TRAVEL
SPEAKING
CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
and EATING.
Lots of eating. Mostly ice cream and pizza.
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| After all, our first stop, Le Mars, is known as the "Ice Cream Capital of the World". |
I have internet access available today, so I thought I had better post a few photos and a quick update.
This is our fourth summer back and I am finding there are things I can expect to experience upon each return.
Like being overwhelmed by the abundance of choices in food and snacks.
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| So much salt water taffy... |
Being puzzled by some weird aspects of American culture.
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| Keep it classy, Walmart. |
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| Her expectations for our summer together: belly rubs 24/7. |
Participating in special events that happen at the right time for us to enjoy being a part of them.
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| Dixie and Calvin (some of our kids' "extra" grandparents) celebrated their 50th Anniversary. Wishing this wonderful couple many more together! |
And visiting some unusual places.
BUT this summer has been full of changes, too.
Some come with our kids growing up. This summer Caleb (16) took the SAT in Iowa and Hannah (15) took the ACT in Indiana. It was strange to drop her off at the huge high school here in Columbus that she would have possibly attended if the Lord hadn't moved us to Haiti.
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| By the way, she got a 29 on her first try. Not bad! |
Even Iowa was different for us this year. Our good friends, Phil and Connie, have hosted our family for several years now in the spacious parsonage of the Grundy UM Church. But Phil was in the midst of retiring and all their belongings had been moved to Des Moines. We still stayed in the Grundy Center parsonage, but it was bare bones.
Phil and Connie hosted a cookout for us to have an opportunity to share about Haiti, and it was all folding chairs and collapsible tables in the empty living room.
Caleb and Samuel spent a bit of time one day helping to clear out the last of the odds and ends from the basement.
And Samuel enjoyed rummaging through some final garage sale items and playing dress up.
And when it came time to say goodbye, it was hard to imagine we won't ever again be staying with Phil and Connie in that house.
But the biggest change of all was also the toughest. For years now our Iowa pilgrimages have ALWAYS included several days at the home of dear friends (and our kids' extra grandparents), Bill and Jodee.
I have known (and LOVED) their family since my first days as a youth pastor, fresh out of college, transplanted in Le Mars, Iowa. (And that was over a quarter century ago now!)
Bill was a big, loud teddy bear of a man. And one of these guys who never met a stranger in his life. He was one of a kind.
So when their youngest daughter called me the last Thursday of our school year to let me know that Bill had lost his battle with cancer, I knew that Le Mars would never be the same.
It wasn't feasible for our whole family to bump up our flights to the States, scheduled for a week later. But I knew that I, at least, needed to be at the funeral. Melissa was willing to take on the monumental task of packing up the house and closing out the school year and getting the four kids out of the country all on her own. (She's tough like that.)
I was given the privilege of speaking at Bill's funeral and the whole process was just as difficult as I had anticipated.
This church building that holds so many memories for me became the place where we celebrated Bill's life and said our final goodbyes.
Melissa and the kids showed up a few days later. Everything had changed and Bill's absence from the house was now somehow just as prominent and widely felt as his presence always had been before.
My heart breaks for Jodee and her daughters. But they are three of the toughest ladies I know. I believe the Lord has them in His hands and I believe Bill is waiting for them in a better place...
Better than Le Mars, the "Ice Cream Capital of the World"?
INFINITELY.
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death
of his faithful servants." - Psalm 116:15
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| A happier reunion - last summer, Bill and Jodee visited us in Indianapolis for a day. |
