Our first stop was Bowling Green, Kentucky (naturally we drove through Tennessee first) where we stopped for a tour of the Corvette Museum. We stopped at a Texas Roadhouse for supper. After supper Tim was not feeling to well, so I took over the driving and drove till somewhere around Evansville where we stopped at a Pilot station for the night.
Sunday morning we headed out towards Kalona Iowa to visit Norman, an Amish friend that we worked with in Birmingham. We passed through Illinois and Missouri before reaching Iowa and arrived at Normans home in the middle of the afternoon. His brother and family were over visiting and after a bit Norman decided he would take us to another brothers home in order for us to watch goats being milked. We rode over in his brothers buggy to tour the goat barn. It is not that much different than watching cows get milked but it is something that we had never experienced before. Too bad it was raining so much, it had actually rained all day on our drive over. The buggy ride was a cool experience and I am very thankful for our cars with heat. After our tour we headed back to Normans house, which he shares with his younger sister, for a delicious supper. We ended up visiting until quite lat before we headed out to sleep in our camper.
Monday morning was the first time we have slept in since our trip began, I think we slept till 8 am. Woke up to the sounds of clippity clop, clippity clop of the horse and buggies going down the street. After a hot shower and a filling breakfast we got in the camper, with Norman and began a short tour of the Kalona area. Our first stop was Midwest Woodworks where they sell quality heirloom furniture. We enjoyed our visit here and picked up a little something to bring home. Stop number two was the old Amish Schoolhouse where Norman's sister Regina was one of the teachers. It was a small one room schoolhouse for Grades 1-8. It was a neat experience. Next on our tour was the Stringtown Buggy Shop where they not only make new buggies out of wood or fibreglass but they also repair existing buggies. We stopped at the Cheese Store and got a couple of bags of cheese curds, thanks to Norman. For lunch we went to the Tequila Grill and enjoyed a great Mexican lunch. We dropped Norman back at home before heading back on the highway, our next destination was Minneapolis. It was great to be able to visit Norman at his home, to see some of his family and to learn how these Amish live in this area.
We made it as far as Albertville before retiring for the night. Almost home! After a wonderful waffle breakfast, (we choose to spend the night in a hotel) we headed to the Nike outlet store so we could purchase some new runners at a much discounted price than at home. Then it was back on the road again. Partly cloudy with clear highways and nice white snow to brighten our day. Just a bit of slippery roads East of Fargo and a few other places along the way.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our time away. The time that we spent serving with Mennonite Disaster Service was both challenging and rewarding. It was a joy to serve our Lord! We met and worked with a variety of people from different walks of life. We were blessed to get to know them and know that for some of those folks we will be friends for life. We were touched by the stories of the survivors of the April 2011 hurricanes in Alabama especially for their thankfulness to God for sparing their lives and for the work of MDS in making their home safe to live in once again. These are memories that we will cherish forever. We thank God for giving us safety, strength and endurance to do His work. May He continue to lead us wherever He wants us to go and may we be obedient to His calling.
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
Lord help me to always obey your voice.
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