Saturday, April 17, 2010

A Call from the Space Station!

On Friday April 9 our phone rang at 6am. I answered it and heard, "This is Jim!" My response, "You're kidding!" Who knew we could get a phone call from space?????!!!? We talked for about ten minutes. He was so overwhelmed with the beauty of our planet from space and shared his astonishment. Steve asked, "What's weightlessness like?" and he shared that experience. Finally, he affirmed the value of our friendship, which meant much to us. It was one of the highlights of our lives!
Here they all are on the space station. Jim is almost at 12:00 (upside down). They undock today and return to earth on Monday.

STS-131 Launches


On April 5 our good friend, Jim Dutton, launched into orbit in Discovery STS-131. We were the recipients of VIP passes to watch the launch. We traveled to Florida to be there.
While in Florida we celebrated Faith's  (April 5)and Steven's birthday (March 29) at a picnic on Patrick Air Force Base with Jim's family and others from the test pilot world of Edwards Air Force Base, home of Air Force flight test.
On Easter Sunday we went to a sunrise service on the beach. Jesus Christ has risen indeed!
Later that morning we attended a special mission briefing at the Kennedy Space Center with our friends the Marcolescos. We also viewed an IMAX film on the Hubble Space telescope (highly recommended!).
The IMAX was in 3-D!!!



Then the biggest moment came! At 1am on Monday morning we packed up all of our children and headed to the launch. 5....4....3....2....1....BlastOff!
It was a spectacular display of power (but only a fraction of the power we'll experience on the Day of the Lord...it was awesome to ponder). What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!


 That afternoon we attended a reception for Jim's friends and family at a planetarium where we viewed a video Jim had made recounting his journey. His closing line was, "All of this points to a greater reality: God wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Thank you, Duttons, for allowing us to share in your dream and joy!