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Redeemer Ev. Lutheran Church, Tucson
This is the church where Nathanael and I worshipped during our entire stay in Tucson, Arizona. Janice is one of the organists so we most often attended early service at 8:00 a.m. We made several friends while at Redeemer. This church also has a full grade school. Ah, Tucson! A land in which my spirit thrives. What a beautiful place, ..... hot and dry, ..... even more than I expected. But we can live with it, and truly enjoy it, as well. We just have to make some allowances in our lives, like drinking a lot more water, wearing a hat when we go outside, and not spending extended time in the sun at the absolute hottest part of the day, during the hottest season of the year. Otherwise, we are quite at home in this desert landscape.
The first couple of days in Tucson we took some time to unwind and catch up on our rest. We stored the RV at the business lot of a member from Redeemer, Janice’s church. By Wednesday homeschooling had resumed in earnest. Janice took us to some near-by sights of interest. She drove us to see her church, “Redeemer,” and also “Shepherd of the Hills.” We were given a tour of the clubhouse which is part of the senior's community in which she lives, as well as taken past houses which were her previous addresses in Tucson. It was great to get an idea of our hostesses’ past and
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
This church is in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains in the north east end of the city. It is a wealthy congregation with many young families who attend. learn about her history in the community.
Thursday night, March 12, we had a teleconference meeting for Lutheran Girl Pioneers. A lot was accomplished and several items were put on the back burner for a second meeting which will be held mid-June.
Two days later we accompanied Janice on a day trip to Phoenix. She was getting together with friends who were visiting the area so Nathanael and I made arrangements to visit a friend of Diana’s mom’s, Eileen Hartwig, who lives in a Phoenix supburb. Eileen grew up in Ottawa and was confirmed with Diana’s Aunt Betty. It was quite fun reminiscing with Eileen and hearing stories about exploits from her youthful days back home. She was a wonderful hostess, driving us around the neighbourhood in a golf cart, .... the transportation of choice in her gated community of Sun Lakes, Arizona. Janice returned to pick us up and we were amazed to find that she and Eileen knew a lot of the same people from our church Synod. We were sorry to say goodbye.
On Wednesday, March 18, we were blessed to attend an afternoon concert at Redeemer Church given by Lakeside
A Visit to Sun Lakes, Arizona
Eileen Hartwig, native of Ottawa, and Diana, pose for a picture in her living room. It was a grand day spent reminiscing and hearing stories from the "olden days." Lutheran High School Acapella Choir from Wisconsin. This was in place of the usual Lenten church service that takes place on Wednesday night. The sacred music was truly uplifting and there were many songs that we knew well. There were also several pieces with which the congregation was invited to sing along.
The next afternoon Janice hosted a monthly Bunco Party at her home. Because one of the regulars was out of town, I got to fill in and Nathe even played a round or two. By the end of the day, I had won the prize for the most games lost. The event always concludes with a selection of decadent desserts brought by various members of the group, all women from Redeemer.
On Friday, we all got haircuts at the salon where Janice usually goes. The stylist's name is Wanita and she is a good friend of Jan's. We also ran several errands, including buying the paint for Janice's bedroom. She chose a soft, creamy yellow and a striking burgundy which complemented her draperies and bed coverings perfectly. We started painting the next Tuesday, March 24. It took several days but by the time we
Lakeside Lutheran High School Acapella Choir
This choir of teens performed a beautiful presentation of sacred music from several seasons of the Christian year. Their repertoir included choral music, vocal readings, solos, instrumental numbers and several hymns with which the congregation could sing along. were finished, the room looked absolutely wonderful! The walls displayed all of the papyrus paintings she had brought from her visit to Egypt. We also rearranged her furniture and used her dresser surfaces to exhibit other souvenirs from her Egyptian travels.
In the middle of our painting work, we took one day to tour the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It is an amazing natural habitat with pathways and hands-on centres placed intermittently throughout the park. We learned a lot about desert flora and fauna. There was an abundant display of cactus and other plants that grow in the landscape around Tucson. We were also able to tour several buildings that housed animals native to the region, such as lizards, spiders, snakes, tortoises, wild cats, wolves, birds, mice, and larger animals like the desert bighorn. Nathanael was extremely excited that we were there on a day they were feeding the snakes. He got to see the attendants tempting various breeds of snakes with mice that they held with long tongs and wiggled in front of the reptiles. I especially enjoyed the desert gardens with the variety of local plants and flowers. I will include a blog entry in the near
Bunco Beauties
Here we are enjoying our desserts following an afternoon of rapid-fire bunco. A fun time was had by all. future that will show everyone what I mean. At the end of the day we were able to watch a special display of birds of prey. We were really impressed with the beauty of the Harris hawks that flew over our heads and were being fed by the attendants. It was a long day of walking that concluded with the Wednesday evening Lenten church service. We were all ready for bed that night, to be sure.
Friday night Nathanael and Janice attended ''Noah's Rem
ARKable Adventure'' at Redeemer school, a play put on by the primary grades. He enjoyed it very much.
Sunday afternoon, following morning church and a quick lunch, we drove to Tucson Electric Park, the training stadium for the Arizona Diamondbacks, to watch one of the spring training baseball games. They were playing the Chicago White Sox. The Sox won 9 to 6. We learned that Janice's grandson, Matthew, went to school with one of the players of the Diamondbacks team. After the game, Nathe ran the bases with all kinds of other children. It was a real treat for him to be on the big diamond. On our way out of the park
Singing (or Painting) for my Supper
While visiting Janice, we transformed her bedroom from a plain white canvas to an Egyptian oasis in the middle of the Arizonan desert, USA. there was a young man who was busking, drumming on garbage pails and steel pails to taped music. We stood and listened to him for a while but it was getting late and we were all tired after a busy week.
Tuesday, March 31, would have been our 19th wedding anniversary and Wednesday, April 1st, would have been Ron's 65th birthday. We spent both days quietly homeschooling and getting ready for our visit to the Grand Canyon. How Ron would have loved this trip and all the experiences we are having. He would have really enjoyed seeing Nathanael’s face and sharing all the wonderful sights with his little boy.
I will close this blog entry now and continue with our Grand Canyon adventure next time. Keep tuned and I will post a new entry as soon as possible.
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Jenn
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How wonderful to visit old friends. It does the spirit good. I look forward to reading your recap about the Grand Canyon. PS. I agree, Nathe has certainly grown up over the past few months. It must be all that knowledge he's taking in plus the special time with Mom and friends. Take Care, Jenn