Author: revkevjr

Today is my parents’ 38th anniversary! I couldn’t have asked for more amazing parents! Thanks for loving each other, being great friends with one another, and demonstrating a committed marriage relationship for all of us to emulate. We love you!

Yesterday we finally enjoyed a much-needed day of sleeping in. We then went for lunch at a Cincinnati favorite, Skyline Chili with an old Bible college buddy, Todd Porter. Todd is a long-time youth pastor who just transitioned into a new role as connections pastor at his church. We had a fun time catching up. We then went for dessert at another Cinci favorite, Graeters. Wow! Their famous black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream was to die for! Incredible! After saying our farewells, Adriana and Natalia went for manicures and pedicures, and I enjoyed some reading in Barnes and Noble. We then went and saw Monsters University – Natalia’s 2nd time. Very cute and enjoyable! For dinner we went out to eat at Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant. A very nice and relaxing day. Claudia is having a blast at Camp Electric!

On Friday night we arrived home from our Georgia Missions Trip. On Saturday evening, at 6:30pm, after Adriana finished work, we loaded the car and hit the road. We drove to Pittsburgh, checked into our hotel at 2am, got 3 hours of sleep, then got up and hit the road again early Sunday morning, driving to Ohio where we dropped Claudia off for Camp Electric at Cedarville University. Adriana almost cried as it felt like we were dropping her off at college (which we will be doing in just 3 short years!). We’re excited for Clau and praying for a great week of not only honing her musical skills, but also of an awesome encounter with God and building friendships.

After saying farewell to Claudia we drove to Cincinnati where Natalia and I went to a Reds game I sent my parents a picture of Natalia at the stadium. Mom then texted her sister Sarah (who used to live in Cincinnati, and now lives in Indianapolis) to tell her that we would be in Cinci for a few days. My Aunt Sarah texted her back saying that, coincidentally, she and my Uncle John were actually in Cincinnati, and were at Great American Ballpark watching the Reds play the Pirates with some of my other distant relatives. WHAT? Yep! We were both at the stadium! We got on the phone with each other and soon I spotted them waving at us just above the 3rd base dugout. I snapped a pictured of them waving at us, and Aunt Sarah said that while she was waving, they actually projected them on the jumbo tron, which we were unable to see as it was above our heads. We met up, and they actually had 2 extra seats, so we went down and sat with them for the rest of the game. Afterward we met up with Adriana and all enjoyed dinner together. So fun! I was wondering, what would the betting odds be that an aunt from Indianaopis and her nephew from New York would wind up in Cincinnati, on the same day, at the same stadium! As my wife put it: Either the world is too small, or the Larkin family is too big. lol!

Yesterday after packing, cleaning, and a quick visit to the bookstore, we were off at 11:30am. We stopped by Chick-Fil-A and had lunch – the first time for many to enjoy the nectar of the chicken gods! There were no seats available, so we had lunch picnic style under the trees. We arrived at the airport right when we were hoping to, returned the rental vans, and got everyone checked in. We discovered that our flight had a 2 hour delay, so that gave us more time together. We got all the kids dinner, and the flight home was smooth. It was neat watching the lightning storms out the windows as we navigated around them. All luggage arrived and everyone was picked up by very happy parents.

See all the trip pics here.

Yesterday morning we loaded up and drove to another women’s rehab center (by the way, yes, these have all been different rehab centers!) to help sort donations and do yard work. We were able to help the ladies out a lot.

We then went to the Tallulah Gorge and hiked down. It was stunningly beautiful! Hard work climbing back up, but well worth it. I told the team that sometimes you have to work hard to see something beautiful! We then drove back to the college, grabbed our swimming gear, and went to the Cannon’s home for dinner, swimming, a concert by the Cannon boys, and a final night of sharing. Of course, we had to make a couple of videos as well. We got home at about 11:30pm and did some initial packing.

This morning we had breakfast then finished packing and cleaning. The team is now in devotions and then we are stopping by the Toccoa Falls College bookstore and heading home. It’s been an incredibly awesome trip! Thanks for your prayers as we travel home today. See you all in just a few more hours!

See all the trip pics here.

I am still wading through 700 pictures from yesterday, so I am only posting a couple of shots. This is what happens when I allow the kids to use the camera. lol!

We had an incredible day. First stop was at The Village – a brand new camp opening next week. We met with the Camp Director and visionary of the camp, Robert Willis. He and his brother Kevin Willis, who is a retired NBA player have a vision of a camp where kids who are at high risk of not being adopted can come and find hope, healing, have fun, learn life skills, and possibly meet their future families. It was unbelievable. We were asked to come out and tour the facilities and pray for Robert and the camp. At first our kids were wondering why we would go all the way out “just to pray”, but we assured them that prayer is powerful and what we were doing was so significant! Our battle is not against flesh and blood; it’s spiritual. We had a wonderful time and it was so great hearing our kids pray.

Next stop was lunch – Tatertot casserole, which Dominic Dantona was especially excited about! It was awesome! We then went to the Toccoa YMCA where we did our dance, several kids shared testimonies, and we played with kids. Everyone of our team members was fully engaged. We then went to an assisted living facility where we visited with probably 10 residents and prayed with them.

We then came back to Toccoa Falls College where we visited the Toccoa Falls (yes, the school owns the falls!). It was stunning and so fun! At one point we turned around and Jim and a bunch of the students had given into the temptation of the water. They went from wading to full on swimming in their clothes. Lots of laughter. Unfortunately, they had missed the “No Swimming” sign, so we had them all get out. Too bad, because it looked so refreshing and fun! After a quick change, we took sack lunches, loaded into the vans, and drove an hour and a half to the Potter’s House Men’s Recovery home where we ministered to 300 men! The team members remaining who had not shared their testimonies did so (ALL of the team members shared their stories on this trip!!!! Way to go!!!!) and did so great! We did our dance and drama, and Jim Owens preached and did a fabulous job!

On the way home we had a real treat. I walked into Bojangles (a chicken restaurant) and told the manager, “Don’t panic…” (I can just imagine what was going through her head: Am I about to get robbed?!) I have 48 people coming in here. BUT, they are not all getting in line. I’m going to make this as simple and as easy as possible for you.” She looked like a deer caught in headlights. I ordered 45 chicken finger meals and 3 grilled chicken meals (for our Glutton free kids), and the staff was so awesome! Our team had a blast! We arrived back at camp at midnight. I dropped the team off then headed to Walmart to get supplies. Got home at 2am, and got to bed at 3am. Very full, very great day!

Pastor Kevin

This gentleman was 100 years old!