Late Summer

 We made a trip to Indiana in early August for the Gateway Woods benefit auction.  We mostly went to watch grandkids, but we did attend the sale for a while.  It was my first time at the big event.  I'm not a big fan of benefit auctions, but I enjoyed being there and visiting with people. We didn't buy much, except food.  The Faire Coffee trailer was there, so I got to see it in action for the first time.  The morning weather was pleasant, but it got hot and humid in the afternoon.  We took the kids back to their house and spent the afternoon with them there, until it was time for us to head home.  We enjoyed the short time with our kids and grandkids.

One weekend, the sons and I made a trip to the deer woods to replace a stand.  The old one was starting to deteriorate and wasn't real safe anymore.  I made a follow up trip a few days later to make some adjustments and to check and repair a couple other stands.  The woods and view from the stands look so much different now than late fall after the leaves have fallen, and grass and weeds are brown or dead.  We got out of the woods and on our way home just before a thunderstorm moved through.

Saturday of Labor day weekend, we headed to Iowa for a granddaughter's birthday party.  The family met for a picnic at Crapo Park in Burlington. We did some exploring and playgrounding at the park, then headed to Mepo for supper and the party.  Most of the family headed back to Illinois after the party, but we stayed overnight and spent Sunday with Son #2 and family in Burlington.  It was a blessed day in church, and we enjoyed our weekend with family in B-town.  We headed back home shortly after church, making sure we filled our tank with gas before leaving Iowa.

The birthday girl riding a tree horse.

Climbing on the outdoor fireplace.

The wife and I "attended" a wedding in Manila Philippines one Wednesday evening! On Zoom.  They held the wedding at 8:00 in the morning so that family and friends could "attend" in the evening here in the states.  We could see the service well, but the sound was distorted.  We didn't understand much of what was said even though it was an all English service.  It looked like a nice service, and they were obviously joined together in Holy matrimony.  Congratulations Michael and Glynis!

My daughter and wife had been on me for awhile to see a doctor about some blemishes/moles on my face.  Soderstrom's were having a free skin cancer screening clinic, so two weeks ago I went to it.  They found a spot of Basal Cell Carcinoma and quickly got me an appointment before harvest started.  Last week Dr. Bradley performed Mohs Micrograghic Surgery to remove it.  I spent a few days with the right side of my face swollen, a black eye (actually more reddish), and a little drainage from under the bandages.  Today they removed the stitches and the site is healing well.  I don't think there will be much of a scar, so it shouldn't impede my modeling career 😉.

The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,           Leviticus 13:18

 

Fam Vac 22

 Leading up to our big family vacation this year, we had the opportunity to keep a couple of our Indiana grandkids for a few days.  Then we took them to vacation where we met their parents.  They were good travelers and we had a good trip to the Ozarks.

It was the 36th annual family vacation, held at Sunset Beach Resort.  The resort was recently refurbished, and somehow we were able to rent the entire resort. We needed all of it as there were somewhere in the vicinity of 70 of us in attendance.   It was really nice in that we didn't have to worry about bothering any other guests with our large group. The resort is built on a hillside, so we were climbing up and down steps everywhere we went.  Here is our vacation history so far.

Wyss Family Vacations

 1987    Indiana  - Lake Hamilton

1988    Ozarks - Lakeview Resort

1989    Wisconsin Dells - Rivers Edge Resort

1990    Lake Michigan - Chalet on the Lake

1991    Branson -  Bent Tree Lodge

1992    Indiana Beach

1993    Lake Geneva - Kellenberger Cabin

1994    Kentucky Lake (Lake Barclay) - Holiday Hills

1995    Kentucky Lake - Holiday Hills (2nd time)

1996    Colorado - Snow Mountain Ranch

1997    Kentucky Lake -  Holiday Hills (3rd time)

1998    Kentucky Lake - Holiday Hills (4th time)

1999    Piedmont, Mo - Sunset Point Resort

2000    Ozarks - Lakeview Resort(2nd time)

2001    Piedmont, Mo - Sunset Point Resort(2nd time)

2002    Colorado - Snow Mountain Ranch (2nd time)

2003    French Lick, Indiana - Wilstem Guest Ranch

2004    Mark Twain Lake, Mo - Timber Ridge Resort

2005    Raccoon Lake, IN (near Turkey Run) - Raccoon Lakeside Lodge

2006    Lake Michigan - Pottawattamie Resort

2007    Ozarks - Lakeview Resort(3rd time)

2008    Lake Michigan - Pottawattamie Resort(2nd time)

2009    Ozarks - Lakeview Resort(4th time)

2010    Kentucky Lake - Shawnee Bay Resort

2011    Kentucky Lake - Shawnee Bay Resort(2nd time)  25th Celebration

2012    Kentucky Lake - Shawnee Bay Resort(3rd time)

2013    Lake Michigan - New Buffalo - Grand Beach Inn

2014    Ozarks - Bass Point Resort

2015    Lake Michigan - Ludington - Hobby Crest Resort

2016    Kentucky Lake - Shawnee Bay Resort(4th time) 30th Celebration

2017    Ozarks – Holiday Shores Resort

2018    Kentucky Lake – Shawnee Bay Resort(5^th time)

2019    Lake Michigan - Grand Beach Inn (2^nd time)

2020    St. Joseph River - Klopfenstein Estates

2021    St. Joseph River - Klopfenstein Estates

2022    Ozarks – Sunset Beach Resort

The obligatory annual group photo.

It was nice having the beach and pool all to ourselves.

The one rainy afternoon found the kids watching cartoons together.

I spent a lot of time following this little girl around and trying to keep her out of trouble.

I finished reading "The Great Generation" by Gary Ifft.  Gary, a Vietnam war veteran, wrote the book about the experiences of Apostolic Christian men who were drafted into the army during the era.  Most Apostolics went into the army as Non-Combatants and many ended up as medics. He shares a little history of the conflict, the typical procedure for non-combatant training, and then he shares about thirty five stories/experiences from interviews with other AC veterans.  Knowing most of the men interviewed, I really enjoyed the book and hope there can be a follow up book.  I know there are many more interesting stories out there yet of God's faithfulness to these young men.  These stories should be archived for future generations.

  "Violence must not be used in any curcumstance.  The way of nonviolence is patterned after the example of Christ who never exhibited violence in the face of persecution or as a punishment of sin.  A Christian must love their enemies and pray for them, as Jesus did."

Paraphrased from the "Schleitheim Confession," written by Anabaptists in 1527