Here We Go Again!

April 9-12, 2010

I'm always the last one out the door when we leave for a trip. I always stand still or wander slowly and try to make sure I've remembered to pack the little things like clothes to sing in...ha! Seriously, we've left our hang-up clothes before. More commonly, I forget things like Grace's sippy cup or extra diapers or wipes, which means I have to buy more on the road. Perhaps because we had been gone for 2 weeks and had been so far from home on the last trip, I began to feel weary of the traveling and had more of a longing to just stay home. As the rest of the family waited for me out in the van with the engine running, I stood in the girls' bedroom with tears in my eyes and said, “Well, Lord, here we go again. You know the only reason I'm doing this is to see people saved. When I see people walk the aisle and give their lives to You, THAT makes it worth it.” And we were off to West Virginia.

We arrived at Jackson's Mill, West Virginia University's 4-H campus just out of Weston around 8:00 that evening and our friends, Susan Patterson and two of her daughters, Taylor and Hope met us and helped us to our suite. Terry and Susan Patterson are the property managers and their 3 daughters have a very large “backyard” to leave no stone unturned in.

Our family LOVES this place! First of all, it's beautifully nestled in between the mountains with long stretches of wood fence along the road and horses grazing. Second, the suite we stay in is on the second floor of a building who's exterior architecture is fashioned after Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington. The suite is enormous and very tastefully designed and decorated in a cottage feel with mission-styled furnishings. Landis and Hope love it that they each get their own twin bed in their own bedroom, but more than that, they love spending the day with Taylor and Hope. Because a cattle sale group and a Catholic group were already

being served, we were able to eat 3 hot meals with them that day in the cafeteria below. Taylor and Hope came by our suite first thing in the morning to pick up Landis and Hope and take them to breakfast and brought some breakfast back for Faith and I. Bobby slept until almost noon to prepare for an all-night drive the next night (can you see him in the bed below?) and I had some breakfast in the room for Grace. After breakfast, the children,

including Faith, took off for the majority of the day to look at calves, help Susan with gardening and yard work, walk the dogs, take a walk to the store, play in the girls' clubhouse and even make a “smell-good soup,” which I think must have been potpourri.

That evening, after getting everyone cleaned up we had dinner in the cafeteria and were joined by Pastor Jay and his beautiful wife, Beth. After dinner, it was a short walk to the building where we had the concert. We were having a great time until just as Bobby was finishing a song, 2 men walked in a side door and stepped right in front of the stage, one of them demanding to know whose van was parked in the drive outside. We were totally floored but Bobby spoke very calmly and

said that just happened to be his van. The man speaking insisted that our van be moved immediately so he could park his car in his driveway. I stood and ushered the man back out the door, Pastor Jay following close behind. We assured him we would move the van so he could get to his driveway and invited him back in to enjoy the music. He asked what kind of music we were listening to and after we told him it was Gospel music, he soberly said that he could probably use a good dose of that right now. However, after he got into his car we didn't see him again. It's sad how alcohol will cause people to behave. It took us back by the way he came in, interrupted the service by positioning himself front and center and shouting demands. Unbeknownst to him, Susan, the property manager...his SUPERIOR, was sitting in the room. I wonder what happened to him on Monday?

Terry Patterson, his oldest daughter and Jay and Beth's daughter returned from a horse show in Ohio by the time the concert was over and after more hugs, picture taking and loading the trailer, we were off to Fredericksburg, Virginia for a Sunday morning service.

The kids and I were to sleep in the van while Bobby drove. He would check in to our reserved room in Fredericksburg between 2:00 and 3:00, leaving me a note as to what room he'd be in so that when my alarm went off at 6:00 I could find our room and shower. Everything went as planned except that I didn't sleep much while he was driving - way too many hills and curves on Interstate 68. I was constantly fighting the feeling that I was about to roll out of bed.

This was a second visit to Cornerstone Baptist Church where we got to see Pastor Todd Pyle and his sweet wife, again. They have two Sunday morning services, and Bobby shared the stage with a guest speaker. Needless to say we were a bit weary by the end of the second service but there is no rest for the weary Bowens until Sunday night. We had to decline lunch with the Pastor again and go west about 3 and half hours to Vesuvius where we were so excited to see Mr. Jim Hall and his wife, Shelvia again. Jim became a great friend last May when we had the troubles with the motor home and he made himself as well as his son, Rick's van available to us for sightseeing while we waited for motor home repairs. Of course Rick, his wife, Lori, and daughter, Gracia came also and Lori and I made some big plans to have a girl's day out the next time we're in the area. Mrs. Shelvia even offered to keep the children! That's an offer I can not refuse!

A very, very special treat for me that evening at Oronoco Church of the Brethren was to see my cousin, Matt Schwartz, who I hadn't seen in over

8 years. I was very privileged to meet his wife, Mindy and beautiful daughter, Katie Grace for the very first time. Matt left the family in Michigan to attend Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg, Virginia and is now serving as an associate pastor locally. It was so good to see Matt and meet his young family that I'd been hearing great things about.

"Rubber Duckie" was waiting for us in our hotel that night. I've seen folded toilet paper, washcloths folded like animals and mints on the pillow but I've never been so blessed as to receive a complimentary rubber duck.

On Monday morning after rising late from a restful night in Lexington, Virginia, we found the home of Stonewall Jackson. I admit, I thought the only “Stonewall Jackson” was the senior Grand Ole Opry singer. Isn't that sad? Next to Robert E. Lee, he was the most revered of all Confederate commanders in the Civil War. He was an orphan and was raised by an aunt with a verbally abusive husband in Weston, West Virginia, which was still part of Virginia back then. Of course this is where we had stayed on Friday night and Saturday – Jackson's Mill, named after Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson. The home in Lexington, which is now a museum, was the only home he ever owned. He found God at some point and was very religious with his Bible reading and early morning prayer walks. His life ended too soon as he was shot by friendly fire and developed pneumonia, dying 8 days later.

A late lunch in Roanoke followed by evening school in the van and we were home late Monday night, the 12^th.