Vlog Day 28 - St. Augustine

The title today refers not to the saint who penned the well-read 'Confessions', but rather to the oldest city in the US (which happens to bear his name). St Augustine (just south of Jacksonville, FL) was founded by Spain to protect its interests in the West Indies, and their fort, San Marcos, was never taken by force, only by treaty. We drove there today from Micanopy (the second city in Florida) on a gorgeous spring day. Spring has truly arrived here in Florida, though some would say it never leaves.
St. Augustine is also the home of Flagler College, which remembers Henry Flagler, a magnate of the early 1900s who (like his contemporaries the Rockefellers) built a lot of buildings and bequeathed a lot of money for the benefit of posterity. The college is a small liberal arts college that has a strong deaf education major.
On the way back to Ormond Beach, along A1A, we took a detour through the Tacoma swamp to visit the oldest Live Oak tree in Florida. This tree is huge and is over 2,000 year old! It's a pretty amazing sight.

Vlog Day 27 - Micanopy Fellowship

It rained a bunch last night, which folks around here say is needed - they've been waiting for rain a long time. Woke up to damp surroundings, but with the sun up it was a gorgeous day. I went to church with Warren, Mike and co. at Micanopy Fellowship - today was sharing Sunday, so I shared a couple of my songs (The Problem and I Am Not a Thief) and was blessed by other people's testimonies. Particularly Lenora's - she has an incredible story of how God brought her out of abuse and drugs, and is now working with Teen Challenge in Lakeland, helping others find hope and joy in Christ. Other people's stories were also powerful, with one family in the church having lost two children in a recent car accident, their third is now in the hospital slowly recovering.
We then shared lunch together - potluck and conversation, and afterwards Warren and I visited Hunter in the hospital. I was able to sing one of my parents scripture songs to encourage Hunter and her family, sans guitar. We went back to Mike's and rested, and then set up at the fellowship in the evening for the concert. You can see/hear Chasing Shadows in the video below. People were really responsive and encouraging, and as they prayed for me afterwards I could sense the Spirit of God in this place, among these people.