Love of Smurfs runs in family

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

There's a Smurf drawer in her house.
That's where Patsy Daniel of Temple keeps her Smurfs - all 88 of them.
But on Monday they weren't in the drawer. A sea of blue faces littered her kitchen table.
There was Farmer Smurf, Chainsaw Smurf, Halloween Smurf, Mermaid Smurf and Smurfs with every accessory imaginable.
'They're for the kids,' Ms. Daniel said. 'They love to play with them.'

Fundraiser will benefit study of premature birth

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Mommy goes to the hospital, has her baby and takes him home.
That's generally how it goes unless the baby's born premature.
If that's the case, Mommy's a powerless person sitting on the sidelines as a team of doctors prepares her child for life in an incubator.
That's how it was for Ashley Jones of Robinson, the keynote speaker for the Oct. 23 March of Dimes fundraiser. Her son Braxton weighed 15.2 ounces when he was born.
'He had to stay in the incubator for 3 months,' Mrs. Jones said. 'We took him home Dec. 15, his due date.'
In the first months of her son's life, Mrs. Jones and her husband Luke waited and watched.
'You live hour by hour,' Mrs. Jones said. 'One minute he's doing wonderful, but the next he's taken a step back.'
While he was in the incubator, Braxton couldn't breathe on his own.
'He was on a ventilator, and then he was breathing with treatments like they give for people with sleep apnea,' Mrs. Jones said. 'But then there was a step back, and he was on the ventilator again.'
Those long months proved productive. A bright-eyed, healthy Braxton turned 1 on Sept. 11 - without any sign of having been born premature.
'We were really lucky,' Mrs. Jones said. 'He didn't have any of the heart problems or brain bleeds that are associated with being born premature. Just one eye surgery to fix his sight.'

Jail ministry plans annual banquet: Millionaire will share success story

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Inmates are in jail. They're not dead.
Their spirits are alive and hurting, needing support and care just like anyone else, said Steve Cannon, executive director of J.A.I.L. Ministry - a Christian volunteer group that provides spiritual nurture to area juveniles and the inmates of Bell County Jail.
The weekly J.A.I.L. schedule overflows with activities. Evenings alternate with worship services, Bible studies and one-on-one encouragement sessions.
Man power is no problem. The group routinely welcomes new volunteers.
'But there's always a need for supplies and new Bibles,' Cannon said. 'And a need for funds to pay our administrative costs.'
The J.A.I.L. budget relies on contributions from the community, the bulk of which comes from J.A.I.L.'s annual fund-raising banquet.
This year, the banquet will take place Oct. 28 at the Bell County Expo Center.

Nazarenes celebrate 100 years

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Sunday's a big day for the Nazarenes.
More than 21,000 churches worldwide are planning to celebrate the denomination's centennial.
No matter the church, country or time zone, the celebratory sermon and video will be the same.
'It'll all be coming from the same passages and same scripture,' said Gary Hocker, pastor of the Cove Church of the Nazarene. 'It's the same theme.'
The centennial sermon is entitled 'The Church as a Holy People.' Its author is Jesse Middendorf, the general superintendent of the Nazarene church. A PowerPoint presentation accompanies the sermon, giving pastors the option to refer to animated images for emphasis.
In order to give the celebration service an identity common to all Nazarenes, the General Board of the church has also designated a centennial set of scripture readings and music selections.
The 10-minute video that will play at the centennial services is entitled 'Out of Many One, Out of One Many: The First 100 Years of the Church of the Nazarene.' It highlights the heritage, message and mission of the Nazarene church. A companion video designed for children will be available as well.
Some of the local Nazarene churches have added unique festivity to their individual celebrations of the centennial.

Drawn soldier is safely home

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

The soldier in her picture: 'Did he come home safe?'
Amanda Hoelscher asked that question in 2005. The Temple High School senior remembers the concern she felt for the kind face in her drawing.
'I wanted to know more about him,' Miss Hoelscher said. 'I looked and I looked but never found anything.'
She got her answer three weeks ago. A woman who recognized the soldier as her husband called Miss Hoelscher's art teacher, Barbara Wilson from the Wilson School of Art in Morgan's Point Resort.
'I was surprised, without words,' Ms. Wilson said. 'Her name was Stephanie Edwards, and she wanted to give her compliments to the artist. She said it was wonderful and that it looked exactly like her husband Lucas.'
As the two women chatted, Ms. Wilson learned that Mr. Edwards returned home without injury.
'Then I asked her how she saw the drawing,' Ms. Wilson said. 'And she said it was on the Internet.'
That bit of news dumbfounded Ms. Wilson: 'I had no idea how it got on the Internet. I didn't put it there. Amanda didn't put it there.'
So Ms. Wilson thanked Mrs. Edwards for her call and the compliments. She was eager to call Miss Hoelscher and share the news.
'That was so neat that the soldier's wife called Barb,' Miss Hoelscher said. 'It's exciting as all this is coming together.'

Boy's simple question makes the funnies

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Saying 'Amen' at the end of a prayer isn't common sense to everyone, especially to those of us still learning the way of the big, wide world.
'Why Mom and Dad? Why do you say 'Amen' at the end of the prayer?'
The question came from 8-year-old Isaac Romer of Lorena early this spring.
'He asked it at the end of our prayer meeting,' said Mom, Brandy Romer, adding that prayers are routine in their household.
In response to Isaac's question, Dad (the Telegram's Paul Romer Jr.) offered this explanation: 'It's what you say when you agree with what was said in the prayer.'
But Isaac wasn't satisfied. He wanted to know what people said when they disagreed.
His parents couldn't answer. There was an awkward silence, Mrs. Romer said, until one of the other three children changed the subject.
Silent for the remainder of the evening, Isaac's brain was still pondering the subject. The conclusion he came to was this: 'Awomen.'
'To him, it made perfect sense,' Mrs. Romer said. 'The opposite of men is women.'
Isaac clearly remembers when and why he started asking questions about 'Amen.'
'My sister prayed that I would start liking Barbies,' Isaac said. 'And I don't.'
Come Sept. 21, Isaac's 'Awomen' solution will be the subject of a Pickles comic strip.

Salado artists see silver anniversary

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Dogs howled, and the floor was stained from oil leaks.
That's how it was in the beginning for the Salado Village Artists. Not having a place of their own, they met where they could - in a car garage that had a pair of Dobermans as mascots, in gas stations and in members' homes.
But that was in 1983 when the club was planting its roots. These days, as the club celebrates its 25th anniversary, the Salado artists meet in the refurbished schoolhouse behind the Salado Civic Center.
'Getting the building, that's something we're real proud of,' said Andy Phair, club founder.
Dedicated to the Salado Village Artists in 1994, the barn-like building had once served as a storeroom for the old Salado High School. Dick Goodman of Salado rebuilt the interior with donations from local supporters of the arts.
'But the most important thing to celebrate is that because of us, Salado has an art club,' Ms. Phair said. 'It wasn't like that when I moved here. I came from Austin where I was a member of two art clubs, and when I got here, I was sorely disappointed to find out that there wasn't a single one.'