Road Trip, Part 2!

We're back with more photos from our October homeland ministry trip!

On Monday we visited my 2nd cousin, Rebecca, and her family.  Ellie and Ruby hit it off right off the bat.  Thank goodness for cell phone cameras to catch the impromptu moments!

While Reni napped, Michael tried his best to join in with the girls, but in spite of what the photo above would indicate, he was pretty unsuccessful.

(below) Rachel, Rebecca's youngest sibling, is living with Nick and Rebecca and the kids while Rachel finishes out some schooling.  It was a pleasant surprise to see her (in my defense, we didn't have our usual family reunion this past summer to catch up on news like that)!  Rachel and I tried to give Rebecca a hand at making homemade buns for a church luncheon the next day.  Let's just say they didn't win any prizes for uniformity in size or shape but thankfully Rebecca didn't seem to mind!

Reni has been a great traveler, happy so long as there is an ample supply of toys with wheels.  Really, both kids have been fantastic travelers, enjoying the new people they have met and as well as seeing old friends.

 I know I look old here!  Blame it on no make-up.

While in Grand Rapids we parked our RV at the home of the Eernisses.  Sharon used to work at Bethany (our adoption agency) and was a huge help to us while we were making our travel and court arrangements for Ellie's adoption back in 2006. On top of that, Roger has traveled to Albania to help on a construction project at the Bethany orphanage, so he knows of whence we speak when we talk about Albania! Even though Sharon is no longer at Bethany, we've kept in touch over the years with them having visited us in Kentucky in 2007, and us staying at their home for a Bethany adoption event several summers ago.  Ellie is a big fan of their two dogs and Reni was a big fan of Roger's train table.  The gift of the Lego cement mixer truck didn't influence Reni's feelings toward Roger either.  Ahem.

Tuesday morning we made one more stop on our way out of Michigan and I sadly have no photos to share from this meeting (unless photos of sockets and prosthetic legs count).  We were able to meet in person a mom I've only corresponded with via Facebook and e-mail until then!  Her oldest daughter, Ella (10), is a bilateral amputee like Reni.  While we didn't get to meet Ella because she was at school, we did get to have a wonderful conversation with her mom, seeing Ella's various prosthetics, hearing about her treatment and care over the years, and viewing first hand some modifications they made in their home to make life a bit easier for Ella.  It was really, really nice to have made that connection (especially in light of the fact that we're meeting with Reni's Shriner's team in the morning).  I have a feeling our paths will cross again!

We grabbed some lunch then said goodbye to Michigan as we started our trek down to Wilmore.  We were glad to pull of the interstate just as it was getting dark to stay with Nathan's cousin Tim, his wife Marty, and their daughter, Tessa, in south central Indiana.  It was Tessa and Marty's fall break week so though we were sad that our visit with Tim was rather brief as he had to leave for work quite early), we did enjoy a nice visit over breakfast with Marty and Tessa in the morning.

Now we are back in Kentucky for a few days!  Our schedule is pretty full, but it feels good to be productive.  We're grateful for some more speaking opportunities, as well as chances to make some more personal connections with individuals while we are back "home", as our kids call it.  Right now though "home" is a bit of a nebulous idea...

Michigan Photos, Part 1

It's been a busy, busy time since we left Illinois with no time on the computer!  Here is a first batch of photos from our first days away!

Since we last blogged, soybeans were picked! 

On Thursday morning, we pulled out bright and early for Michigan...

A couple of hours from our destination on Thursday afternoon we found out that sickness had hit the friends were supposed to visit.  We immediately pulled off the interstate to strategize about how best to make use of our time and discovered that we recognized the town in which we had found ourselves.  A few text messages later, we had new plans for dinner with some Asbury friends, the Aukermans.  Ellie asked, "Do they have dogs?"  Reni asked, "Do they have kids?"  They were pleased on both counts!

You can see Reni no longer will stay put for a photo unless he's in arms!

Thanks, Adam and Sarah, for being such gracious, spur-of-the-moment, hosts!

The Aukermans live just a couple of miles from Lake Michigan, so we surprised the kids with a trip to see the Lake.  They were thrilled, in spite of the cold.  And we were glad for them to get some energy out before we got on the road again.

The kiddos like my bed, and are getting a jump start on devotions.

Nathan's making hot chocolate on the stove top -- a special treat on a chilly night! The RV has kept us cozy at night.

On Friday night we made our way to the central part of the state for our friend Meredith's wedding.  She made arrangements for us to park and hook up at her church.  The set up was perfect.

Sunday morning after the wedding, we were pleased to attend church with them and Nathan shared a word about what we're going to be doing in Albania.

Sunday before church we were invited to enjoy breakfast at a local B&B with the bride's parents and grandparents.

Reni requested this photo with a Santa ornament he found and liked.

After church we made our way back west again to Grand Rapids where we had supper with the Baron family.  Katie and I have been corresponding for almost four years but have never had the opportunity to meet in person before!  One of their daughters was adopted from Albania.  I'll let you try to guess which one!

Once again, Ellie found a canine friend that she effectively wore out.

We're in Michigan for another day and then off to Kentucky!

MBM: Trial Run

Did she work?  Did we get out of the driveway or stranded on the side of the road? Did we freeze to pieces overnight?

1st Trip!  Gigi and Gjyshe came by to send us off...

We have shared before here on the blog (as well as in our recent newsletter) about the fact that God has blessed our family with a small RV for our year of Homeland Ministry travels as we share about our call to Albania.  And the more we reflect upon it, we truly stand amazed at the provision.  At first, I thought we would enjoy such a luxury if someone loaned us theirs or if someone just decided we were so amazing they wanted to give us one! (ha!)  But really, I don't know that we would have seen God's had as clearly in either of those situations.  

Our "Vera" (as we call her) was sitting in my parents' small town, at the end of a dead-end street they don't recall ever driving on before!  The owners had not advertised her on Craigs List nor in the paper and the tiny 'for sale' sign was barely visible from the street.  It took us nearly a month to decide to go ahead and buy her because after all, who buys a nearly 30-year-old RV for less than most old used cars to travel across country with their young children?  But we had her checked out and we couldn't find anything wrong with her, other than needing a new fuel pump and repairing the AC.  On top of that, she had a quality, diesel engine that had only accumulated about a quarter of the miles similar engines would run in a lifetime. She had lots of life still left in her! As you know, in spite of taking our time, she was still available.  And as far as we know, we were the only interested buyers!

Over the course of the past several weeks, Nathan and Jim have installed a back-up camera and a large toolbox on the hitch to store things like a grill, lawn chairs, Reni's stroller, and an extra propane tank.  We've been so busy though, we haven't had time to take her out for an overnight test.  Given that we would be embarking on a big trip in October, we decided last weekend was our last chance to perform our trial run. 

We wanted to see what might be needed to stock her cabinets with what we would need, and to test the process of staying in a campground, hooking her up and all (we're not very experienced campers here).  Dad recommended we visit Lincoln's New Salem Village as they have a really nice campground on site.

We drove about 45 minutes south, and decided to visit New Salem village before setting up camp.  One of the things we appreciate about Vera is that she fits in most parking spaces!  The weather was gorgeous and the kids enjoyed checking out the log structures even more than I imagined they might.  (Click here to read more about New Salem, Lincoln's first home away from family where he lived about 8 years before moving on to Springfield to pursue law).  It's a really unique place that we recommend to anyone visiting central Illinois that appreciates Lincoln history!

We finished our tour around closing time, ready for supper.  We easily found the campground and selected a site.  The kids made a beeline for the swingset while Nathan set up our portable grill and cooked burgers.  Nathan and I traded kid duty and I made vegetables in the microwave and set the table for supper.  Afterwards we enjoyed hot chocolate and disappointed the kids only in the fact that we didn't build a campfire (I wasn't keen on smelling up the inside of our camper with the aroma of smoke).

The kids are watching a DVD on the laptop.

We were AMAZED.  EVERYTHING WORKED!  The microwave, the hot water heater, the AC, the heat, the gas oven, the lights (even in the closets!), the fold-down table, the fridge and freezer.  IT.ALL.WORKED!!!!  It appears that we bought a quality RV that was originally purchased with nearly all the amenities available in 1985 (the fridge is new 2011).  The low mileage and obvious care by the previous owners meant that we are enjoying a very nice 'house on wheels'.  I even like the beige and mauve interior!  Nathan and I have roomy beds.  The kids are sharing the 'nest' over the drivers compartment with ample space.  It's the absolute perfect size for our size family.  Not too big, not too small!  Should we have been surprised at anything less when it's from God?  Even today as we start loading all of our supplies for our big trip (display table, camera equipment, home school materials, bedding, and groceries), it appears it will all fit! Amazing!!!

Tomorrow we finish packing her up and Thursday morning bright and early we hit the road for Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky!  We'll try our best to document our travel log here!  Thanks for your prayers!

Crosswalk

(bottom left:  our new display!)

We've been thankful that since landing back in Central Illinois, we had a church to call 'home' during the weekends we are in town.  Steve (Nathan's brother) pastors a growing flock at Crosswalk Fellowship in Delavan (IL) and they graciously allowed Nathan to share the morning sermon on Sunday!  A very pleasant surprise that morning was a visit from one of my dear high school friends, Gretchen, along with two of her children.  I had shared on our Facebook group page that we'd be sharing at Crosswalk and don't you know, she read it and made the effort to come!  I'm still feeling warm fuzzies from that!  Thank you, Gretchen!  I'm kicking myself for not getting my photo with you!

If you live in Central Illinois and we haven't had a chance to get together, later this fall we hope to host a coffee and culture night at Common Ground in Delavan to share more specifics about the ministries into which we'll be throwing ourselves in Albania.  Turkish coffee is a diet staple and we'll be brewing some up -- we'll keep you posted as to the date and time when it's determined!  We'd love to see you!

We're blessed by wonderful worship at Crosswalk.  That's our sister-in-law, Rachel, on the violin.  On the keyboard is my friend Diana (she and Rachel were two of the three musicians at our wedding, btw), who was my piano teacher for a season, but became a good friend ...

 Following church we enjoyed lunch at a friend's home.  Their family has a son adopted from Albania and he and Ellie share some amusingly unique qualities. It was fun to see how well they got along!

I wanted to follow up on my post last week about homeschooling Ellie.  The afternoon after I posted it, Ellie provided some of THE BEST handwriting I've ever seen her complete.  What an encouragement!!!  Then, that evening while shopping at Wal Mart I got the bright idea to buy Reni some light up tennis shoes for his prosthestics.  I've never seen him so excited about shoes!  Thank you to those of you who pray for our children!  We have sensed your prayers and wanted to let you know how we are seeing those prayers answered!