Tag: From Sea to Shining Sea: The Great Road Trip of 2013 Page 3 of 4

Doug and Elaine and family were co-workers at HOPAC with us for many years, and we taught their kids. As a fellow adoptive mama, Elaine has been a mentor for me for many years.  I remember when we first brought home Grace, she brought me a meal….because she knew that new adoptive mamas need those too.    

and they took us to Chocolate World in Hershey, PA….

chocolate-induced, somewhat maniacal smiles….

Then we drove east to see Dan and Janet and family.  This family was one of the very first families we met in Tanzania, way back in 2001.  They mentored us and taught us and loved us for years….they were the ones we always called when we had no idea what to do….which was often.  How sweet it was to be with them again.

Thankful for big boys who were happy to play with my little boy.

We’re almost to the Atlantic Ocean….stay tuned!

visiting Craig and Kathy, former pastor and wife of our church in So. California

at the Creation Museum (which is technically in Kentucky, not Ohio)

 at the Air Force Museum

visiting Ben and Melissa and their five kids, friends from Dar

Melissa has two Liberian daughters, and a African-hair-stylist-extraordinaire.  Not only did she give me a lot of advice, but she even braided Grace’s hair for me.  Grace wanted it “just like Felicia’s.”  Aren’t they cute?

visiting my friend Kate, who was a wonderful blessing to me in Tanzania.  God’s given her a husband and a baby (who will make his/her appearance any time now) since the last time I’ve seen her.  

Of all the states we are visiting, I think my kids were most excited about going to Indiana.  That’s because our very good friends live there, who had just left Tanzania in February.  Not just Mom and Dad’s friends, but their friends too.  

We did all kinds of life with this family in Tanzania, from beach trips to HOPAC strategic planning committees and long talks at the playground after school.  It did our hearts good to see them again.  

Then we traveled to northern Indiana to visit Sameer (who had already left for work when we took this picture) and Whitney, friends from our college days.  Gil went on two summer missions trips with Whitney, and she was a part of lots of ministry we did back then.  She was the pianist for our wedding.

Do you understand how amazing it is to reconnect with all these wonderful people?

Ah, we are so blessed!

Bethany was a teacher at HOPAC and a leader in our youth group many years ago.  We kept in touch, and a couple years later, she and her brand-new husband led a team that served at HOPAC for a few weeks.  She and Matt stayed with us during that trip, and on their very first night with us, I burned down my washing machine. (Not burned out, burned down.  Literally.)

I thought about linking to the post which tells that story, but since it wasn’t one of my best moments, I’ll just leave it to your imagination.  If you are terribly curious, go ahead and look for it.  Good luck.

Thankfully there were no fires during our visit to their house.  And it was wonderful to catch up.

In California, we don’t have pools that look out over cornfields.  It was pretty cool.

First of all, as a side note, the title of my previous post came from Field of Dreams.  Really?  You didn’t get that?  If you haven’t seen it, you either are younger than me, not American….or maybe you just have really great taste in movies.  After all, I’m not really sure why a movie about a baseball field in a Iowa cornfield was so popular.

Ahem.

Anyway.

Onward to Missouri.

In St. Louis, we met with Ed and Janet, wonderful friends who date back all the way to my first trip to Tanzania in 1998, when they hosted the short-term team I was on.  They’ve been encouragers and cheerleaders for us ever since.

We got to spend a whole day being tourists in St. Louis, visiting Grant’s Farm (as in Ulysses S. Grant), the Arch (“Gateway to the West”), and the Zoo.  

at the top of the Arch (over 600 feet), which you get to by riding in a very tiny little claustrophobic capsule.   They only give you a few minutes at the top, but I was totally fine with that!   

 Mississippi River