Road trip #5: Oregon and back

Back to the east coast we go...is there a song that starts that way? I don't suppose so but we have flown back to the east coast.


I have been thinking about certain Christian speakers that will pepper their speaches with "dear one" or "beloved" as though you personally are known and loved by them. That kind of annoys me because I am not beloved to them...or am I? Now that we are over half done with this crazy road trip I am pondering all those dear people who are now connected to our lives.

The family that hosted us in Oregon are friends we have known since our Chicago days. We have spent time with them in their house twice now (once with 5 kids total, and once with 8 kids total) and both times we rejoiced in how well our families got along. Besides our friends, the Thayers, we renewed friendships with many others and made more new friends; all this during one week in Oregon.

Now multiply that by the number of weeks we have been travelling...the thought is staggering. Honestly, I didn't realize there are so many dear people out there. Truly, I can write on this blog and say, "I know God cares for you, dear one" and really mean you.

Praising God for a wonderful time at Community Bible Church,
Michele

Roadtrip #4: down and partially up the east coast

Should I write a very, very long entry to catch you up from the time of my last one? Or should I write a couple short ones? I guess we'll see as we go (does the Spirit lead in journal entries??!!)



We spent several busy days in Maryland at Perry Hall Baptist Church for their missions conference. What a joy to reconnect with people there and we met a wonderful new family that hosted us for the five days. It was yet another stop on our journey this fall that encouraged us.

From there we went to North Carolina where Bill's brother and family live. They kept the kids one evening, walked to the town center where a footbridge crosses a railroad, and watched a train run right below their feet! I am trying to think of a concise way to describe how much we enjoyed our visit with them...

On Friday, October 19 we left North Carolina and drove for an endless amount of time. Ok, it did end after 16 hours of travel! Please tell me that will never happen again. No, don't lie to me. The good thing was that we got to stop in to see my grandma (she didn't really recognize me--dimentia) and we met with a very dear couple for lunch.

By the end of that endless day we were in Florida. HOT again. Florida Bible Church is a hopping place and they all made us feel very welcome as did our friends at Central Community Church in Cocoa.

Ahhhh...we drove from Florida to Virginia; we left summer and arrived in autumn. Virginia is where my aunt and uncle live and where we stopped for a couple days to bask in their hospitality and care.

Now, we have flown from Washington, DC to Medford, Oregon to attend the missions conference at Community Bible Church.

Whew! We are now caught up, officially, and all in one post. Imagine that. Now, let's hope that it will not take me another month to get around to the next post.