Trip Part 3

Sat. 10-27-07 Day

It rained all night but it turned into a nice day for us today. Ikea. Took the bus to Las Ramblas and walked it most of day. To port and monument to Cristobol Colon (Columbus). Had lunch at a huge seafood rest. All 4 of us shared the paella. Bus back. Check out and board our ship tomorrow.

Trip Part 2

Sat. 10-27-07 (past midnight starting the day)

Our Amsterdam-Barcelona flight was even worse. A large group of drunken Spaniards made the 2-hour flight very distasteful for all the other passengers. They were loud and raucous and we couldn’t hear anything. One woman’s high, loud piercing laugh just reverberated through the plane. They didn’t get caught passing their whiskey bottle around till near the end of the flight. But they were even more sauced then and wouldn’t do anything the flight attendants told them to.

This was probably my worse alcohol-affected flight since my flight to Uzbekistan when a rather large drunken Russian stole my missionary buddy Mark Hausfeld’s seat next to me, proceeded to imbibe every bottle of vodka on the plane, and fell asleep on my shoulder. I can still see Mark laughing as he looked back at my predicament. (By this time the Russian was snoring in my ear.)

Getting our luggage in Barcelona and getting to the hotel (Prestige Congress) were further harrowing experiences that left all my patience drained.

It was good to sit down with our friends who we’ll be with, Jim and Sherryl Ford, in the restaurant.

Peg’s already asleep and soon I will be, too.

She’s online, I’m not for some reason. Will post when can but probably not on ship. I’m downloading photos but will wait to add them.

Trip Part 1

(Posting from Spain)

Fri. 10/26/07

[I’ll be doing brief posts as available to fill in later.]

More Adventures in Flying

Sitting in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam just past noon. 7 hours ahead of Springfield time. Our flight from Detroit on NWA was 8 hours so w/ boarding we were on the plane about 9 hours. 3 little kids, about 5, 6 and 7 were sitting together alone in the middle section in the row behind us (we were in 2 seats on the left). One of them kept ringing the call button several times a minute. It lasted the whole flight. Their father ignored them. Passengers, stewards, stewardesses tried to stop it but to no avail. The one time I did fall asleep I was awakened by the boink. They stayed awake all night. When we hit the ground, they fell asleep. What timing. They disrupted the whole plane with nary a peep from the father.

Also had a sick infant, crying a lot, which a doctor treated twice.

The guy in front of me was one of those bozos who slings the seat back. When that happens I have no room at all. In fact, it changed the angle of the in-seat screen so much on the LCD, I couldn’t see the picture clearly. And I still had to give up foot room to the huge box that each row has for the video connections.

Trans-Atlantic flights are seldom fun.

I went through the mini art museum they have here. I’ve done this several times. They always have different displays. Once, I even saw some Rembrandts.

Peg, Ricky, Bev, Mike at Cracker Barrel

My niece Bev, Mike and Ricky are here visiting Mike's mom and stepfather. We leave for vacation on Thursday and this was our only opportunity to get together with them, so I came straight from work and we had dinner at Cracker Barrel. I think they all liked it.

Great to get together with you Bev & Mike. Ricky, it's always good to be with you.

Simon Francis, a Resident of Fort Yukon, Alaska

Fort Yukon Pastor Jeremiah Niemuth

On the site of a roofing project with Master's Commission North Pole during my trip there last July.

Fireweed, Fort Yukon, Alaska

Not So Sure About Gibraltar Now

Gibraltar is one of the places we will be on our cruise. It is famous for the Gibraltar apes that roam freely amongst tourists.

I have been looking forward to this, but this AP story has me not so sure:

Indian Official Dies in Wild Monkey Attack

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Wild monkeys attacked a senior government official who then fell from a balcony at his home and died Sunday, media reported.

New Delhi Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was rushed to a hospital after the attack by a gang of Rhesus macaques, but succumbed to head injuries sustained in his fall, the Press Trust of India news agency and The Times of India reported.

Always Take Your Camera With You

Rough Green Snake
Opheodrys aestivus aestivus


Walking today on my favorite trail, I came across one of my favorite snakes, stock still in the middle of the asphalt trail. It was a rough green snake, one of my favorites in the Ozarks. I had decided not to bring my camera today; everytime I do that, a great photo op occurs and is lost. When I knelt down to take a closer look, he began undulating to try to get away, but he was moving so fast, he was virtually staying in one place, like a car laying rubber by spinning its wheels too fast. The poor snake just couldn't get any traction. So I gently nudged him with my hand and let him push off and soon he was in the safety of the brush.

Rough Green Snake
Originally uploaded by pcoin

You seldom see these common snakes because they are small and blend in so well with their surroundings. But on the black trail he was easy to spot.

Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
Originally uploaded by dpfunsun

He also stuck his tongue out and kept it out longer than I had seen a snake do.

(The photos are not mine but are linked from Flickr.)

Hi, Mackenna and Pat

My sister Pat called yesterday and told me she has discovered our blogs. I knew she would enjoy them when she got to them. She has not been hooked up to the Internet since she recently got back into her home after being in a FEMA trailer since Hurricane Katrina.

Her grandson Mackenna navigated through the blog with her at his house.

It's good to have you both reading the blog!

So, for Pat's benefit, a few Pit River pix. Pat, see if you can guess where they are.

Ken With John Maracle at Beaver AG

Here I am with my good friend, John Maracle in front of the vacant AG church in Beaver, Alaska. One of the goals of Ron Pratt and Master's Commission is to place a pastor here.

John, a Mohawk from New York, is chief of the AG Native American Fellowship and was recently elected an executive presbyter of the AG.

Boss's Day Card From My Staff

Our graphics guys did custom cards for Hal and me. This is the one they gave me, based on my love of fishing. (Hal's was on golf; I'll share that when I get a copy.)

Village of Beaver Graveyard

Was interesting to find this name in an Athabascan graveyard. We had a Billy family in the first church we pastored in Healdsburg, Calif. They were Pomo, the dominant Northern California tribe in our area. The first funeral I ever conducted was for Tilly Billy.

Tornado Time

We're back on a tornado watch. My sister Pat called me to tell me my niece (her daughter) Mindy had seen it on the Weather Channel. We didn't have the TV on, but flipped it on and sure enough ....

We had had tornado warnings earlier. I had worked late and had to spend part of the evening in the HQ basement, along with a lot of our new missionaries, who were in for new missionary orientation. I snuck out with Africa Field Director Mike McClaflin before the 7 pm expiration of the warning. ("Warning" means tornado(s) sighted; "watch" means conditions are right.)

We had some touch down north of town. A barn, a house, and some other structures were wiped out.

The Famous Smiling Cat of Beaver, Alaska

Betty Hinman

Rusty sent this photo with the following message: "Mom(Betty) said it was great to see pictures of you and Peggy, so I took one of her to post . She is living here in Florida also and is doing good."

Betty is a special lady. She was one of the mainstays of DCA while we pastored there.

Betty, it is wonderful to see you.

Ken Presents Chief Paul Williams With Silk Road Stories

When I was in Alaska this July, I gave Chief Paul Williams, the traditional chief of the Village of Beaver on the Yukon River, a copy of Silk Road Stories, my favorite of all the books I've done, which I did with Mark and Lynda Hausfeld.

It is customary to "gift" village elders when visiting. The Athabascan culture is strong on story and I felt the compelling stories in this volume would be of interest to Chief Williams. He and his family have become family to the Master's Commission kids I was there with.

This is my wife?

Peggy's new hair color as of today. (Compare her usual look below in the photo taken yesterday.)

Mark Thallander, Peggy's Amazing Friend

Peggy, her mom and I went to King's Way United Methodist Church today for a concert by Peggy's childhood friend, Mark Thallander. Mark is a world-class organist who lost his left arm in a car accident. He taught himself to play with one hand and two feet. His life and his music are inspiring. It was great to get to visit with him briefly. The sanctuary was full and he was inundated by people after the program. His CD table was extremely busy.

Mark, it is a blessing to know you. May God continue to give you strength and use you to touch many lives.

Pilot Art's Dog

This is the lovable golden retriever that belongs to Art, who flew us in a light plane from Beaver to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Fairbanks, Alaska

I am working on my Alaska article this weekend for a December issue of TPE. Lots of photos to come. I love Alaska.

My First Flickr Slideshow

All the shots I currently have on Flickr in a slideshow. (Thanks again to Danny Morales.)

More AG Walkers

(l to r): Arlyn Pember (head of Gospel Publishing House), Ken, Harold Sallee (Harold was administrative assistant to General Superintendent Trask; before that he was one of Peggy's favorite people to work with on Convoy of Hopes, when he was in Michigan)

More From the Walk

The Walk passed Hammons Field, home of the Springfield Cardinals.

Walk for Life

A terrific turnout for this year's Walk for Life this morning. It's our Pregnancy Care Center's Annual fundraiser and major community statement. Will write more later.



Scott Harrup (middle) and Kirk Noonan were two of the TPErs that walked.

Rusty and Kathy Jones and Family

Here are a couple new ones from Rusty Jones: "Our family Amy, April ,Katie, Josiah,Hannah"


And here are Rusty and Kathy. This was a very special family to us during our days of pastoring Davis Christian Assembly (DCA).

Last "Chat With Pastors"

I have been privileged to help General Superintendent Thomas E. Trask with his video "Chat With Pastors" for about two years. On September 12 we did the final taping at the Cardone Media Center and this photo was shot, which I will treasure. Tomorrow is Brother Trask's last day as General Superintendent. He has been in that role the entire 10+ years I have been here at Headquarters. I will miss him.

Calling DCA and ACC: Send News and Pix

It's been a while since I've had anything new from DCA or ACC alums. Send something!

Pit River

We had wonderful family reunions here in September 2004 and 2006. Maybe again next September.

Earthquake in Pakistan: My 2006 Report

I recently discovered that AG Relief has a copy of my Jan. 1, 2006 report on the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan on their site with a lot of my photography. I don't usually load my full-sized pictures on the Internet because they are too easy to download and use. However, they have done it so I thought I would point out you can see a whole bunch of my Pakistan shots here. (Though my name is not on the photos, all of the stills are mine.)

Here's how the article begins:

Earthquake

By Ken Horn, 01/01/2006, Today's Pentecostal Evangel, World Missions Edition.

Editor’s note: Managing Editor Ken Horn traveled to Pakistan with a disaster assessment team that included Rick Salvato of HealthCare Ministries and Dave Wenrich of Convoy of Hope International. Following are excerpts from Horn’s journal of the trip.

PAKISTAN is reeling from the blow of a deadly magnitude 7.6 earthquake that killed tens of thousands, flattened whole communities and left millions homeless. The northern Kashmir area of the country has become a vast graveyard, with virtually no sanitation systems or clean drinking water. Millions are at risk of exposure with the advancing winter in the mountainous Himalayan region. We intend to go to the worst hit areas.

Read the whole article on the AG Relief site here.

Happy Birthday, Ellene

This is my sis Ellene. Finally talked to her tonight. Peggy and I had phoned several times, and Ellene had called back once, not connecting. I finally got her tonight and wished her a belated happy birthday.