thanks christy!!

my sister just made my day by sending me this video...




can you imagine how fun that reception would be??

caroline's moring offering

A few years ago my dear friend (and roommate at the time) Amy shared with me this hand-written prayer of one of her students, a little girl named Caroline. I had not read this prayer in awhile, and came across it tonight as I was looking for something else. This is one I had to share.

God bless you Caroline!! May we all be as loving and pure of heart as you are.

thanks travis!

Yesterday I received the following e-mail and photos from my Uncle Bob-- the story is too neat not to share!

Hi everyone. A man named Travis Gregory who lives in Ames, Iowa called Rich Klempay just the other day. He is an airplane history enthusiast had rebuilt Dad's old airplane that he and Uncle's Butch, Andy, and Tom all learned how to fly. Travis even has the airplane's original logbook. That is how he found Rich. By searching Klempay on the Internet. I hope you can open and view the four attached pictures of the plane.

Thank you Travis G. in Ames, Iowa! These pictures are fantastic & Grandpa would be proud, I'm sure, that his plane is flying again!

debt relief for haiti

$1.2 billion in debt relief approved for Haiti

By JENNIFER KAY

MIAMI (AP) — Roughly two-thirds of Haiti's total debt was cancelled Tuesday when three organizations that provide financial assistance to poor countries announced they're forgiving $1.2 billion of what the Caribbean country owes.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said their boards decided this week to end Haiti's separate obligations to the two organizations. The move also triggered previously announced debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank.

As of April, Haiti's debt was more than $1.9 billion, according to the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

"The debt relief will help us invest in growth and poverty reduction programs," Haitian Finance Minister Daniel Dorsainvil said in a statement. "Haiti has demonstrated over the past four to five years that it can commit itself to a menu of reforms and respect this commitment."

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund added Haiti in 2006 to a program that allows poor countries to reduce what they owe by demonstrating progress in financial stewardship.

Haiti met that program's targets by strengthening tax and customs administration, improving the management of public funds, improving spending on poverty reduction and auditing government accounts, World Bank officials said.

The Inter-American Development Bank had said in March 2007 that it would forgive $511 million of Haiti's debt if it completed that program.

Haiti also approved an HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment plan, improved immunization rates, started programs to train teachers and send 50,000 more children to school and improved its spending on education, officials said.

Officials with the organizations congratulated the Haitian government for meeting its debt cancellation targets in a global economic downturn, even after the country struggled with skyrocketing food and fuel prices and the lashing from four tropical storms that killed some 800 people and caused $1 billion in damage.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.