Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Resting in Idaho
I am sitting in Nampa, Idaho, at my brother and sister in law's home. My leg is propped up with ice. My toe is much better but my ankle is still a little swollen and warm. I am more than ready for some time off and Stan is more than ready to do some work. He is out in the back working on a pergola over their hot patio. We aren't sure how long we are going to stay but it could be a couple weeks or more. It all depends on how much needs to get done. So we will continue that thing called flexibility.
While we were in Great Falls, Stan ended up spending the one full day there being sick with food poisoning -- one of the risks of eating in restaurants a lot. We had a good time in Great Falls, being with old friends there. We lived there in the 70's and 80's so it was good to connect with people again. We have made other visits there in the past but it has been 5 years -- and this is the first time we have gone back without our kids!!
We spent one night in Idaho Falls on the way to Boise. It could have been made in one long day, but we really aren't into breaking any records. It was a good thing that we didn't because we were so involved in conversation on the way to Idaho that we missed a turn and ended up almost one third of the way to Bozeman before we realized that the topography just didn't look right. We turned on the GPS and found out that we had gone almost 40 miles beyond the turn off!! So we turned around and ended up taking another route back to the interstate that was a beautiful back road. We were in the mood for Mexican food when we got to Idaho Falls so we checked for Mexican restaurants on the GPS (a wonderful feature on ours). We were driving around quite a bit before we found a Mexican restaurant that looked healthy and clean. We were very happy with the one we found along the Boise River where the falls are located. Great food and even better prices. The next morning we went to breakfast with some saints who live there.
In Boise, we spent 2 nights with some saints in the church there and went to the meeting the next day. We will have a lot of opportunities to spend time with them. We found out that there is a home meeting in Nampa on Saturday nights with some people that we know from the past. For those of you who know him, Harold Alvarado who used to meet in Virginia Beach when he was in the Navy is in the Boise area now. We were surprised to see him. He is married and has a young son now -- retired from the Navy and working as a mail man. There are others, too but I don't think any of you know them. So Thursday and Saturday we have plans to be with the saints there. We will be going to as many of the meetings in Boise that we can.
I don't know how much worth writing about will happen while we are here, but I will try to check in with you and at least let you know that we are still here. I will continue to baby my ankle and getting some rest. I didn't realize how tired I was.
While we were in Great Falls, Stan ended up spending the one full day there being sick with food poisoning -- one of the risks of eating in restaurants a lot. We had a good time in Great Falls, being with old friends there. We lived there in the 70's and 80's so it was good to connect with people again. We have made other visits there in the past but it has been 5 years -- and this is the first time we have gone back without our kids!!
We spent one night in Idaho Falls on the way to Boise. It could have been made in one long day, but we really aren't into breaking any records. It was a good thing that we didn't because we were so involved in conversation on the way to Idaho that we missed a turn and ended up almost one third of the way to Bozeman before we realized that the topography just didn't look right. We turned on the GPS and found out that we had gone almost 40 miles beyond the turn off!! So we turned around and ended up taking another route back to the interstate that was a beautiful back road. We were in the mood for Mexican food when we got to Idaho Falls so we checked for Mexican restaurants on the GPS (a wonderful feature on ours). We were driving around quite a bit before we found a Mexican restaurant that looked healthy and clean. We were very happy with the one we found along the Boise River where the falls are located. Great food and even better prices. The next morning we went to breakfast with some saints who live there.
In Boise, we spent 2 nights with some saints in the church there and went to the meeting the next day. We will have a lot of opportunities to spend time with them. We found out that there is a home meeting in Nampa on Saturday nights with some people that we know from the past. For those of you who know him, Harold Alvarado who used to meet in Virginia Beach when he was in the Navy is in the Boise area now. We were surprised to see him. He is married and has a young son now -- retired from the Navy and working as a mail man. There are others, too but I don't think any of you know them. So Thursday and Saturday we have plans to be with the saints there. We will be going to as many of the meetings in Boise that we can.
I don't know how much worth writing about will happen while we are here, but I will try to check in with you and at least let you know that we are still here. I will continue to baby my ankle and getting some rest. I didn't realize how tired I was.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Farm Visit
We are driving through the rolling green and golden plains of Northern Montana as I write this. Hopefully there will be the time to post it Great Falls when we get back. We have had an incredible and memorable 3 days of driving through Montana and visiting the 2 family farms. We left from Helena after spending a night with Stan's brother, Steve. Then we dropped the van off in Great Falls and drove 8 hours to the farm near Plentywood (check your maps) on Highway 251 between mile markers 42 and 43. We spent almost 3 hours with "Billy" who is 78 years old who is farming the land there for the family. This farm is the one that Stan's grandpa homesteaded before he was married. The original barn built in 1909 is still in great shape. They used to have barn dances on the second floor, and, in fact, Grandpa and Grandma Galloway met at a barn dance.
Billy showed us the land, the wheat that is growing, his equipment and buildings. There is a natural gravel pit nearby on the property so I picked up a collection of colorful stones and later bought an old coffee jar to put them in. The Durham wheat will be ready to harvest by the middle September, which is later than usual, due to the weather being colder and wetter than usual. The winter wheat will be ready in a week or two. Hopefully the good weather will hold, the rain will come at the right time and it won't hail. The water actually adds more weight to the grain which means more profit. We have had a crash course on wheat farming. I can now recognize wheat flowers, healthy heads, wheat berries, winter wheat and Durham wheat.
The next day we went to the Medicine Lake, MT, to the land that Grandma Chloe homesteaded as a 19 year old girl. It is on Highway 16 right on the line of Roosevelt and Sheridan Counties in Roosevelt County -- on both sides of the road. We spent the afternoon yesterday looking at the tractors, combines, warehouse and assorted equipment with Paul and Janet McCabe who are distant cousins. Paul and Stan have the same great grandfather -- I think they are cousins 3 times removed. They are a wonderfully hospitable couple who opened their home for us and tooks us all over the area and explained all the workings of the farm to us. They farm their own land along with our family land. We also drove through the old town of McCabe which is named after Stan's great Grandpa, but since there are only about 6 people living there, it is almost a ghost town. The post office and most of the buildings are empty and falling apart.
The farm quipment on the Roosevelt farm is state of the art. Paul says he has a weakness for the latest and geratest technology. When planting, they don't even have to steer the tractor. Everything is done by GPS and all the rows are perfectly straight. Cousin Paul says it is boring now and he can nap while it does it's thing. All he has to do is remember to turn it around at the end of a row!! Maybe someday he won't even have to do that!!
I was so impressed with the beautiful colors of the sky and fields. The blues, greens, and gold, along with the white fluffy clouds were captivating to me and a feast for the eyes. I couldn't take it all in. I wish that I had had some water colors with me to try to capture the soft colors blending together on the horizon. But I don't think I have the skill anyway. The gently rolling hills were different from what we expected, but we were there at the best time of the year in a year that has had rain at the right times. Winters are typically from November to April and the snow comes and stays for that time. Trees are few and far between and mostly have been planted as wind breaks for the farm houses. It made me think of Little House on the Prairie stories.
One thing that is interesting about that region is the accent of the people there. Most have Scandanavian roots and you can hear it in their voices in the up and down inflections in their speech. I didn't notice it so much when in lived in Montana, but now it is so obvious. Either my ear is more sensitive or the regional accent is getting stronger, or both!!
So many have asked us if we are considering moving there to farm, and the answer is a very stong no! We will leave the farming to the experts. But it is a nice place to visit.
We will be spending 2 nights in Great Falls and then leave for Idaho where we will spend 2 nights with the saints in the church in Boise and then on to Nampa (outside of Boise) where Stan will work for my brother and sister in law for several weeks. I am looking forward to settling down for a while. The one and 2 night stands are tiring. I probably won't write again til we get to Nampa next week. But maybe our plans will be changing. Stan just came in and told me that he doesn't feel so well.....like he has food poisoning....one of the problems with eating in so many restaurants. I need to go take care of him.
Billy showed us the land, the wheat that is growing, his equipment and buildings. There is a natural gravel pit nearby on the property so I picked up a collection of colorful stones and later bought an old coffee jar to put them in. The Durham wheat will be ready to harvest by the middle September, which is later than usual, due to the weather being colder and wetter than usual. The winter wheat will be ready in a week or two. Hopefully the good weather will hold, the rain will come at the right time and it won't hail. The water actually adds more weight to the grain which means more profit. We have had a crash course on wheat farming. I can now recognize wheat flowers, healthy heads, wheat berries, winter wheat and Durham wheat.
The next day we went to the Medicine Lake, MT, to the land that Grandma Chloe homesteaded as a 19 year old girl. It is on Highway 16 right on the line of Roosevelt and Sheridan Counties in Roosevelt County -- on both sides of the road. We spent the afternoon yesterday looking at the tractors, combines, warehouse and assorted equipment with Paul and Janet McCabe who are distant cousins. Paul and Stan have the same great grandfather -- I think they are cousins 3 times removed. They are a wonderfully hospitable couple who opened their home for us and tooks us all over the area and explained all the workings of the farm to us. They farm their own land along with our family land. We also drove through the old town of McCabe which is named after Stan's great Grandpa, but since there are only about 6 people living there, it is almost a ghost town. The post office and most of the buildings are empty and falling apart.
The farm quipment on the Roosevelt farm is state of the art. Paul says he has a weakness for the latest and geratest technology. When planting, they don't even have to steer the tractor. Everything is done by GPS and all the rows are perfectly straight. Cousin Paul says it is boring now and he can nap while it does it's thing. All he has to do is remember to turn it around at the end of a row!! Maybe someday he won't even have to do that!!
I was so impressed with the beautiful colors of the sky and fields. The blues, greens, and gold, along with the white fluffy clouds were captivating to me and a feast for the eyes. I couldn't take it all in. I wish that I had had some water colors with me to try to capture the soft colors blending together on the horizon. But I don't think I have the skill anyway. The gently rolling hills were different from what we expected, but we were there at the best time of the year in a year that has had rain at the right times. Winters are typically from November to April and the snow comes and stays for that time. Trees are few and far between and mostly have been planted as wind breaks for the farm houses. It made me think of Little House on the Prairie stories.
One thing that is interesting about that region is the accent of the people there. Most have Scandanavian roots and you can hear it in their voices in the up and down inflections in their speech. I didn't notice it so much when in lived in Montana, but now it is so obvious. Either my ear is more sensitive or the regional accent is getting stronger, or both!!
So many have asked us if we are considering moving there to farm, and the answer is a very stong no! We will leave the farming to the experts. But it is a nice place to visit.
We will be spending 2 nights in Great Falls and then leave for Idaho where we will spend 2 nights with the saints in the church in Boise and then on to Nampa (outside of Boise) where Stan will work for my brother and sister in law for several weeks. I am looking forward to settling down for a while. The one and 2 night stands are tiring. I probably won't write again til we get to Nampa next week. But maybe our plans will be changing. Stan just came in and told me that he doesn't feel so well.....like he has food poisoning....one of the problems with eating in so many restaurants. I need to go take care of him.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Albuquerque to Colorado Springs and Beyond
I just did another post about the inward sojourn so make sure you read it after this below.
Before leaving Albuquerque we made a manditory visit to Trader Joes's. We do have our priorities. Our supplies from Nashville had been exhausted so it was time to stock up again and to buy gifts for our hosts along the way. We won't see another TJ's until we get to Phoenix next month. We couldn't possibly buy enough since we don't have much cold storage, but we did the best we could!!
So we bade farewell to Albuquerque and the saints there and headed north. When we got to Santa Fe we wanted to drive thru the old section so we got off the interstate and wandered into town. Lots of adobe and quaint shops and restaurants, but we stayed in the car due to the limiations of my injured foot. We kind of spontaneously decided not to go back to I 25 and opted to go thru Taos. It was the home of Kit Carson. Again, lots of adobe and quaint shops and restaurants. It was here that we learned that GPS's can't read your mind. We intended to go a particular way and thought that was what the GPS was doing -- but, of course, it wasn't. So we ended up doubling back through Taos to take the route we wanted to go. It turned out to be a very scenic but not very efficient route. We were following a stream down the mountain after miles of twisting and turning though the mountains. We were able to pull over briefly so I could put my foot in the stream but it was not cold enough to feel really good. We spoke vaguely of stopping to spend the night in one of the small towns we passed through but we decided not spend the money. So we pressed on to Colorado Springs. We eventaully got there by about 9:30 to the saints' house. They then took us to another home north off Colorado Springs in Monument so that I wouldn't have to navigate their stairs. We spent 2 nights with Ed and Pam Karned in their walkout basement and at a 7,000 foot elevation. All the next day I spent on a couch with my foot up and an ice bag on it. It looked pretty swollen and terrible by the time we got there so I was very thankful for a day to nurse my wounds. It was a turning point in the healing progress. That night they invited some saints over and we had dinner and got to know each other. It was a very sweet time of fellowship.
Wednesday morning we hit the road again and headed toward Grand Junction, CO. The scenery was beautiful, but Stan told me I slept through the most spectacular part of the trip!! At one point we were at 11,000 ft. We stopped for a picnic lunch in an historic little town called Georgetown which had been a silver mining town after the civil war until the early 1900's. I would have loved to poke around a little and go into some of the museums and houses but between my foot and time constraints, we couldn't.
We arrived in Grand Junction at the home of Eldon and Betty Case whre they took us to Golden Corral for dinner -- just like home! Afterward they drove us around the town of 48,000 in a valley that has been irrigated to become a major growing area for peaches. The next day we went fruitstand hopping and we bought some peaches and cherries to take to Utah.
The drive from Grand Junction to Roy, Utah (where we are seeing our nieces and Stan's Mom) is a vast, high desert with some incredible rim rock formations. It is hard to believe that people used to cross this region in covered wagons!! We are in Roy now and are having a wonderful time with the family. Kathy, our niece has 7 kids that she is homeschooling.
We leave for Montana tomorrow and to visit the family farms so I won't be writing until sometime next week.
Before leaving Albuquerque we made a manditory visit to Trader Joes's. We do have our priorities. Our supplies from Nashville had been exhausted so it was time to stock up again and to buy gifts for our hosts along the way. We won't see another TJ's until we get to Phoenix next month. We couldn't possibly buy enough since we don't have much cold storage, but we did the best we could!!
So we bade farewell to Albuquerque and the saints there and headed north. When we got to Santa Fe we wanted to drive thru the old section so we got off the interstate and wandered into town. Lots of adobe and quaint shops and restaurants, but we stayed in the car due to the limiations of my injured foot. We kind of spontaneously decided not to go back to I 25 and opted to go thru Taos. It was the home of Kit Carson. Again, lots of adobe and quaint shops and restaurants. It was here that we learned that GPS's can't read your mind. We intended to go a particular way and thought that was what the GPS was doing -- but, of course, it wasn't. So we ended up doubling back through Taos to take the route we wanted to go. It turned out to be a very scenic but not very efficient route. We were following a stream down the mountain after miles of twisting and turning though the mountains. We were able to pull over briefly so I could put my foot in the stream but it was not cold enough to feel really good. We spoke vaguely of stopping to spend the night in one of the small towns we passed through but we decided not spend the money. So we pressed on to Colorado Springs. We eventaully got there by about 9:30 to the saints' house. They then took us to another home north off Colorado Springs in Monument so that I wouldn't have to navigate their stairs. We spent 2 nights with Ed and Pam Karned in their walkout basement and at a 7,000 foot elevation. All the next day I spent on a couch with my foot up and an ice bag on it. It looked pretty swollen and terrible by the time we got there so I was very thankful for a day to nurse my wounds. It was a turning point in the healing progress. That night they invited some saints over and we had dinner and got to know each other. It was a very sweet time of fellowship.
Wednesday morning we hit the road again and headed toward Grand Junction, CO. The scenery was beautiful, but Stan told me I slept through the most spectacular part of the trip!! At one point we were at 11,000 ft. We stopped for a picnic lunch in an historic little town called Georgetown which had been a silver mining town after the civil war until the early 1900's. I would have loved to poke around a little and go into some of the museums and houses but between my foot and time constraints, we couldn't.
We arrived in Grand Junction at the home of Eldon and Betty Case whre they took us to Golden Corral for dinner -- just like home! Afterward they drove us around the town of 48,000 in a valley that has been irrigated to become a major growing area for peaches. The next day we went fruitstand hopping and we bought some peaches and cherries to take to Utah.
The drive from Grand Junction to Roy, Utah (where we are seeing our nieces and Stan's Mom) is a vast, high desert with some incredible rim rock formations. It is hard to believe that people used to cross this region in covered wagons!! We are in Roy now and are having a wonderful time with the family. Kathy, our niece has 7 kids that she is homeschooling.
We leave for Montana tomorrow and to visit the family farms so I won't be writing until sometime next week.
The Inner Sojourn
I will be writing about the events of our trip right after this, but I wanted to let you know what is going on in a more inward way. Not only are we having a wonderful time travelling, seeing beautiful country and spending time with the saints, we are also being touched in inward ways concerning our growth in the Lord. One of the main matters is flexibility. At a time in our lives when we are capable of growing older and more settled in our ways, the Lord has graciously unsettled us on this trip. Being in different parts of the country, eating different food, staying with a variety of people has caused us to be broadened at least a little. Like I stated briefly before, learning to be one with all the believers and caring for each one without preference is a tall order that only the Lord in us can fill.
In considering our future, not only do not want to be set, settled and occuplied, we don't want to be old, opinionated and narrow. Our desire is to follow the Lamb wherever He goes and to be useful to Him. And this is just the beginning of our sojourn-- one month this week.
We have experienced so much care from the believers along the way. Generous hearts, open homes and some pretty comfortable beds!! So many expressions of care: a bag of goodies for the trip, invitations to meals, the sweet young sister who bought me a loaf of Ezekiel bread when she found out that's what we eat, many invitations to stop in homes on our return, a restaurant gift card for a national chain, the free car wash, a cash gift -- so many expressions of love and support through the members of the Body. By having the saints minister to us in these practical ways it makes us more aware of how we can minister to others. Sometines we forget how memorable and meaningful small kindnesses can be.
I am sure there will be more reflections as we go along, so stayed tuned for "The Inner Journey."
In considering our future, not only do not want to be set, settled and occuplied, we don't want to be old, opinionated and narrow. Our desire is to follow the Lamb wherever He goes and to be useful to Him. And this is just the beginning of our sojourn-- one month this week.
We have experienced so much care from the believers along the way. Generous hearts, open homes and some pretty comfortable beds!! So many expressions of care: a bag of goodies for the trip, invitations to meals, the sweet young sister who bought me a loaf of Ezekiel bread when she found out that's what we eat, many invitations to stop in homes on our return, a restaurant gift card for a national chain, the free car wash, a cash gift -- so many expressions of love and support through the members of the Body. By having the saints minister to us in these practical ways it makes us more aware of how we can minister to others. Sometines we forget how memorable and meaningful small kindnesses can be.
I am sure there will be more reflections as we go along, so stayed tuned for "The Inner Journey."
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Lots of Drama
It is our final evening in Albuquerque. We leave tomorrow for Colorado Springs where will stay for 2 nights. But first I need to tell you about what has happened since we have been here. Everything was going along quite swimmingly until Thursday when I walked out of the door onto the patio outside our bedroom and didn't see a step there. I fell and unfortunately I will still wearing my flip flops so I really mangled my big toe on my left foot. The foot that I have always hurt through the years. It might be broken, but I don't feel any need to go to the doctor since they don't do anything about it even if it is. So it greatly curtailed my comings and goings. Fortunately, we had been to Old Town Albuquerque the day before, but I haven't been to any of the training meetings since it happened. I have tried to keep it up with ice on it. Stan went to a thrift store and got me some crutches since I couldn't even walk. BUT, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Because of this "accident" I was able to care for a young sister in the church here who has hepititis C whom the doctors have given up on with their chemotherapy. It is all very complicated and dramatic and I can't really write about all the details, but all here at at the house could see the Lord's hand in all of it. It is kind of a joke now to say: "And it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't hurt my toe." So I am experiencing "this present lightness of affliction."
We have had such a good time with the couple we are staying with -- Benjamin and Jacqueline Bianco. They are a very interesting couple. He is a formerly Jewish entrepreneur who was born in Egypt and educated in London who got saved 10 years ago at the age of 65 and she is a former opera singer who has led a very dramatic life. They really love the Lord and have a governing vision of God's economy. Their home is beautiful (there is a fountain in the foyer) and is filled with Spanish Colonial antiques (she used to own a gallery selling these kind of things. We are very comfortable in our suite. Jacqueline has been intent on giving me singing lessons and says that it is a shame that I never learned to sing properly, so she is attempting to make up for lost time -- evening singing in Italian -- which I have done before, but it has been a long time. We have been eating lots of garlic and drinking lime spritzers and having a good time getting to know each other. Lots of laughing and good conversation. I am really appreciating all the variety in the Body of Christ and learning to be one with all the members no matter who they are and what they think. It is very good for me to be broadened in this way.
Now for the big drama. The other night, after I had wrecked my toe and after I had had a very emotional appointment with the young girl with hep C, I went into our room and found that the dog had opened up my suitcase, pulled out my clothes and found the very large unopened 3 pound bag of 60% cocoa chips in the floor, ripped open and 3/4 gone. It was the very large Russian wolf hound named Tamara who had done it. I was devastated since chocolate is a poison to dogs. Everyone else was gone at the time but when they got back I was a little panicky and said that she needed to go to the vet and explained the situation. They didn't seem worried about it since she had eaten chocolate before and hadn't had a problem. So we all went to bed, but early in the morning she began throwing up all over the place. We never knew when we were going to run into a pile of semi digested chocolate. So after 2 days of this, she seems to be doing better. Eventually she has gotten it out of her system and just enjoyed a bowl of rice cooked in chicken broth. I have even supplied some probiotics for her. Of course,I have been feeling horrible about the whole thing because I should have put the bag someplace else -- she had already eaten a half of a bag of granola I had left out a day or two before. So, I won't be giving that bag of chips to anyone as a hospitality gift.....
Right after my accident we went to lunch with Beverly Bayonet. We were supposed to get together with Janene but it hasn't worked out. But tomorrow morning before we leave town, we will be meeting her for a little while. And we haven't made it to Trader Joe's yet, so we will do that after we see Janene. I need to get my list ready because we won't see another one until be go to Phoenix in mid August.
So Stan, at least, is enjoying the training. The couple we are staying with had been to the live training the week before. I hope to get caught up online eventually. Our phones are not doing well here, so I am not sure how well they will work for the next few weeks while we are in Colorado, Utah and Montana. So if you try to call and can't get through, you will know why. I will return messages when I can.
We have had such a good time with the couple we are staying with -- Benjamin and Jacqueline Bianco. They are a very interesting couple. He is a formerly Jewish entrepreneur who was born in Egypt and educated in London who got saved 10 years ago at the age of 65 and she is a former opera singer who has led a very dramatic life. They really love the Lord and have a governing vision of God's economy. Their home is beautiful (there is a fountain in the foyer) and is filled with Spanish Colonial antiques (she used to own a gallery selling these kind of things. We are very comfortable in our suite. Jacqueline has been intent on giving me singing lessons and says that it is a shame that I never learned to sing properly, so she is attempting to make up for lost time -- evening singing in Italian -- which I have done before, but it has been a long time. We have been eating lots of garlic and drinking lime spritzers and having a good time getting to know each other. Lots of laughing and good conversation. I am really appreciating all the variety in the Body of Christ and learning to be one with all the members no matter who they are and what they think. It is very good for me to be broadened in this way.
Now for the big drama. The other night, after I had wrecked my toe and after I had had a very emotional appointment with the young girl with hep C, I went into our room and found that the dog had opened up my suitcase, pulled out my clothes and found the very large unopened 3 pound bag of 60% cocoa chips in the floor, ripped open and 3/4 gone. It was the very large Russian wolf hound named Tamara who had done it. I was devastated since chocolate is a poison to dogs. Everyone else was gone at the time but when they got back I was a little panicky and said that she needed to go to the vet and explained the situation. They didn't seem worried about it since she had eaten chocolate before and hadn't had a problem. So we all went to bed, but early in the morning she began throwing up all over the place. We never knew when we were going to run into a pile of semi digested chocolate. So after 2 days of this, she seems to be doing better. Eventually she has gotten it out of her system and just enjoyed a bowl of rice cooked in chicken broth. I have even supplied some probiotics for her. Of course,I have been feeling horrible about the whole thing because I should have put the bag someplace else -- she had already eaten a half of a bag of granola I had left out a day or two before. So, I won't be giving that bag of chips to anyone as a hospitality gift.....
Right after my accident we went to lunch with Beverly Bayonet. We were supposed to get together with Janene but it hasn't worked out. But tomorrow morning before we leave town, we will be meeting her for a little while. And we haven't made it to Trader Joe's yet, so we will do that after we see Janene. I need to get my list ready because we won't see another one until be go to Phoenix in mid August.
So Stan, at least, is enjoying the training. The couple we are staying with had been to the live training the week before. I hope to get caught up online eventually. Our phones are not doing well here, so I am not sure how well they will work for the next few weeks while we are in Colorado, Utah and Montana. So if you try to call and can't get through, you will know why. I will return messages when I can.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
OKC to Albuquerque
Hello from hot and dry Albuquerque. But I still have more to write about OKC. We ended up staying a day longer and were very happy to have another day with the saints there. We went to breakfast at the home of some of a couple there. The husband took Stan to his car wash that he owns and had the guys there hand wash the van at no charge. They also cleaned the floor of the cab with Armoral which made it very clean and shiny and also very slippery. So we are very careful when we get in and out of the van. Eventually it will wear off. After breakfast we then went to this brother's quick lube place and they changed the oil for us at the employees' discount. While we were waiting for the van to be done we walked next door to a place that was under construction. It is part of a chain of restaurant/grocery stores that is taking the OK area by storm. They have over 300 stores. The electricians were working on it and they do all of the stores so they took us on a tour of the place and explained that the guy who owns these stores raises all his own beef for the hamburgers and has dairy cows to make all the ice cream. He sells these things in the grocery section, too. So on our way to NM we stopped at the last "Braum's" before we left OK. It was a little early, but we had had a small early breakfast. We got some delicious hamburgers and a real chocolate malt made with real ice cream. It was fun to see the place completely built since it was exactly like the place we had seen the day before with just the framing and the roof.
But back to OKC. Our last night we went to dinner and a home meeting with a young family with 4 kids in the church there. We have known the brother/father since Great Falls, MT days. In fact the last time I had seen him he was about 8 years old. He has changed a lot since he is 34 now. It was nice seeing how he has matured in the Lord.
So back to our trip to NM. We stopped for gas after we got into NM and I went in to pay in advance since it wouldn't take our credit card outside. Stan filled up the van and I tried to pay for it with our credit card. But it wouldn't take the card. A lady working there said it was because we were travelling and that I should call them. So I went out to get my phone and before I could get back into the cashier my phone rang and it was the credit card company wondering if I was trying to use the card. It seems that they were getting nervous because we were definitely breaking our pattern of spending. So I told them our itinery and we are using our card again. Fortunately, I had given them my cell number before we left. I should have told them what we were doing, too. In times past when we travel, we have always bought airline tickets to the place we were using the card so they don't think anything of it. This time someone was just buying gas across the country. I have to call again to extend it in October since they only do it 3 months at a time. A lesson learned.
So we arrived in NM just in time for dinner. It is amazing how that works out everytime we go to a new place. We are staying with a couple here in the church. They live in a beautiful Mexican style home that brings back a lot of memories of my time in college in Mexico. We have our own wing in the house with a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. Tonight we start the training meetings again and will be here until we finish on Sunday -- probably leaving on Monday morning. We still aren't clear about where we are going next since we have a 3 day gap. We just keep looking to the Lord. We might go to Denver. We will let you know as soon as we know.
But back to OKC. Our last night we went to dinner and a home meeting with a young family with 4 kids in the church there. We have known the brother/father since Great Falls, MT days. In fact the last time I had seen him he was about 8 years old. He has changed a lot since he is 34 now. It was nice seeing how he has matured in the Lord.
So back to our trip to NM. We stopped for gas after we got into NM and I went in to pay in advance since it wouldn't take our credit card outside. Stan filled up the van and I tried to pay for it with our credit card. But it wouldn't take the card. A lady working there said it was because we were travelling and that I should call them. So I went out to get my phone and before I could get back into the cashier my phone rang and it was the credit card company wondering if I was trying to use the card. It seems that they were getting nervous because we were definitely breaking our pattern of spending. So I told them our itinery and we are using our card again. Fortunately, I had given them my cell number before we left. I should have told them what we were doing, too. In times past when we travel, we have always bought airline tickets to the place we were using the card so they don't think anything of it. This time someone was just buying gas across the country. I have to call again to extend it in October since they only do it 3 months at a time. A lesson learned.
So we arrived in NM just in time for dinner. It is amazing how that works out everytime we go to a new place. We are staying with a couple here in the church. They live in a beautiful Mexican style home that brings back a lot of memories of my time in college in Mexico. We have our own wing in the house with a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. Tonight we start the training meetings again and will be here until we finish on Sunday -- probably leaving on Monday morning. We still aren't clear about where we are going next since we have a 3 day gap. We just keep looking to the Lord. We might go to Denver. We will let you know as soon as we know.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Oklahoma You're OK
Here we are in Oklahoma City. We arrived yesterday after spending a night In Dallas with some dear saints, Jim and Mary Speight. I had met them a few years back when I stayed with them for a few days after an herb conference in Dallas. We had a short, but sweet stay with them and also attended the first 2 meetings of the video training. It was hard to leave so quickly and I wish we had planned to stay longer, but we kept moving after going out to lunch. On the way here we stopped for gas, kind of out in the middle of nowhere. I had gone in to pay in advance -- they don't have pumps that you can use a credit card in -- and Stan struck up a conversation with a man who was pumping next to him. The man asked Stan what he did since we had the big work van with the ladder racks on it. Stan told him what we were doing -- travelling and working and heading to a Bible training in California. While Stan was speaking the man put his hand on his shoulder and started praying for us that we would be blessed in all that we were doing!! We were told later by friends that this is a proper welcome in Oklahoma.
We arrived in OK City just in time for the training meeting, but we actually saw a repeat of the second video we had seen in Dallas. During the break I saw someone we had known in Montana and hadn't seen in about 25 years!! We are taking hospitality with a young couple. Natalie, the wife of the couple used to be in Irvine and has spent quite a bit of time with Nathan and Crystal in their home when they lived there. Again, small world.
We have reached a kind of empty spot in our plans. We aren't sure where we are going after this. There is not enough time to go to Arizona and we finish the first half of the training tomorrow Sunday night, so we could potentially leave here on Monday morning. We have to be in Albuquerque on Thursday. So we are before the Lord as to what He would have us to do. This is the time where we walk by faith that something will work out. It is kind of exciting to look forward to what the Lord might arrange. I'll lhave to let you know when it happens.
We arrived in OK City just in time for the training meeting, but we actually saw a repeat of the second video we had seen in Dallas. During the break I saw someone we had known in Montana and hadn't seen in about 25 years!! We are taking hospitality with a young couple. Natalie, the wife of the couple used to be in Irvine and has spent quite a bit of time with Nathan and Crystal in their home when they lived there. Again, small world.
We have reached a kind of empty spot in our plans. We aren't sure where we are going after this. There is not enough time to go to Arizona and we finish the first half of the training tomorrow Sunday night, so we could potentially leave here on Monday morning. We have to be in Albuquerque on Thursday. So we are before the Lord as to what He would have us to do. This is the time where we walk by faith that something will work out. It is kind of exciting to look forward to what the Lord might arrange. I'll lhave to let you know when it happens.
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