MISSION U 2023

Mission U was held at the Westin Lake Mary in Orlando North on July 14 to the 16. 150 women from all over Florida were in attendance. The study was Living the Kin-dom Exploring the Lord's Prayer as a Spiritual Practice for Social Transformation. 
 

Saturday and Sunday we had a morning prayer watch in the courtyard. 

Throughout the weekend these two women, Courtney Schulz and Talia Bianco,  lead us in songs.

Linda Parrish was the Dean for this Mission U.  She did a great job.

Easter Kim was my class leader. 

There were 24 in the class. Linda, Yvonne, Evelyn, Janet Tracey and myself from ECD. The study was very interesting and Ester added so much background and different activities. 

Throughout the study we added notes about what we heard or thought.

When the District puts this study on I hope you can come. It is very interesting.

Edith Zewadski-Bricker always has a great Social justice presentation.

She started with a skit about stopping the prison pipeline for those who have mental illness. Gillian was the police.

Angels are needed to surround and support those with mental illness. Linda is an angel.

Talking to someone who understands helps those suffering with mental illness. Yes, it is an illness.

We need to create alternatives to incarceration, homelessness, and hospitalization for people  with schizophrenia, bipolar and depression disorders.

This is Edith's beautiful daughter, Annabelle. She was a very smart outgoing successful young lady in high school and college. 

  In 2017 she started 

withdrawing, making unusual noises and acting differently. They went through the arrest, hospitalization and homelessness. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia. 

Suicide becomes higher and the life expectancy of a person with mental illness is much shorter.

The risk of police use of force is much higher for those with mental illness. They are also in increased danger of rape and being attacked. 

If you know someone that needs help contact NAMI.

There is a new national help line 988 for suicide prevention and mental health crisis.

Today Annabelle lives in this RV on her family property. Unfortunately for many, especially in the black community, the story doesn't end like this for family members with mental illness.  

Ww thank Edith for sharing this very personal story and helping to inform us of the need to stop the prison pipeline for those with mental illness.

Ubuntu of humanity " I am because you are"  All of God's creation is interconnected as one body.  This year the ubuntu project was packing menstrual kits for UMCORE. Kathy and Evelyn helping pack kits. 

Linda helped get the trash bags ready that were put in each kit. A lot of hands made fast work and 95 kits were put together. Thanks to all the Clermont ladies that contributed tampons. the kits are now on there way to Sager Brown.

Grace Epperly from Wesley House Family Services in Key West spoke.

They had made a new video that highlighted the 5 services that are available to help families at Wesley House. This is one of the National Missions in Florida that UWF support.

Saturday evening we had an East Central District gathering. Janet had an Hawaiian theme, with lots of good food. Not that anyone was really hungry for the meals were very good. 

There was 17 people from the ECD. Yvonne, Tracey and Cyd in the picture.

Diane, Evelyn, Linda, Cathy, Pam Gillian and Mary Ann.

Pam presented Diane a special SMR pin for the work she does getting the Christmas stockings and hats ready to donate to South Lake Hospital for the babies born in December.

Rev.Debbie Allen had the message on Sunday morning. It was a good summary of the Lord's Prayer and then we had communion. 

There were two workshop on Saturday afternoon. I attended chair yoga and found it very inspiring. It was lead by Pastor Phil from Oakhurst UMC. through out the movements he would repeat " Breathe in with Our Father in heaven, breathe out with Your will be done.'

The other workshop was playing chimes. They then performed at the worship service on Sunday. 

Gillian and Mary Ann

Yvonne

Janet and Tracey. They sounded professional.  A beautiful ending to the weekend.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

Larry put in a camera and motion lights in the back left corner of the house. 

He also put a motion light on the other corner.  It was a challenge to put up and a little electrical work.

We had lights on the lanai but they were too bright. While he was working on the electricity for the motion lights he fixed the lighting system so it is on a dimmer and has a timer. Looks nice being lit up in the evening.

The next project was the sink in the garage. The handles were always a challenge to get turned off so the water didn't drip. The other day I just couldn't get the drip to stop and neither could Larry. So he changed out the faucet.  It was a hot job working in the garage. 

While Larry was working on the lights I worked in the RV. We had a can of bug spray that was hanging on the side of the upper cabinet that leak down the side of the door. It took off the door frame paint and paper on the wall. So I painted the frame brown to match the top and installed contact tiles along the wall. Looks nice.

Our  Samsung refrigerator had stopped making ice,. We had had it repaired once before, but this time the warranty company couldn't get anyone to come replace it. We think they knew it was never going to be right. So they gave us a check for what we paid for the refrigerator in 2016. It was a perfectly good refrigerator except for no ice maker. It is now in the garage. 

Our new refrigerator was delivered today.  It is a Whirlpool.

The ice maker is on the left hand door, and there is also an ice maker in the freezer.

This is the refrigerator that was in the kitchen when we moved here in 2015. It is a Kenmore, bought in 2003. When we got our refrigerator in 2016 we put this one in the garage and it comes in very handy for holding extra drinks and holiday foods. Our Samsung that they just replaced is now our extra refrigerator and we are hoping to give this one away. Three refrigerators is one to many, plus we have one in the RV.

PUZZLE FUN

I met Debbie for lunch one day last month and we exchanged puzzles. I use to exchange puzzles with my friend in PA but she passed away in December, so I am glad Debbie and her mom enjoy doing puzzles. One bag of puzzles she gave me contained a puzzle for each month. This is June's in honor of Father's Day. They are 500 piece puzzles but with all the water and trees it was a little bit of a challenge.

The puzzle for July of course was fireworks. The fireworks look like they have missing pieces but they were all there, just flash reflection. Working on a puzzle was a good thing to do for it has been very hot outside.

 Hope everyone had a patriotic and safe 4th of July. 

PATTY'S ADVENTURES

We took Patty for her first RV trip the end of May. We just went down the road to Thousand Trails Orlando.  She adjusted very well. Her next big trip is the end of July when we are headed to PA for 6 weeks and then to Illinois for the NOMADS annual meeting. We won't be back to Florida till the end of September. 
 

Larry put a climbing tree together for Patty.

Lots of places to hide, climb and play.

She likes it.

Can see lots of things outside.

The purrfect place to lay.