Indiana Friends

In Fort Wayne we spent 2 days with the Epleys. They always have a short list of projects for Roger, so it’s especially nice that we can satisfy most of their wish list. And Russ likes my cooking, so I get to use that gift I enjoy to bless us all.

On Wednesday we headed to Rochester, IN, to a college friend of Heather’s. Patty had an accident when they were still in FL and broke her leg. She’s quite limited in movement right now, so we were able to help put dinner on the table and leave them some prepared dinners for another time. She doesn’t have much pain, which is great. Their place is right on the Tippecanoe River and they have a lovely view with many birds and squirrels feeding near-by. We laughed over our many-years-ago memories!

Thursday saw us at a friend of Roger’s – a guy he worked with in the 80’s. Tom became a Christian and made contact with Roger. He lives alone on 11 acres, very organically-focused. Raises chickens and grows his own food as much as possible.

He’s the official photographer for the Chicago White Sox, and had just returned from spring training camp in AZ. He’s also an inventor and has many projects underway – all over his house! His home-grown bar-b-que chicken and corn on the cob dinner was delicious. We got a tour of all his hot houses, chickens and other things he’s working on to become completely self-sufficient.

On Friday we arrived at Heather and Harlan’s home in W. Lafayette. 

Heather and Heather attended Taylor U. together. She’s from England and I came from Germany, so together we formed the International Club at Taylor. Lots of good memories over the years.

Now it's on to MO.

OH – and camping with grandkids!

I thought camping with 3 grandkids (9,11,13) was a great idea – right by a stream they could fish and swim in; fires for s’mores; room to run; etc. What I didn’t realize was that it was going to be a very rainy, wet, muddy time! The nice river in the pictures was running brown, fast and broad! We stayed away.

The boys went through several outfits, which their mom ran out to purchase. We all crammed into the R.V. for a lot of the time. I had an egg hunt in mind, so we did it in the R.V.! There was a covered picnic table, which we used for our main meals. We played games and read the story of “Ian and the Giant Leafy Obstacle“. The time did pass and we got to know one another better than if the sun had been shining. Crystal & Vicki slept in the tent with one of the boys. Ellie and the other boy were with us in the R.V. With much persistence and help from the boys, Roger got the fire going – both days! So we had the hot dogs and sausages cooked over the fire and actually enjoyed s’mores both days!

Sunday morning the sun came up and the tent dried! The 2 boys went to Sunday School with us and the rest joined us for church. Afterwards we went to a local park for lunch and play time. At 4 Crystal, Vicki and Ellie left for NC. We played Pit and Qwixx with the boys until it was time to return them to their father.

Sunday night we spent with the Mitchell’s who have graciously offered their yard anytime for electric hook-ups and, more importantly, internet! I had a Zoom Bible memory meeting at 10:15 (eastern time), so it was nice to be able to be there for it.

OM's Logos Hope Ship's Warehouse

We arrived at the OM Ship book warehouse on Tuesday, April 26. Millions of books pass through here and we get to help sort them so they go to the right place. The weather is very warm and we are glad for air conditioning in the warehouse. The R.V. is parked in shade, so it’s quite pleasant. The only snakes around that we've heard of are black snakes and copperheads in the wooded areas!!

On Saturday we took some friends out for lunch. They have always hosted us, but Joye had recent surgery, so it was our turn! We love the name of this place - and the food is good.

On Sunday we knew which church we wanted to attend and got there in good time. Everyone was sitting in their cars – there was no electricity! The entire region was out and they didn’t know when it would come back. So, after 15 minutes of waiting, we decided to find another church. The Sunday school class was interesting as was the service. They featured their bell choir and they are very good!

In the evening we planned to go to a closer church. When we got there, there were about 6 cars in the parking lot, but the doors were all locked. Even after banging on the door, no one opened it. So, we returned to the morning church – and loved the singing. The pastor was absent, but we heard a lot of good information about their RU (Reformers Unanimous addiction recovery) program, along with a testimony.

On Tuesday we invited the OM staff to celebrate our 50^th with us at a pizza party. About 40 were in attendance. 

They also brought in a fancy cake (sorry, it got cut into before we got a picture). The day ended with a heavy rain/hail storm, which was VERY loud in the warehouse for about one hour. Now it’s just gently raining, and the temperature has dropped. Yeah! We’re even cooking soup for supper.