Wow, it is August already. The summer has really flown by and I feel like I am trying to catch up to it. So much going on and most of it unexpected. I attended the funeral services for my dear friend Mrs. Willis Pearl Bode this past Saturday. She was 86 and lived a life devoted to serving the community. The past few years have been hard on her with sickness which kept her in a nursing home and very frustrated that she could not get out to help people as she was used to. I met Mrs. bode in 1985 when I had just started traveling with Bob Noble & The Lost Then Found Ministry. Mrs. Bode invited me to join her in Christian Services at both the Mahoning County and Trumbull County Juvenile Justice Centers. She felt that my music would really connect with the youth that were incarcerated. Later she got me and Brian involved with the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers, traveling and doing concerts for those in transition. She would often tell people that I was her adopted daughter and not only was she my "mother'" but also my "manager"...LOL. We had some very good and fruitful times together and I certainly learned a lot from her about commitment, compassion, loyalty, and perseverance. I miss her but have the reassurance that I will see her again one day. Here is the link to her obituary: www.vindy.com/news/tributes/2010/jul/30/willis-pearl-bod/