Members of the Adventures in Missions program are visiting Canadian this week, completing Challenge Week, during which the team completes service projects and assists with ministry at the Canadian Church of Christ. This experience is meant to serve as a “dry run” for the team’s upcoming trip south of the Equator, to Brazil.

Understanding the toils of lacking water in remote and often drought-ridden places like the Texas Panhandle, local rancher Steve Rader hosted Eric Macias as our program today. Eric is a graduate of the CHS class of 2000 and the son of Stanley and Cara Dawn Macias. In the 20 years since Eric left Canadian, he has been quite busy helping to grow the international solar pump company, LORENTZ, of which he is now the chief operating officer.

My husband, Peter, is taking no chances. I knew this about him before I married him. Peter has a plan for everything, and a plan in case the first plan doesn’t pan out. My father would call this “belt-and-suspenders” planning. Peter’s been walking around in a belt and suspenders ever since I’ve known him.

“Don’t give up your landline,” is what we say to each other often in rural West Texas. When there are power outages, high winds, and powerful storms that knock out internet and cellphone service, our landlines are lifelines. Many of us also have old push-button telephones we use when our mobile phones go dead. We connect the vintage beauties to the landline jack, and we’re back in business. That trick may become common practice in the near future.