Christmas At The Beach Cottage 2018

Hey Friends,

Happy Saturday! This is Odie checking in today. I hope that you are having a great December. I am happy to be home in Ohio right now. I have really enjoyed my time with my family and friends. I love this festive time of year. 

My home church at Dryden Road Pentecostal Church does a big Christmas play most years. It has been a while since I have been home to see one of the productions. This year's play is tonight at 7:00PM. I have heard the play this time around is set in the 1800s. I am anxious to see the play this evening. You are invited too if you are in the area.

I have been so excited to decorate my Beach Cottage for Christmas this year! I could not wait to decorate. I had been gathering ideas for a while. We have not decorated for Christmas much at all since 2001. It is difficult to decorate a bus or trailer for Christmas when space is limited. It great to have plenty of space this year. 

My Aunt Theresa Osborn was so kind to help me get my decor and helped me also get it put up. Thank you again, Auntie! Thank you also to Lisa Isaacs for helping us decorate. Theresa and Lisa would not allow me to post pictures of them working. Here are some pictures of my living room decorations from different perspectives. I am so happy with the finished product!

Yes, that is two stockings hanging on my lamp below. The first one is mine and I call the second one my “faith stocking”.

I also have some Christmas decor in my bedroom too. This little tree has been with me for several years. I used it on the bus for a few years. Then I started putting it in my bedroom at my Grandparents. 

This year I borrowed an idea from a friend thanks, Bekah and Ryan Shaffer. I am collecting ornaments from special places that I visit. I got a good start on my collections earlier this year in Alaska. I even turned a few keychains, a magnet and a sign into an ornament to commemorate my trip. It is fun to think about the day and place where I bought the ornament. Plus I have a few ornaments that were gifted to me and they are on this tree too. 

I call my home a “Beach Cottage” but it is definitely not located on the beach! I woke up to this sight on Wednesday morning. It is looking a lot like Christmas at my Beach Cottage. 😀

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me today. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

Odie 

Road Pictures In Nigeria

One of the most exciting things about our trips to Nigeria is definitely the driving. It is amazing to make our way from Lagos, to Abeokuta and then onto Ibadan during the course of the trip. We are always captivated by the things we see along the road, yet it is so difficult to capture the essence of it at all. The best way is to post the pictures and let you see a glimpse for yourself.

The people living, working, walking or driving along these roads are real people, living real lives. The scenes may be different from where you live. There is usually something to learn from a different perspective.

Here are the road pictures from Nigeria.

Davy

Back In The USA

Kelly Jo and I had a safe trip back from Nigeria. Neither of us rested perfectly Sunday night before the trip, but we did rest some. Kelly Jo worked late Sunday to finish up preparations so that our departure would be easier. As I always say, she is the hardest working evangelist's wife in America. Maybe I should expand that to the hardest working evangelist's wife in the world.

Bro. Shobanke picked us up at the hotel at 12:30 and we went to his house for one more visit and one more meal. It was bittersweet to see everyone that was there and to say goodbye for now.

Then they took us about two hours to the airport in Lagos and we began the process of getting checked in for our flight. Bro. Shobanke always stays with us until we are entering security. That is the point where we say goodbye. Yes, it was a little teary.

About an hour and twenty minutes after arrival at the airport, we were through security and on our way to our gate. We did make a small detour to KFC right after security.

"Almost" before we knew it, we were on the short flight between Atlanta and Knoxville.

We landed in Knoxville, collected our luggage, walked to the hotel, retrieved the Green Machine and pointed south toward Vonore and the BoggsMobile.

I do love this sight.

We found the bus in super great shape as we knew we would. Jeff Rowe and his crew at Tennessee Luxury Coach in Vonore took great care of our home. I left a long list of items for repair when we left for Nigeria. The list was a lot shorter when we arrived Monday and it was wonderful to have so many problems solved and solved very well.  One thing I did not have to worry about while in Nigeria was the bus. I knew it was in good hands.

Kelly Jo found a nice little studio for us to rest a few days and that pretty much sums up what we have been doing. I am waking up for a few hours in the middle of the night, but that seems to be par for the course for me when we fly home. It will get better.

Thank you for praying for us.

Davy