Welcome Jeff & Anna, and family!

I love it when we get visitors here at the Banner office/warehouse in Carlisle, PA, USA. Today, just a few hours ago actually, Beth emailed me that we have a visitor; she knows I like to personally spend some time with anyone interested enough to come. What a blessing I received! I head downstairs to find Jeff and his 4-year old son, Joseph, perusing the "slightly damaged" books on what I jokingly call Banner's "secret shelves." I had such a great conversation with Jeff; eventually his wife, Anna, joined us along with their 2-year old daughter and 1-year old son. We toured the warehouse (Joseph LOVED the packing peanuts!). That's when I learned how this trip had come about for them. Jeff got a call the other day from a good friend stationed in Iraq, or so Jeff thought. You see, a few days ago, Jeff's friend had been shot and was now recuperating at a military hospital nearby. So Jeff and Anna pack up their little ones and drive several hundred miles to show Christ's love to this young man in the military who is not a believer, who they have been praying for. I guess that was yesterday. Then they decided to include a stop at Banner, even though it meant getting a hotel in the area last night instead of heading right home (they don't know me well enough to know that we could have put them up at our house last night instead!). Well, as we said our good-byes, Anna took a picture of Jeff and me near the Banner sign and we bowed and prayed there on the sidewalk in front of our building. And then they left, probably thinking that they were the ones blessed by Banner; but not realizing that, from our perspective, they had been the blessing to us! Grace & peace. Steve.