Family – Page 2 – Notes from Bob and Ellen

Camp Hargrave

My sisters and I try to get to “the farm” every summer to help Mom with maintenance and repairs and just hang out together.

Three of us along with Ellen spent a week there in July this year. Our week also coincided with a visit from my nephew Mark (sister Beth’s son) who has been teaching high school in Turkey for 2 years. It also marked the first year that Beth has been in the newly restored “Hargrave House”, our grandfather’s house that had fallen into disrepair. You can see the work Beth did to resurrect it on her blog “Blood, sweat and love, a journey of the restoration of my grandfathers house.”

Among other accomplishments was the installation of a swing in the big tree by her house. That project had been saved for Mark and involved getting ropes over a big limb about 25 feet up! The swing has already been enjoyed by numerous people.

Other scenes from the farm:

old farm machinery — Tractor driven corn grinder

Unexpected trip to South Africa

Due to changes in personnel and the planting season coming up in South Africa ECHO found itself with the need to send someone out there for a couple of months to lend a hand. This came up in late August and I was asked to fill that need.

I told them I needed to check with Ellen and wait until after the birth of a grandchild. Becky and Elliott were expecting in mid-September and tentatively scheduled a baptism for last Sunday (Sept. 29th). That was agreeable with all concerned.

In short, Evalena Joy Pinegar was born on Sept. 17th and Ellen and I were able to be with them in Michigan for a few days.

Sunday we celebrated her baptism at the First Presbyterian Church in Bad Axe, Michigan where Elliott is the pastor. Evalena by the way is beautiful!!

Becky is doing great and they seem to be adjusting very well to having a newborn in the household. Even Montgomery the cat seems to be handling the situation well.

I leave tomorrow (Oct. 2nd) and will be in South Africa at the farm near Modimolle about 130 miles north of Johannesburg. While I am away Ellen has plenty to keep her busy at the AIM office in Peachtree City, Georgia (near Atlanta) and with her parents in Cincinnati.

I am scheduled to return to Cincinnati in time for Thanksgiving and then Ellen and I should be back in Fort Myers in early December for the annual ECHO conference there.

While I hate being away from Ellen for those seven weeks or so and while I will miss watching the Gators play I am excited about this opportunity. I have never been to South Africa but will enjoy being back in Africa and am looking forward to being involved in the research going on there.

November = Thanksgiving

November

This month we look forward to Thanksgiving.

It is the year for the every-other-year Hargrave family reunion in Palatka. We’ll get together to catch up with aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and all the little kids that make up the next generation. And food of course!!

Our family is widely scattered but Ginny and Stephen will be coming from New Mexico.

As for me I am very thankful for:

my family
many other blessings from God that would take several pages to list!

May you be blessed as well.

Bob

April 2012 Update

Ellen is in Africa for a month!

You can read all about it (as well as some other family news) at http://bobnellen.aimsites.org/

Back to Africa myself!

The ministry at ECHO continues to be rewarding. Every week I interact with missionaries and development workers around the world who are striving to help their communities flourish. Most of this is done by e-mail but we have a steady stream of visitors and several week-long classes each year. I also have the joy of interacting daily with our group of ten amazing interns as they prepare to serve in missions and tropical agricultural development.

In May three of us from ECHO will be going to Malawi to consult with the United Methodist Church there. They have a farm that they plan to use for demonstration and training of pastors in effective low cost sustainable agriculture practices. And the timing works out so that I can go a few days early and meet up with Ellen in Nairobi!