Time, The Village People and Incredible Experiences

If you've read my blog recently, you'll know that Kendra and I are leaving next Tuesday, August 31st for a trip to Benin, West Africa to visit my twin brother, Randy and his wife Kelly who are missionaries there. Click here for a blog I wrote on this topic recently.

Today, someone asked me what I was most excited about concerning my trip. Here's what I told her:

1. Time with Randy and Kelly: Words cannot express how excited I am about just sitting down and visiting with Randy and Kelly. Being there, we will be attached to them for 7 straight days which I don't think has ever happened. It's sorta like a "captive audience" situation because we will not go anywhere without them (except for the plane rides) and likewise for them. How awesome is this going to be!!! My brother and I will talk for hours at a time about all kinds of things and I crave this time with him. I just can't wait to see and enjoy our time with them and our niece, Tori and nephew, Timothy!

2. I cannot wait to meet some of the people there in the villages that Randy and Kelly work in. I can't wait to shake Joseph's hand and thank him to teaching Randy the Aja language. I can't wait to hug Lorrance and see the smile on her face as she serves and works with Kelly on a daily basis. I can't wait to watch Sossa play with Tori and Timothy as he works for Randy everyday. And I cannot wait to see the smile of Ega (egg-guy), who was stricken with polio yet serves the Lord with great excitement and joy each day. He already blesses our family and I've never met him. What a great day that will be to meet such an honorable man of God. And then there are all the other people in the villages who I get a chance to meet. I will be thousands of miles from home yet hugging and speaking with other children of God - Wow!!!

3. I am about to embark on the experience of a lifetime. I can't wait to see how the Lord intervenes with our travel. He's put this whole thing together so I'm excited to see who He puts in our path along the way. My wife and I are going to be flying and staying in Paris, yet neither of us speak a lick of French. Who is the angel that is going to be our assistant to help us navigate around? I have a sleep problem that will probably make it impossible for me to sleep on the plane. I can't wait to see and feel the peace of God come over me as I'll probably go about 24-30 hours without sleep. (Pray for me on that if you will!) It's too hard to explain the problem but I know that God will watch over me. And then there's the fact that I get to spend one whole day in one of the most romantic cities in the world with my best friend and love of my wife, Kendra! (and without our kids!!) How cool is this trip going to be !!

À bientôt

So there you go. If you think about it, please pray for us while we are gone. Pray for safety and lots of blessings and encouragement for Randy and Kelly. Pray for our boys who will be spending some great time with family members who are sacrificing so much to keep them so we could go. Pray that our boys will respond positively to this change. Thanks for letting me put this out there. Merci beaucoup! (that's French I think) Just 5 days to go !!

God bless you all,

SJ

Uniformity

Ok, my title is misleading because it sounds like I'm going to get into a deep discussion about ... something.

Well, that's not me. I'm interested in UNIFORMS!!! That's right - the good ol' jersey and helmet uniform.

Here's a cool website for those uniform junkies like me!! Enjoy this website only if you are interested in this kind of cool, sportsy stuff!!!

God bless you all,

SJ

p.s. One week from today, my wife and I will be on a plane to Africa !! Pray for a safe trip to see Randy and Kelly !!

Hello My Name Is ...

There's something you need to know about me: I have several names. Well, actually it's not all that many but there are guidelines you should know about when using my name. Before you get the 5 Rules of Donny's Name though, you need to know my names:

• My birth certificate name is: Donald David Vaughn
• My familiar name is: Donny Vaughn

Ok, now here are the 5 Rules:

1. When casually talking me, I prefer Donny. (or "Smooth Johnny" if you really want to make me feel special !)
2. On all my official looking kind of stuff like paychecks, bills, etc., I prefer to use the following name: Donald D. Vaughn
3. I will allow Donald David Vaughn to be used when necessary - like for my recent passport where it had to match my birth certificate but only if Rule #2 will not work.
4. I will not allow my formal first name to stand alone without the middle name or initial. In other words, no Donald Vaughn !! (Note: I actually spent 15 minutes on hold one time to change the name on a credit card I had years ago because it did not include my middle initial) There's something about my formal name that needs to middle name or initial to complete itself. Otherwise, it just looks "stuffy" to me!
5. I will not allow my familiar name to be mixed with my middle name or initial. In other words, no Donny David or Donny D. Vaughn! Yuck! Pew-wee!! It's a complete disaster of naming rules to mix formal with familiar in my opinion. Right now, I'm in the process of trying to change my social security card which has Donny D. Vaughn on it. I'm not sure what my parents were thinking back in 1968 when they did this to me! Of course, maybe they didn't know the rules yet!

Thanks for abiding by these rules !!! Nine days til we leave for Africa - can't wait !!

God bless you all,

SJ