Tuesday, June 15

About 10 a.m. we left the hotel and went to see where Stephen works. It is a new building in downtown Greenville. It is blue (my favorite color) and modern in design. The entrance has metal panels with holes in them that remind me of steel shelving. The building is literally a warehouse. The lobby had a monitor-type list of companies; most if not all, in the tech field. The interior walls are of a plastic that you can write on with a white-board marker. There are two floors with open ceilings. The Gnoso offices are in one corner of the top floor. We walked to the right and went to the first of the offices and met each of the employees. One of the rooms had a tennis table set up and on the wall were scores written. Nice, unique. The company is doing well after just three years in business.

 
We said goodbye to Stephen shortly thereafter, and headed up to NC. When we got into NC, I noticed that the median strips between the highways was nicely landscaped in places where overpasses were. The state has taken the time to plant tons of lilies in mostly yellow and orange along their highways, and have kept the grass cut. It is such a beautiful trip through there. Other states should take note. Anyway, we got to Farmville where we stayed with Woody and Deane Ferrell, now in their upper 80's. Mrs. Ferrell led me to the Lord back in 1975. Both have long since retired and are still active in their home church doing nursing home ministry. It was so good to see them. Mrs. Ferrell needs to have a heart valve replaced and is to see a specialist soon. Her skin is paper-thin and her arms are discolored from taking blood thinners she said. They insisted we stay the night which we did. We watched a baseball game between the Marlins and Texas. The husband of their granddaughter plays for Texas and is a good player; he scored the first on-base hit and the team eventually won the game. 

Monday, June 14

This van is a rolling advertisement for the US Marines.

This morning we left Lakeland and headed for South Carolina. We headed East toward I-95, passing through Orlando where there is Disney World, Sea World and various other entertainment places that have entrance fees upwards of $80 a person. We decided to skip all that.   

Here is a unique water tower in South Carolina.

 
We got up to Greenville and checked into a Best Western near the airport. Stephen met us, then we decided to go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. We each got something different and shared. Sara wanted chicken fingers again, and the rest of us shared our steak and seafood. The pumpernickel bread was good as well as that onion flower they serve as an appetizer. Yumm


 
After dinner Steve took us over to where he lives with four or five other guys; we met two of them who were home. It was a bachelors' pad, but rather clean as those things go. Shortly thereafter we returned to the hotel, Henry and Stephen went out for a time together. Turns out they ended up at a book store and purchased a couple of them.

Sunday, June 13

We went to the morning church service at Calvary Baptist Church. We were met by two lovely ladies who took us inside and one took Sara to her class and another man showed us ur class. In the morning service, a guest speaker spoke about giving God's word to people around the world. He collects the quarters people give him and purchases Bibles in all languages. 
For the evening service we went with Rob and Mary to another local Baptist Church where Rob was making a presentation about Gideon International, of which he is a representative.  He told how his uncle in WWII was in a foxhole and was wondering if he had dug it deep enough. He took out a pocket NT and soon came to Christ. It was a Gideon Bible. His uncle went on to serve God faithfully for several decades as a pastor and preacher.


Rob related another true story of a man who was in a deep depression and was contemplating ending life in a hotel room. He found the Gideon Bible and also got right with God and has served Him since. One never knows how many people will be touched by Gideon Bibles.

Saturday, June 12

 
We decided to go to Tampa to a place called Mosi which is a hands-on science museum geared toward kids. It was quite interesting, actually. We first saw the butterfly room and learned that the monarchs only live two weeks. There were not that many butterflies about, though.

An example of how a tornado forms
 
Another section was on natural disasters where you could "experience" an earthquake, hurricane, wildfires and the like. I stood in the room for the earthquake. The floor shook; although realistic, it did not last long enough and nothing fell off the walls. I gave it an 8. Sara seemed to like it, but got bored after a couple of hours, so we headed home.

Friday, June 12

Sara is 12 today. That evening Chris and his family came over for dinner. They have two girls and a boy and they brought Sara a birthday balloon and cards. We had a special-order cake and ice cream. After dinner, the kids all played and jumped on each other, especially the youngest one. They were laughing and having a good time. Sara said later that she liked her cousins. Now we need to get her a belated gift. 

Later on June 10

This afternoon the Lynn's daughter, Misty, and her kids came over for dinner. I cooked a modified Japanese dish of gyudon; beef, onions, veges, over rice. They all seemed to like it. Must have been the teriyaki sauce. I miss Japanese food, really. After dinner we went outside and watched the kids swing while Henry and Rob played horseshoes. As dusk came and the bugs came out, we all went inside.

Thursday, June 10

This morning I called Lucette, a long-time internet quilting friend, and we decided it was a good day to visit the over in Lutz, Florida, about 45 minutes from Lakeland. After we tried to get the oil changed (it did not work), we went over in the early afternoon. Our GPS found the house with no problem.

When I got out of the car, AJ comes running to greet me with a big hug and saying, "It is good to meet you!" Lucette and I hugged and we all walked into the house. 


We met Mark at the door; Daniel and little Lydia all said hi and gave a hug. Their front room was stacked with items for a Saturday yard sale (wish I could go—I love yard sales, but really have no place to put any purchases). Anyway, AJ kept hugging me while going hither and yon talking up a storm. Henry brought in my computer case and I brought out the goodies for the kids. Each one got a Japanese five yen piece on a ribbon they could hook to a backpack or other ring. Lydia was given one of my pink Sakura Beanie Buddies; AJ got a Tshirt with kanji for love on it: 愛 ai and Daniel was given one with a crane on the front and the kanji 元気 genki, meaning lively. on the back. I gave Lucette the last of my yukata fabrics. I have others in Japan, but may need to acquire some more. 

Today was the first day of summer vacation and the kids were in hyper-mode. They started a summer unit-study on the 50 states. AJ is all excited about this. He finished first grade and he reads at a fourth or fifth grade level and is also able to do multiplication and write his own stories. He read me a short story he wrote that morning. It was actually well done and funny in some places. We may have a budding author in our midst.

Lydia is a little lady. Her room is typical girl, loaded with stuffed animals. She has many on her bed and she said that if one falls off at night, she can't sleep. We lined them all up on the wall so they should be safe for now. 


Daniel is big brother. He likes recess and history in school, like any 10-year-old. He is into collecting those silly bandz which are the current fad of that age group. These are different shaped rubber band bracelets the kids wear on their wrists and trade with each other.

http://www.sillybandz.com/
 

We left about 4:00 pm; it was a really good visit and so good to meet after all these years. 

Wednesday, June 9

The Leonards decided that Amanda could visit grandma who lives in Dade City, on our way to Lakeland. We left there about 9:00 am. Sara and Amanda played games, slept and had a good time there in the back seat. Georgia is a l-o-n-g state. We arrived at grandma's house about 6:15 pm and the four of us went to the Temple Baptist Church for the evening service. Pastor's wife and Roxanne are good friends. We were greeted by several friendly people, some of whom knew or worked with BIMI missionaries.
 

Pastor's message that night was on Barnabas starting in Acts 12. He sold everything he had and laid it at the apostles' feet. We all know how Paul was the first missionary to the gentiles, but it was Barnabas who nurtured him along at the beginning. It was also Barnabas who nurtured his nephew John Mark. When Peter was in prison, the church met at John Mark's home and prayed for Peter's release. When Peter shows up knocking at the door, everyone was surprised, and this probably had a positive impact on John Mark. We find later that when John Mark saw Paul and Barnabas casting out demons in chapter 15, it probably scared him so he went back home. Paul did not want Mark to accompany him on the next missionary trip although Barnabas did. It was here that two missionary teams were formed, Paul and Silas and Barnabas and Mark.

 
Barnabas means "son of consolation" and he was a nurturer, encourager and his ministry was to help people along in their Christian life. We find that in 2 Timothy 4, Paul said John Mark was profitable to the ministry. Barnabas helped bridge the rift between them. Mark was not a perfect servant, but became a much better one under the influence of Barnabas.


 

Tuesday, June 8

Today is BIMI's 50^th Anniversary celebration. We went over in the early afternoon and parked by the Lee Roberson Auditorium. Several displays were set up in this building as well as a book table. We headed up to the main building where Open House was from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The lobby was packed with people. It was so good to see and meet many people we have known through the years. What is even better is to see people still serving God faithfully. Some of the home office staff were in motorized wheel chairs; Mr. Dwire was walking with difficulty with two canes. Several staff members are senior volunteers helping where they can. 

First floor hallway

 
We met the Gardners, Monteiths, Burchells and Fishers and saw the Harris family all from Japan. Who is minding the store? LOL.

Bob and Dan 
We went with Dr. Frazier to a BBQ restaurant for a hurried dinner as the evening service started at 6:30 pm. Good food, and we made it back in time.


There was a huge tent set up with some 600 chairs; the overflow was in the previously-mentioned auditorium where we opted to stay in the AC. The service was to be broadcast via live stream, but the video portion was not good so mostly we heard what was going on. Toward the end of the service, Dr. Snyder was installed as the new President, then a video presentation of the history of BIMI was played. It is amazing what God has done in the last 50 years through our mission. There are currently some 1000 missionaries in 100 nations around the world preaching the gospel to the lost and dying souls. Should the Lord tarry, let us continue to pray that BIMI remain as strong and true to God's word. He is good, all the time.


 

Monday, June 7

Henry left early with Tim and went to BIMI to help out where he could. After taking care of some needed errands, Sara, Amanda and I went over about 1:00 pm. I dropped off the girls to do whatever they were going to do, and I headed up to the main building. The first stop I made was to see Serena about an insurance question. As I was standing near the door ready to leave, Dr. Creed walks in and says to her, "Is she getting straightened out?" or something like that. Surprise! I did not expect Pastor to be there. It is always good to see him. Eventually I helped the ladies set up the dining room for the evening meal. There were several people coming and going whom I recognized.


The building and the grounds of BIMI have greatly improved since the first and only time we saw it back in the fall of 1995. At that time it was newly purchased, so everything was in need of fixing up. Today the grounds are beautifully landscaped; many buildings and homes have been added, the main building has been renovated and decorated beautifully. First class all the way.

 
Along about 5:00 or so Henry, the girls, and I head back to the house where I made dinner so Roxanne would not have to. Tim came in late. We stayed up and talked until past 11:30. Tuesday was going to be a very busy day.


 

Saturday, June 5

This morning we went over to my soon-to-meet-for-the-first-time friend Linda's house, which we could see from the parking lot. Linda has one of her young grandsons living with her, plus a small dog who likes to jump all over you, in a friendly way. Sara stayed outside to pet the dog and Henry and I went inside and we chatted for a time. Linda and I were to meet at Paducah two years ago, but I had decided at that time to skip the evening class I was going to take and did not get in touch with Linda and let her know. Some problem with cell phones. Anyway, she went and I was not there, but she was given a goodie bag by Eleanor Burns. Linda had saved it for me and it is loaded with lots of little things made by the Japanese company Clover. I will have fun putting those into a quilt someplace.

Linda and grandson Alexander
 
She brought out her love quilt that the IQ group had made for her many years ago and found the block I made. It is still a pretty quilt. Callie had done the quilting on her long-arm machine. 

 Quilt squares on the buildings

We wanted to go see the Christ Camp for the Blind which I think is less than 30 minutes from Berea, but when she called, Mike as in Lexington and would not be back until after 4:00 pm, so we are not able to see that; much as I would have liked to. Years ago I made 10 quilts for their campers, along with many other ladies from the IQ list.


 
So instead, Linda took us into "downtown" Berea where we saw some of the local crafters. The first was a lady that went to high school with Linda. She makes glass beads that are really beautiful and gave us a demonstration. On her wall is a posted sign: "Real Women do not have hot flashes, they have power surges" The name of her company is Hot Flashes.

 
We walked over to the next building and met a lady who told us about Berea's Sister City exchange with a city in Japan near Mt. Fuji. They have been doing that for 15-20 years.

Next we went over to the former railroad station and saw a demos of model trains. Rather spiffy.

 
Of course, there was a quilt shop across the street, so I went in and found some 90 inch wide fabric for $5 a yard, and some Dick and Jane alphabet for $7. A good find, if I do say so.


After this we ate lunch at the Cracker Barrel. Henry and I split a chicken roast dinner that was enough for two people. Sara had chicken fingers, her current favorite. It was delicious, as usual.

 
We parted about 2:00 pm and headed south to Chattanooga and arrived there about 6:00 pm at the Leonard's.

Sunday, June 6

This morning we went to Stanley Heights Baptist Church with the Leonard family. We met many people from BIMI there that we have not seen in many years. There were two families from Japan there also, as well as some of the people from BIMI HQ.

The Pastor had a time of Children's Worship with the kids from 4-11. He called all the kids down front and they sat on the steps of the platform. One brought a brightly wrapped box in which was an item that Pastor did not know. He took out the item, which was a ticket stub, and related it to the Bible. Sorry to say, I do not remember what he said. ;-(    Every week there is a different object in the box and the kids try to stump the Pastor, but so far have not. This was a new thing for me, but I can see how it would help young kids to relate to the pastor. So often children have their separate classes and do not get to know the Pastor through the preaching.


In the evening service a Japanese man gave his testimony of how he got saved years ago in Chattanooga as an exchange student. He went back to Japan and worked in a local Baptist church. He wants to start a new work there. He said that out of 1,000 people in Japan, only 4 claim to be Christian. Now, that is a sobering statistic. His wife sang in English and Japanese.

 
Then there was a church planter in Connecticut who preached the evening service. He is starting a church in a town that has no Baptist churches. They were able to purchase an abandoned building that used to be a bar. With the approval of the community, they can now start on the renovations. God is good.

Church planting is God's plan for the Great Commission. Go and preach the gospel, baptize believers as their first step of obedience; and teach them so they can in turn teach others. The process still works.


 

Friday, June 4

Today we left Dan and Charlene about 10:00 am on our way to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. We got there about noon. It was my second time to see it and there were many improvements since my first visit in 2008. There were many new inter-active things for the kids to do as well as some new exhibits in the Noah's Ark section and animals in the Adam and Eve section. The dinosaurs have also been moved around. We saw a couple of presentations in the planetarium which was really cool.

 
Outside the grounds have really grown up and many flowers and plants have been added, as well as a petting zoo. I fed the animals; Sara and Henry would not. That is a funny feeling—animal tongues on your palm. We will miss the sheep shearing on Saturday—that is always a spiffy thing to see.

 
Tonight we are in Berea, KY, at a hotel just down the street from another quilting friend I have not met. Saturday we will go up to Linda's house and finally meet since we missed each other two years ago in Paducah.

Thursday, June 3

During our travels across the USA, I have taken many photos of water towers advertising the city or area we were passing by. I do not remember water towers in Japan, although there may be some. I find it somewhat interesting to see these towers rising above the plains or the trees and the highway, letting the travelers know that this particular city or town exists. Here are some of the many landmarks I have photographed. 

Plainfield, Indiana, suburb of Indianapolis

 

 Witchita Falls, TX

 Chickaming Township, MI

 Hampshire, IL

Wednesday, June 2

Stephen came over about 9:00 am on his way back to Greenville. He stayed about an hour while he told Dan and Charlene how Grandpa  was doing. Friday he is to have a cardio test I think and another type of test. We hugged and said our goodbyes again. My son is so spiffy for stepping in and helping the Main's. They really appreciated him being there when needed and they really love the guy. I can see why.

 
Later that afternoon, Charlene, Sara and I went over again. Charlene went back to talk to her Dad while Sara and I sat in the kitchen and talked with Mrs. Main. She is one of eight children who grew up on a farm. She said that during the Depression, they did not know there was one because nothing changed on the farm. There are still 5 siblings living, the youngest being in their early 80's. Longevity.


Wednesday evening we went to church at the Thompson Road Baptist Church. Pastor was doing a Bible study on the Holy Spirit. He let Henry give a short testimony before the offering, then played the offertory.


Got an email from Stephen staying he got back safely and got his computer fixed.

Tuesday, June 1

Charlene, Sara and I decide to do some shopping since her Dad was doing better and since Stephen was going to take the grandparents to the doctor. When they got to the hospital and walked into the room, Stephen was asked who he was and he said, "I am the grandson." So they let him stay. They were there for tests and for a few hours awaiting results. Mr. Main was put on a heart monitor, and was improving a little.

 
Later in the afternoon, Henry, Sara and I went over to visit. We were supposed to play Dominoes, but ended up talking for a couple of hours or more. Mr. Main seemed to be doing better, but you could tell he was not doing well. His mind is still active, he is a little slow to respond or formulate a thought, but is still articulate. The doctor told him that when he feels lightheaded he is to sit down, even on the floor, until the feeling passes. I am surprised he is not on oxygen yet. Friday he is to go back for more tests and get the results of the heart monitor.


 
Stephen took Sara for a spin around the block in the new car. It gets over 30 mpg and rides quiet. I am jealous.

>

6/1/2010, 8:48 AM

Monday, May 31

Today we traveled across Michigan down to Indianapolis. Nothing unusual except we ran into a couple of rainstorms. I was driving, so slowed to about 40 mph with the flashers going. We managed to go around the first storm only to come upon another one a few miles down the road. It is not a pleasant thing to attempt to drive when one cannot see out the window except for the taillight in front of you.

 
When we got about an hour from Indy, we called Stephen who was coming from the south side about 30 minutes ahead of us. So when we get to Dan and Charlene's house, Stephen is already there. He also has a new 2010 Honda Civic, blue in color. He bought it just after Easter and did not mention it to us. He said the other car died on his way to visit Indy around Easter, so he turned around and decided to get the new wheels.


He decided to spend the night at his adopted grandparents across town. Mr. Main is not doing well at all and is actually dying. He has shortness of breath and has passed out more than once, and is also retaining fluid but the doctors cannot find out why or where it is. Later Monday night, Charlene's mom calls and said that her Dad had passed out again for a couple of minutes. They decided to take him to the doctor on Tuesday. It was really good that Stephen was there to help, we were told many times later. Charlene decided not to go over and wait for the morning call from mom.

Sunday, May 30

We spent the day at the Evergreen Bible Baptist Church. Henry taught the young adult class and I gave my testimony to the ladies' class, which is one thing I have not done in literally years.

 
We were asked to teach Junior Church. There were about 20 kids up to 6^th grade plus three adults. First we sang Jesus Loves Me in Japanese and then taught them some Japanese words like 十字架　(Cross）イエス（Jesus） 立って（Stand）すわって （Sit)。Then he showed them where Japan was　by using the kids as a visual aid. A group of 8 represented the USA. One boy was Hawaii, four were Japan and a couple more were China and SE Asia. Then he told them about salvation and how to get saved. A couple of kids raised their hands at the invitation. It was something they probably won't forget anytime soon.


 
After church we had lunch at Pastor's house with his in-laws who are in their 80's and drive about an hour to come to church each Sunday.


 
During the evening service Henry showed our presentation then preached. 

After service we went to the Jenkins house for dessert. These people are long-time farmers and own hundreds of acres just down the road from the church. Mostly they grow potatoes. Henry talked to Mr. Jenkins about that process and found out that the fields they leave fallow every year are planted with rye then plowed under to get the nutrients into the soil. They also rotate their crop fields. These two folks are really lively; Mrs. Jenkins was always joking and talking like a young person. I hope I am as genki twenty years down the road.


 

Saturday, May 29

Saturday, May 29

 

Today is graduation day for Tommy, an exchange student from China who is staying with Pastor and his wife. He is 17 and speaks good English, having been totally immersed in it since last August. He is also a very interesting character. An only child, he lives with his parents in an apartment. A couple of things indicate a stark difference between China and the USA.

 

One is that Tommy had made a password for Pastor's computer with the date 1945 in it and they could not figure out what that was for. Tommy said everyone knows this important date—it is when China defeated Japan in World War II. Um, his information is all wrong since China did not defeat the Japanese; they left China after the USA defeated them.

 

The other is that one time they were watching the Sound of Music. When the song "I am 16 going on 17" was shown, Tommy said, "Where did that come from?" In the Chinese version, it is completely cut out since 16 year old girls are not allowed to marry; in fact young people are not to marry before they are 23. Tommy said, "That explains why Liesle had wet hair in the next scene. I always wondered about that." He also said that the movie ended after the wedding. China did not show the rest of the movie about why the Von Trappes left Nazi Germany.

 

The local school gave him a Certificate of Completion so he could have the experience of graduating from an American School. Apparently there are no ceremonies for this accomplishment in China.

 

 

5/29/2010, 8:35 AM

Thursday-Friday, May 27-28

 We started early, about 5:45 am heading through Chicago to get over to Michigan. We got up to Prudenville where Teresa’s chalk art teacher lives, about 3:00 or so. Mr. Bowman was in the process of making chalk and described how it is done. Fascinating. 

We met his wife, son and three daughters. They are all a wonderful, Christian family. They are expanding the building where the chalk is boxed and stored. Check out his website here:

http://www.eternityarts.com/

 We had to leave about 4:30 to get Teresa to Camp CoBeAc which stands for:

COme BElieve ACcept. We were able to stay the night in one of the family cabin rooms, recently refinished.

It is a beautiful location, recently landscaped, clean, wide, borders a lake, has a gym, game room, plenty of cabins for hundreds of campers. The group of kids there for counselors are young college-age people. Teresa said she was assigned to the cleaning crew.

On Thursday Henry sat in on one of the training sessions. The camp director is well-suited for the job. He told the kids about the camp philosophy and what was expected. We were told many times, “If you have any questions, please call us.” The staff were very helpful. After the morning session, the kids were given tasks on cleaning up the campgrounds. Many of them were outside raking leaves. Teresa and some others were cleaning cabins. Her crew’s job was to clean all the corners in the cabins. Some other group was to come after them and mop. We found her, took photos, hugged and said goodbye. I guess we won’t see her before we return to Japan.

About 11:00 we headed toward Kalkaska where we will be on Sunday. We arrived early, so went to the post office then the local library to check email. It was a nice, small library, albeit, not as quiet as I recall libraries.

About 4:30 we arrived at the pastor house and chatted for over an hour. They are hosting a Chinese high school student. He chose the American name Tommy and speaks good English. He got saved shortly after arriving in the USA back in August, and is a very engaging young man of 17. He graduates from the local high school on Saturday.

The pastor and his wife took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. That was really good and also a very popular place. Three of us has the special fish dinner; it was really a lot to each. Sara did not eat her fries and I did not finish mine.

So tonight we are in a local hotel. Saturday, Henry goes to the men’s prayer breakfast while Sara and I will go visit with pastor’s wife until they are done. Then it is preparation for Sunday.

Wednesday, May 26

 Wednesday we stayed in Hampshire, IL. About noon we went over to the Coon house and ate lunch with Jesse. She is an engaging young lady. Her parents said she has active PDD,(I think that was it). She is 21 but has the mind of a 12 year old. She is very articulate, and talks a lot. She is an expert on all things Disney and remembers many story lines from books she has read. Her mom worked hard with her to do her studies and drill her in her schooling. She recently graduated from high school.

Jesse fixed us lunch of soup, Teresa helped with sandwiches. We then took a tour of Hampshire. Jesse directed us to the Blocks butcher/grocery store in town where I bought ingredients for curry. We got back home about 3:45 or so after her dad got there. We then prepared dinner and ate about 5:30 when Debbie got home from work. After that, we got went to church.

During the service, Henry showed our DVD presentation, then preached a message on “a cup of water” given in the name of a disciple. Jesus told us that if we give just a cup of water to anyone, even in the name of a disciple, we will not lose our reward. It was quite good, IMHO.

When we got back to the Coon’s house, we had cheesecake for dessert and showed some photos of Japanese Engrish. Some of it is so funny. About 10:00 pm we left for the hotel and packing and getting ready for the morning.

Tuesday, May 25

  Barbee, Denise, Teresa, Sara,Henry

We left Omaha about 7:30 a.m. to get to the Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant near Des Moines by 9:30 for brunch. It is a really beautiful place, country store and restaurant with that rustic atmosphere. They sell all things John Deere and the dining room had a big sign with that name on it. Barbee and friend Denise came a few minutes after us, we hugged and greeted each other, then were seated for breakfast. Again, the choices were wonderful. We each ordered something different, except Denise as she works night shifts at the hospital and is not used to breakfast. I had an omelet with has browns and sausage links. Enough for me. Henry’s portion was big. He shared a slice of real smoked bacon and small piece of country fried ham. Sara had three big pancakes which she could not finish. Teresa’s plate had hash browns, toast and country fried chicken. Barbee had bisquits and gravy. Neither could finish their plates. And plenty of coffee. Water and juice for me.

One of the other customers had ordered the cinnamon rolls. This is not your ordinary roll. It was more like a quarter of two-layer cake. That would add a few calories to your diet for sure.

This is a cinnamon roll....
We noticed that when the staff prepared for lunch, they moved an old wood wagon to use for the salad bar. Unique. When we paid the bill, one of the ladies asked where we were from and I told her Japan and why we were here. I was standing next to a tray of those cinnamon rolls that were wrapped in plastic. She said to pick out two—for our travels. Thank you so much! I chose one with pecans and a plain one. Mind you, we really did not need to have one of these, but, after all, she insisted. We thanked her and I gave her one of our prayer cards.

We got back on the I-80 East to Illinois. Along the way we ran into two rainstorms, complete with lightening and thunder. The first one was before we crossed the Mississippi and we had a detour to take. After getting back on the main highway we ran into another severe storm. This time we had to pull over because we could not see. After a few minutes it let up a bit and we started out slowly again, only to come across a semi-truck that turned over in the left lane.

 The rain was so hard, we could not see.

It did not look as if anyone was hurt but a few hundred yards down the road we saw a police vehicle that looked like it spun off the road onto the grassy median. Just a lesson in how to drive carefully through a rainstorm.

We got to our next destination about 4:45 pm, which is the Coon’s house. We know them from our days at Independent, but they left there about the time we came to Japan, so we have not seen them in 20 years. They live on a family farm out on a country road. The house sits on three acres and they own 17 additional ones they lease to a local farmer who is growing soybeans this year. Last year it was corn. This man is a Christian and plows their driveway when it snows heavily. We showed David and Debbie photos from IBC and the Shuffields and our kids when they were much younger. There are several pictures in my book with their girls and our boys together. David made spaghetti for dinner, with fresh radishes and home-canned green beans’ quite tasty.

The youngest daughter, Jesse, is 21; her two older sisters Jackie and Jamie are married living in different states. Their house is a family heirloom, several generations old. Family live nearby. It is a very nice place to rear your children.

We are staying here on Wednesday because Dave called his pastor and told them about us, so we will be going to church with them on Wednesday night.

Monday, May 24

We decided to stay an extra day in Omaha. The original plans were to go to Iowa and meet another quilting friend named Jan. However, she wrote and said her daughter was there and was taking her back to Wisconsin and the grandkids for a month. It was a disappointment, as we were to also meet Sandy from Minnesota and Barbee, also from Iowa.

I contacted Barbee and we decided to meet in Des Moines, Iowa, for breakfast on Tuesday.

So Monday, Henry and the girls went to the Omaha Zoo, upon recommendation from several people. It was rated the second best in the country, I think, with lots of different pavilions and natural habitat type areas for the wild animals.
We first stopped at the church to pack up our display stuff, then they dropped me off at the WalMart and went on to the zoo. I got some items then walked the mile back to the hotel. The wind was powerful. I had on a full skirt so it was a challenge to keep it from blowing all over the place while holding on to my purse and bag. I made it back in one piece, no worse for the wear.

After the family got back about 6:00 pm, we walked over to Burger King and ate dinner. I think we will try to eat at a different restaurant as much as possible while here. Salads are always good, even on the $1 menu.

Saturday, Sunday, May 22-23

We left Enid and headed north toward Omaha, Nebraska, for our first meeting on Sunday. Passing through Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska was a long trip, but the scenery was interesting at some points. Lots of cows, open fields, big, blue sky and farm equipment. One can understand why this part of the USA is called the Breadbasket.

We arrived at our hotel in Omaha about 5:00 pm, then went up the road a couple of miles to Midwestern Baptist Church where we met Pastor Bentley. We were last here in 1989 on deputation when Teresa was just a baby. The present location of the church is a big stone house which they added a big extension for the auditorium and classrooms. The property used to be wooded and had a high wall on one side so that people could not see it from the road. They landscaped it, cut down a bunch of trees and put in three levels of parking.

Outside near the main entrance is a rock garden with oodles of iris! I’m missing the iris growing in my yard in Japan. There were more colors than the lavender and purple I have. A relative of the pastor’s family was well known in the area for their iris breeding. Wish I could take a few chormes home with me.

Sunday Henry preached in Sunday School, as well as the morning and evening services. He spoke on serving God and our part in the great commission, along with a few corny jokes tossed in. The congregation must have liked it because they laughed a lot. Sunday evening we showed our DVD presentation which was well received. I had not really seen it before this, and parts of it brought tears to my eyes; my kids are so all grown up. We met and shook hands with many people who told us they pray for us and took one of our newest prayer cards. It was so good to see that the church had not changed its standards when so many are doing so, especially in the area of music.

Our Display of Japanese items

After the evening service we went to a restaurant with Pastor’s son and his family for a late dinner.