Occasionally at church, we have “testimony night.” When our pastor reached out to me to see if I’d share, I didn’t hesitate. The only instructions were: “ 15-20 minutes/ 2 priorities – tell us about you and glorify Christ.”

The problem with blogging this is- this sharing time is pretty one sided. I wish there was an easy way for me to hear how God has moved for you. Isn’t He an incredibly Good Father?

I loved the chance to revisit a number of life events and see how God provided for me. But honestly it was hard to know what/how much to share. Anyhow here’s part of my story…

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Psalms 16:5 -11 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

I’m the oldest daughter of Eldon and Joyce Horst. If you look up stereotypes for oldest children, There’s probably a life sized picture of me standing there: “Goal oriented, outspoken, stubborn, controlling, a list maker” My three younger sisters would potentially give a hearty yay and amen.

My parents were operating a dairy farm out on War Branch in my earliest memories. And they included me immediately. History has it that Father took me trucking with him for the first time when I was 6 weeks old. I wonder now how my angelic mother was ok with this beginning of shenanigans. Knowing her, She probably just stayed home and prayed.

I do remember when I was about 4 years old, Julia and I were helping Father bushhog a fence row when a fence post caused us to stop suddenly. I wasn’t holding on properly and I fell off that fine 1466 International Tractor. I remember laying stunned on the ground looking up at them and that immense tire. Thank God, Father happened to look down and see that he was missing a passenger before he released the clutch. Father is a very animated storyteller and recently he’s been pulling all of the stories out of the archives and retelling them to my nephews. (Toddler entertainment and Farm Safety Awareness all in one) I happened to overhear him telling this one and it went something like “And Grandfather almost didn’t see Aunt Ken and if he had drove over her with the tractor, she would’ve been smashed as flat as a pancake!” Uriah at 3 years old was fully invested in the story trying to understand “A pancake?! And then we could eat Aunt Ken!” I think something got missed in interpretation on that one.

The majority of my childhood memories include spending time with family, whether it was working the land, or roaming all over the mountain behind our house.

I attended and graduated from Berea Christian School where my teachers instilled in me a deep love of writing, geography, and an thirst for experiencing and understanding different cultures.

Partway through my Freshman Year of High School, I came home from school sick and ended up missing the next 78 days of school. Part of the time the doctors suspected mono, part of the time they didn’t know what to call it. All I know is that I’d drag myself out of bed in the morning and require a nap immediately following. Eventually I had exploratory surgery and as I signed all the papers that agreed that if I died the medical professionals weren’t liable- I felt a deep need to give my heart to Jesus. 

And just as my health journey has continued, so has my walk with my Saviour. I was baptized the following year.

If you had asked me when I graduated where I saw my life going, I felt strongly pulled in two directions. One taking over our family farm. Two- the foreign mission field.

My dad always says “If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Father’s love is crop and custom farming and we girls were given positions in the crew as asap.

And in a lot of ways, I fell in love with harvest. My Mother loves her garden so I guess we kind of get a double dose. Watching the change of seasons, all the variables of growing different crops, producing different yields- a lot of which is completely out of our control-draws my heart to worship God in a way that is hard to describe. And from the combine, I feel like I have a front row seat.

When my parents offered Julia and I interest in the dairy on Paradise Lane, we didn’t hesitate and I thought Number One on the Life list was happening.

Those were good years. I was working with my family on our beloved farm. I did discover that 3 am is not my finest hour. But 200 milk cows don’t seem to comprehend that. Another raincloud on the parade was the fact that I developed a pretty major back issue that made milking cows almost impossible.

Through a seemingly random (but ordained of God) chain of events, Our dairy partnership expanded to include a taxi service. My family was amazing at keeping the home fires burning and allowing me to hop in my 15 passenger van and sail all over the US and part of Canada as a long distance driver for the local Old Order Mennonites. My back healed eventually but my thirst for experiencing different cultures continued.

My vans and my beloved passengers have taught me alot. Emily was 17 and I wasn’t much past 20 when we headed to the west coast as tour guides/ van drivers for our first group of girls. I thought a van with less than 30,000 miles would make the trip easily. But it ended up that it introduced us to half as many GMC dealerships as it did National Parks. I became familiar with dealerships in California, Oregon, and Wyoming until it was finally resolved. Stress levels were fairly high in the infamous van as well as on Paradise Lane as my dad was trying to diagnose the issue from afar and figure out how to get his girls home. And my mother? She was definitely home praying. Those stressful days taught me life lessons on being seemingly completely out of options and watching God move in mighty ways.

The following year, my Family again covered for me when I took a month to go to Guatemala with SMBI’s WATER program. When the Mission board called and asked me to return for the following winter, I wondered if this was the beginning of Part 2 on the list.

We lived in a little village of Santa Rosita, and it was your stereotype mission experience. Our thatch roof house was full of random critters ( geckos, scorpions, an occasional bat) But I’d pull the mosquito net around my bed and sleep at peace at night. The last paved road was down river a half hour, we didn’t have electricity other than a generator and we could hear howler monkeys often as we walked to church. I loved it. Oh and did I mention that fresh Guatemalan tortillas are the best?

I came home from there not knowing what God’s plan was for my future. So I prayed about it often and asked Him to open the doors if His plan was to return to Guatemala or wherever!

During my Freshman Year/the Mono Year, I made it partway through Spanish Class before having to drop out. I had several options at Spanish School in Guatemala, but somehow I opted out of those too. Terrible mistake. If you have the chance to learn Spanish, do whatever it takes to make it happen. Everytime I voice this regret I tell myself that I really should have my sister Deborah teach me Spanish. I guess its not too late.

The next few years fell into a pattern of van runs (so many Lancaster County shopping trips) and farming. Julia and I stayed in a partnership at the dairy until She decided she’d rather strike up a partnership with Sherman Showalter. While I didn’t blame her one bit, this totally threw my first life goal out the window. I spent countless time praying about the direction of my life. I know it was doubt but I really struggled with trusting that God had a future already planned out for me. Like somehow the end of the dairy days was all the further He had planned for me.

But God knew all this and more.

He opened the door on a crop farm when He closed the door on the dairy. So I was still farming with my family just without the 3 am milkings. I always preferred the equipment side of our farming anyways. So all was well.

Shortly after the dairy changeover, my health hit another bump in the road. This time the doctors were confident they knew what I was dealing with. Ulcerative Colitis has been the silent, unwelcome guest in my story. Modern Medicine has been a gift though. I thank God often that this autoimmune disease is mostly controlled and that I have many good days.

My van has continued to keep me traveling. My thirst for a variety of different cultural experiences has been well supplied. Through my passengers, I’ve been to some of the most ultra conservative Amish settlements, spent Christmas’s caroling in the cancer ward, visited the military base in Tuscan, Arizona. I’m currently missing only the states of North Dakota out of the continental US. But more than the travel tales,my passengers have also gifted me with hours of deep discussions sharing a wide variety of life experiences. I’ve also learned that it’s ok to travel in silence too. lol But I have hours upon hours to chat as I drive. “Everyone has a story. Take the time to listen.”

Another pretty major twist was my sister Deborah’s call to the foreign field. Deborah served 2 years in Nicaragua with Olive Branch Mennonite Missions and so my mission focus/energy got switched from Guatemala to Nicaruagua. ( one of the many blog posts Here) I learned very quickly that not being tied to the dairy meant that I could spend a lot of time with her. I savored every chance I got to enjoy the beauty of Nicaragua and it’s people.

When Deborah’s term was up, my cousin and I flew down to help her bus through Central America on her way home. Basically we mission hopped through 5 countries. It was grand adventure, but by the time we arrived home, we were exhausted, ready for familiar food and sick of living out of a Backpack

Another time of fairly exciting time of foreign exploration by bus found Emily and I visiting Kandace Glen in Cambodia. (Full post here) We were attempting to bus to the beach and the driver kept stopping along the road and coming back the aisle with a set of wrenches and opening a trap door in the floor to adjust something. I’m not much of a mechanic but I could tell we were in a heap of trouble. He kept running the RPMs faster and faster and the bus was going slower and slower until we ground to a stop. They’d warned us that it wasn’t wise for young girls to be out in the countryside after dark alone but there we were. So we hitchhiked with a family in a vegetable truck into the next town. And you can guess where my mother was- at home praying.

So my days revolved around juggling my two part time jobs. Basically planning my traveling days aside from farming with Father. As much as my energy would allow, I spent time with the crew. The guys are very patient with me and I really appreciate that.

During chopping season, we work with our own crew, but there was also another custom harvesting crew that we worked with some- most of you have probably heard of Shen Valley Custom. We spent a lot of hours of CB chatter spitting back and forth about John Deere vs Fendt. Well there was one guy on their crew that even though we had different tastes as far as tractor flavors, he and I agreed that neither of us could see ourselves as a chicken farmers AND we were thankful that God had called us to a life with way less drama. “I’m so happy to be single.” He told me more than once. And all convinced I was strong and independent, I know I agreed with him wholeheartedly.

Anyhow you can see how that worked out for Ben and I. We got married in the Spring of 2022. We’re happily eating those words and I assure you- they taste a lot like chicken.

Last summer was full of surprises. I figured out that I can actually run a kitchen well enough to keep 2 people from starvation. I learned about the amazing miracle of planting a garden and watching God give a bountiful increase. And I was reminded again of how our days are in God’s hand when a blood clot in my lung landed me in at Sentara for most of a week. I know that a lot of you came along beside us and prayed for us as I continued to add chapters to my health journal. Thank you. God is good and Ben proved that he meant it when he promised to provide and care for me in sickness and in health

When I look back at how God has faithfully helped check off the heart list of teenage Kendra beyond what I could’ve even dreamed, and has given me so much more. I’m a little overwhelmed. Life doesn’t look anything like I imagined it would. But God is so Faithful. 

If I’m given Three Score and Ten years, My life is half lived. My Grandmother is 94 and if I take after her, I’m a little over a third there. Or I might be called Home tomorrow. But my new life list is to attest to the Faithfulness of God.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Gratefully,

Kendra

I awoke with a start and stuck my nose out from under the pile of blankets and sleeping bags. The morning was waking up with me. The air was a crisp 36°. And I’d survived.

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Wyoming is always a charmer. Emily and I have made this trek often enough together that we’ve developed a pretty bulletproof routine. About the Wyoming/Montana border, I start amping up how many days until we cross the Virginia State Line and she starts listening to Chris LeDoux My Sweet Wyoming Home. There may or may not be tear’s involved:

Watch the moon, smiling in the sky
Hum a tune, a prairie lullaby
Hear the wind, and old coyoties cry
A song of home, sweet Wyoming home

It worked out really unusually this trip that we visited Glacier early one morning and made it to Yellowstone that evening.

The crowds are a force to reckon with and add some pretty major road construction- you can lose hours sitting in traffic inside the parks 😅

We arrived around 6 pm and took our time enjoying the sights. We watched several geysers erupt including Old Faithful. This one is called the Castle Geyser.

My biggest regret with tours like this is that you have to skip through so much. This time we got to some geysers basins I’d never visited before and that was fun.

We traded crowds of people for crowds of mosquitoes apparently. Definitely not the nicest exchange, but I guess enjoying nature comes with a price 🙂

The Tetons are so magnificent. Again I just wanted to rave about the wildflowers.

We took a sunset float on the Snake River and enjoyed that perspective. Our guide had a wealth of knowledge about the area and it’s history.

The float included a campfire supper. Delicious

As we were leaving, we got held up in a Buffalo traffic jam. Watching these clumsy looking animals nimbly jump the fence and charge across the plains was a sight to behold and we didn’t mind the delay one bit.

Which brings me back to my early morning meditations.

Accommodations in the area are fairly pricey, so when I found yurts for relatively cheap, I happily secured 3.

As I went to check in, a wide eyed lady was standing in line ahead of me with 3 bear sprays in her arms.

“You know how to use these, right?” Asked the camp host “this isn’t like bug spray that you spray on you. I had to take some people to the ER recently.” He continued distractedly.. “Ok, Rohrer… 3 yurts. So we’re having more grizzly bears this year. There was one on the ranch last week. Absolutely no food or hygiene products or anything with scent in your tents…”

Hmmm ok sweet dreams 😅

The night was cold. An elk bugled across the Valley. A coyote howled. The full moon lit up the sky the entire way to the Tetons. No bears out tonight and it was magical. Definitely recommend.

From here we hurried eastward. We checked on the progress of Crazy Horse. And stopped at Mt Rushmore.

The Badlands at evening were another interesting stop, but at this point, we were just ready to ride east.

And so ride we did- a rainbow sunset cheering us on.

21 days and 8,887 miles later, I parked the van in Singers Glen. Thank you, Jesus.

Travels like this are a privilege. I’m just overwhelmed grateful for the way that God provides over and over again. Praise Him

See you down the trail,

Kendra for the West Gang

To our friends scattered to and fro,

I always love visiting the Northwest and this time didn’t do anything to dampen that love.

We rolled into Crater Lake on Saturday evening. A storm was moving on the far rim and thunder echoed across the lake.

Some families eat pizza every Saturday night. I always thought that was a fun idea- but our family just eats pizza whenever (as often as possible 😂) We stopped at the visitors center and the kitchen whipped us up 2 pizzas. We drove straight up the mountain and sat on the rim eating Saturday night pizza in style. Perfection. Or so it appears. The mosquitoes were terrible and Em got a bite inside her ear. And the area where we were sitting was steep enough before the rim drop off that the pizza kept sliding down the box and I got all worried that somebody was going to go over the edge and so I hurriedly inhaled my food and beat a hasty retreat to the van 😅 Real Life.

Multnomah Falls was next on the itinerary. Em saved the day on this stop too- apparently they’ve added the reservation system to help with crowd control and Em discovered this in time to snag us a pass.

Idaho was perfection. We spent 2 blissful nights in Hayden with friends. The girls spent the day out on the water. (More real life-I spent the day running errands in town-like replacing the tire that had the screw in it back at Hoover Dam) We just savored being out of the van and off the road for a bit.

Bonners Ferry was beautiful per usual.

The girls got two cabins at the church campground. Emily and I crashed at Cousin Laura and Chad Mellinger.

Chad’s took us to a swing up in the mountains where cables come off of two pine trees and you can swing out over a huge drop off. The same urge to go sit in the van instead of watching the pizza slide down the rim was present here lol but I managed to watch the entire time after kindly declining the chance to ride. 😂

Laura took us to hike her favorite waterfall/lake. More real life- I’ve done more sitting than hiking in the last year and bounding up a mountain for several miles in unfamiliar elevation- well let’s just say I didn’t break any records. But it was a great experience.

The views were breathtaking and not just because I’m out of shape.

The wildflowers were so beautiful up on the side of the mountain.

And my favorite picture 😂 More real life: we were trying set the timer on the camera for a group pic and somehow a shoe got knocked into the water and all I could see was Laura diving downstream after it 😂 all’s well in the end.

Glacier was another miracle on the reservation detail when Em snagged the last pass available. God is so good to us. Watching the fog burn off the peaks was definitely worth the early morning.

And did I mention wildflowers? It’s like God just shook a package of wildflower seeds over the entire state. So so beautiful.

There’s a Log Cabin Cafe in Choteau, MT that I highly recommend. We had our sights set on lunch after our early morning in Glacier and right outside of town we were spotted by Marsh Showalter and Micheal and Ina Sue Strite, so they whipped their RV around and we took up most of the restaurant and enjoyed a random lunch with Julia’s in laws.

And so the journey continues. A lot of beautiful, a lot of real life, and the most amazing Heavenly Father who continues to bless and guide our steps. I’m so grateful.

See you down the trail,

Kendra for the West Gang

Apparently it’s not possible for me to travel continentally and keep the blog up to date. Oooops

Let’s jump back a few days and several thousand miles.

California was beautiful. Apparently I have PTSD from fighting traffic in these parts- but travel has gone extremely well- thank you Jesus.

It was fun to see Yosemite again- they weren’t requiring reservations/permits and we were able to breeze right in.

Golden Gate Bridge was another iconic visit. Again the drivers heaved a sigh of relief to leave that traffic in the rear view.

Can you visit CA without a stop at In-N-Out Burger? ☺️

And the Redwoods. I really liked this poem. It was written by Joseph B Strauss who built the Golden Gate Bridge.

Listening to this vehicle scrape its mirrors on the inside of the Chandelier tree was 🤪

The Redwoods are so mystic and beautiful.

The unexpected adventure happened at Crescent City. We were excited to enjoy the coast. And poking around the tidal pools during low tide shows off a lot of unexpected friends.

We just happened upon Battery Point Lighthouse during low tide so we could walk across on dry land for a tour.

Battery Point Lighthouse was built in 1856. The keepers are volunteers who come for a month at a time. The tour took us through the keepers quarters up to the top of the 45 foot light.

Once the tide came in, the keeper and his wife were left alone on their own little island.

Unexpected light is a very welcome find.

In a world of plenty of darkness, let’s be unexpected light!

Kendra for the West Gang

Bonus Pic:

Snow one day, snowmen the next- plenty of winter on this summer vacation 🙂