What are the chances?

This is me and my friend Lara. Lara and I were friends back at Messiah College some 11 years ago. We haven't kept in touch one iota in the past 11 years...maybe a quick "will you be my friend?"note on facebook, but how unique is that? Exactly. Not at all.
Yet here, Lara and I are standing on my deck. Random? COMPLETELY!!!






















See, in general, I'm only on facebook a few times a month. While we had a work team here this summer, they asked if we had seen the facebook page of their trip, which of course we hadn't (sorry, Rejoice!), and felt compelled to. Now I may be remembering the exact date a day or two off, but the gist is the same. I hop on facebook the night of June 24. There is a message from Lara that she sent in mid-May, saying she was going to be travelling from Fairbanks to Anchorage the week of June 21-27, and did I have any travel tips for her.
I email her back right away, saying that it's only 100 miles to Anchorage, I would gladly come and see her there, but that if she wants to see the most beautiful part of Alaska, she should really head to our neck of the woods (we're rightfully biased).

The next afternoon, I get a call from her. Guess where she is? That's right...just 30 miles away in S., headed right past our house later that afternoon. She's travelling with her parents, who are with SOWERS-a group of retired RVers who travel the country serving at Bible camps and conference centers and such.

She stops by, and she and her mom and I have delightful visit. Her mom, Stephanie, shared about their work, that her husband is a plumber, and where they're headed, etc.

Now I haven't yet blogged the construction project that has gone on in our basement, but we were stalled out at that point, needing a (you guessed it) plumber. I jokingly mention that if he has a few extra days this summer, we could really use a plumber, though I didn't know how much the church could afford to pay him. Ha, ha, ha...





















Fast forward a mere two days. Gary and Stephanie can't get into their next schedule campsite for another week. Could we use his help? God's sense of humor and timing are positively incomprehensible. Are you kidding me? No...Gary and Stephanie came for the week and blessed the socks off of us. We thoroughly enjoyed having them camped out in our driveway. Jacob warmed right up to Stephanie, gladly held her hand on walks, and talked her ear off from the get-go. For those of you who know what Jacob can be like, you now know how special Stephanie is! And oh yeah, Gary got an incredible amount of work done on the new bathroom in the basement! Thanks, Gary and Stephanie...the boys are still talking about your time here! Thanks, Lara, for connecting us with your parents...and it was wonderful to have such an unexpected, fun visit!