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Construction on the way was horrendous. It really is true that there are two seasons in the Midwest, Winter and Road Construction. Traveling with a 3 month year old is also quite different than hitchhiking across Israel. Lots of crying and stops every 3 hours. Jeff was my roommate my last semester at college as well as my co-driver at Modern Moving for a summer. It was great to get caught up on life and be encouraged by him and his wife and daughter. His love and knowledge of God's word was inspiring to me.
Day Two: Galena, Illinois, to Sheiffield Iowa via Cedar Falls, Iowa: 178 miles
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Day number 2 took us to my hometown of Cedar Falls. I was born in a small hospital there in June of 1981. My dad was a college pastor at the University of Northern Iowa. I grew up hanging out at the green house which was the ministry on campus. In fact legend has it that my brother saved me from drowning in the creek next door. I have many great memories of this place.
There were students all over campus on Saturday and being there got me excited for doing ministry up at the University of Washington. I have so many good memories of the students at UNI. Most of the people we saw on this trip were students who's lives were impacted by the ministry on campus at UNI. While we were in Cedar Falls we were able to stop and see a few old friends who i hadn't seen in years. I also was able to visit the school i went to kindergarten in. After spending a few hours in Cedar Falls we continued on to the metropolis that is Sheffield, Iowa. It was great to get caught up with Mark and Jill Peterson and their family. They were students at UNI when I was young. Jill babysat me a few times and Mark spent hours playing with me at various events on campus. They have a fantastic family. It was a great encouragement to see a family that seemed to enjoy each other and loved the Lord. I was challenged by the purposeful lives that they are living in the small town of Sheffield.Day 3: Sheffield, Iowa to Des Moines, Iowa: 103 miles
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Day three took us south to the French city of Des Moines. My college roommate Tim came and visited me there. It was good for Maicy to be able to meet her other aunt, aunt Tim.
Day 4: Des Moines, Iowa to Wheaton, Illinois: 309 miles
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Day four we drove across Iowa and Illinois to the Christian Mecca, Wheaton Illinois. Home of more churches per capita than any other city in America. It is here as my boss once told me that like a christian bookstore slogan you can "get everything Christian for less." We were able to stay with the Berthels, my old employer in Wheaton. It was so good to see them and to be encouraged by their family. They are a family that loves the Lord and have taught their kids to love Him as well. They were also part of my parents ministry at UNI.
Day 5: Wheaton, Illinois to Cedar Lake, Indiana via Oak Park, Illinois: 73 miles
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Day five brought us to Cedar Lake, Indiana through Oak Park Illinois. We stopped to see the Stoffer family in Oak Park. I spent hours at their house during college, eating countless meals. They were so generous to me and i am eternally grateful. Their son Dave is a good friend of mine and it was good to get caught up with him. He is currently studying Hebrew at The Ohio State University because he wasn't smart enough to get into the University of Michigan.
After, having lunch with him we headed out to Cedar Lake, Indiana the home of Jake and Megan Manne, my best friend from high school. I started hanging out with Jake when i was in 8th grade and continued to hangout with him all the way through our time at Moody. He is a youth pastor now. It was great to see him and his wife and to see how God is using them in the lives of students. Our time with them was so refreshing.Day 6: Cedar Lake, Indiana to my parents house: 192 miles
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The last leg of our trip led us back to my parents house. Overall we traveled 1218 miles altogether. It was an encouraging trip, filled with friends. It was exciting to visit with many of the people that were impacted by my parents ministry and to think about what God has in store for us as we serve him at the University of Washington.
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Thanks for capitalizing The in The Ohio State University.
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't take the Geo in this little excursion!
ReplyDeleteI so wish I could have gone with you to visit Iowa and all the special students who impacted our lives as kids growing up. I learned a lot about you reading your blog. This is a good way to find out what you're thinking and where life is. You can still call though! Praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Christy