Yellowstone National Park

How many people get to go to Yellowstone alongside a park ranger? We were fortunate enough to meet up with my folks who live in Victor, ID just south of Yellowstone for the day. Not only do we get the day with my family, but they know a few things about what we're looking at in the park: win-win, for sure!

Seems like the more we sit in the car, the more tired I get. But we're getting closer and closer to OR and that's exciting. Today we drove from Billings, MT (a crazy city with crazy roads) to meet Mom & Dad in Livingston, MT. From there we split into the two cars and headed into Yellowstone. Abby was eager to see wolves, but we were assured that they would not be in the areas we were going to because they were too populated. So, here's what we did see:

In the middle of our picnic area a Mammoth Springs

It never gets old

Baby! Right outside our window!! We could hear the mom grunting to it.

Josh even got to pet a little one (Hee, hee)

But we ALSO saw:

Coyote

And a WOLF!!

We made it to Old Faithful with just two minutes to spare - we would have been there earlier, but we had a buffalo crossing to wait for and also the wolf sighting. My mom speculates that it was an adolescent wolf because it was all alone. Definitely worth missing Old Faithful for, but we got it all!

From there we headed south to Mom & Dad's house and have enjoyed a home cooked meal, games, and a relaxing place to stretch our legs. Thanks Mom & Dad!

Exhausted and ready for bed. Tomorrow: the Cascade Mountains!

Day Three: Custer SP, Rushmore, Montana

Phew! Glad to be on unmoving (is that a word?) ground tonight. Seems like we've been in the car a very long time. Hmm.

Today was another fantastic day! We've settled into a good traveling groove. We took our time heading out to Custer State Park which we decided doesn't get enough press! The scenery was breathtaking and the wildlife was pretty exciting. Abby wanted me to mention that the buffalo even blocked our road! Noah won the prize for seeing the first wildlife: a white-tailed deer. After that it was buffalo, pronghorns, some kind of furry river creature, a turkey, and more prairie dogs. After a very windy (curvey, not breezy) road which left a few of us dizzy and disoriented, we then went to Mt. Rushmore where it started to hail as we pulled away from the ticket-taker. Needless to say, we took our pictures, but didn't linger. From there it was already 1:30 and we needed to get on the road. With only one stop between Rapid City, SD and Billings, MT we got into the hotel by 7:30 with lunch on-the-go and dinner in the room. A quick dip in the pool and we are ready for bed. We're racking up the bonus points at Country Inn & Suites - we've given up playing the 'which hotel is the best deal' game. Just find the CI&S and go for it. They're affordable, comfortable, and you get breakfast - and we all fit!

Here's some quotes from the day:
Levi: I can go hiking because I have a knife! (It's a 3" plastic knife)
Mom: Mmmm, smell the pine.  Noah: It's much nicer than farts.
Levi: (about the turkey) Guess what, Mom! It pooped out 4 magic eggs! (What???)

One lane tunnel 8' wide

Much of our day revolves around some aspect of the bathroom as you may have noticed.
Note: I did NOT tell him to do this!
(Like the bow? He carries it EVERYWHERE. Purchased in the Badlands with the 3" knife)

Mt. Rushmore!

And then we met a twin of our moving van! (Only we know that they've made it to OR already)

I'm loving watching and listening to Josh as we travel across these states and see the hills and mountains. He's really in his element. I think, and he may have said it a few times, that if he for some reason had to hike the rest of the way to OR, he'd be A-OK with that.  :)

Though the fast food market is testing some of our digestive systems (again with the bathroom stuff, right?), I'm glad to report that Levi got over his stomach bug before we hit the road on Monday. Yea!

Oh, speaking of gas...the other funny thing we noticed: the more remote the location, the cheaper the gasoline cost. Go figure! I bet we've paid an average of $3.89/gal... which given the way prices were escalating in GR, we expected to pay closer to $4.50/gal. Praise God for remote gas stations with cheap gas!

Day Two: Minnesota & South Dakota

Much more eventful day today! This morning we busted out several hours of driving and around 2:30 or so (Denver time zone) we arrived at Badlands National Park. Abby, Noah, Josh & I were amazed astounded by everything we saw around every turn. Esther wasn't so interested in seeing the rocks up close and therefore, Levi was OK to not get out of the car for every stop either.

Just before entering Badlands National Grassland, we spotted a goofy deer-type thing looking to cross the road. Abby screamed out, "It's a pronghorn sheep!! It's a pronghorn sheep!!" #1: only Abby would know that as we whizzed by at 75 mph and #2: I think she screeched it so loudly it's what caused the animal to turn away :)  After just googling what a pronghorn sheep was, exactly, I can now confirm that yes, indeed it was a pronghorn sheep.  We also saw a very fat black-footed ferret that we all decided was extremely pregnant because it was super-hefty. Then....

Note buffalo on each side of the road...

At this point they were too close for comfort. When Esther started crying because they were so close, we knew it was time to move on!

We arrived in Rapid City, SD for dinner and the night around 7 pm or so. Josh put it this way: we've had two 25 hr. days in a row, tomorrow will be a 24 hr day, and then one more 25 hr. day. Such a weird way to put it about the time zones! 

We're all doing fantastically and now that we're more into the 'vacation' aspect of the trip, it's even more enjoyable for everyone.  We've not really gotten too annoyed with each other crammed into the van yet, in part because the prior few weeks were soooo crazy. I really think we all missed each other and are beginning to reconnect as a family. Yippee! Got a few kinks to work out yet, but then we're all a work in progress, right?

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. While you're at it, don't forget our friends driving the moving truck. They've taken I-80. Tracy, if you have an update, please leave another comment for us!

Farewells and Day One of Driving

OK, where to begin.
We are currently in Albert-Lea, Minnesota right off the I-90 expressway. We left this morning at around 10:30 or so after making a few short stops for things like cash, sunglasses, coloring books, and coffee. You know, the important things.  The kids were pretty terrific, and to be honest, the dog is as much of a slug in the car as he is at home. Hooray! I have a pic of him draped over the back seat, but it's too, too cold to run back out to the car to get the camera. I'm not sure what happened to Spring, but it sure isn't found in Minnesota today!  Overall we had great weather until we hit about 1/2 way through Wisconsin when it clouded up. Chicago was a breeze (no pun intended - HA! Get it? 'The Windy City'??), Wisconsin is rolling hills and Minnesota has cool barns.

Currently Josh took the kids to the pool to give me a chance to blog and take a breather. He did all the driving today and I'm sure that as I write, he too is catching up on emails and sending out thank yous and updates.

We had an AMAZING day yesterday. Exhausting, yes...but what a wonderful send-off from our River Rock friends. It was a beautiful worship, pot-luck, presentation, and amazing words of affirmation and encouragement. We've experienced in a very real way over the last few weeks something we've known for a long time: We are leaving a (I'm running out of synonyms for AMAZING) very special community of believers and supporters. You Rockford-ites have carried us through the starts of ministry, seminary, and then my cancer, and now you continue to uphold us even as we move across the country. AMAZING! We cannot physically say 'thank you' or reciprocate your love to us!

So that's it. No horrible or hillarious stories from the day. We saw Chicago, the Mississippi River (and spelled it many times over), went through a windmill 'range' of some sort and tired of trying to count all the windmills. I was able to order first at Applebee's because I saw the sign first - pays to sit in the front seat, though I have stiff competition from Noah who's always up for a challenge.

PS We were approved for a rental last week Tuesday. Yea! It's a great 4 bdrm with an empty lot to one side and a 4-diamond ball park (sound similar to a 5-star hotel) in the backyard just one mile from the church and elementary school. The moving van we rented didn't quite fit all our furniture, but nothing that we can't do without (Sorry, Jim and Patti!). AND there's the possibility that it can rejoin us later. We shall see.

Many thanks to our movers on Saturday:

Oops - Sorry, John! :)

(Clockwise from the front left) Ariel, Brandon, Eric, John, Marv, Josh, Dave, Rafael
Not pictured: Rick & Caleb

A moment to breath

Easter evening has found us quietly at home with 'nothing' to do. Ahhhhh!! The 'nothing' in reality consists of looking at the upcoming week at constructing the gianormous to-do list.

With one week to go, the most common question is: "So...are you packed yet?" or "How's packing coming along?"

How it's coming is pretty well.  We were approved for our rental place in Corvallis on Tuesday which was a big sigh of relief, but generated a few more to-do items as a result. I soon mailed off a document for schools, made some phone calls, did the USPS change of address, etc, etc. Most of our belongings are still in storage, so the last few weeks have been spent duct-taping them back into shape as many of them have collapsed over the course of the year. Hee, hee! Around the house, stuff gradually disappears into a box only to have someone 'need' it a week later. I think I need stronger tape so I can't keep ripping it off - ya, it's the tape's fault!

The packing plan this week is to have the kids probably do all their packing for the week of travel and just have them live out of suitcases even this week. End of the week will be packing up Noah's drum set, breaking down the bunk beds, and pack, pack, pack. My goal is that no one will have to put anything into a box on moving day - that they only have to grab a box and make it fit into the van. Yippee! I'll let you know how it goes. Hmm.

The most common comment is "I can't believe it's gone so fast!"
The last month and a half has gone amazingly fast! As the weeks go by, Josh and I are more and more impressed by just how much we'll be leaving here in Rockford. We have been so blessed and supported by so many amazing people. I don't know if there's good way to not only thank each of you, but also to put into words just how lovely a community we are a part of.  It's scary to leave this support system and travel to another region. Will we find equally wonderful people, will we feel the love? Of course the answer is "of course we'll find all that." We remind ourselves that while we leave wonderful people, we have no idea of the wonder God will show us in Corvallis.

Real Life: The Power of Prayer

In his well-known book The Cost of Discipleship Bonhoeffer makes the observation 

Life is an illusion until Jesus reigns in our life.  That is why praying for others that are not connected to Jesus as Lord is the most powerful thing you can do. (paraphrase)

Our desire is to start a movement of disciples making disciples and churches planting churches in Oregon and beyond.  We hope to begin this movement by planting a church that has the aforementioned desire at the very core of everything that it does.  That being said, our best plans and strategies rely completely on the activity of God who makes all things grow.  We need the power of God to cut through the illusion of life and bring people into a new reality, the reality of peace, healing, wholeness, love, security, and joy that flows from a relationship with Jesus Christ the King.

With that in mind we are asking you to consider committing to pray one day a week for the next three years for project Renew Corvallis.  Let us know which day you are committing to by 'commenting' at the end of this post or sending an email to renewcorvallis@gmail.com

-Josh


PS Images of Corvallis and the region are now posted on the "Pages" link in the right margin -->

The Project - Renew: Corvallis

Not a lofty name at all, huh? But...that's the plan, renew the church in Corvallis. Kinda

Check out the stuff you may have already seen.
And if you're in the area, don't forget to come to the presentation on April 17 at River Rock (6060 Belding) at 6 pm.  What you don't know is there'll be desserts, and if you need childcare, there'll be a bit of that also. If possible, please let us know if you plan to attend.


Letter


Financial Campaign

It's not pretty as I'm an 'embedding documents in a blog' rookie. And have little time for a learning curve at the moment. Perhaps an improved version will show up later. 

Family update: The plan is to have a rental contract in line by the beginning of next week...or so. We've got a wonderful friend, Leanne, who's our 'woman on the street' checking out some options for us. I've learned that enrollment is up at OSU and therefore the 3-4 bdrm homes are getting snapped up by students already. (And here I'd expect they'd be moving OUT! I must be getting older.) Please continue praying for a home that suits our family and our ministry.