As we continued to talk, the time simply flew by. They invited us to share their delicious lunch; Sandra took us to my great grandparent’s home place, and then we discussed the possibility of seeing the Matterhorn. For awhile, it seemed like some of Switzerland’s great jewels was going to be a causality of our crowded itinerary, too far out of the way and remote. And then, Sandra said, “Why don’t you just take the car train and just go through the mountain?” “Where and how do you do that?” She showed us every step of the way how to save time, money and energy and reach Zermatt, the town just below the Matterhorn. 
Having mentioned that it was going to be spectacular because of the conditions of the weather, we invited Sandra and we were off on this trek together. It could not have been better. Here we were being united as a family, seeing God’s beautiful creation, and getting the local knowledge on everything: from the least expensive fuel, shortest route, most efficient use of time. Every hour was a blessing. Thank you, Cousins Urs & Irene and little Sarah.
And here’s to you, Sandra! 
And God bless you all, my dear extended family. [ add comment ] ( 8 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 337 )I like to think of myself as a traveler. I know my wife thinks of me as one. I think my wife is turning into a traveler herself. She reveled in her ability to carry sixteen days of clothing, makeup, and supplies in one carryon size piece of luggage. Everything was neatly packed, rolled and wrapped, or rather, double wrapped. I, on the other hand, took the largest suitcase in our repertoire. Our daughter Rachel chose the Goldilocks size baggage, not too large, not too small, and just right. Then we were off to Europe. Since the fifth grade, Rachel knew she had a senior trip coming, that after her graduation from high school, we would take her anywhere [within reason] she wanted to go. She started to think about Italy, having studied this area of the world in school. I did nothing but encourage and frequently found myself dreaming of driving through the Tuscan countryside, stopping in the big cities and seeing all the points of interest along the way. And we did! Two days in Rome where we saw Saint Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, the Circus Massimo, and also the site where Paul and Peter were imprisoned. Then off to Venice traveling through some of the quaintest and charming cities of our trip along the way, Orvietto, Veterbo, and Ravenna, making wonderful memories all along the way. Jan and I will never forget the hotel hostess that told us the parking lot was so easy to find. “Just go straighta down the streeta.” An hour and a half later, more humble and slightly wearier travelers had found their way back from a parking lot to the hotel again. Before we had left, Valentina asked, “Do you have Tom-Tom?” “No, we had Jan-Jan”, which if not better than Tom-Tom, is certainly more attractive.
Through over 2000 miles of European highway, we turned, whipped through the roundabouts, backed up, stopped to get “reorientated [sic]”– as I would jokingly say and even on a couple of occasions had the locals tell us, just to follow them, as they merrily led us in the direction we wanted to go. It was all delightful. We of course found that the God-made sites were far more beautiful than the man made ones. The tower at Pisa still leans, the churches and sculptures by Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo are incredible, but they certainly don’t come close to the mountains that God made. Further north, outside the beautiful city of Innsbruck, we had one of our best days of the trip. A real vacation simply driving until you don’t want to drive anymore, pulling in to a charming 3star (reasonably priced) Austrian gasthof or inn, and taking one of the most wonderful walks through the Tyrolean Alps one could imagine. Wunderbar! 
Everything was going so well that I hardly needed to use my Swiss Army knife at all; and then came the moment. The hinge on Janet’s prescription sunglasses came apart. This can be frustrating for long drives through the countryside, especially when navigation is needed. Finally, I came up with the solution. Using my ever trusted Swiss Army knife, I took parts from my fully functioning Raybans and repaired Janet’s sunglasses. Wow, did that score some points! “Honey, you would do this for me? Now I can read the map again! O, you are so resourceful…blah, blah, blah.” I was basking in my greatest victory of the trip. Sacrificing my own comfort for my wife Jan. The rest of the trip was filled with stunning beauty, memorable bonding moments with the young Rachel, who will soon be leaving us for Dallas and college in the fall. And we, Jan and I are back, serving Jesus and our church family in wonderful SoCal. 
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I am so proud of my son Jonathan Jappe for joining the United States Navy. He took the position of Religious Programmer, commonly known as Chaplain’s Assistant. His desire is to serve the Lord as he ministers with the Navy chaplains. I also was filled with admiration and nervousness as he set off for his first tour of duty in Iraq. He sent back this wonderful message from Al Taqaddum Airbase, 2006 …..
Finding Beauty in Iraq
By RPSN Jonathan Jappe, USN
Someone asked me what is beautiful out here in Iraq, stating that because God has made this part of the world as well, that it could not be devoid of all beauty. I can't deny the argument, because God did look down on all that He had created and said that it was good. There is some beauty in the sunrise and night sky, the way the light streams into the back window of the chapel and creates a powerful image of the cross. The landscape however is devoid of all beauty, and the reason for this is plain. This land is one of, if not the oldest piece of inhabited land on the planet. It is postulated that the Garden of Eden was somewhere in the area. Abraham started his story in modern day Southern Iraq or Kuwait.
The point I am getting at is that Iraq is a huge example of human stewardship at its worst. This land has been in human hands since the beginning of time with the instructions to care for it, and man has done a poor job of it. My area of the base is near a lake which gives us the name Lakeside. It is a lake that could have been tapped for irrigation to make the desert bloom. Oil was found here, a commodity which could have sent Iraq into the first world, but instead added to the personal wealth of evil dictators. Even now, as a free and democratic Iraq is beginning, there are those who would send it back into the Stone Age. Small craters have been formed by explosions caused by Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs. Black smoke fills the sky as a truck that once held a group of Marines in it burns. Iraq once held wonders of the ancient world and now the civilizations of Babylon and Persia are used for cover from AK-47 fire. In the end, Iraq has no beauty that is unique to itself except for the smile of a young girl who is going to school for the first time, except for the joy in the faces of a group of boys playing with a brand new soccer ball, given to them by a service member. The sense of accomplishment of a woman who holds up her thumb covered in ink to prove that she has voted for the leader of her choice, and a father’s sense of relief knowing that his children have a chance of better life than he did. The land of Iraq is pitiful, but its people are its true beauty.
And now, the second tour, this one was optional. Jonathan had trained with the Combat Logistics Battalion, and he did not want to leave them in the lurch, so he decided on a second tour. Now he is stationed in Falujah approaching his half-way point, one of the toughest places to be: not at the starting line or close to the finish. The sacrifice for our country in facing this war is real. Our family members, fathers & mothers, sons & daughters, husbands & wives, sisters & brothers, and fiancés serve us every day in an often forgotten and complicated conflict. My hope is that we will remember them, first of all, in our prayers for victory, secondly, in our hopes for their safety, and thirdly, in our gifts for their support. Marriages have been strained, and many need counseling. Physical wounds need repair and psychological trauma needs our love Remember that a small act of kindness can go a long way. So, just the other day as I was standing in line at a Subway restaurant waiting for my sandwich to be made, I observed the lady in front of me, noticing she was an officer in the Navy, and I simply asked her, “May I buy you lunch today?” She said, “Oh, you don’t have to.” But I responded, “It would be my privilege for all you do to serve and protect us. Let me buy your lunch and say thanks.” She appreciated my gesture. It was a far cry from the response our service members received after Vietnam, and I say, it should be that way. Let us never forget that this is a time to pull together and support our troops.
In Christ, Pastor Mark
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( 2.9 / 323 )I am excited about African Nights! My friends, Samuel Nehemiah and Sunny Ikeagwu have diligently prepared duets and solos, and they have enlisted several African singing groups, both locally and in Los Angeles, to lead us in a night of worship and praise. Sunny arrived from Nigeria 10 days ago just to be able to sing with Samuel in this concert.
And let me tell you, these gentlemen know how to sing! They sang as little guys in an orphanage in Port Harcourt to forget how hungry they were. Can you imagine us doing that? God used this most difficult of circumstances to mold and shape them into the men that they are today, never bitter, but thankful to God for their life and their liberty and their salvation in Jesus Christ! You will not be disappointed, in fact, I think if you listen in your heart, you will hear God's angels joining in the celebration. This is a little taste of Heaven, to sing God's praises among the nations!
We have much to be thankful and praise God for. Here is what the psalmist says in Psalm 57: "My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth." Psalm 57:7-11
If you are available this Saturday night, May 31....come to Gateway Church at 1280 North Johnson Avenue in El Cajon. The concert at 6PM is free, but there will be a free will offering taken to benefit Project Nigeria, a ministry of Gateway Church to the children orphaned or abandoned in that country.
Hope to see you there! Bring your clapping hands, joyful voices and smiling faces!
Joyfully His,
Janet
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( 2.8 / 355 )Juli Smith runs our Angel Tree ministry at Gateway Church. This is a ministry started by Chuck Colson to give Christmas presents to children that have one of their parents incarcerated. Over the years, we have given hundreds of presents away, filled the church rooms with decorations, a live Santa & Mrs. Claus, food, and then I would do a drama, acting out the Christmas story, playing the role of Joseph or Simeon or a shepherd watching his flock at night. The children love it, and through the years, some of the parents have started to visit Gateway Church. But Angel Tree is a ministry of 99% give, and that’s what it had been until Juli told me that LaDainian Tomlinson had invited all the Angel Tree kids to his football camp for inner city youth, and that they needed a sponsor. She asked, “Would you like to go, Pastor Mark?” “Yeah!”
When LT was 12 years old and growing up in Waco, Texas, he had an opportunity to go to a football camp put on by Emmet Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, and now every year, he wants to give back what he received when he was young. For this reason and others, I am a LT super fan! I have been wearing his jersey at the stadium and even while watching the games at home. It was so cool just to be standing on the same field with him, to see him interact with these young kids gathered at Hoover High School going through football drills and seeing the 2006 MVP up close. And then when he was walking by, I had my moment to speak with him; all I could say is, “I am a super fan.” He smiled and nodded; he understood.
See, I believe LT is somebody who could be admired, not only for what he does on the field, but what he does off the field. As a Christian he knows that all of his talents and skills come from God, and that he has to give Him the credit and that it is a responsibility to give back to the community. He also lifts his other teammates and challenges them to do the same. I got to speak to Jacques Cesaire, Matt Wilhelm, Jeromey Clary, and the voice of the Chargers, Hank Bauer. It was a great day to be with the young kids, learning about life, learning about football, and finding out again that somebody cares.
And can I tell you, that Jesus does! He knows your pain, He knows whether you have a parent in prison, or if it just feels like it because of your situation. God loves you. Receive His love into your life, but don’t just keep it. Be like LT, and pass it on to the next generation.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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