Photos of Oregon

There were three reasons for my trip out to the Oregon coast. One was to show George the beautiful lush, green State that is full of rivers and miles of oceanfront. The other two reasons were for me to reconnect with one of my mom's siblings and meet another for the very first time.

Aunt Bonnie (Osborne) Weyrick and me

On Thursday, I finally got the chance to meet my mom's half-sister, Bonnie, and we hit it off right from the start. Although we've only been communicating via Facebook for the last couple of years, a feeling of relaxed familiarity was immediately evident. We met for lunch and a tour around town and on Sunday I attended the church where she and her husband, Ed, serve as Pentecostal Ministers. This coming Sunday will be their last sermon as they are retiring after 55 years of ministering.

Their work in the church has taken them as far as Nairobi, Kenya where they preached and taught school. Both learned Swahili, which was a monumental task, in and of itself and my cousin, Aleta, was even born in Nairobi.

Bonnie and Ed

The outside of Grace Fellowship Church

It was nice to be able to hear my aunt play songs on the piano that she has written, while the small congregation sang along. Her sermon was about "Remnants." She explained how a small piece of cloth, a remnant, was so vital and important. Her example was a remnant of cloth that had been used in a beautifully, hand-crafted quilt. Without that remnant, the quilt would have lacked a certain color and pattern that made it special. She went on to explain that we are all remnants, but within our faith and family, we become needed, useful, necessary and beautiful.

I've been learning a lot about my aunt. For one, Bonnie is left-handed, like my mother and me, she enjoys baking like my mom did, and she has a love for writing, as do I. We both seem to to have a deep need to look for those little connections and similarities.

I did feel a bit like a remnant when I arrived in Oregon, but will leave feeling necessary to a group of relatives I had never met or known before. I am finally a small piece of a quilt made up of my mother's relatives. As fortunate as I was to know the warmth and comfort from my father's family, the loss of my mom caused a cavernous "emptiness" for so many years and this visit has helped to fill a tiny portion of that void.

On Thursday, we plan to get together for a mini family reunion, pre-retirement and farewell at Bonnie and Ed's home. Two of Bonnie's daughters will be there with their children and spouses. I'll be bringing over the fixin's for a homemade Italian meal of meatballs and "gravy" and a couple of local fruit pies for dessert, and best of all, I'll get to meet more pieces of the quilt.

A get-together with my Uncle Tom looks like it will not come to fruition. His wife, Joyce was hospitalized about two hours away. She was just released today, so with time ticking down, it doesn't look like we will have the opportunity to see one another, which is disappointing, but I'm happy to know she's doing better.

Deep thought for the day:

Miriam-Webster's Definition of Remnant:

1 a : a usually small part, member, or trace remaining b : a small surviving group —often used in plural

I am a remnant....I'm a small part and a remaining trace. I am a remnant...I'm a small member of a small surviving group. ~ vc