On Friday, August 1, 2008, Deborah Rather (aka Arlene James) and her husband, Allison Bottke, and I went to The Woodlands for Meet the Christian Author Night. First we went out to eat with many of our friends, then we enjoyed this special event.
On Saturday, June 21, Lena had a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Southlake, Texas.
In the spring of 2007, Lena taught for the WIN local chapter of ACFW in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On May 11, DiAnn Mills and I had a book signing at Mardel’s in Irving, Texas.
On May 4, I taught a 3-hour seminar on How to Utilize the Internet for Promotion for San Gabriel Writers League in Georgetown, Texas. I covered both things that have fees and totally free promotion ideas.
A book signing accompanied the event.
On April 14, I had my first ever book signing at Wal-Mart. The book was my newest release The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner.
Mary DeMuth spoke at the DFW Ready Writers in January. Following the meeting, she and I had a book signing at Borders in Colleyville, Texas.
Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, where James and I are members, is opening a satellite campus in North Richland Hills. We bought an empty former Winn-Dixie store, which we’ll turn into facilities for the youth and weekend services. It will also house children’s ministry during those services. We had a groundbreaking using a pile of dirt on the parking lot under a big tent. Hamburgers and hotdogs were served. After the worship and groundbreaking, we went inside to write scriptures on the walls.
DFW Ready Writers – January 13, 2007
Mission Trip to Guatemala in June 2004
We spent our first and last nights at the Marriott in Guatemala City. The first morning, we left by bus to go to Chichicastenanga in the department of Quiche. The city is located in the highlands of Guatemala. Most of the people living there are Quiche speaking Mayans.
Children's Ministry Team
Our team had 24 people from Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, and one man from Michigan. We had a construction team that worked on the second floor of the ASELSI mission building. This structure holds office space, a medical clinic, and a school to train Quiche pastors. When the second floor is finished, the school will move up there. That will allow the clinic to expand. We also took a medical team and a children’s ministry team. The medical team held mobile clinics out in the mountains, and the children’s ministry team had puppet plays, music, dancing, clowning, games, and balloon animals for the children of families who waited hours for medical care. As you can see, I was a clown. However, because of the difficulty of reaching the first two clinics, I did not go on them.
Instead, I worked in the office binding curriculum books for the pastors’ school. I felt that I had the best of both worlds. Because I can read Spanish fairly well, I was able to read what they are teaching. I saw the ministry from the inside out. I am impressed with what John and Sharon Harvey are doing with their ASELSI mission. If you want to see more about the ministry, their web site is www.aselsi.org. I was also able to sit in on a class, where they were doing a drama. I met several of the students. The Quiche Indians are friendly, polite people. They are hungry for the Lord. God is moving in the highlands of Guatemala.
We did home visits and took a food basket to some very poor families. Meeting them and ministering to them were an added blessing.
Lena in a tradional Quiche Mayan dress
This was at a women’s event at a church in North Richland Hills, Texas.
At the ACRW national conference in Kansas City, Missouri, I met with both of my editors. The one on the left is Rebecca Germany, the editor for Barbour fiction, and the one in the middle is Tracie Peterson, the editor for Heartsong Presents. Both of these women are also authors.
A group of us had breakfast together. Here are Lynn Coleman, Sally Laity, Joyce Livingston, and Gail Martin–some of my favorite authors.
Beth Goddard and Lisa Harris come to the critique group that meets in my home. We ate dinner together at the conference.
Pamela Griffin, eating with Rebecca Germany here, is also in our critique group.
Children's Ministry Team
Lena in a tradional Quiche Mayan dress
