A sad story that continues . . .

Solitary incarceration is a horrible punishment. And what I don't understand is how the drumbeat of "release the prisoners of war" can be so loud in this country (I guess it was particularly strong during/after Vietnam?) and yet we ourselves hold hundreds of POWs to this day. The whole mess is just sad.

Una noche muy latina

Tonight I'm renaming the night "Latin Night" since I'm watching two futbol (soccer) matches, one on the internet and one on Telemundo. And exchanging text messages in Spanish with my friend Baltazar. Chile and Bolivia are tied in the 42nd minute (in Santiago) and Mexico leads Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 in the 15th minute.

The internet feed of Canal 13 (from Chile) isnt great, but I'm getting it alright.

EDIT 44th minute: GOOOOOOOOOOOL Chile!!

Baptism, Chesapeake style

Yesterday I joined Iglesia Emmanuel for their bi-annual baptisms and drove with Baltazar, Oscar, Isabel, and Iris down to Point Lookout State Park in far southern Maryland. There were 29 people baptized (by my count) and hundreds of people in attendance. We left Annapolis about 6:15 a.m. (15 mins late, as I was the last to arrive!) and I carpooled down with my small group. We had an excellent cookout with lots of tasty meats and played 2 rousing games of futbol (soccer). The baptisms were held around 10:30 a.m. and lasted through about 11:15. I taught some of the guys how to throw the frisbee around - but one of 'em sent an errant disc hurtling into the women (and it banged one of them in the head) so that ended our frisbee-tossing.

Here's a picture of where Point Lookout is in MD; I'll post other pictures soon.

A final goodbye, and a new start

Two weekends ago, the Barrett family gathered at Camp Don Lee to say our final goodbye's to Paw Paw and sprinkle his ashes in the Neuse River just off of Don Lee's pier. We also gathered to dedicate the (still unfinished) "Troy and Robbie Barrett Cabin" to God's glory and service. It was a glorious Saturday (warm and breezy), a perfect day to gather and remember. Mary Beth, Matt, Tim, Mike, and I tossed an ultimate disc around before lunch, and then we all headed out to the pier for the ash spreading. Afterward several of the crew went out on a sailboat, and others hung around and relaxed on the pier. Later in the afternoon, Bill, Tim, and Dad showed off with coordinated back-flip dives off the Don Lee diving platforms. Tim, of course, stole the show with multiple 2.5 (maybe a 3.5?) turn dives. As they were exiting and getting ready for dinner, I said my goodbye's and left for Asheville around 4:30 p.m.

Here are some pictures.

Random photos from the past 2 months

I realize I've gotten behind in posting photos on the trusty blog (Facebook is so much easier to upload photos... Blogger, can you make any changes??!) Here are a few random pictures spanning my Final Four watch party (Saturday 04 April), Easter dinner over at the Sponaugle's with Campus Crusade, a nice shelf cloud that passed over USNA on April 21, and Zach's visit from April 29-May 3.