So tonight, as a group of weary girls pulled in to the front of “Grand Staff Bed and Breakfast”, I overheard the one girl say, ” You know, this van is starting to feel like home.. Like we are with other people, and then we get back in the van with our family and we are home..” I’ll have to confess if the first 3 days of this adventure are any indication, we are gearing up for quite the incredible time..

Day One consisted of tearful good-byes, driving along and discovering the love notes tucked here and there by my family… Driving hammerdown, without many stops across the eastern part of the US attempting to make it the Gateway Arch before closing time… It consisted of a few visits to “the pantry” as the food section at the back of the van has been lovingly dubbed.. Bless those of you who so generously contributed- its awesome.. And running through a number of cloudbursts.. Discussing our unique personalities, and the love languages.. And how birth order affect our personalities.. (I tell you what.. All on day one.. Just wait until Day 21.. We may have the World’s problems solved..) And just adjusting to travelling..

We made it to the Arch.. And up it for a brief view before we hurried down in time to get in on the last showing of the Documentary on how it was built.. Some in our group weren’t too sure about riding up the Arch in those little washing machine cars.. So, as has become traditional, we sang, “I’m pressing on the upward way, New heights I’m gaining every day, Still praying as I’m onward bound, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground..” We unfortunately missed the first part of the documentary, but got in on most of it. I’m non too fond of heights and I was rather concerned at those men whipping in the wind 630 feet in the air. Constructed in the mid 60s, the engineers estimated there would be 13 lives lost, but thankfully none were.. And they had a margin of error for building that thing.. 1/64 of an inch.. Is that anything at all?!

Highlights from Day 2 were definitely visiting “Dutch Country General Store” in Bloomfield, IA, where owner Levi Good looked very much like I remember him growing up.. It was so much fun to see him being everywhere in his very impressive everything store.. AND he likes to take care of drivers (so they bring customers back) , and we were blessed with a generous number of items.. The pantry runneth over. How kind! This stop was well worth the time!

The unplanned stop of the day was along Hwy 2, at “Little Flock Baptist Church” a mini church at a picinic area, that’s designed to be a reprieve for weary travelers.. We enjoyed crowding inside and singing and spending a little time in meditation.. I love these sort of impulsive finds.. 🙂

The girls had relatives in Chula, MO where we spent the night. I discovered a bit of trivia posted on her fridge. So we put our travel weary minds in gear, and came up with the answer.. Can You?

“Four men have an appointment in 17 minutes and all four men must cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. It is night and there is only one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses the bridge, either one or two people, must have a flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth. It can not be thrown, etc. Each man walks a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man’s pace..

Ben-1 min to cross

Eddie-2 min to cross

Adam-5 min to cross

Larry- 10 min to cross

For example, if Ben and Larry walk across first, 10 mins have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry returns with the flashlight, total of 20 mins have passed and the mission has failed.   There is no trick behind this, it is a simple movement of  resources in the appropriate order.. There is an answer to this problem..”

We’d love to hear if when you get this.. 🙂

And today.. After worshipping in Chula, we hastened onward towards Kansas. We feel like we’ve hit the divide and our now “experiencing the West”..  We have friends in Buhler, and spent the eve with them, their adorable daughter, and their horses..

I’ve rambled on long enough.. My heart is full tonight, thanking God, for all that He’s done for me… Hope to see you on down the trail.. Good night, Kendra

P.S I made a new friend out here.. He’s a real charmer 😉

I’m sure you’ve all played the children’s alphabet game where you start with A and work your way along, taking turns naming “Letter appropriate”  items and  trying to remember what all the other players said.. “I’m going West and I’m taking..”  This week this game is reality for me.. I’m going West, leaving Friday, Lord willing and I’m taking…

Atlas

Bunch of girls (9 of us to be exact)

Coppertone (I like to name my vans, and Mother requested that it be something that none of my sister would ever want to name a child.. So we have Coppertone.. I hope that’s safe)

Directions to exotic destinations

Energy drinks (I like the “5 hour energy” product)

Flip-flops (Rainbow brand.. These.are.awesome)

Geoffrey Garmin, the trusty GPS

Hotel Guide.. We are travelling with the AAA advantage.. 🙂

Ibuprofen

JUANITA!!  So thankful that cousin Juan is along as my second driver 🙂

Key to the lock on my luggage box, which I’m assuming will house the souvenirs..

Laptop

Mercy of our Heavenly Father.. This isn’t something I’m taking… It’s what I’m relying on..

National Park Pass

Opportunity for you to get in on part of our experience, via our blog updates..

Postcard stamps

Quality time/memories in the making

Random music selections

Sunglasses

Track phone, flip phone, iPhone

Umbrella

Visa

Water bottles (We are preparing to embark on a somewhat lengthy hike.. Trudging into the depths of a barren, desolate, ravine in a remote area.. Hmmm..Stay tuned)

Xcitment.. Enough to last for a whole month of adventure

Yummy snacks

Zillions of pics

And this is only a starter list.. I’m getting excited about the journey… I covet your prayers.. Please feel free to stop by here often, vicariously, as we are hoping to stay fairly current with our trip.. And if not, see you in a little over a month, Lord willing.. Blessings, Kendra

Bonus Pics:

One of my cousins became very creative with a chainsaw, leaving a large chair in place of a tree along the road that runs past the front of his house… I was reminded of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, when I came past this week.. “There’s someone sitting in my chair…And THERE he is!!” Apparently someone with an excellent sense of humor has been dropping off things anonymously… First was a stuffed possum.. Next this monstrous bear.. I’m eagerly awaiting to see what happens next..

photo credit: Deborah

Along with my parent’s purchase of a small house near our farm, came the chance to make a little hay on the acreage that came with the house.. Detroit wished to ride along and he INSISTED that he ride on the driver’s seat.. I could NOT get him to move..

Mother and I were back in Greenbank, WV recently and we took a walk through the National Observatory..  They have a “Planet Trail” where they have stations, a flag, and info, dedicated to each planet along the way, on scale in relation to their distance from the sun… Since Pluto has been dethroned from planetation (is that a word-lol) the Pluto flag now flies at half staff..

This past weekend was extra busy with a large number  of Mother’s Rhodes family coming in from all over the US and Western half of Canada.. (literally) The story  from a hired girl who worked in their home, goes- my Great Grandma Sarah Mable would make 17 pies on Wed and 18 pies on Fri.. And the family of 11 children would eat pie at each meal.. So it seemed appropriate that pie be on the family reunion dinner menu.. Saturday saw a spread of 55+ pies.. And if you didn’t mind to stand in line for a length of time, the selection was impressive.. (unless you were like the bro-in-law, and snagged dessert before he’d finished the main meal, thus eliminating the wait time.. :))

photo credit: Emily

Deborah left on SMBI’s WATER program, and will be in Nicaragua through the end of July.. I was rather amused at her last minute instructions,and farewell hugs to the security crew

And finally, I’m really thankful to put a few hours in the wheat field, before I leave my poor dad holding the bag.. Again.. Sorry, Father.. Maybe someday, you’ll find RELIABLE help..  🙂

One thing I love about my job is variety. The saying goes that “variety is the spice of life..” My life should have lots of spice then.. 🙂 This week found me touring through Kentucky and Tennessee. The itinerary included a wide range of experiences- from stopping at the Vanbert Farms to gaze at Rocky Mountain Horses (which I really had no clue what I was looking at, but that didn’t keep me from having fun with the camera)…

…to visiting multiple communities that choose to live ‘pre-motor” which creates for a very interesting and educational experience. We spent one afternoon being chauffeured around by a convoy of buggies. I had never spent that amount of time in a “rig” as they called it- so I was all eyes. Especially as we careened down a steep hill at an outrageous rate of speed and the one girl commented mildly that she sure wished that she had brakes.. Needless to say, I checked out the “In case of Emergency Exit ” options… From the back seat, they weren’t real great..

They were so hospitable and as always, I was just amazed… I understand that not everyone is ok with their picture being taken, and I want to honor that. I did capture a few sights that I want to share with you… So here goes..

Probably what I minded the most was the absence of indoor plumbing… No running water… No showers… The lack of electricity also created a problem, but I have a good flashlight..

The one lady had a bakery in the one end of her home. They were making short work out of 115 doz cookies to be sold at market, with a huge and very warm wood fire oven..

Every thing is run by real horse power. (Except where they have tapped into the power of water, which is also really neat, but I won’t bore you with all that this time..) The washing machine, table saw,etc all run by a horse on a tread mill. The saw mill and feed mill were also horse powered. We “helped” unload part of a load of hay up in the barn using the old method of a hay hook- where a team of horses hooked to a rope pulled the hook(as well as the huge bunch of hay in it’s grasp) up to the top of the barn. Then it slid along the tracks at the top, and was dumped into the mow. Fascinating. I climbed up into the hay mow just for better understanding. We all commented on how “springy” loose hay in a mow is. And I think we all secretly wished that we were a few years younger, and could’ve played there awhile..

But the dentist office was powered a little differently… They said that either you bring someone with you to pedal like mad to build up the air to run the dentist’s tools… Or you can do it before your procedure.. 😉 I wonder if this helps to deal with the apprehension that usually comes along with the dentist chair… Maybe a new way to work through that phobia.. 🙂

I find it incredible at how their community is growing and how these people appear to be living so quietly with lack of agenda or convenience.. This man was showing us how to make a broom.

And so, I returned home. Hopefully a little wiser.. With a few new stories, and with a little different appreciation for the things in my life… especially that warm shower… 🙂

Blessings as you are Faithful where He has called you, Kendra

Bonus Pic:

Quick note from the Farm Manager:

I’m not much for emailing, but recently I received such a cool email on Kendra’s account that I had to share it with you…(I don’t bother with my own account, when I can just use hers..) You see, I’m in charge of all the activity around here. All of it. And the problem is, they keep taking equipment away from here and leaving it all over the creation and I’m still supposed to oversee what’s going on. That’s no small order, let me assure you. But I figured out that if I can ride on the back of the pickup, I can at least check in on part of the operation. ( I finally have Rolo to the place, that it’s ok to leave her alone to keep the farm going.. Well, for short periods of time, only.. She still really depends on my insight) Anyhow the Harvestor was gone for a long time, and every time I jumped on the back of the truck to go have a chat with it, and see how it was fairing (that’s what a mechanic does, right?) this stubborn family would make me get right back off. Now, I know that I just got out of the hospital from that minor car accident, but good grief! This was getting out of hand. You know how you’re not supposed to worry, because things just work out? Well, I got this email, that put all my fears aside. It sure is nice to have connections. Thank you, Jasper from Winding Creek Farm, for keeping an eye on the situation for me.. It sure is nice to have friends you can trust.  And I’m looking forward to the report from my new Patrol, I hear you are very poetic.. -Detroit for the rest of the Family

Photo Credit: Philip Wenger Family