Fall Kickoff

[Edwin]

The seasons of the year mean different things to different people. When I went to the Philippines in 2010 we had a skim of ice freezing on the water already the middle of October, and when I got to the Philippines people were using their airconditioners to stay cool! We were on the edge of a typhoon just before we flew to Dumaguete, City. So it had cooled considerably in Manila, and when we stepped out of the airplane in Dumaguete I was amazed at how hot it was there! I guess I was expecting ice to freeze on the water! Not really, but I didn't expect that heat either! My friend said, "Well, we are in the tropics, and that seemed amazing that the tropics would be there! Many of you in the Philippines think of your seasons as the wet season and the dry season. Some of you distinguish summer from other times of the year, and I guess with your summer comes hotter weather? Your summer comes before ours. I think your summer is over and ours is just beginning. Where we live we have 4 distinct seasons. We have summer which is from June to and including August. During that time it is hotter than other times of the year, and we normally don't get much rain during our summer season, although it can rain in the summer time. Then we have fall when we start getting frosts and even some snow on occasion, and the water can freeze into ice, but normally not until winter. The leaves on the trees change colors and fall off. Fall is from September through November normally. Then we have winter, usually from December through February. During that time we can have extremely low temperatures and often deep snow, any where from 2 to 5 feet, usually around 3 feet. We often have wind storms in the winter and the snow has drifted in 1968/69 30 feet deep in the canyons. Everything goes dorment int he winter including many animals that go into a sleep mode. Then we have spring from March through May. This is a time of rebirth where the grass turns green/starts growing, and the flowers bloom. We normally have a lot of rain in the spring. The frost goes out of the ground from winter, and it is easy to get stuck in the mud right down to the axles! Those are our seasons.

[Edwin]

Now the Fall Kickoff. We had a Fall Kickoff at our church this evening. It was so much fun, and our youngest daughter and her 18 year old came with us, which was even more fun! When we got to the church at 5:30 they were bar b q ing meat for burgers and hot dogs, only they were the Polish kind. They had chips, roasted ears of corn, water mellon, potatoe salad, brownies, peaches, and some food that I have forgotten. We had a plenty to eat anyway! We had some fun visiting with people. Then they had a dunk tank that I think they borrowed from the school district. Someone sits on the top of the tank, and someone else throws baseballs. When they make a hit with the baseball it trips a lever, and the person sitting on top of the tank goes into the water. It was a lot of fun for the kids. The Youth Pastor sat up there and got dunked once, and so did our 18 year old granddaughter. I was just happy that the kids came to church with us, even though it was not a church service strictly speaking, any time we can get them to any church function that is an advantage!