a future post...

When we arrived home, we read through the large assortment of cards that were given to us. These were very meaningful to us.

They were also entertaining. Here are a few of the kind words spoken by some of the younger people in the church...

"For one thing, you know we are all going to miss you..." (Cameron)

"Pastor Shomo, I think that you are a very pleasant person." (Ryan)

"Thanks for a lovely time." (Catherine)

To which I say, my pleasure!

God, Times Declared Good

On Monday night we had a goodbye party for the youth group, hosted by the Shomos and Brackins at our place. I've really enjoyed spending time with these unique characters over the past three and half years, in fact it's been a privilege to be part of their lives as a pastor.

Things we've done together include: Many games and water fights at Vacation Bible Camp, wrapping up Patrick in toilet paper, playing sardines in a darkened church building, listening to Audrey laugh for extended periods of time, talking about spiritual nourishment at McDonald's, bowling (how can a youth group not go bowling?), digging trenches and building schools, shoveling rocks, worshiping, devotioning, and more. More than once I was able to drench them in water fights after Vacation Bible Camp, and so I humbly venture to Virgina Beach with an "undefeated" status.

Carol, Audrey, Emily, Timothy, Patrick, and Charlie have shown quite a willingness to volunteer for all sorts of church activities. (Always remember: Guinea pigs have more fun!)

We played Apples to Apples together on Monday night, a game that requires you to know a little of the psychology of each person who is playing. My prayers are for each of these unique young people to always use their gifts and abilities to the glory of God, and to have a good time in the process.

Missing in New Jersey

I'll miss several things about New Jersey, especially friends and the New Jersey Autumn. Yes, New Jersey can be very beautiful... (If you haven't been told this, read on.)

Another thing to miss about New Jersey is the signage. In fact, I often miss it even when I'm here! Sometimes, when you really could use a sign ... "forget about it!" as they say here. (Pronunciation key: fuh-ged-a-boud-id.)

For example, let's say you're trying to find the Garden State Parkway. You are delighted to see a sign like this that points the way:


Great! Now you know you are headed the right direction, right? Wrong! The problem? This sign directs you ahead, but unfortunately you are not informed later that you then need to make a left at the light, take a right down the alley, and curve slightly left (not a hard left!!!) onto the one way street to enter the Parkway...

So, you'll drive straight ahead until you eventually realize that you have probably gone too far now that you see the Empire State Building, or Cape May, or Pennsylvania, or whatever.

But here's one of my all time favorite signs, located right down the street from our house:


Signs like this reveal the reality of back roads life in New Jersey. And the funniest part is that whenever you are given directions by a New Jersey resident, they (or "we") begin with the words "It's easy! Just..."

If your opinion of New Jersey is largely negative, it's probably because you've received reports from those whose travels in New Jersey are limited to the major highways. Yeah, yeah, the view from there is pretty much bad signage and messy rest stops. But anyone who has ventured into the heart of the state knows it has its share of natural beauty. The problem is simply that those who get off the beaten path tend not to find their way back!

So, we will miss New Jersey indeed -- if we can find our way out.

Across the Great Divide

Tuesday we made the plunge - from renters to home owners. Of course, home ownership is not exactly the same as owning a home, but you know how it goes. It's exciting to see how God has worked everything out for us to cross this bridge in our lives. Everything went quite smoothly.

The picture above is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which takes you into Virginia Beach if you're heading south along the eastern coast. We've crossed this bridge eight times now. I love this bridge... it's about 15 miles long over the water, and changes from bridge to underwater tunnel at two points which allows ships to pass through. You can see more here.

We will make a one-way trip across this bridge on May 30.

Happy Mother's Day

A couple pictures from Cheryl's baby shower, offered by friends here in New Jersey. In case you didn't know, _______ _______ Shomo is due on August 20, 2007!

All Things New

We are about to transition to a new city, new home, new job, and new baby. This is a recipe for either lots of excitement, praise, prayer, stress, or reasons to post pictures. Or all of the above...

Here is a picture of the house we're purchasing. We close on Tuesday, May 15. Pics of the inside will hopefully follow along in a few days.

Welcome to the New Site

Welcome!

This site is dedicated to all things Shomo: news, notes, pictures, the usual family blog stuff. We are glad that you've decided to join us here in order to keep in touch.

For those of you who have kept up with Ken's blog in the past, it can be linked from here. For the many more of you who enjoy Smarty's musings on the world from her point of view, you can link there too.

Thank you for visiting!

Ken and Cheryl