Awhile back Doris invited us over to her place.  The landlord had been doing a lot of work on her little apartment and she wanted us to come and see the finished product.  We were amazed at how nice her place was.  She's located right in the middle of a bustling neighborhood.  There are all sorts of little stores within easy walking distance from her.  In fact she steps out her gate right at the intersection of two neighborhood streets.  Amazingly, her church is right next door to her place.  We teasingly told her she probably sleeps in on Sunday morning until the opening song wakes her up.  Then hastily dresses, grabs her Bible, dashes next door, and arrives before the song is finished!  She's part of the leadership team at her church, so she doesn't actually do that, but she could if she wanted to. 

Her front gate opens onto a smallish, but nicely tiled patio.  She's conveniently hung cloths lines there.  And her own private bathroom (no modern plumbing) is in a closed in corner of the patio.  Next we went into the apartment itself.  We hadn't expected such a good sized living room/dining room combination.  There's a long hallway with her kind of large bedroom off of it.  She's turned the hallway space on the other side of her bedroom into a simple kitchen.  It's cozy, compact, and handy.  

Doris had prepared a tasty meal for us.  We were five around her table.  She was so excited to have her boss come to dinner.  She went all out with a beautifully laid out table.  Doris is the on our Team who has taken to my napkin folding instructions.  

We had a grand time talking and laughing while we enjoyed her good cooking.  Then Papa Jim asked if there were any left-over maintenance jobs he could help her with.  And so he ended up spending the rest of the afternoon repairing her front door so it would lock properly.  She was pretty grateful to have a boss who doubles as a father for her.  She never knew her father and never knew the love of a father.  Not until God brought her to us over four years ago, that is.  She tells everybody that Papa Jim and Mama Alice are the parents that God gave to her.  We're real proud of how our daughter has turned out.  She's a continual blessing to us.