congregational care at St. Charles Presbyterian Church.

Among the things lost in the fire is an extensive Christmas-ornament collection that she and her late husband, Dan, assembled in their travels together. Newcomb also lost her computer and the pastoral library in her home office. Her son, Keith, lost the 1975 Corvette he had spent two years restoring. It was the only vehicle in the garage.

Asked why she decided to stay, Newcomb replied, "I can't be in a better place."

"Someone from Giddings-Lovejoy (her presbytery) comes by every two hours or so to see how I'm doing," she said, adding that many people are praying for her and the presbytery is already lining up furniture and household goods for her temporary use.

She hesitates to say she is an optimist, but admits to being "faith-filled." She said she's had some trouble sleeping, but sings hymns to herself ("I can't carry a tune in a bucket"), working her way through the alphabet, A to Z. One night, she said, she also prayed her way through the alphabet before dropping off to sleep.

"I've wished I could have my laundry room on the main floor," she quipped. "Now I can do that. My daughter Kristi said, 'Gee, Mom, you can go on a four-month shopping spree!'"

Newcomb says she'll live for a while in a hotel, then move to a short-term rental home. She said she's going to forgo a planned trip to the Youth Triennium, where she was going to again work selling the presbytery's Peruvian crafts, as she has done at the assembly. She still plans to go to the hunger program's international conference in Tacoma, WA, in three weeks.

She said she expects to shed tears when she sees what is left of her home, but for now she has found reason to smile - and to carry on with the work that is her passion.