Randy Wray’s Blog

Thank you.  To each and every person who helped over the last few days and those who continue to help for the next few (you know who you are). 

We leave this morning for a new challenge and want you to know how much we appreciate and love you.  So many of you have occupied such an important place in our lives.  You have blessed our lives. 

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If something always goes wrong when you move (and something always goes wrong when you move) perhaps that something is now out of the way.  Two hours later my dad called me from some mountaintop 13 miles outside of Cumberland, Maryland to tell me the wheel fell off the trailer.  Literally.  It feels like the wheel’s might fall off (stress and all) but this one actually did fall off.  So he drove the 13 miles into town rented a u-haul trailer drove back and transferred goods from one bad trailer to one good trailer.  Thankful, of course, that nothing happened to my dad in the process.  Thankful that two of the brothers from church will make the two hour trip up there today to reclaim the trailer that I gave them last night.

The truck arrives today and we begin loading.  What time should I expect you to arrive?

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My dad left at 5:30AM driving my truck and pulling his new trailer.  After stopping for breakfast (and like a bad penny) he was back at the hacienda by 7AM.  It seems there was too much weight in the trailer which caused the trailer not to pull correctly at highway speed.  Nothing like being stressed, having a million things to do and then having to redo one of the million things.  We removed 500 pounds of weight plates (when you are as buff as I am you need much weight to lift) from the trailer purchased a different towing receiver and off he went. 

That seemed to work as Jed Clampett is now carrying the contents of our shed and garage to California. 

Anyone ever think about the old days of going in a wagon across these great United States? 

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I’ll get the ball rolling and you creative thinkers take over.  Come on, put some effort into it I could use a side splitting laugh or two.

To encourage people to ride the Metro the cost would be lower during rush hour not higher.

To encourage people to purchase Hybrid cars the price of the car would be lower than an SUV.

To encourage people to spay their cat the price should be under $50 and not over $250!

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Delivered my final message yesterday at Arlington.  Spent about two weeks working on this one - writing and re-writing. 

It was a difficult from the standpoint of saying what I wanted to say to challenge and encourage the body in 20 minutes.  For in the immortal words of Lemoine Lewis "no soul saved after 20 minutes!"  Or, "for a sermon to be immortal it need not be eternal."

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We arrived safely tonight on a great JetBlue flight from Long Beach.  I’ve said before how nice it is to return home from a trip.  This time it’s confusing.  It’s only home for 10 more days and there are boxes everywhere. 

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The migration north and east begins today.  Our band of workers has been divided between three cars and we make our way back to San Diego and Long Beach.  Tomorrow we will all get on airplanes at different times throughout the day to return to Oregon and Virginia.

We left last year feeling down because we had not finished what we set out to do.  The houses we started last year were finished but nevertheless the feeling of accomplishment was not as strong as it is now.  We leave this year greatly encouraged about our time together and good work God accomplished through our hands.

The family of God in Ensenada sends you their thanks, appreciation and greetings. 

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And on the seventh day they rested . . .

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The house is finished!

Before

After

Psalm 127:1  (NCV)  If the Lord doesn’t build the house, the builders are working for nothing.

Our work here was the combined effort of Long Beach Church of Christ, Gateway Church, A Church of Christ, Arlington Church of Christ and Ensenada Church of Christ.  Thanks to everyone who had a part in making this project a success.

As always check out the photo page for all the images.

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Ahead of schedule is not a familiar word for most of our mission trips.  On schedule is not even a familiar word.  But this year we finished ahead of schedule.  By the close of business yesterday (Monday) the house was in a "finished" state.

The house is at the point where we stop working and the owner of the house continues working.  The work she will do will be interior painting, contracting a plumber to have the toilet and sinks installed, hiring a professional to do exterior stucco and other detail work.

Since we finished ahead of schedule and have decided not to start the work on the church building (more on that later) we find ourselves with two days with almost nothing to do.  So, today we will go back to the house and put on a coat of paint.

The doors are scheduled to be installed this morning and the windows are scheduled to be installed this afternoon

As always check out the photo page for updated images. 

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