Into and Through WI

Sunday afternoon we found a strong wifi signal at Walmart, and Heather taught from there. They let us spend the night – and it was a quiet, restful time!

Monday we left IL and headed north to WI, spending the night at a place where our missionary friend Isabelle volunteers – Ethnos360 Bible Institute. 

On the way we stopped at Gino’s East Pizza in Lake Geneva – a pizza place we really like(!) – and delivered it for dinner. She added a salad and we were blessed!

There’s a quiet parking spot she reserves for us on the campus, with an electric plug-in. In the morning we said our good-byes, and moved on to Madison, WI.

The Wanak’s have been friends since before we were married. Lee actually was involved in getting Roger hired at Moody Bible Institute in 1970! After serving in the Philippines for many years, including time at the ATS (Asian Theological Seminary), they moved back home and have been involved in missions from here.

Dottie served us a great salad lunch while we caught up on the news. Then on to Austin, MN, where we spent the night at another Walmart. 

Mother's Day

On our way to the “next stop”, Roger discovered that the same tire we had fixed in NC was soft!! Since it was Saturday, most repair shops were closed. However, he found a truck mechanic shop that was willing to at least look at it. They don’t sell tires and don’t fix tires. Several Russian Turks were running the place and they were very helpful. The best they could do was put our spare tire on. Now we are praying for it to last until we get to Billings, MT, which is where we purchased the tire that died. A sharp piece of metal pierced the sidewall between the dual tires! They wouldn’t take any money, but had a “donation” box that they use to help people. Since they were Muslim, we put some money in it in Jesus’ Name. Several of them took Gospels of John when Roger explained that it talks about “Isa”, their name for Jesus. 

We arrived at friends in Sycamore in time for their famous tacos! They live on an acreage with a lake, so Bonnie & I walked around the lake. Since we do little walking on these R.V. trips, it was a great activity! The weather could not have been better.

Sunday morning we awoke to a cold, rainy Mother’s Day. However, the sermon was good – on Mary’s Magnificat – and how she lived in a situation not unlike ours today – with “Babylon” all around us.

After church and leaving our friends we visited the train museum at Union, IL. Wow! Since it was Mother's Day, Heather got in free! We rode two old trains. One, pulled by a diesel-electric engine, had three 1900-era passenger cars; the other was an electric trolley like the kind that used to blanket the tri-state region in the early nineteen hundreds.

ILLINOIS

Our first stop was to find a church for a Wednesday evening prayer meeting. We found one in Lockport, IL, First Baptist Church. After a study in II Thessalonians, they graciously let us spend the night in their parking lot, and even hooked us up to electricity! 

Thursday we had lunch at Heather‘s cousin’s place in Elk Grove Village. We renewed acquaintance with some “old” friends over pizza and pop. Heather taught the Good News Club there where the internet was strong enough.

That night we drove to a truck repair shop to have the R.V.’s oil changed. It’s something Roger does at home, but on the road it’s more difficult. They allowed us to park in their lot, so we didn’t have to drive through morning rush hour and were ready as soon as they opened. The shop was in West Chicago, where we used to live, run by a friend of a friend.

After that, we toured the West Chicago City Museum. It was amazing what we learned! While living here, we never went to it or even knew about it best we can remember. West Chicago was founded because of the railroads – with many trains intersecting/crossing. You can hardly drive through town without a 10 minute wait at a train crossing – freight and passenger trains alike traverse the rails.

Dinner was with home schooling friends from long ago. Nice to get caught up on news! We were able to park at their house and plug in. Their house was built in 1896!! High ceilings and 7' doors! The mural above was painted by our friends.