A Weekend with Mr. Moll

The last weekend of September we were blessed with a special visit from our dear friend Lawrence Moll from Fargo, ND. We had only seen him once since moving, briefly at church one weekend we were back in town; therefore it was wonderful to be able to catch up with him.

Arriving early Friday afternoon, Mr. Moll spent no time sitting about - he was immediately off with the kids touring the house and yard, then practicing a song on the guitar with Elliot to welcome Mike home with, followed by some target practice with the BB gun in the back yard! Then it was time to get ready for the Sabbath, which we welcomed in with a supper of soup, bread and song. (Mr. Moll was thoughtful enough to bring us several varieties of bread from Great Harvest bakery which everyone loved. We sooo miss that place!)

Sabbath morning we were all off to church where Lawrence was kind enough to share his musical talents with our church during the service. Many who were there shared with us how much they enjoyed his song. After a lovely Sabbath afternoon, we closed the Sabbath with prayer and song once more. The kids played piano or guitar while we all sang. It was such a blessing to share that time together.

That evening Mike & Lawrence had fun with a rousing game of cribbage, then I joined them in watching my favorite version of Pride & Prejudice (the 5 hour long one I blogged about this spring). Anyway, it seems Mr. Moll had read that blog entry, and his curiosity lead him to explore the film on his own - turns out I think he loves it more than me! So of course, we had to introduce it to Mike who had yet to watch it!!!

The next morning we were up early to head off to a pancake breakfast at the church. Since it was a fundraiser for the Pathfinder group, Christopher & Elliot had to make pancakes, collect money, etc. Turns out they were the only Pathfinders who showed up to work that day, so they were kept quite busy. The breakfast was a success, and Lawrence was also able to see some other friends who had moved from the Fargo-Moorhead area as well who were in town, and had arrived at the breakfast.

Last agenda item before heading home was a tour of Brainerd to see the college, the camp the church owns (located in a beautiful forest area), and see the Mississippi River up close.

It was sad to see Mr. Moll leave that day since we had such a wonderful time with him - the house was filled with music during his stay, as well as good conversation. He was so considerate of & encouraging towards the kids; giving them so much of his time - which they very much enjoyed. He spoiled us all a bit too much with parting gifts though, but everyone of them is greatly appreciated since they remind us of him frequently. We are hoping he returns for another visit soon... until then we'll just keep thinking about that hearty laugh accompanied by the twinkle in his eye whenever Ruby said, "wwwightning and funder"!

Plus each day we are reminded of him by little Ruby who strolls about the house singing what she calls "Mr. Moll's song"... Heaven Came Down. It always makes me smile.