What does a Not Normal family do on Christmas Day?

Yes, it was about 16 years ago we met Rev. David Lyons and his NOT NORMAL wife, Lori!  Pastor Lyons did his vicarage year at the world famous Zion Lutheran Church at Denison, Iowa under the careful and watchful eye of the Honorable Missionary Pastor Kurt Kaiser.

As soon as Old Missionary Gary met the Lyons Family, he knew immediately that they were NOT NORMAL people!  They were special and the Lord had great plans for them.  Yes, Pastor Lyons came over and helped with the repair and reconstruction of the old farm buildings that became Mission Central.  Working with Pastor Kurt Kaiser and the Honorable Missionary Pastor Merle F. Mahnken from Schleswig, Iowa…here at this reconstruction project, Pastor Lyons got the “mission disease”…and from that point on, the Lyons Family was such a great supporter for the work of Missions done here at the Lord’s Mission Central.

This year something very, very, very special happened!  Because of the amount of activity and the very heavy schedule, Old Missionary Gary, didn’t get the leaves raked at Mission Central, and then the snow came and the leaves were still laying on the lawn at Mission Central.  How would there be time to get the leaves raked and to carry on the work in the office…???

A call was received that the NOT NORMAL Lyons family wanted to do a special CHRISTMAS DAY PROJECT at Mission Central.  They wanted to involve the entire family, the children and grandchildren and mom and dad, and to do something at Mission Central on CHRISTMAS DAY the 25th of December 2018!  Would they be willing to rake the huge amount of leaves that were still laying there on the lawn???  YES, YES, that was their CHRISTMAS MISSION PROJECT….!!!  What a blessing and answer to a problem that was “bothering” old Missionary Gary….

In lieu of laying around and eating, and taking it easy, this NOT NORMAL family descended on Mission Central and worked all afternoon like slaves, raking, hauling, unloading, loading and raking some more!

Here in the 4 photos you see this entire family in front of the famous Mission Central sign, and using the PUG that was a special gift from the dear Schulze Family,  to unload leaves, and even the grandchildren got involved in the raking…..!!!!  It was indeed a special day, and one that we will never, never forget.  WHAT A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR MISSION CENTRAL!!  Only NOT NORMAL people would spend the day in this way on Christmas Day!!

That’s why we can go day after day here at Mission Central, because the Lord put folks like the Lyons Family in our path in this journey we call life!