It's been a long, but great, day.  We had our usual Fourth of July celebration today, and we had a mob of people.  In all, I think we had 37 visitors.  Things started around 1 o'clock, and there are still people here. We had lots of hamburgers and hot-dogs, plus each family brought a side dish, and a few brought dessert.  But the best part of all was the ice cream! Saturday, Judah and I found out that we had no ice cream, and mother wasn't going to buy any.  So we all pooled our money and bought 5 containers.  We figured it would be enough.  Well Mother forgot we did that, and asked two other families to bring some.  And they both brought a lot, so we have enough ice cream for weeks!!!!
    Besides that, we played Frisbee, and when that got totally, unbearably hot, we all came inside to the air conditioning.  The boys went up to Judah's room, (of course,) and Susanna's room was cram packed with the girls.  Patrick and Georgina brought Cheyenne, our dog, Champ's mom, with them, and Abigail and I spent the better part of the evening brushing, bathing and drying her.  Believe it or not, that was the funnest thing I've done all day.  One of Judah's friends brought tons of Dixie Snaps, those little white things you throw on the ground and they snap, for the kids, so we spent a while lighting black snakes, (very neat!!!!!) smoke bombs, and crackle balls while we threw Dixie Snaps.  Later, we're going to be doing some fireworks.
    I tried calling you yesterday, then realized you were gone.  Mr. Motes preached an amazing, highly suitable July 4th sermon.  He talked about the undisputable fact that this was founded as a Christian nation.  He also talked about how, throughout history, Christian nations have been severely punished for backsliding, and that he believes the punishment of America has already begun.  And then, for the evening sermon, he spoke on our duty to get involved in politics.  He said that, in his Bible, Christians do not sit back and watch evil happen while their rights are pulled away.  And he gave out websites that tell you what's going on, addresses to write your representative, ways to keep informed.  It was truly amazing.
   
Sincerely yours,
Sarah E. Kocher
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
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