Kelly and Connie’s Place

We had 111 Edgers this summer going out in 3 phases, or tracks. Our second Edge group came through Orlando this week on their way home? So what is an “Edger”?

>>Definition? The Edge, a short-term ministry of PIONEERS. Focus: mobilizing and mentoring this generation to passionately follow Jesus and discover their role in the Great Commission.

>>Who Goes? College age >>How Long? 4 to 6 weeks

>>What Happens? They get a close-up view of what career church-planting is all about.

>>How? They work and learn alongside our career church-planters and live among people whose culture is dominated by spiritual darkness.

What’s the Program?

1) >> They go on teams of other Edgers: can be 3 or 20+ young people on an Edge team

2) >>Orientation: 4 days before departure, they have cross-cultural ministry training & team building

3) >>Debrief: Return to America via Orlando to process their summer experiences…

I debriefed 2 young ladies this week. Chelsea was on a team who served in Greece working with kids camps. She worked as a life-guard. One of her high spots? A group of Afghanistan Refugees came through the camp for 2 weeks, and Chelsea got to teach the women how to swim. No, they don’t wear bathing suits; they swam in their regular clothing, headdress and all.

I also debriefed with Catlin on how her summer went. She was on a team of 4 serving in Croatia; building relationships through English classes and children’s clubs.

Candid shot of Croatia team sitting on front row.

(Photo Below) Our Orlando Team welcomed this Edge Group of several teams back to the US by providing a party atmosphere to help celebrate a successful summer.

Welcome Home Party & Debrief

(2 Photos Below) Part of the debriefing process is giving a team report about their trip. This African team is sharing what they experienced on their trip through their native dress, song and overhead power-point photos.

Sharing African Song and Dance

African Team Report with Overhead Photos

(Photo Below) This team of 4 went to a sensitive area that will be left un-named. Their focus: Ethnographic Research: the study of a culture; their social structure & behavior. Their task was to research and producing video footage and materials to enhance missions awareness for this remote forgotten area of East Asia.

DO THEY GET ANY YOUNGER THAN THAT?

Yes! The week, before the Edgers came through (college age), Gettysburg Bible Church sent their ‘Senior High School’ Youth Group down from Pennsylvania for a week stay on our campus to learn about missions. Here are 2 photos of Kelly sharing about our work.

Kelly Shares with Senior High School Youth Group

Kelly Uses Humor With the Youth Group

Look close at the photo above and you will see Kelly is using “humor” to explain his point. His co-workers joked that the comic strip he choose, “Blondie,” really dated him with these young people. Hey, Blondie and Dagwood are timeless!

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We’re very proud of our oldest granddaughter who turned 14 this year. Summer was nominated by her teachers to be a participant in the NJLC (Junior National Leadership Conference). To be nominated, students must show academic excellence, extracurricular or civic involvement and leadership potential.

Our granddaughter, Summer (2007)

The NJLC is a leadership conference for middle school students that allows them to focus on a certain field of study, learn about it, meet professionals in that field, and explore career possibilities.

The career conference our granddaughter chose to attend was called “Discover CSI: Forensic Science”. She flew by herself and spent 10 days in Washington DC, experienced dorm life on a university campus and had a whole array of experiences. She got to see Capital Hill, the Library of Congress, went to Union Station, the National Mall, the Smithsonian Museum & more.

Her team’s assignment was to solve the kidnapping of a 9 year old child. They attended various lectures and workshops on things like leadership, crime scene processing & how to interview witnesses.

Her review went something like this:

Some of the lectures were boring, they had to take notes, wear “professional” dress most of the time, and her team of 6 guys & 6 girls was not the greatest. They were easily sidetracked, couldn’t agree on things and they talked over each other. She was sure they would have nothing completed in time for the Inquest where they were to give a speech espousing their theories on ‘who did it’. (Hopefully this part got better.)

Her teammates were from CO, CT, OK, HI, CA, MI & etc. She really liked her roommate who was from New Jersey (Summer is from California). One night the two of them stayed up late talking and only got 30 minutes of sleep. They skipped breakfast the next day (which was allowed), but found it hard to stay awake during lectures. She liked her team leader whom they called TL, the food was not too bad, and the weather was hot & humid. They had a dance, a talent show night, and went shopping at a local mall for souvenirs.

With several people to buy for back home, her shopping list for souvenirs was quite long. She got 2 shirts, a bag that said ‘Love’ and one with a ‘Peace Sign,’ a cup holder that said ‘Got Evidence,’ 2 key chains saying: ‘Got Evidence’ & ‘I Love DC’, and a bear dressed as a policeman and one dressed like a criminal.

THANK YOU!

The trip is over now, and she made it home in time to go to her youth group meeting at church. Now I’m waiting to see some pictures and hear…’the rest of the story’. Summer had to raise quite a bit of money to go on this trip. Her mother says she did a lot of babysitting and other jobs to earn some of that money. The rest of the money came from family and friends. Kelly and I would like to say THANK YOU, to all of you who were able to contribute toward her trip.

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Pre-Wedding

A few months ago, my niece and nephew approached Kelly and I about performing the ceremonies of each of their weddings. Trad’s big day was set for July 4^th. It would be held against a lush green background at Sculley’s Golf Course, run by his parents (my sister & her husband).

My Nehew Waits For His Bride

Shari’s special day would be the next day, July 5^th, with a picturesque garden setting at Hermitage Country Club in Nashville.

This worked for us; 2 weddings, one trip, a chance to visit with family followed by a little R & R. The only pre-requisite we set for the 2 couples was that they get pre-martial counseling. Shari and her guy ran into a scheduling conflict, so Kelly and I ended up meeting with them weekly for 6 sessions.

How did we do that, you ask, all the way from Orlando? Simple! This is the 21^st century. In the midst of work and travel, we were able to schedule in counseling sessions—live, over the internet, using a webcam. There were reading assignments, homework and great discussions. It was not our first choice, but it was workable.

Two Weddings

We feel so blessed after spending a great week with family in Jackson. My 2 brothers and my sister (on the right-who live in Jackson), and my brother from California standing next to me on the left; we all gathered with my parents for the festivities.

My sister hosted 2 bridesmaids luncheons in her home to honor each of the brides, one being her new daughter-in-law, Gretchen. I loved the cold strawberry soup that she served.

We had two supper nice wedding ceremonies, with great weather and excellent family time. PHOTOS BELOW: 1st picture Kelly performing Trad & Gretchen’s ceremony, 2nd picture is Kelly performing Shari & Gavin’s ceremony.

Following the 4^th of July wedding ceremony, the bride & groom (my nephew) provided a spectacular fireworks display for the guest.

The next day we headed to Nashville for the 2^nd wedding. The groom’s family came from as far away as Canada and Ireland, what a treat! (Next 2 photos: 1st Trad & Gretchen then Shari & Gavin, both now happily married.)

Below is a photo of all the Harmons who were present. Unfortunately, our 2 sons in Tulsa were not able to attend. But, they were in Jackson with all of us last year for my parent’s big 80th Birthday bash.

And A Vacation

With the weddings over, Kelly and I began our R & R vacation time in earnest. Monday evening my 3 brothers treated us all to a Harmon tradition of fried potatoes with fluffy biscuits smothered and covered with creamy sausage and gravy. All cholesterol and fat were left out…yeah, right!

Close Up of Some Great Fried Potatoes

How often do you see a kitchen full of men?! (Photo Below) Not often in the Harmon household, …unless biscuits and gravy are on the menu.

Three Are Cooking & Two Encourage Them

Tuesday we enjoyed a gourmet dinner at my oldest brother’s home. His wife Edith out did herself with a special dish called, zucchini boat creamed corn soufflé. WOW!

Edith is not only a great gourmet cook, but she is also an accomplished artist working in pastels. (Photo: Edith is sitting in front of one of paintings. See more of her work by clicking here.)

A Very Talented Sister-in-Law

She gives art lessons in her home studio and invited me to join a session. It’s been 20 years since I last approached a blank canvas, and I’ve never tried pastels. But Edith is very convincing, and I had a blast giving it a try. (Photo below of my first pastel. I have named it: “Three Chairs in Pastels”. How’s that for original?)

And what did Kelly do for fun once he changed into more comfortable clothes and could kick back?

Kelly With One of the Wedding Guests

He enjoyed his day out, browsing through Gander Mountain outdoor store and Best Buy. He thought he was in heaven. We’re back in Orlando now, and Monday we head back to the office all rested and ready to go.

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Tuesday evening, July1, the ACMC team meetings were winding down. (See previous posting for that story.) It was late (7:00 PM) as Kelly and I returned home for the evening to pack for our trip the next day to Tennessee. Our flight on Wednesday was early afternoon, giving us ample time to have breakfast with the team and still see them off for their flights home.

Imagine our surprise that evening when our phone rang and I heard a familiar voice say, “Ibu Connie, ini Ibu Hanna.” Two of our best friends from Indonesia, Ardian & Hanna were here in Orlando, with their son Ken, for a 4-day convention.

In spite of their having just arrived and being tired from a “long” trip, they came that evening to visit with us. What a joy to catch up on their news and reminisce over old times. The last time we saw them was on our last day in Indonesia in 2004. They had come to say goodbye as Kelly and I moved back to the US due to Kelly’s health (photo below).

Ardian and Hanna are one of the godliest couples we know, and they have 3 great kids. We were friends, neighbors and co-workers in the ministry. They were always there for us when we needed them, most notably was the time during our first year in Indonesia. It was Sept. of 1994. Kelly had some serious chest pain, but thought he was ok. He wasn’t. Kelly had experienced a heart attack and Ardian was instrumental in helping save his life by talking him into going to the hospital.

Their son Ken, graduated this year from Ohio State. During his junior year, Ken stayed over at our house, here in Orlando, while doing an internship at Disney World. Their 2 daughters also attended OSU, with the oldest graduating from there 3 years ago. Jessica married this summer and Janet will be back in the US this fall to continue her schooling.

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Once again we had “the gang” in for their quarterly, planning meeting. (I posted a group photo of this growing team on our blog back in April.)

The good news is: we’re still growing. We have added another couple to our ranks and I’d like to introduce them to you. Please meet Danny and Judy from South Carolina (photo below). Kelly and I first met this couple when we both were serving in SE Asia. We are blessed to have them join the ACMC team.

The team arrived Sunday evening, June 29^th for 2 ½ days of meetings. We all left Wednesday afternoon; each of them to their respective homes, and Kelly & I to Jackson, TN to visit my family.

A Side Note: Frank wasn’t able to be with us for this meeting. He lives in Alaska and is still raising his support. Meanwhile, he watches his budget and plans his trips accordingly. He was with us in Dallas for the Perspectives Conference just a couple of weeks earlier.

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