When a Dream is Realized

W.I.L.D. (Women Intent on Leadership Development) is the training arm of PWOCI. I am the regional President of PWOCI for Asia.  The truth is 1 1/2 years ago we "stood up" Asia Region.  This year at W.I.L.D.  I was overwhelmed when I SAW the dream we've all been working towards.  EACH and EVERY installation with a PWOC from Asia was represented at WILD.  We met at the Religious Retreat Center in Seoul, Korea.

I left on the 22nd and returned on the 26th - late.  Here are a few shots of the week.

The Regional Board and International Trainers arrived on Wed. We spent Thursday in meetings (of all sorts - trainers, boards, WILD prep),  finished up WILD details and made beds......still wondering if anyone cared that the back side was NOT tucked in and if we have a definitive answers on which end the pillow should be on........Alicia and I had a good laugh over our different reasoning. I figured the pillows should be close so they could talk....she figured they should be far apart for privacy.  Lauren figured the pillow should be by the ladder - not sure WHY and I figured it should be far from the ladder so your feet don't go over your pillow space....who knows? It was fun - guess you had to be there.

International sends 5 trainers to each WILD. We were blessed to have Alicia, Deb and Audrey....

As well as Lauren and myself for trainers. 

Our Regional Team  - Lauren (Admin Coordinator), myself and Rachelle (training Coordinator)

Juliet and Belenda (Conference Coordinators)

I missed Renee (prayer coordinator) who has moved from Asia....and we are almost ready to announce a Leadership Selection Chair. 

Ch Pace has been a god-send for Asia Region. We are going to miss him. I, personally, am going to miss his wise mentoring and encouragement -  and the fun way in which he dispenses it. 

He's moving and here, in the way we are known to relate, I make a serious presentation and thank him for his leadership in the past 18 months. 

It's always fun to have ladies from Misawa at these events! Friendly faces from home!

Matching glasses and ipad cover - only as old as you feel! Posing as a Megan ::snort::

 During commissioning we prayed with each board.

A region in one room! God is GOOD. 

Next step - regional conference in November...where the baton of leadership will pass to a new board. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Visiting With Old Friends - Michael

I made one more stop along the way to Coral Springs.  During our time at Goodfellow, we met Tim and Jill.  They retired and moved to Florida.  On my way through, I had the wonderful opportunity to stop in and visit with them.  Tim was my Protestant Advisory Council President and Jill was my Religious Education Coordinator.  They were a huge help in keeping the Chapel program going and on track.
Nowadays, Tim is busy working at the base near them while Jill works at the chapel.  It was great to catch up with them and to hear they are doing well.  Jill is ever the consummate interior decorator, and together they were wonderful hosts to a wandering vagabond such as myself.

We did have an airplane fly overhead as we drove passed the end of the flightline, and according to custom, we made a beeline for DQ.  It was in the line of duty - we had to go, really!  :) 

We made a tour along the coast line.  Just for the record, I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

Their son, Patrick graduated from High School.  He has really grown up.  Their daughter was away for college, but by all accounts, she is doing well in spite of life's up's and down's.  All in all it was wonderful to catch up with them even if it was for just one day.
-- Michael

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

A Real Watermelon - Michael

The main difference between a watermelon in the south and one in Japan is about 30 pounds.   All I can say is, "Viva La Difference!"

-- Michael
Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Boats, Planes and Green Lanterns - Michael

I spent the last evening in Columbia SC at a Ruth's Chris Steak house.  Ummm, good, but very expensive.  The best part was the company - old friends.  The next morning began the second stage of the trip.  Picked up a rental car at the airport and set out for Tallahassee, FL.  The car I got was a Versa - a brand new Versa.  Of the total miles on the vehicle, I did not put 9 miles on it.  I have never experienced that before.  I am still of the mind that the fun of driving a brand new vehicle is dampened when you realize that those first nine miles cost $2-4K (+?) in value of the vehicle.  I will still by used.

Traveled through Georgia.  Got to experience the wild fires down there.  It was very smoky for miles on end.  Did not see too many areas that had actually burned, but the whole area was marked by the smoke.  I could not imagine having to live in that stuff.  It was hard to breathe.

Stopped at a motel for the night because I was struggling with fatigue.  I get the impression that Days Inns are falling behind the power curve for doing deep maintenance and remodels - either that or each motel is independently owned and operated.  Either way, entropy is at work.  One thing I will say, I really slept well there.

I tried to catch up with email while at this motel but was falling asleep on the keyboard.  This was unfortunate because I missed a critical point in the directions for going to Steve and Renee's.  I ended up on a 50 mile side trip.  The good thing?  I found a watermelon stand.  Oh yeah!!!  Japanese watermelons are roughly the size of a cantaloupe - that is not right.  A watermelon that weighs less than ten pounds needs to be left in the field til it grows up.  The melon I found was around 36 lbs.  Farm fresh, tight skin, good yellow spot, and just the right sound when you knock on it.  When I began to cut it open, it popped and split with a most gratifying sound.  That was a good melon.  It was so big, even with Steve and I working on it, we could not eat it all.

After the detour, I found the campgrounds.  Steve and Renee had rented a cabin at a fishing camp/ boat dock.  It was quite rustic but just fine.  It had two bedrooms.  Steve stayed in the one, I had the other.  The day I arrived, Steve had arranged for a boat ride up the St Marks river guided by his uncle.  It was beautiful.  We saw dolphins, an alligator, turtles, herons, manatees, mullets, and much more.  The water was murky at the bottom end of the river, but further upstream, it cleared up enough that you could clearly see the bottom.  We did manage to run over a couple of logs.  They were a constant navigation hazard.  It was getting hot so we had to improvise.  Steve and I took off our shoes and dangled our feet into the water.  Kept an eye out for gators, but it was oh so very nice.

 

 Dinner was followed by a lot of conversation.  It appears that Steve and Renee have been rather busy with some local issues.  Some good results by the sound of it.  Renee went on back to their house as the evening was getting on, but Steve and I talked late.  We had at least ten years to catch up on.

There was a cryptic reference in regards to the next day.  I was going to get to meet his friend, Steve.  Nothing more.  Next day, we head out of the cabin for this friends house.  We rolled into this area that was designated as a "flying community".  Hmmm.  Can you say Beechcraft Baron?  Oh yeah!  We piled in and went for a flight around the area.  I got to do most of the flying.  It was fun, fun, fun.  I kept it fairly level because I knew that Steve was a bit queazy.  We flew out over the Gulf of Mexico over some islands.  The Baron is a little bit heavier on the controls than the single engine aircraft I am used to, but I could definitely get used to it.

When we got home, we were greeted by this critter at our back door.  Friendly, but decidedly inquisitive and hungry by all appearances.

Again, Steve and I stayed up late talking, again.  He had to take care of some issues with his business that following morning so we got a little bit of a late start.  We went into Tallahassee to catch a movie.  It was The Green Lantern, but before we got there, we stopped at one of the buildings that Steve's construction company had built.  Very impressive work.   The movie?  It was OK.  Not what I would call a family movie, but that did not stop the people behind us from bringing their rather young children in  to see it.  I will say, though, whoever made the film, really set themsleves up for the next movie.

--  Michael

Choosing Joy!

©2011 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~

Living all of life before the face of God...

A TDY to Remember - Michael

This present journey began on 12 June and here it 22 June and not quite complete, but I am getting ahead of myself.  As I said, it began on 12 June with a flight out of Misawa on JAL.  After the standard bus trip from Haneda to Narita, there was a 12 hour trip on a United Airline flight to Washington Dulles.  The flight was not so bad, but being crammed in the middle of the plane (a 777) for such a long trip was a bit of a challenge.  Arrived at Dulles just in time for a T-storm to blow in.  This delayed the flight for well over 4 hours.  Oh well.  Such is travel this time of year.

The TDY (temporary duty) was to be able to teach a marriage retreat program called MarriageCare.  I think it will be very good to put it into action. 

Ran into some old friends there also.  Ch T from my TDY to Mountain Home AFB nearly 20 years ago is doing great.  He is getting very close to retiring, but he is full of life and fun as always.  I met Ch S in Hungary 13 years ago when I relieved him as the installation chaplain.  We met again when I replaced him as the Senior Protestant Chaplain at Goodfellow AFB.  I met up with Ch H as well, but I do not have a photo of him.  We met him at our first base, Malmstrom.  It was a lot of fun to see them all and to reminisce. 

I also had a little bit of free time that I invested into a stroll up the road to see the state capitol building.  It was very ornate inside, and it had a bit of history on the outside.  The interior had very high ceilings and a great deal of art work, statues and inscriptions.  One of the statues was the late John C Calhoun.  He served as the Vice President to two of our early presidents.  I have a good friend who is a direct descendant of his.  The separate house and senate chambers were also very ornate.

Out front there is a statue of  George Washington.  The Union soldiers coming through tried to damage it for some reason.  This seems rather silly when you realize they were attacking the foremost founding father of the nation that they had pledged their lives to re-unite.  Somewhere that detail was lost in their thinking.  The other point of history is six stars marking the place where Union cannons hit the building during the closing months of the Civil war.

From here, I began the journey down to Tallahassee and Melobourne FL see more friends, but I will add this in my next post..

--Michael

 

Choosing Joy!

©2011 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~

Living all of life before the face of God...

Traveling

Michael is in Florida on TDY (temporary duty). 


I leave in a couple of hours to Korea for PWOC Asia's WILD (Women Intent on Leadership Development). This is training provided by PWOC International and Regional for local leaders.  I will not have internet access at all while I'm gone. We'll be back with stories to tell in a bit. 


Thrilled that Bre is here to be with the younger kids. They'll have a great time and I'll be back ready to play by Sunday night. 


PRAY FOR UNEVENTFUL TRAVELS! ::snort:: 


Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Japan 101 - Tuesday

Another busy day. We kicked off a monthly PWOC Activity - Japan 101. We plan to run this through September.  Our goal is to provide an encouraging and positive welcome to Misawa for ladies and their children.  For Moms we have a panel discussion, question and answer session, handouts and friendly faces. For little ones we have a great Children's Ministry room complete with Japanese music, easy origami craft and lots of hugs and games. For elementary - youth we have learning centers, games, experienced kids and youth with which new kids can interact.  We all enjoy a variety of Japanese snacks together. 


The following week we take an off base field trip....this allows new families to explore with a safe group....and builds on budding friendships. 


This was our first event. It was a great time for us to make minor adjustments to our program and plan. We expected this month to be slow and it was...but those who came (having lived here 1 - 2 years) all had a great time and learned more about Japan. We'll target new publicity avenues this month to better reach our target group. 

Other highlights of the day include shopping for the children. Taking care of details for my upcoming trip to Korea. Packing....and look what arrived in the mail already! 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...