Deputation Delights - A New Pardine Record!

Now for those of you who still remember the days of a needle scratching vinyl to play your favorite song, this post is not about a new recording of us singing our gospel favorites, but is it about a reoccurring theme in our life on the road...apologizing for the actions of our children.

During this road trip (which, by the way, has only lasted two days so far) our sons set a new record for "How long will it take before we cause a catastrophe?"

In all fairness, Steven was the first one to a score a point this round, but since it was out of his control, we let it slide.  The car was packed beautifully (translate: we could see out of the back window!) and after driving 4 1/2 hours we pulled into the Best Western parking lot.  Steven had been serenading us with "Oh, a big truck!  Oh, a big car!  Oh, a big light!" for at least an hour and we were ready for bed!  He woke up coughing in the night, had some tea, and settled back in to sleep.  In the morning we were dressed for church on time and leisurely strolled down to breakfast where the boys sat nicely.  Steven was still coughing and as we neared the end of breakfast he coughed even harder and eventually threw up on the table.  First apology of the trip - "I'm sorry, our son has emptied his stomach on your table.  We did an initial cleanup for you, but you might want to disinfect it before the next guest comes down.  Have a nice day!"  Bustling out the door we headed to church...

Upon arrival, Eric went to locate the table to set up our display while I entertained the boys in the beautiful foyer (translate - Dangerous zone filled with delightful things for little boys to get in trouble in.).  Joshua bounced onto the couch and hugged the cushions, then bounced off to examine the plant on the table.   The table top was a glass circle...can you see where this is going?  He leaned on the table and I reprimanded him that it would not be wise to do so.  I turned away to tend to Steven and when I turned back, Joshua was once again leaning on the table.  As I opened my mouth and began, "Don't do that, the table will..." CRACK!  The table split in two and one half toppled to the floor with the disheveled plant.  Joshua looked up horrified, but the damage was already done.  Who knew 40 lbs. of pressure could split glass?

After disaster struck...good as new!

Second apology of the trip - "Um...thanks for inviting us to your church.  I'm really sorry, I know we just stepped through the door, bu our son just destroyed your lobby.  Do you have a vacuum nearby?"  Thankfully, the Youth Pastor was prepared with a spare top and by the time the people started to arrive no one was the wiser.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day steering a wide path around all tables!  In spite of it all we remained unflustered and sought God's help to share our heart for Peru.  We had a wonderful time at the church and the boys even sat in on the evening service...but that's another story for another day!