I've been a busy little piano-player for Jesus lately. In May I made it to Seattle to play in several of our churches there and enjoyed staying with my son Chad and his family. The big star of this outfit is my grandson Van who is six and has a radical skate/bike helmet. As you can see... This trip was notable for many joyful experiences, especially playing for our Vietnamese church in Boise Idaho, and once again at our new mission church, The Vine, meeting at a hotel near my old hometown Coeur d'Alene in north Idaho. I played at a couple of new churches for me: Peace in Shenandoah Iowa, Living Hope in Omaha, and St Paul's at Plymouth Nebraska. I've been keeping a running tally and this brings the total notches on my guitar case to 776. God has amazingly blessed my dream of singing in our churches instead of bars and casinos. Last weekend I sang for Pastor Mark Porinsky's "40 years in the ministry Anniversary" at Faith in Dexter Michigan (June 24th this year). I played for a special worship service for him attended by many of his friends and family including his daughter Becca who came from Germany to join the fun. Pastor Mark is a special guy, beloved by his flock. He's never served anywhere else! During the concert that followed the celebratory meal, he sang a couple of his own compositions with me and stole the show! No problem, what a treat for me. June 16th marks 12 years of this wonderful musical journey for me My first concert ever was at Christ the Lord in Houston, June 16th 2006. I was equally excited and terrified as I recall. I'm still excited, but not that scared anymore and extremely grateful to be given the gift of something to do in life which is a dream come true: I get to use my best gift (music) to serve what I love the most! (Jesus) Here's some facts and figures: I've played in 776 different WELS and ELS churches in 41 states over the last 12 years. I've driven about 630,000 miles, worn out 3 cars and am making good progress on car number 4. I've played about 2800 different worship services, evening concerts, ladies retreats, old folks homes, school concerts, Builders For Christ events, VBS and 28 different prison concerts. I am having the time of my life! I love to travel and get back together with friends and meet new brothers and sisters in Jesus. I am a most blessed piano-player. I've recorded 8 different CDs and written many songs.I've been mightily helped in this by my dear friend, Jayne Nitz of Sanford Michigan, my song-writing partner and a grandmother of three. Jayne usually works in the studio with me when I record and has written many songs loved by folks around the country such as "What Were You Thinking?," "Forgive Me," and others. Jayne and I will work together again this August to record my 2nd hymn CD at Alex Bennet's studio in Milwaukee.