Lisa’s first day at the Kingman (AZ) Regional Medical Center was a smooth one for her and learned she will work into a schedule of twelve-hour days and a “seven on – seven off” rotation.  This will allow us to possibly travel home occasionally for a week at a time as well as spend more time for friends and family to come out for a visit.  Lisa also learned that it was highly likely that this assignment will go into October. It has been our wish that we can be home this year in November and December – unlike last year.

We are still trying to get use to the desert weather but so far the temperatures have been tolerable in the mid 90s.  That may change this weekend with temps hitting 107.  If you smell burning flesh – it may be mine.  The wind keeps the dry air stirring and helps with the temperatures but everything is so dusty it will be impossible to keep our truck clean.  I saw two hitchhikers the other day out here and they were so dusty they reminded me of the sand people from Star Wars.  Our RV sits next to a large field (or desert looking area – not sure what to call it) and blows dust onto everything but does afford us a beautiful view of the sunrise.  The sunrises and sunsets here are breathtaking.

Lisa and I traveled to Hoover Dam on Sunday and did the tour of the power plant – something we did not get to do when we drove through on our way to Loma Linda CA back in December.  What an amazing engineering accomplishment!  Later we traveled to Las Vegas for supper.  Vegas will be the best airport to fly in and out of as it is only about an hour and half from Kingman.

We hope to go to Lake Havasu City this weekend (sixty miles away) and see that area which includes the London Bridge that was moved here in 1971.  We both are also looking forward to taking a train from Williams AZ. to the Grand Canyon.

Weather reports here are preparing residents for what they call “Monsoon Season”.  Apparently rains can fall here in biblical levels and we have already scouted out ways to get Lisa to work should our back roads become flooded.  I may price some two-man canoes.  I’m sure the rain would be welcomed here – no matter how intense it may come.  We noticed how trenches are dug around the small trees here in the campground with water piped in to keep them alive.

Still looking for Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner to make an appearance.

Stay in touch!

Steve and Lisa

We made it!  After four days traveling 1750 miles we arrived at the Kingman, Arizona KOA campground yesterday around 3:00PM.  It was good to finally unhitch our camper and settle in to where we will live for the next eight weeks.

We left out of Holbrook Az. yesterday about 9:00AM after breakfast at their “Chuck Wagon” with our new friends Doug and Erin Monk from Houston.  The trip was about 400 miles through Flagstaff and it’s higher elevation (over 7000 feet) and across some of the prettiest parts of the state we have seen as well as over the worst roads we have driven on during the trip.  At one point the jarring tore a panel loose on our RV but we duct taped it and kept going.  To see for the first time the place you will live for two months (or longer) can lead to a “what have we got into here” kind of response.  We experienced that in Hanover Pa. when we first arrived there last summer.  We have learned from all our travel to not let first impressions derail you emotionally.  It is hot, dusty, bland, windy and (did I mention?) hot.  But this is where God planted us for now – so it will be great.

Lisa and I drove around to find the hospital where she will be working and were glad to see that it was just a couple of miles away.  It was also important to locate the nearest gas station, grocery store and Wal-Mart.  Kingman has some historic places we discovered including some sections of the original Route 66 including famous restaurants and museums.  We also learned that we are an hour from Hoover Dam – an hour and half from the Grand Canyon “Skywalk” and about the same to Las Vegas.

We met and talked to a couple from Vancouver British Columbia who were staying out our campground while vacationing to the Grand Canyon.  He worked on a loading dock for 44 years (starting at the age of 16) and just recently retired.  We talked under the light of a “super moon”.  The temperature here was in the mid 90s during the day but a near perfect evening with the large full moon and temps in the 60s.  They are predicting temperatures next weekend to get as high as 110.

We were both exhausted last night as the adrenaline finally drained away after finally getting settled in.  This was our first significant trip pulling our RV and it is a little stressful.  I found myself mentally thinking through all the steps of securing everything on our camper as we moved down the road.  I became more and more comfortable but never really relaxed.  I would hear something and think our entire RV had broke free and was careening out of control in the other direction.  It was always a small relief to see it was still attached.  At one point it occurred to me that I had not put the cap on our black water tank.  Fortunately I had closed the valve or else we would have left a poop trail all the way down Interstate 40.  Later, while fueling up, something caught my eye and I noticed the keys were still in the camper door.  Guess I need to add to our checklist – “remove keys from door before traveling 300 miles down the highway”.

Thanks for following our blog as we traveled west and we hope to be more frequent in sharing our adventures here in Kingman.

Blessings!

Steve and Lisa

Good Bye Amarillo! The wind finally died down and we pulled out of Texas early Friday morning heading to Holbrook, Arizona.  Our travel day was another long one (eight hours) but we were excited knowing the final leg of our trip would be just three hours on Saturday.  New Mexico landscape is a little more pleasing to the eyes than the Texas panhandle and it was easy to see that it was probably the inspiration for Disney artists conceptualizing “Radiator Springs”.

We made it to our campground in Holbrook around 6:00PM.  It was hot – but not overwhelmingly and we were surprised to find the temperature drop to 57 last night.  The campground manager said it is typically hot as Hades during the day and cool at night.  We are not sure how the weather will be in Kingman – but we are soon to find out.

Last night we ate at the campground (they called it their “Cowboy Cookout”) and enjoyed talking to a couple from Houston who were vacationing to the Grand Canyon.  They were huge Disney fans which gave us plenty to talk about.  Like us they also were in Amarillo during the wind storm on Thursday and actually had to move to a hotel room when the door to their pop-up camper blew off.  Really nice people.

Lisa and I have learned to take our chance and go talk to people in our travels.  Campers are generally very friendly folks and in the end – the people you meet and friends you make are what we remember most.  We will add those two to our list.

See you in Kingman!

Steve and Lisa.

After three months being home with family, friends, and our new grandbaby, Lisa and I are back on the road heading to Kingman Az. for the next eight weeks.  On this trip west we decided to pull our RV and the adventure has already started.  We loaded up everything and pulled out of Owensboro on Wednesday afternoon.  Our first stop was Newburgh Ind. where Lisa had a TB skin test read (unbelievable the hoops she has to jump through in the medical field) and finally we were on the road to Springfield Mo. – our first stop in this 1800 mile journey.  The first day was rather uneventful except for my cutting a corner too close at the KOA campground and putting a nice dent in our truck.  Other than that – really the first part of our journey was rather smooth.  We have made reservations at KOA campgrounds all the way to Kingman and may stay at that campsite for the duration if it is close enough to Lisa’s work.

Day two of our journey was a whole other story.  We left out of Springfield to beautiful weather and it stayed nice until outside Oklahoma City when the winds started picking up and by the time we hit the Texas border I had lost a wooden block from the back of my truck (used to secure the RV) had our steps blow open, and weaved, swerved, rumbled and tumbled for three hundred miles.  At one point I thought our awning had blown loose (it had not) and was practically a freaked out wreak by the time we finally arrived in Amarillo, Texas for our second night.  The winds continued to increase and I was certain our roof, awning, siding, truck, Lisa, or all of them would be blown away during the night.  The wind gusts hit 60 mph during the night and Lisa and I huddled in the middle of the bed fully expecting the wind to pick us up and put us in Kansas.  What a night.  It was so bad we could not open the slide on our RV.

The best part of our evening was taking a shuttle to the famous “Big Texan” steakhouse where a person can try and consume a 72oz steak and meal for free if completed in an hour.  We watched a few try unsuccessfully with one poor girl throwing up near the end of her hour.  It was lovely.  We ate while looking out the window at the trees blowing around and I was certain I would see our RV fly past the window any minute.  It crossed my mind to get a hotel room – but if one is going to be an RVer it is necessary to endure moments like this.  And last night the key word was “endure” – not “enjoy”.

But God got us through our long night and soon we will be duct taping all our loose parts and trying to get to Holbrook Arizona today with Kingman being our final destination tomorrow (Saturday).

Say a prayer for us that God will hold back the wind and hold together our poor RV.

Blessings!

Steve and Lisa

Spent an evening watching a church slow-pitch softball game – a summer ritual we miss being a part of as we travel.  Thought I would share some observations.

For years I had been part of the truly American phenomenon of church softball both as a player and a coach.  Since Lisa and I have been traveling with her job – we have missed out on that experience and I had to give up coaching my son’s church team last summer.  Recently my daughter and I took in a game and I was able to sit back and just observe the going’s on as a simple spectator.

As we drove away from the city we were aware of the sun setting behind us and the glow of the lights illuminating the fields ahead.  A perfect night for softball.  We parked our car and walked with other fans and players toward the softball fields in anticipation of a relaxing evening under the stars.

We made our way to the small bleachers next to our team’s dugout passing players sprawled out in the grass with legs bent awkwardly backward in an attempt to stretch out their muscles.  Others used the backstop fence or bleacher poles to press against.  One slung a bat over his shoulders and used it to twist back and forth – I suppose to loosen those testy lower back muscles.  Some were dressed like professionals, others looked like they just arrived from work.  Some wore braces on their knees.  Some wore braces on their elbows.  One had braced every joint until hardly any skin was left exposed.  There were men in their twenties (or younger) and men pushing (if not surpassing) fifty.

As we sat down on the ridged aluminum seats and wiggled to find a comfortable position, the players began taking the field and tossing softballs back and forth.  Balls soon banged against the fence in front of us as they were thrown high, low, too hard, too soft or just simply missed.  Younger players threw with great intensity – zipping the yellow orbs with the greatest of velocity.  The older players were content to lob back and forth not wanting to damage any further those already damaged rotator cuffs or arthritic elbows.

The umpire yelled for both teams to gather for prayer and the teams circled home plate.  As players removed their caps and bowed their heads, one player stepped into the circle and began what seemed like a really long prayer for such an occasion. I thought it strange that they positioned themselves so uniformly – practically a perfect circle.  In any other setting one would swear the men had gathered to bury a dog and I was not sure if I was expected to bow my head and join in the reverence or sing “Nearer My God To Thee”.  It was much like watching prayers on television and not being sure if I should join in or not – especially those that are video taped.  Someone should write the rules of etiquette regarding prayers in public.  I did notice most of those in the stands stopped talking during this holy moment of reverence so I ceased my conversation as well.  Finally the prayer ended and the two teams wished the other good luck as they both moved into position. “Play Ball!”

George Carlin had a famous routine about how baseball is designed to be more relaxed in comparison to other sports.  Baseball is played in a “park” and the game can go on forever if the teams are tied after the final inning – no “sudden death” as is the harsh term of other sports.  There did not seem to be anything remotely “laid back” about this softball game as it progressed.  Players seemed to grow more intense as the game moved along.  A close play at third resulted in a semi-heated exchange between two opposing players and scores were met with added enthusiasm as the teams interest in winning seemed to grow throughout.  As the intensity grew – so grew the number of injuries.  A middle-aged player tore a muscle of some sort in his thigh while trying to beat out a slow grounder to second base.  From my perspective the second baseman would have had time to go get a coke at McDonald’s in the time it took the hobbling hitter to make it to first and yet he gave it all he had.  After all – this is an important regular season church softball game and a win tonight might determine a higher seed for the all important tournament later on.  Players cheered the man’s hustle with “good job”, “nice try”, “good hit” and he managed a shaky grin while trying to hold together his shredded hamstring muscle though his dark blue “Dickie” work pants.  Time was called for the injured player as he limped back toward his dugout and was replaced by a man much older who could hardly walk – let alone run.  But – “Play Ball!”

The last couple of innings grew more intense and the comments began to fly freely between the two teams and toward the umpire.  The umpire, making all of twenty-five dollars per game, began to have his skills in calling balls and strikes questioned as well as every play (close or not) at first base.  I was struck at how well composed the umpire remained and wondered if he experienced this a lot calling church softball games.  Then I had to wonder if he went to church somewhere.  If I was him – I probably would not.

But finally the game came to an end when one team managed to score enough runs to end the game on what is called a “mercy rule”.  There was this strange silence as the umpire yelled, “Ball game!” and the two teams formed a line to allow a hand shake and a closing “Good game!” salute to each other.  It seemed more appropriate that they end by saying to each other, “We survived!”.

Players gathered up their bats, balls, braces and Ben-Gay and moved toward the parking lot tired, dirty and probably a little ashamed.  My first conclusion was that very little of anything remotely Christian took place tonight – all that was revealed was a lot of flaws, failure and pain.  But then I realized that in the end there was a sort of unspoken forgiveness expressed to one another.  It crossed my mind that what happened tonight was absolutely characteristic of the church.  People striving to succeed, some meeting failure, some expressing joy – some expressing pain, anger and frustration.  But in the end forgiving and being forgiven.

This wasn’t a softball game – this was church.

Have a great day!

Steve

After six weeks of enjoying our time at home with family and friends (in particular our time with our new grandson) Lisa and I are ready for our next assignment to travel.  Lisa has been “put in” for jobs in Monterey California, Lawrence Mass. and Hawaii.  Now we wait.  This is the stressful part of traveling – not knowing where or when our next assignment will be.  Our preference would be to stay in the eastern half of the country – but we have to go where the jobs take us.

It is times like this I am reminded again of theologian John Piper’s sound advise about living in God’s grace.  He urges us to live our lives between the verses in the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”.  In the third verse there is the phrase, “Through many dangers, toils and snares, we have already come. Tis grace has brought us safe thus far and grace will lead us home.”  Piper suggested that our lives should be lived out in the middle of those two statements – meaning we know God has brought us safely this far in our lives and can rest knowing he will finish the job.

I have written before of my theory that we tend to look back on the past as the “good old days” primarily because we know what happened.  Our ability to see today or tomorrow as good “new days” is difficult since we have no idea what will take place.  Today and tomorrow are unclear and uncertain – so they are often met with worry and even trepidation.  We love yesterday because we survived it – we fear tomorrow because we may not. Piper was aware of that mental mind-set and encourages us to look forward to tomorrow based on our experiences of the past.  The past was not always “good old days” – in fact many of our days past were horrible and nearly devastating.  But we survived somehow.  God brought us through those difficulties safely and now we can look forward knowing His grace continues and will sustain us.

In the past couple of weeks I learned of a former co-worker losing her husband in a tragic automobile accident.  Like so many – I hurt deeply for her and her surviving daughter.  They now will try to pick up where things left off and continue with their lives.  I hope they have found a thousand shoulders to lean on, a thousand souls to grieve with, and a thousand arms to carry their lives forward.  But more than that I hope they will soon see that they can and will survive this terrible tragedy and in so doing – never fear again.  God’s grace will see them through this great loss and his grace will lead them home.

So Lisa and I are resting between those two lines as we wait for our next destination.  We do so with joy and anticipation of good things to come.  But we also know things may not be easy.  We look back on our time in Hanover, Pa. and remember good times – even miss the place.  But we also remember we were without a place to sleep that first night and the anxiety of our first travel job away from home was scary and uncertain.  Yet God came through for us and we survived.  And we know we will survive tomorrow and the next day and the next.

So, here is to looking forward to tomorrow – because we believe grace will lead us home.

Love, Steve and Lisa

Lisa and I have enjoyed our time at home for the past month as we have been able to watch little Conner Jack grow into a big, bright-eyed, eight pound all-American boy.  We are so proud of our daughter and “fun-in-law” for how they have managed this first month and expect they will be just wonderful handling a new life with a baby.  For Lisa and I – those years with small children were the happiest days of our lives (although you could never convince us of that at the time).

We are thankful for how God has worked things out for us to be home for Heather, James and Conner Jack over the last five or so weeks. Not only did we get home from California within hours of Heather’s delivery but Lisa was asked to fill in part-time at her old job until we are ready to hit the road again.  Along with that we enjoyed celebrating Lisa’s fiftieth birthday at Disney World and had a blast with friends Roger and Debbie Willoughby and Trudy and Alicia Berry.

Laughter has been an important element in our marriage over the past thirty years and that became even more evident during our trip to Disney.  During our final night we secured a good spot for the Epcot nighttime fireworks show, “Illuminations”.  It had rained off and on during our trip and the rain and wind was pelting us as we waited for the show to start.  We huddled together with our ponchos and umbrellas and Lisa commented that we were in a bad spot as the wind would whip the smoke right into our faces.  I disagreed and so we hunkered down.  As the first rockets ‘red glared’ I noticed smoke begin moving toward us and it seemed to grow steadily as more fireworks exploded above. As the show continued I realized I was squinting into the smoke and pelting rain just trying to get a glimpse of this marvelous show.  I started laughing out loud at myself trying to fight off the wind and rain – not to mention the ashes falling from the exploding bombs overhead.  I then turned to Lisa and while batting my eyes in an exaggerated fashion said, “It’s just so beautiful!”  She laughed so hard I thought she was going to pee herself.

We laughed off and on about that silly moment and I have thought about other moments of ‘out loud – unashamed laughter’ we have enjoyed in our lives and realize that is what we live for – that makes up for all the things we want and can’t have.  It is laughter that has sustained our marriage and family and I know it has to be a gift from God.

My mother would often tell a story about a family in Union County where she grew up that had so much fun together despite having hardly a pot to pee in.  It was their attitude about life that drew her to them.  The story was that one day she was visiting them and a man came to their door saying he was there to cut off their gas for non-payment.  The father, cooking in the kitchen, heard what was said and yelled to him, “Can you wait until I finish cooking this egg?”  My mom loved that story because she desired to have the same attitude – as do I.  We don’t really know what heaven is going to be like – but I hope it will be a place where people laugh a lot.

If heaven lacks laughter – I’m not sure I want to go.

Thanks for reading!

Steve and Lisa

It happened while I was walking in Loma Linda, California.  I remember the place and enough of the faces to recall the moment in clear detail.  ‘Stater Brother’s’ grocery parking lot. Two men.  I had just walked out with my backpack full of items Lisa and I would need for supper and was starting my three-mile hike back to our apartment.  I heard one of the men shout and thought at first it was directed at me.  Being 2,000 miles away from home for four months – it would have been highly unusual for someone to speak to me in such a tone – one that had a familiar quality as if I were known by this person.  I turned, almost excited to think someone knew me, only to discover the voice was directed at someone else and I watched as the two men embraced and laughed and started into a conversation that seemed to be a continuation of another.  That is what friends do – they pick up where they left off.

At that moment I felt homesick.  Lisa and I had spent four and half months in Pennsylvania and were now finishing up our four months in southern California and this was the first time I had really longed painfully for home.  And it was sparked by this seemingly uneventful moment of watching two friends embrace.  I began at that moment to think about my friends and how much I missed them.  Lisa and I miss our family in our travels but we talk to them daily and stay involved in their lives.  But we lose contact with our friends.  ‘Facebook’ has been a way to stay connected – but there is a superficial aspect to social media that cheapens everything to snide comments and silliness.  When you really miss something – you want more than that.

That day I decided to begin patching things up with an old friend.  Our relationship was broken and it was time to fix it.  I missed him and we talked that day on the phone and we cried and said how sorry we were and that when we got home we would get together.  I remember walking in downtown Redlands California talking to him with my voice breaking and could not give a damn what people around may have thought.  It was one of the most liberating moments of my life.

Now we have been home for a few weeks – enjoying our new grandson, Conner Jack, and spending much-needed time with family.  For me it has been a chance to see friends and shake hands and hug people I have missed.  Being able to substitute at the school where I worked for twenty years has allowed me to see those friends again.  These are the people of my world – where my life orbited for so long.  I love them – and am not ashamed to say it.  They may think I’m nuts with all the hugging and smiling I have done seeing them again.  I want them to know how important they are to me and no matter where Lisa and I go next – these people are more than friends – they are my life.

Life separates us from things we love.  I have lost my brother, my mom, my dad and my grandparents.  I have lost things of value that I cannot get back.  I am banking that Jesus told the truth when he said he was preparing a place for us – because then I will see them again.  But losing things is painful.  Being away from those important people confuses you into somehow trying to redefine yourself.  People in Pennsylvania and California didn’t really know Lisa and I the way our friends and co-workers know us.  Being in a place for sixteen weeks can lead to false impressions.  We may appear to them as knights in shining armor with not enough time to really notice all our flaws (which are many).  Traveling allows us to fly in and fly out without time to notice the warts and scars.  But back home there are people who do know those flaws and some have been hurt by them and yet they miss us and want us to come home.

That is what I realized that day in that grocery store parking lot.  The people who really know us best, are waiting to embrace us home.

Good to be home,

Steve and Lisa

Lisa and I finally made it home from California Saturday March 30th – rolling into town around 7:00PM.  After three days and two thousand and twenty-eight miles – we entered Owensboro across the now fading blue bridge and breathed a sigh of relief knowing the long journey was at an end.  It was so good to see our family – all waiting for us at our house – and to be in our home again after a long four months away.

We managed to get some (not all) of our stuff unpacked from the car before collapsing into bed.  We were asleep about two hours when our son-in-law called to inform us our daughter, Heather, was having contractions and not long after that they were on their way to the hospital.  I am convinced that Heather was able to finally relax after we arrived home and the baby responded.  What timing.

Our Easter Sunday was spent at the hospital in anticipation of Conner Jack’s arrival – our first grandchild.  It really hit me when I walked into Heather’s hospital room and saw her in the hospital bed suffering through a contraction.  Here was my little girl – all grown up – but it seemed impossible that this could be happening.  This must be some kind of time warp – no way could that little curly topped toddler be going through this – it all felt impossible – like I had been cheated of a decade of time somehow.  But there she was and after several long hours – Conner Jack was welcomed into the world.  That little girl of mine was a momma – and I know she will be a good mom and James will be a good dad.  Maybe knowing that can help me accept the quickly passing time that seems to have cheated me out of a lifetime.  It is comforting knowing their life and Conner’s life is just beginning.

Now we wait to bring them home and start their new life as parents.  I have told people being a parent is the greatest and worst thing that ever happened in my life – all at once.  For them there awaits the joy of watching Conner grow up and there will be moments of joy beyond words.  And there will be times in which as parents they will suffer for him as he endures the challenges of life.  There will be no greater joy and, at times, no greater pain to endure.

God’s timing is perfect and we arrived home at just the right day and hour to enjoy this special moment with our family.  Had Conner decided to come a day earlier – I’m not sure Lisa and I would have wanted to come home.  Heather, rightfully, may not have ever let us live that one down.  But all those worries are now gone as is Loma Linda and the friends we made while in California.  Who knows?  Maybe we will return someday to southern California but I can promise you we will be different.

We will return as grandparents – and that doesn’t sound too bad.

Love!

Steve and Lisa

According to several tour guides and other people I talked to, there is a sort of supernatural draw of people to Gettysburg and the famous Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.  Lisa and I certainly understood that attraction after spending over four months there this past summer and fall.  Just like the two armies were drawn to that location one hundred and fifty years ago, people go there to pause and think and remember those tragic events of that tragic war.

Lisa and I now understand the “draw” people have for southern California.  I have heard some tell of family and friends who came here and never went home again.  We feel the need to take back some of our bad-mouthing that we may have done about this place early on.  Much of that had to do with being here during the Christmas holidays – away from home and family and far, far away from Kentucky winter weather.  But now we freely admit – we absolutely love the weather here in Loma Linda and we fully understand why people would not want to leave.

But tomorrow we will begin our two thousand mile drive home and after four months away – we are ready to see our family and friends again (Yes – we are even looking forward to seeing our dog, Agnes).  And then there is the anticipation of our first grandchild on his way – so there is much to look forward to.

Saying our good-byes are never easy.  We became very attached to people in Hanover Pa., and we both are looking forward to a return trip very soon.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that Lisa may be reassigned there sometime and if not in Hanover – then somewhere in that area would be wonderful.  Now we find ourselves again facing some painful good-byes here in Loma Linda.  Aside from the near perfect weather (we now realize how brutal weather is in Kentucky) there are some people we will miss.  Though we have not made as many friends here as we did in Hanover, there are some really good people who have been very nice to us and it is still hard to part company.  We will be going out to eat with some of them one last time this evening and I’m sure saying good-bye will be hard.  This part of traveling is just not easy.

Besides the friends we have made – we will miss other aspects of Loma Linda and southern California.

I will miss the perfect conditions for walking (or jogging or bike riding, or skateboarding, or wind surfing – whatever requires being outdoors).  Since January the high temperatures have been in the mid-seventies and the lows (with just a few exceptions) have been low fifties.  I could count on one hand the number of days we have had rain and if its snow you want – we are ten miles from a ski resort.  You want to walk along the ocean shore? We have been less than an hour away.  This place offers everything.

We will miss being within an hour of Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks.

We will miss the “In and Out” burgers.

We will miss the Ontario Mills Mall and the Victoria Gardens shopping complex.

We will miss Stater Brothers grocery.

I will miss seeing and talking to the veterans while walking through the Veterans Hospital complex.

We will miss the relaxed pace and slow. easy-going flow of life here.  Lisa was amazed that people at her work would come in late and nobody really cared – just as long as you completed your eight hours – it did not really matter.  We thought driving here would be difficult.  But to our amazement it was easier driving here on the twelve lane freeways than most places we have been.  Here people will actually let you merge – no problem.  Avoiding the motorcyclists was a problem since they tend to squeeze between cars going seventy miles an hour while doing wheelies and standing on their seat.  We could not decide if we should be mad or applaud the show.

But mostly it will be the people we have met that we will miss the most.  It always, in the end, is really about people.  We don’t know where God will send us next – it is the exciting and scary part of a traveling job.  But we do know there will be people there to meet and get to know.  And then another day will come like it will for us here today and tomorrow – when we will again have to say good-bye.

On our way home!

Steve and Lisa