Saturday Morning, November 30

After receiving the obituary of Idell Johnson – a TFC chaplain’s wife from our time of serving TFC Global in the Northeast Region (1990 – 2005), we decided to attend her funeral in Stroudsburg.

Idell’s Obituary Photo. She was 89 and had been doing well until she was hospitalized recently – I think with pneumonia.

We remember her as a sweet and gracious wife to Joe Johnson, who served as lead chaplain in Bartonsville, PA – in the Poconos.

Saturday dawned with a beautiful sunrise that changed by the minute.

This is what the sky looked like by the time we left for Stroudsburg.

I spent most of the two-hour drive reading a book (Beholding and Becoming by Ruth Chou Simons) in preparation for a teaching challenge in 2020.

Cerwin got my attention as we approached a truck accident on the west bound side of I-78 near Hamburg, PA.

The concrete barriers did a good job of keeping the rig from coming into our lane.

Half an hour later we saw a large flock of Snow Geese in a field next to the interstate.

This is how we remember Joe and Idell – at the Bartonsville Chapel. Joe died five years ago – during the summer of 2014.

We also have great memories of visiting at their home and being with them at Staff Conferences. The picture above was taken at Maranatha Bible and Missionary Conference, Muskegon, Michigan.

We enjoyed hearing stories from family and friends at her Memorial Service at Christian Life Assembly of God in Stroudsburg.

We attended the service with Sam Rittenhouse (who met us there). He was Assistant Director when Cerwin was Northeast Region Director.) We have kept close ties with him as the three of us now serve TFC Global in ways that fit in with our partial retirements. 🙂 Sam now serves in Chaplain Care and faithfully calls every staff person on their birthday and makes sure he checks on those who deal with illnesses or other family situations.

We decided to go out for lunch instead of staying for the meal at the church since burial was a distance away – and we didn’t know anyone at the funeral other that a slight contact because of Joe and Idell.

It was great to have time with Sam at Snydersville Family Diner and get caught up on each others lives and families. I didn’t take any pictures at the restaurant, but found this picture online of their delicious corn chowder – which was my choice for lunch.

The day reminded us of the great contacts we have made while serving with TFC Global.