Today is Monday, March 7th, 2005; Karen's Korner #496

Jim and I had a wonderful time the past nearly one month in Australia and New Zealand. But it is wonderful to be back home, too!
 
One of the last days of the trip, our tour guide asked us what we thought the #1 tour destination in the world is. Where do you think it is?
 
 
HOME!
 
**
 
In the next couple of weeks, I'll share a couple of experiences with you.
 
The first one happened a week ago Sunday. Our group was traveling by bus through the picturesque countryside of New Zealand. We traveled to Milford Sound, which is really a fiord, and it was beautiful. It was about five hours one direction from where we were staying. So we had some additional riding time.
 
I had taken seven or eight copies of two of the inspirational booklets I have written, along with me.  I had given several of them away. I asked the tour guide and our escorts from the bank if I could pass around the half dozen of each which I had left, for the 43 people on our group from Iowa to look at. Some had been asking about them. Others wanted copies. I wanted to talk with all of them. Tell them that I would be happy to mail copies to them once we got home. And that they had never been for sale to anyone, as it was a hobby of mine.
 
I knew that some would request different copies and varying amounts, so we started a sign up sheet around as we rode.
 
But what I didn't expect was the response from our New Zealand bus driver! Doug was our driver for the parts of eight days we were in that country. After my little talk, Jim had the opportunity to talk with him later that evening. Seems he was having some personal struggles. And they shared.
 
As I dug through my suitcase, I found one more booklet. It was just for Doug! I signed it and gave it to him the next morning.
 
As we left the city of Christchurch for the airport, Doug handed a note to Jim, addressed to both of us. In part, it said he was having a particularly down day, feeling like a failure with confused thoughts. He went on to tell that he had three different ways which God encouraged him on that Sunday....when he phoned his wife, she encouraged him in prayer; his reading that morning was from the Bible book of I Timothy; and "then you spoke of your book on the bus", he penned. He said he felt renewed with sleep and peace that night.
 
And along with the treasured note to us, Doug tucked in $40 U.S. dollars for me to continue to encourage others with the books which I write and give away!
 
What we said and did, encouraged Doug. What Doug did with his note and dollars encourages Jim and I.
 
God knew we would all need each other.......for love, for encouragement, for support, and best of all for friendships. Sometimes we would have confused thoughts. Sometimes we will feel down.
 
Now the Welds have one more friend, who happens to drive a bus.......in a country nearly half way around the world...........New Zealand!!

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