Election Day

Greta and I stood in line about 30 minutes this AM to vote. I saw people walk away when they saw the line was so long. Government is a gift from God, to vote is a civic duty and sacred privilege. Our brothers and sisters have died on battle fields all over the world to gain and preserve this right and privilege, so it is too valuable to lose for the sake of a few minutes time. If you have not done so, GET OUT AND VOTE TODAY.

TRAINS

It has been a long time since I took a train trip in the US. The last one I remember was a trip to Chicago, IL back in the late 1960s. The earliest train ride I remember was a trip with my grandfather who worked for the Southern Railroad. The Southern was still using steam engines in those days, so it was a rather romantic trip to Papa's work site in somewhere in Tennessee.
During our trip to Europe in September we used the train between Hungary and Romania. Last year we used the train to get to the airport in Hungary and three years ago I used the train to travel back and forth across Italy to visit our friends there.
In most of Europe trains are relatively inexpensive, clean, safe, dependable and quick. With gas prices so high and air travel getting more and more expensive, I would like to see someone try to bring our US railroad passenger system back.

To Steve

Last Wednesday I received a shocking phone call from our friend and former teammate in Cote d'Ivoire, Andy Rayner. Andy lives and works in Prince Edward Island, Canada and was part of our team for several years in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
Andy called to tell me about Steve Rehn. Steve was killed in a bicycle-car accident somewhere in northeastern Nigeria on September 26. He had been part of our team in Cote d'Ivoire for over 2 years. Steve was, to put it mildly, an avid biker and he loved riding in Africa. He had been in Burkina Faso to help some Bible translators and after finishing his project there, decided to take a "vacation" and ride across Burkina Faso, part of Niger, through northeastern Nigeria into Cameroon, a daunting trip anywhere but both challenging and obviously dangerous in Africa. He had covered well perhaps 1500 miles of his trip and sometime during his second day in Nigeria, a speeding car came around a turn, lost control and hit Steve on his bike. He was killed instantly. The sad part is that the family did not learn what happened for 11 days. The Nigerian police in that area had no phone and did not use personal phones to call the Embassy or even notify anyone. The family finally started a "Mission Persons Abroad" inquiry through the Canadian Embassy which quickly found out what happened.
We first met Steve as an intern in Cote d'Ivoire. We soon learned that he "marched to the beat of his own drum." He loved Africa, he love biking and he wanted to see Africa up close and personal. We often cautioned him about his adventurous bike rides, but he had the "bug" and couldn't resist. He was adventurous. He loved Africa. He was fearless.
After his internship, he returned to his home in Canada where he met the love of his life, Nicki. They met (no surprise here) on a transcontinental bike ride across Canada. After they married, they returned to Cote d'Ivoire to work with the team in Abengourou and chose to live in the village among the people. The only transportation they owned was their bikes.
After their service in Cote d'Ivoire, they moved to Cameroon where they worked for two years before moving back to Canada. Nicki taught in a Christian school and Steve drove a truck for a construction company and continued his mission work, often making mission trips to help wherever he could.
Steve died as he had lived, out on the edge, serving the Lord and riding his bike through Africa. If you would like to follow his adventures up to the moment, take a look at his blog. http://justaboutcrazy.blogspot.com/ I did. You will find his last entry from somewhere near a town name Madawa, Nigeria. He had spent the night with a Muslim mechanic for the French medidal group called Doctors Without Borders. Steve talks about breaking the fast with the family who were celebrating Ramadan and watching the people pray and pondered the question, "What if we Christians took 15 minutes to pray faithfully five times a day?" Good question Steve.
There will be a memorial service for Steve Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Oak Park Church of Christ, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Please pray for his wife Nicki and his parents, Rick and Linn Rehn during this sad and trying time.

More of Europe

We are back in Dublin again after visiting four other countries: Italy, Kosova, Hungary and Romania. We found our co-workers doing well and having good success in their work. We were able to worship with the team in Ancona, visit the new American High school in Kovova, preach in a Sunday morning service in Hungary and visit a school for Gypsie children in Oradia, Romania.
We only had one travel problem worth mention. We missed a flight in Rome because of a connecting flight delay and a mix-up in the airport largely caused by an airline workers strike that threatened to shut down the Rome airport. We were able go get a flight the next day, but have heard the Ilatalia, the national airline is in danger of failing somewhat because of the strike.
Tonight I will go out with our team here to do street evangelism in downtown Dublin. Some think that type of thing is of the past, but it has been so successful here, (see the previous entry) that dozens have been baptized and a new church has started from the results of the John 3:7 group and their work. Our co-worker, Philip Thompson is leading the effort to disciple the new believers and establish the church.
Pictures: Above left is sign carriers on Grafton street. Right is the infant church meeting in a home. Philip (brown shirt, center right) is leading the Bible study.
Monday we will be heading home after a total of 26 days, five countries, and a total of 12 take-offs and landings. We appreciate all those who have prayed for our safety.

Here is a link to a Youtube video about the John 3:7 group.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=DDULbxbaYnE&feature=rel

Europe Trip

Greta and I are in the second stage of a five country trip to Europe. We spend just two days in Dublin, Ireland with our co-workers, Philip and Shirley Thompson. They are members of Team Expansion and are involved in a new church plant venture in Dublin. They work with a group of street evangelists called John 3:7. Most Bible readers will remember this passage as the one that says, "You must be born again." Like the folk who manage to hold up the John 3:16 signs in sports events in the States, this group has done the same with the John 3:7 signs for over 25 years. Everyone in Ireland has seen the signs and many are curious about it. Now the group is out on the streets of Dublin on Friday nights holding up the John 3:7 signs. People coming out of bars, night clubs and sports events will walk up to them and ask about the sign. In the last two years enough people have listened to the testimonies of the street evangelists to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ and many have been baptized. The John 3:7 group has asked Philip to lead a church plant in Dublin from to disciple the people who come to the lord in this way. Greta and I went with the Thompsons to see the possible meeting site.
Leaving Dublin on Friday we flew to Ancona, Italy and are visitin the Team Expansion church plant team here. We spent much of today, Sunday, recovering from the long day yesterday. We were up at 3 AM to get to the airport in time to catch our 6:30 AM flight. This evening we will attend church with the Caseys and the team here in Ancona. The new church here is only a few months old but has finally begun to grow. I have been taking pictures and will add them as I am able to do so.

Photoserver | photo 7 of 97 | Meece 50th Anniversary

Some folk are having trouble reaching the links. Try this one for our 50th celebration.

http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p67913169/slideshow

Fifty Years Together

Sunday afternoon, July 20, Greta and I, along with family and friends, celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary. The actual date is July 18, but we had the party Sunday.
It all began like this (left) in Greta's home church in Pine Flats, Pennsylvania on July 18, 1958. We were both 20 years old, needing our parents permission to get married. At the time we were both students at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, Kentucky. The school allowed wives of students to attend the college tuition free, so it was to our advantage to be married during school. I was the preacher for two small churches near Owingsville, Kentucky.
During our 50 years together we have three children and five grandchildren. Only Jackie Ralston, our oldest granddaughter was not able to attend the celebration as she and her husband Micah had only recently returned from their Honeymoon and were getting settled into married life. It was great to have the rest of our family (below) with us Sunday.
We have served churches in Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri and worked as missionaries for 23 years in Liberia and Ivory Coast, West Africa. After retiring from the mission field, we joined Team Expansion, a mission sending agency in Louisville, KY and serve as Field Coordinators and Member Care providers for mission teams in Europe and Africa.
In addition to our own immediate family, we were joined by Greta's brothers, sisters and nieces from Pennsylvania and Alabama and several of my extended family from around Kentucky.
I have put together the pictures that Mark took during the celebration. You can view the "slideshow" at this link.

http://photoserver.zenfolio.com/p67913169/slideshow