Good News - July 2020

Summer is here, but since travel is limited due to COVID-19, Good News Wants to Know... What creative ways have you discovered to re- shape your summer plans? I am very excited because my summer will be filled with writing and recording several new teaching series. I will still visit my mom for her 95th birth- day but this time will drive instead of fly. Only challenge is trying to drive the 16 hours all the way through without stop- ping in order to minimize risk and re- main virus-free for her. Susan Michael, U.S. Director, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem Getting creative, in developing new tools/curriculum for emotional and spir- itual maturity, has been a welcomed way to repurpose so many canceled summer plans. Instead of stressing over life's shifting and shaking, "acceptance with joy" has become my sacrifice of praise and prayer that new levels of peace will pour out onto the teens participating at iDEN- TIFY Impact this summer! I'm praising God that it is not being canceled. Dr. Andrea Hazim, President and Founder, Elev8Life Educational Foundation Agood friend surprised us with a Bounce House. This single gift has changed to trajectory of our Summer plans. Being stuck at home has never been more fun. Bob Denison , President, Denison Yachting Our family has made some positive changes to our summer plans. In lieu of spending time in more crowded surroundings, we have decided to spend more time with the family, on the water. We have also decided against traveling outside of the U.S. in an effort to stay safe and support our local economy as much as possible. #BuyLocal Chip LaMarca , State Representative, Florida House District 93 Our family summers for the last 20 years have been heading to North Carolina to stay at a dear friends home in the Mountains. The blessing it has been to swim, hike, go tubing on the lake, fish, play tons of board games and have nightly camp- fires has been great memories for our family. We actually had the opportunity to be there the last week of May and the high- light was that our oldest son got engaged at a beautiful spot by the lake. It was extra special this year to spend a week with our future daughter-in-law and her in- credible family. The rest of our summer will consist of a lot of baseball games, neighborhood bike rides and plenty of game nights - all while eating a lot of ice cream! Chris Lane, Executive Director, First Priority of South Florida This summer using a lot more of the last letters of the alphabet- X- xtra time indoors (completing projects that could have been done already) V- Virtual activi- ties- Bridal, Baby, Graduations, Drive By/Stop By Parties, Zoom – Bible Study, Worship Service, Summer VBS will be virtual mixed Home Activity Boxes. Golf- ing- because I can get plenty of sunshine, exercise while social distancing. Major Connie Long, The Salvation Army Our family is really spread out. We cover South Florida, Boston, LA, Albu- querque, Phoenix, and Calgary. We rely heavily on air travel to keep the family “close.” Zoom calls and the ability to have 32 people on a FaceTime call have helped us “see” each other, but we're really missing personal contact. While we haven’t settled on a final plan just yet, we're most likely going to do some sort of road trip prior to the fall. Craig Huston, Huston Consulting Group, LLC I can't say I have found a very creative way to reshape our summer because it's probably what most of us will be doing, but we will be having short weekend getaways within our beautiful State. Sometimes just driving a few hours away from home can bring us some much needed relax- ation time. Cynthia J. Arevalo, Esq., Arevalo Law As the sabbatical continues, I plan to stay at a beach house without tv and in- ternet to help me focus on and finish a book about my journey to Jesus. I went from a protesting, liberal hippy while in college to searching the world's religions and cultures in 38 nations and 5 continents for answers to life';s big questions. The true God manifested Himself in saving me physically and spiritually on a mountain climbing expedition inAlaska--that included a grizzly bear encounter and an avalanche. He so transformed my heart, now I'm a right wing conservative. Deborah Cusick, FAUCampus Volunteer, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Nothing can keep us away from visiting our first grandchild (now 4 months) in Dallas, so we have obtained optimal masks and are braving the airport for a non- stop flight to Dallas, recognizing physical distancing and masks are crucial. For the rest of the summer, we are beginning to enjoy our new neighborhood now that unpacking is almost over--the historic Flamingo Park neighborhood is filled with walkers and we can sit on our front porch and say hello while staying far enough away to be safe. Dr. Debra A. Schwinn, President, Palm Beach Atlantic University We have plans to begin some minor house repairs we keep putting off. And, we decided to read some chosen books together out loud, and our millennial kids are teaching us to play Zoom games so we can spread the fun to other friends out of the area. Also, we are starting some zoom conversations with friends we haven't spoken to in some time, about current affairs. Dolores King St.-George, President, King Communications and GraceNet Media Since so many business events and conferences have been cancelled it is going to be a good summer to remodel our home and explore some new Florida boating destinations. Don Campion, President, Banyan Air Service What plans? Doug Sauder, Pastor, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale I bought myself an inexpensive keyboard and decided that, since I'm home so much, I will take piano lessons from the teacher, "YouTube." I've been doing this for the last two months and have finally figured out how to turn on the key- board. Progress! Fidel Gomez, Pastor, Calvary Chapel Hollywood Wants to Know… Susan Michael Dr. Andrea Hazim Bob Denison Chip LaMarca Chris Lane Major Connie Long Craig Huston