On August 15 we hit the road again for our last 'road trip' of the summer. Our first destination was Wilmore, but we had a few meet-ups on the way down. The first for lunch in Indianapolis with a potential colleague considering joining us in Albania, the second (below) with my former college roommate, Lindsay, and her mother, Sandra.
We had a lot packed into our stay in Wilmore. A lot of what we did I've lost photos of when my memory card corrupted :-( Reni had a "rough fit" in his new stubbies/boots. He was also fit for a new stroller. His current Bob stroller (which will be five years old in December) has served us all very well, however the reality is that Reni has outgrown it -- he is too tall for the canopy, and the tires have been patched and repatched, and repatched some more. Our thought was that a wheelchair was next on the horizon for him, but we learned that any wheelchair his size would be too small for us to push, so Shriners recommended a new stroller. I can't wait to show photos of it when it comes! The back height is adjustable, and can accommodate his weight PLUS eighty additional pounds. Additionally, the tires are solid so we won't have to worry about carrying an air compressor with us everywhere we go. They also swivel so pushing Reni through shops will be infinitely easier (his current model has a fixed wheel so turning it is a bear). I'm sure there will be features from his old stroller that we will miss, but we are grateful for this new set of wheels coming soon!
Our visit to Kentucky was scheduled around a couple of events -- one of which was a missions emphasis meeting at our home church. One evening while I was sharing with a group of women, Nathan took the kids to Asbury's activities fair.
Of course we had to stop by the WGM table! :-) But then Ellie discovered that she could 'sign up' to be an Asbury student at the Admissions tent. She was beyond thrilled. And she got a color changing plastic cup for her time. :-)
Our friends the Santors came up from Toccoa to take their daughter on an official campus visit... then they hung around an extra day and a half to spend some time with us! After Nathan shared at a men's breakfast event Saturday morning, we went to Herrodsburg and visited Ft. Herrod (a first for our family, believe it or not)! The kids were taken with the re-enactors who modeled gun-making, weaving, and iron-smithing (?). We tried to have a picnic lunch on a grassy field but were chased away by a nest of small-but-aggressive snakes! My thoughts went to the pioneers who lived in the fort located not too many yards away and once again thanked the Lord that I was born in these present days. :-)
Sunday morning Nathan was privileged with the opportunity to deliver the message at both services of our home church, First Alliance. We were attended for 14 years before we left for Albania and continue to have many, many dear friends in that congregation. The church blessed our socks off the whole weekend leaving us with gifts including a box of scripture promises and prayers and a stack of encouragement notes we will take back to Albania and read in those moments we need them. Again, no photos (sniff, sniff).
Sunday evening we shared at the kick-off Global Cafe...
One thing I realized is that I will always and forever be connected to the WGM student center at Asbury. I have cleaned every corner of that building, raked leaves, shoveled sidewalks, changed its hundreds of light bulbs, and left little bits of ourselves in the transplanted bulbs of day lilies and hostas. It was our first home as a married couple, then later as a family of four. We have thirteen years of memories there. Imagine our joy when we were joined that Sunday evening by two other sets of couples who have shared the same role/apartment/home and the new directors as they were 'inaugurated.' We were only missing the Browns (whom we bumped into earlier that morning at church before they went home to Tennessee).
How fun it was to see Kiki and Kelsey! Two former Asburians who came to work with us on a team in 2014.
The next day was "eclipse day", and we were excited to see what 95% total coverage looked like. It turns out that 5% of the sun is still quite bright! (though the crickets did start chirping). Our friends the Kinnells had us over for lunch and shared their much-sought-after eclipse glasses with us.
Monday evening some sweet, generous friends hosted a cook out for us at their home, complete with pool party. Sadly, I have no photos of this event but we had a really, really nice time catching up with old friends and sharing, many whom we hadn't gotten to see during our first visit.
Finally, our last day in Kentucky was spent in the less glamorous task of turning over our duplex to new tenants. In 2005 we purchased a rental property in Wilmore. We have never lived in a traditional home but someone encouraged us to build some equity and told us about a particular property for sale. 8 months later we started the process to adopt from Albania and discovered that owning a property was one of Albania's prerequisites. We knew at that moment that God's hand had been directing us to buy the duplex in order that we would be eligible. Over the years we have enjoyed making improvements to the property as we have had time and resources, but since leaving Kentucky five years ago, we haven't been in town in between tenants. This time we were turning it over not just one, but both sides. We put in some elbow grease and replaced some air filters and broken odds and ends. It was a great opportunity to share the story with the kids about how God was working in all of our lives to bring our family together!
Next up: VERMONT!
