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posted by James on 06/28/08

Ever since late spring, when you can expect things to stay hot and muggy and there is no fear of it ever getting cold again (or at least for a while), I have always wanted to get a bike and explore the surrounding area. I’ve always enjoyed biking, whether it was racing through neighborhoods playing "Bible Runners" or cruising through the West Virginia hills on old rails-to-trails biking paths. So, after a month or so, I was finally able to obtain a nice mountain bike. Ever since, I’ve been enjoying the many side roads, neighborhoods, and forest preserves full of biking opportunities. 

Beside enjoyment, transportation is another blessing of having a bike. Yesterday, instead of having to wait for a ride to a nearby park where activities were planned, I was able to ride there by myself and get the benefit of the exercise. However, bikes can also be dangerous.

It was growing dark as Robert and I headed for the exit of the forest preserve we had explored that evening. Because night was coming on, we were traveling rather quickly. This was a mistake because unknown to us, the entrance and exit had been chained off at dusk. Just before I reached the invisible chain, I followed a seemingly useless prompting to slow down. Suddenly, my bike came to an abrupt halt as it came in contact with the chain across the road. I probably would have flown off the bike, but thankfully, I had slowed down enough to lessen the effects of the impact. Later, Robert told me that he was overwhelmed with the urge to ask God for safety just seconds before I hit the chain. I think that prompting to slow down was from the Lord!

But anyway, the pros outweigh the cons. From experiences like the one above, I am getting to know the area around here pretty well and can serve as a sort of "tour guide." I enjoy taking people who have been busy sitting at a desk doing office work all day for short, refreshing biking ventures. Praise the Lord for bikes!

4 Comments » | posted in Family News, The Bright Side

posted by Robert on 06/24/08

I was in serious trouble! I had promised to bring back dinner from a certain restaurant for a friend who was busy at work. Unfortunately, by the time I was finished enjoying my own dinner, the restaurant had closed and I was unable to fulfill my promise. It was a terrible feeling!

A while later on I apologetically called my friend up. I was dreading having to share my mistake. But, to my utter surprise, someone had already completely redeemed the situation and delivered dinner to them in my name! What a relief! It was a great feeling.

The benevolent soul who had heroically saved the day was none other than Mike Kelly. Actually, though, this kind of thing is pretty normal for Mike. Whether it’s surprising his coworkers with a box of donuts, making extra efforts to help his boss be successful, going out of his way to pick up someone stranded at the airport, or generously giving certain people a certain beverage from a certain location, Mike is always ready to sacrifice his personal time, money, and energy to encourage those around him. That’s what it means to be a giver.

There seems to be two kinds of people that you come across in life: “givers” and “takers”. Givers sacrifice their own resources to invest in the lives of others. Takers selfishly attend to their own needs and thus zap energy from everyone else.

“Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.”
Philippians 2:4

6 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Robert on 06/22/08

At this time 145 years ago, not only had West Virginia just gained statehood, but the famous Gettysburg campaign was in full swing. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia moved unchecked into the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, General Meade was about to take command of the Federal Army of the Potomac, and the stage was set for the historic climax of the Civil War in the little town of Gettysburg.

A worthy question

One key factor in the events that led up to this historic battle was that Confederate Cavalry leader Jeb Stuart, the "eyes and ears" of Lee’s army, was off on a wild goose chase during most of the Gettysburg campaign. His dramatic cavalry raid passed around the rear of the Union army. However, it did little to benefit the campaign and left General Lee with a lack of accurate intelligence in the days leading up to Gettysburg and at a significant disadvantage until he returned.

Perhaps the puzzling question of why Stuart undertook this untimely expedition can be answered in part by understanding the Battle of Brandy Station, the first battle of the Gettysburg campaign, which transpired on June 9, 1863. During a recent visit with the Wilkes, our family enjoyed a memorable tour of this important battlefield.

Standing on a hill overlooking the field, I could almost hear the pounding of hooves, rattle of musketry, and yelling of soldiers as I pictured what this place would have been like with thousands of soldiers riding at full speed across it. The Battle of Brandy Station had been the largest cavalry engagement of the Civil War, with about 17,000 mounted cavalry involved!

Though I had read about this battle many times before, it was definitely nothing like being there. As our tour guide, Matthew Wilkes, began to explain what had happened, Jeb Stuart’s actions for the rest of the Gettysburg campaign began to make sense.

Pride goes before a fall

General Stuart had been totally surprised
and caught off guard when the Federal cavalry attacked him at Brandy Station. Just the day before he had conducted a grand review for General Robert E. Lee to display the skill of his horseman. It included a huge cavalry charge with the horse artillery firing blanks to repulse an imaginary enemy army. Believe it or not, this was actually the second such exhibition in the matter of just a few days—General Lee had been too busy to attend the first one. With the plume on his
hat flapping in the Virginia breeze, Jeb Stuart proudly galloped at the front of the column, gratefully receiving the South’s admiration.

The very next day was when the Federal cavalry splashed across the Rappahannock and surprised Jeb Stuart’s unsuspecting Confederate Cavalry at Brandy Station. Though Stuart’s troopers gallantly held the field and won the day after intense fighting, Stuart’s pride was hurt. The overwhelming superiority that his cavalry once enjoyed was gone. As one Confederate soldier wrote, the battle of Brandy Station is what "made the Federal cavalry."

Stephen W. Sears, in his book, Gettysburg, reports that the Richmond Enquirer wrote, "Gen. Stuart has suffered no little in public estimation by the late enterprises of the enemy." The Richmond Examiner described Stuart’s command as "puffed up cavalry," that suffered the "consequences of negligence and bad management."

Perhaps it was the sting of words like these that motivated Jeb Stuart to attempt to redeem his reputation with such a huge cavalry raid. But, as noted earlier, that raid proved to be disastrous for the Confederates in the days leading to Gettysburg.

Walking away from the battlefield, I was reminded of the words of Proverbs 16:8:

"Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall."

6 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Jonathan on 06/20/08

Today is June 20th and it is West Virginia’s 145th birthday. We are thankful that we are free mountaineers. West Virginia is in the heart of the Appalachian Highlands. It is a very beautiful place to live and is nick named the Mountain State. West Virginia entered the union on June 20, 1863 as the 35th state. The state capital of West Virginia is Charleston which is the largest city in the state. West Virginia ranks 41st in size with a total area of 24,231 sq mi. including 145 sq mi of inland water. The mountain state is 1,500 ft above sea level which makes it the highest state east of the Mississippi River. West Virginia has warm humid summers and cold humid winters and is a great place for sledding 79 percent of West Virginia has hardwood forest with commercial species of oak, yellow poplar, maple, birch, beech, black walnut, hickory, and gum. But it also has softwoods including pines and hemlock firs. There are also flower trees such as wild crab apple, dogwood, hawthorn, and redbud. Among the many flowering bushes and plants are the rhododendron, which is the state flower, the laurel, blueberry, hepatica, wild geranium, and black-eyed Susan. There are deer, black bear, bears, cougars, beaver, otter, marten, raccoon, mink, skunks, opossums, squirrels, rabbit, bobcats, foxes, and ground hogs. And there was buffalo and elk in West Virginia at one time. Maybe that’s where the name of our hill, Buffalo Calf, came from. Birds and fish are also numerous.

We are very proud of all our inventions. One of the most widely used is the toothbrush. We know it was invented in West Virginia because if it had been invented anywhere else it would have been called a teethbrush

We also have lots of dragon milk in West Virginia. You see, because of the hills, the cows have two legs that are shorter than the other two. That’s how we get draggin’ milk

West Virginia state symbols.

State Animal-Black Bear

State Bird- Cardinal

State Butterfly-Monarch butterfly

State Colors-Old gold and blue

State Fish-Brook Trout

State Flower-Big Laurel (Rhododendron)

State Fruit-Apple

State Gem-Chalcedony

State Insect-Honeybee

State Reptile-Timber rattlesnake

State Soil-Monongahela Silt Loam.

State song-”West Virginia Hills”

State Tree-Sugar Maple

Our state motto is : Montani sempre libere - Mountaineers are always free. Just as our forefather’s dreamed and fought for political freedom, so there is a need in our day for spiritual and moral freedom from the bondage of sin.

8 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Donald on 06/19/08

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This is one more reason I’ve come to appreciate the Mega International Commercial Bank. Not only have they made the classroom banking scenario here at the school as realistic as possible, but in all actuality they have been more than willing to help us, as teachers, with our banking transactions! I don’t think I’m alone in saying that their service for us, newcomers as we were, was handled both with ease and kindness.

With twenty-seven international branches and over one hundred domestic ones, the Megabank has grown to serve many around the world. Besides experience in Law, Accounting and Economy, English is one of the top skills needed to qualify for working on staff. It was also interesting for me to learn that with all Taiwan’s exports and imports some transactions take a month to process.

On a courtesy visit to the head office in Taipei, I had the opportunity to see the team working there, take some photographs in the foreign department and have a special lunch with my hosts. Thank you for sharing in our love for children and particularly the students in Taiwan who have displayed so much eagerness to learn! It’s been our honor to serve here with you this year.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News, Tidbits