Day 71 in Wyoming...

This morning we left Colorado and headed north.  There was still considerable snow on the fields around the Fort Collins area (northeast Colorado).  Winds were picking up and we experienced gusts of 50+ mph.  Not too fun when you have a camper on top of the truck.  We were traveling through the High Plains of eastern Wyoming.  This is cowboy county, where the deer and the antelope play and where tumbleweeds tumble along the wide open spaces.  En route we saw a jackalope :) no kidding, here is proof.

We made it to a RV park in Casper,  Wyoming.  Glad to stop for a while and rest before we head further north again.

let it snow...

We arrived safely in Denver, the mile high city as it was just starting to rain.  The forecasts kept telling us about a winter storm that was supposed to come in later in the evening.  Sure enough, during the night we saw the grass covered in a thin layer of snow and by the time we got up this morning everything was covered with a 2 inch layer of snow.  It is still snowing as we are typing this message.  The good thing is that this is not a travel day.  We are staying with Howard's brother and his wife and enjoying a relaxing day.  Tomorrow we hope to head out again towards Colorado Springs.  The snow is supposed to end by late afternoon and by tomorrow it should be much better for traveling.  Enjoy the snow pictures.

on the road again...

It is day 67 already!  And we are on the road again and on the way to Colorado.  We just heard that there is a winter storm awaiting us tonight in Denver.  Hopefully we arrive this afternoon and will avoid the snow.  We left very early this morning, had breakfast in York, Nebraska and got on the road again.  But we both felt pretty tired so now we are pulled over at a rest stop just passed Kearney for a little nap in the camper.  What a great joy to have our little home with us.

Our time with our daughter Jen and her family was wonderful and restful.  It was so good to spend time with the grandkids.  We played games, taught carving, archery, knitting and sewing, to name a few of the activities.  We had good talks and we are so grateful to God for allowing us this time with our family.  Jen has four children and the youngest is just about 9 months old.  The last time I (Jannie) saw her she was a newborn.  Arriving is always such a joyous occasion, but the departures are never easy.  Someday when we all get to heaven we won't have to say those goodbyes and we will experience the true joy of loving relationships and fellowship with one another.

In Iowa...

It is day 58 of our furlough travels.  The last few weeks have been busy with meetings and we find ourselves getting a little weary now.  It was so good to visit with so many friends in Illinois the past couple of weeks.  We leave with mixed feelings, since we know that it will be some time again before we will meet them again.  The camper has been a wonderful little 'haven' in between meetings.  We are enjoying the cooler temperatures and the ever changing colors of the leaves.  Last week we made a little side trip to Starved Rock, Illinois.  When we lived in Illinois we would visit this State Park several times a year.  Remembering times when we would be bringing our picnic lunch and the kids would run ahead on the trails.  In spite of the rainy weather we had a nice time and we treated ourselves to a nice lunch at the lodge.

Today we decided to get a head start on our travels to northwestern Iowa.  We left mid-afternoon and only traveled a couple of hours.  We found a campground along the route near Davenport.  It is nice to be able to pull in, cook supper and relax in a nice warm camper.  The little heater is keeping us toasty warm on the cooler nights.  The truck has been holding up well so far.  Having internet is nice, so we can check our e-mail and write brief updates.

In a couple of days we hope to be with our daughter Jen and her family in Omaha and we can't wait to see them.  We look forward to our time with the grandchildren.  
Thanks for praying for us as we continue on our journey.

Still on the road...

We are at day 53 of our journey throughout the States.  The times of visiting with family and friends and church family has been busy but good.  We do find ourselves at times wondering where we are when we wake up in the morning.  We have parked in so many different driveways in Minnesota, Wisconsin and now Illinois.  This is a wonderful time of year to be traveling in the Midwest States.  The weather has been unusually warm.  No need for heat at night yet.  The fall colors are incredibly beautiful with the vivid reds, oranges and yellow dotting the landscapes.  We enjoy our drives between places and find it a treat to see the ever changing beauty in nature.
We are glad for a few days of rest in between the meetings.  Howard's back was acting up about a week ago, but he is doing better now.  He is out walking in the woods, finding wood for arrows and bows.  He is actually working on making a bow.  It is a wonderful treat to have a time to retreat and be refreshed.  God continues to be so good to us and ministers his love to us through the wonderful people we are meeting on this trip.  Thank you for praying for us, you are a blessing in our lives.

Day 28 of our journey...

We are still in the Wisconsin area.  Our days are filling up with visits and presentations at churches and homes.  We do feel so blessed by the wonderful hospitality we received wherever we go.  It truly is a way of experiencing the bond we share as the Body of Christ.  We are meeting a lot of new people along the way.  Howard has been able to present several cross cultural communications workshops in the area.  We believe that it can be a blessing to those who are considering going on a cross cultural short term missions trip.  The responses we have received so far have been positive and we pray that God may use the insights shared for the advancement of His Kingdom.

Last weekend we had a great time with our family here.  Howard had the privilege of baptizing Grace Annika last Sunday.  She celebrated her first birthday this week as well.  It has been good to spend time with our 4 grandchildren in this area.  We play games, do puzzles together, teach knitting and carving soap.  It is a fun part of being grandparents.  We will have several opportunities in the next couple of weeks to spend time with them in between our meetings.  We feel blessed to have this time to invest in their lives.

The weather here in Wisconsin has turned cooler after some pretty warm weeks.  Fall is in the air.  We don't mind it though.  It makes sleeping in our camper a lot nicer and we have a heater in case it turns really cold.  The truck is running fine now and having the camper proofs to be good too.  Having our own quarters is nice and convenient wherever we go.

We thank God for His grace which is sufficient for each day.  May you also experience this wonderful grace.

Grace Be With You All - by Michael Card.

Day 17 of the journey...

We crossed the border on Saturday August 27^th – day 7 of our journey.  We were the only ones there and waited for a couple of minutes before they moved the cones and motioned us to move forward.  After the usual questioning and checking our passports we were invited to come inside so Jannie could get her visa stamp and pay the usual fee in order for her to enter the USA, since she still has a Dutch passport. 

We drove through some beautiful country in Minnesota and passed a town named Karlstad that boasts to be the Moose Capital of the North.

We noticed that the muffler was starting to sound louder and louder.  Howard crept underneath to find that there was a hole rusted through near the catalytic converter.  Not a good place for an easy fix L.  Our TomTom directed us over a couple of gravel roads to our next destination, which was even worse since the tailpipe was barely hanging on.  We didn’t want it to rip off and cause more damage.  After a couple of tense moments we made it to our destination.  We were grateful for Howard’s uncle who put us in touch with his friends who was able to fix the muffler/tailpipe issue.  No more worries there.

The visits with friends and family have been most enjoyable.  Good talks and great fellowship and never enough time to cover it all.  But we are so grateful that God is giving us this opportunity to meet people face to face.  Howard was able to put on a cross cultural workshop for a small group at a church in the Minneapolis area. 

We have been so blessed by the wonderful hospitality of people wherever we have visited.  Our truck camper has been a great blessing to us, since it allows us to park our ‘home’ on wheels just about anywhere.  We also sleep better because we sleep in the same bed every night. 

On day 11 (Wednesday, Aug 31^st) we entered the state of Wisconsin.  We continue to marvel at the beauty of the landscapes.  Traveled along the Mississippi river and had some great views of rolling landscapes.  Passed another town named Tilden WI which is located halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.  (we thought that Trivia enthusiasts among you might like to know)  Spent time visiting friends we hadn’t seen for many years and enjoyed our fellowship with them all.  The weather turned muggy and warm, so we were very glad to have the AC working in our truck.

God protected us during a violent thunderstorm one morning while parked at a campground near Castle Rock lake.  We could hear the smaller branches hitting our truck and camper while we were having breakfast.  It was very dark that morning and the thunder and lightening seemed to be right on top of us.  It wasn’t until we left the campground and were heading on our way that we realized the severity of the storm when whole trees were uprooted and blocked roadways.  Thanks to the hardworking tree crews who were busy cutting up the roadblocks, we were able to continue our journey without much delay. 

We found Howard’s grandparents farm in northern Wisconsin.  It is no longer in the family and has been radically changed.  But the area was still very familiar to him where he spent many of his childhood summer vacations.  Found the gravesites of grandparents on both sides of Howard’s family.

On Sunday, Day 15, we visited and shared about our work at a church in the Milwaukee area.  We were encouraged by the preaching and the fellowship among believers.  We were able to share with a group of people after the service and answer the questions they asked.  Later that day we traveled on to see our kids and grandkids who live in Wisconsin.  It is wonderful to see our growing family and spend time to get to know them better.  We hope to visit with them in between our visits with churches and friends. 

It is now day 17 of the journey.  We hope to connect with as many people as possible in this time we are here.  Our itinerary is filling up, but we still have room to fit in a visit here and there.  Thank you for continuing to keep us in your prayers.