More on the Pennsylvania trip

On the city bus we met "John", an elderly man who had lived in the Philadelphia area all of his life. My friend Milly sat next to him and they enjoyed a conversation as I listened. John was not saved but he hoped he'd make it to Heaven. When the conversation was on Philly and our choir trip he was a lively communicator but when it took a turn to things eternal John politely let us know he was finished talking and when the bus arrived at our mutual stop he said he was glad to have met us and hoped we enjoyed our trip. When the assistant to the pastor of the Pennsylvania church where we were to sing told John that he could know and not hope of a home in Heaven John didn't answer and bade us goodbye.

We went to Jim's Steaks for lunch. This was supposedly a famous restaurant and known for it's Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I am from the south and I am a staunch, dogmatic, conservative Independent Baptist. I come from a broken home and the main problem in the home was alcoholic drink. Therefore, I have not visited a restaurant that sold alcoholic drink in about 30 years. Down here in the south we usually have a choice. I looked at the beer neon light in the window of Jim's and thought about what to do. I began to pray and look up and down the streets for a McDonald's or some similar place. I asked Bro. Bob ( a Pennsylvanian) if there was not a restaurant near that did not sell alcoholic. He informed that many restaurants open up just to sell beer and sell pizza just so they can be considered a "restaurant". I was a at a dilemma. Had I just had myself to consider I would have politely waited outside and ate back at the motel. Our church covenant does say that we are to abstain from the sale of and the use of alcoholic beverages. I don't like my money (nor money from my church cookbook sales) being used to buy the strong drink that is consumed by the customers. Perhaps our dollars are pulled from the cash register to pay the beer delivery man and the beer from the carton he put into the cooler is consumed by a person who is involved in a fatal car wreck or goes and commits a murder. Yet I know my friends who disagree will say that I shop our local Wal-Mart even though it recently began selling these items. But I still don't like it. Anyway, as we started into the restaurant a drunk man was led out cursing and crying. My 10-year old was hungry and she didn't know of the confused thoughts in my mind. So I went in and we shared a hoagie. As we were leaving she quietly said to me, "Momma, that's the first time I've ever been in a place where people were drinking." To which I replied, "And I hope it's the last time."

Historic Philadelphia was a beautiful place and the security was tight. Our entire purse contents was searched several times.

On Wednesday we went to the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. This was an interesting trip and also a bit boring for my daughters and I. But for the guitar players in our group ( including our youth choir director) it was the favorite day of the trip. We used a borrowed school bus for this trip as our bus was still being repaired by Bro. Fuerst and others. Our school bus read on the side Pemberton Township Schools. We ate at the Hard Wok Cafe on the way back. My first experience in a Chinese restaurant and I liked it. No alcoholic beverages sold either!:) I had General Tso chicken and a Chinese donut. Very good!! I saw many country farms on our way to Nazareth and we even went through a town called Bethlehem.

In the church service that night we had three saved. The ladies of the church served us tacos, salad and desserts after church. The fellowship was sweet. Oh, and I forgot to mention the one fellow in our tour group at the guitar factory who kept falling behind because he was witnessing to the workers. I wish we could have had an F.B. Meyers "revival in the factory" experience.

The men in our group enjoyed a pickin' and grinnin' time in the picking parlor at the factory. They played hymns , etc. Stay tuned for Wed. journal~a visit to Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey , Pennsylvania!!

I mistakenly put a New York city street scene on my last post. That pic is from my daughters' trip a couple of years ago.