June 25-29, 2009

We decided to get a good night's rest Wednesday night, the 24th after church and finish our packing in the morning instead of trying to pack into the wee hours of the morning and start out a long drive in exhaustion. Which meant we didn't leave for the country's northern border until noon on Thursday. I tried to prepare the children by telling them we'd drive all day and not get there and that there would be 2 more days just like it. However, it didn't take that long and it was a fairly easy drive. Perhaps in my efforts to mentally prepare the children, I actually psyched myself.

Bobby drove from our driveway to just north of Kansas City on Interstate 29 and joined the rest of us who were already sleeping in the van. (Going through Chicago is a more direct route, however, the tolls are bothersome and time consuming and Bobby opted to bypass Chicago altogether.) We purchased a 5x8 enclosed trailer which gave us more space in the van and we were able to lay the back seat down into a bed. We pulled into a rest area between 1:00 and 1:30 in between trucks, covered all of the front windows and attempted to sleep. Landis was sleeping in the reclined front passenger seat, Hope, Faith and I were sleeping on the bed and Grace had a foam pad and comforter on the floor. When Bobby and I opened and closed doors a couple of times in order to pinch towels into the front windows, Grace's eyes popped open and she decided she'd had enough sleep. I had placed Faith on the floor with Grace and Bobby laid down between Hope and I. I laid on the edge of the bed nearest Grace and because she started to get very vocal, I proceeded to rub her feet, legs, and arms in order to soothe her and keep her quiet. She came close to going back to sleep after over an hour of massage but fought the sleep and after 2 hours of struggling with her, I gave up. At that point I wasn't sure if I was a heroin for sacrificing my sleep and taking Grace's kicks and scratches or if I was a failure for not seeing to it that Bobby was able to sleep until daylight. But when Grace started losing patience with me at 3:30 and I gave up and allowed her to scream out again, Bobby decided it would be better to make progress moving down the road than to lay there and only TRY to sleep. He did feel better after having his 2 hour nap in the middle of the night.

Onward to just south of Sioux Falls, Iowa where Bobby handed the reigns over to me. He pulled into a McDonald's where we enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunrise and I got some coffee and a small breakfast. I put Landis in the bed with Hope and Bobby, and I got behind the wheel. Grace stirred again when we stopped but was lulled back to sleep again with the moving of the van. I took this picture while driving 73 miles per hour using my rear view mirror...carefully.

We received text messages on our phones on Thursday afternoon, late, from Pat Johnson who said that his daddy, who has been ill for a year, was very close to going home to be with Jesus. He asked us to please keep the prayers coming. And on Friday morning around 8:30, our friend, Mr. Pat called again to give us the word that his daddy, Mr. Forest Johnson, did indeed leave this world at approximately 3:00 a.m. Friday and entered eternity to meet His creator face to face.

The kids woke up one by one and I pulled into another Mickie D's for a second breakfast at 9:30 at Watertown, South Dakota. We took our time with breakfast, washing faces, putting bedding away reorganizing luggage and then onward to Grand Forks, North Dakota where we spent the rest of the second day and night.

Some major storms moved into the area and when the fire whistle blew, the girls and I ended up sitting in the corridor with pillows in hand, (I laid Grace on our foam pad and was ready to roll her up in it like a hotdog.) while Bobby and Landis stayed in the lobby and even stood (tried standing) outside in the parking lot trying to get footage of funnel clouds. The radar on the TV showed that tornadic (I like that word) activity was moving directly over US 2, the street we were on. We made it through the experience without any touchdowns and listened to the rain beat our window the rest of the evening.

The storms cooled everything off considerably and the following morning when we hit the road and headed north, our jackets were needed. Grand Forks is only about an hour from the Canadian line and when we rolled into the border patrol, Bobby told us to just act natural as he chewed his nails. It wasn't the smoothest crossing he's ever experienced but they didn't keep any of our children and we were able to move on fairly quickly. (I'm just kidding about keeping the kids.)

We arrived at the Super 8 in Brandon, Manitoba, where the church had a suite reserved for us. This Super 8 was nothing like the Super 8's we've seen in the States. The following morning I took advantage of the fitness room and we ate breakfast in a very large dining room.

We had a good church service at Calvary Temple in Brandon but it was immediately after the service that I received the biggest blessing. I thought it was interesting that when Pastor Gary Jennings prayed that morning, he asked God to give us back more than we gave that morning. After the service, several people came to greet us but there was one couple that sat with me at length and was such an encouragement to me as they were students of the Word, believing in it and practicing it. Terry challenged me in my journey with Grace and the scripture she referred me to was Matthew 11:12. "...the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." If she had not gotten violent with the forces of evil and took her place as one with the authority of a blood-bought child of God, she would have lost 2 of her 5 children to death through sickness and catastrophe. Actually, her daughter did die but came back to life because of Terry's effective fervent and righteous praying. Terry and Emile Houd reminded me that it's when we get aggressive with sickness and sin that we see our circumstances changed.

After church we enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch behind the building. The weather was, and still is, absolutely gorgeous, and aside from nearly blowing everything away Sunday, was a beautiful day for a picnic. A special thank you goes out to Associate Pastor, Vern Kratz for scheduling us to come and for helping me with getting Grace downstairs and back up again.

We drove back toward Winnipeg Sunday afternoon but only as far as Portage la Prairie. Actually, that's where we stayed ...at another Super 8...but this one had a waterslide! Of course we had a lot of fun on that on Monday but first back to Sunday evening. We sang at Community Bible Church which is a member of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and is pastored by Ramsy Unruh. His wife, Shannon and I had a good time visiting over dinner. About four of the ladies from the church made us homemade pizza, tossed salad, a veggie tray all followed by ice cream and homemade cookies. Wow.

Again, I met someone that encouraged, challenged and impressed me with her experience, wisdom and her very sweet spirit. Mrs. Cathy Allard introduced herself just before the service started and then we spoke a while after church. I learned she has homeschooled all of her seven children, the oldest being twenty-two years old and out of the house on his own now, and the youngest being five, a cute little blonde. It was her sincere desire to motivate me to persist, grow in, and enjoy my homeschooling experience and it wasn't until just before she walked away that she only mentioned that her husband passed away four years prior from a massive heart attack.

Bobby received some creative offertory gifts at Community Bible Church. Someone gave him a fifty dollar gas card and Ms. Heather Plett gave him a card which allowed him to come into the Little Caeser's in Portage la Prairie and have a free meal. She could do that because she owned the store. So on Monday after a big breakfast, Bible reading, a run to Wally World, and a couple of hours in the pool, we set out to find the Little Caeser's where we loaded up for dinner. What a thoughtful and generous thing for her to do.

My blogging is a little behind because of constantly moving. My normal time to write about the weekend is on Monday either on the way home or after we've arrived home. But home is still very far away and I've not had good opportunities to document our travels. I'll try to just keep writing as most days hold adventures worthy of recording.

I'm thankful for the precious people God arranges to cross paths with us and as much as they encourage me, I hope that I can do the same for them. I'm also thankful for the Internet, social networks, telephones and other ways to keep up with our loved ones and finally, I'm thankful for home. I pray for God's richest blessings to be upon you, the reader.