If you have never been across Iowa, then you do not know how beautiful farmland can be. Some people find this state boring, but I have always pictured God gently forming its beautiful rolling hills with care (as opposed to the force and fun necessary for, say, the Grand Canyon). And it is also an amazing place to hear an awful lot of talk radio. Our drive across the state to Omaha, Nebraska, where Shirley’s family live was full of snacks (Lucky Charms and pretzels), talking, snoozing and waiting.
Once in Omaha (although we actually stayed across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa), we settled into our hotel and made some phone calls. It was great to be able to call, thanks to the hospitality and forsight of the church in Muscatine who bought us a phone to use while in the States. So we made oru calls and planned the coming days with family and then settled in to hotel life. This is the one section of the trip that we stay in a hotel. This one had a fitness room, pool and was in close proximity of plenty of fast-food restaurants and stores.
Omaha, Nebraska is the largest city in Nebraska (though NOT, as Sean mentioned, the capitol). With a population of about half a million it is large, but still doesn’t feel that way. It has all sorts of cultural activities (opera, dance, music concerts, art galleries etc) and, most importantly, also has lots of discgolf courses! We played on one hot morning while Shirley was off at the mall having a good time.
The best part of this section of the trip is of course getting to see family. Shirley’s family lives in an around Omaha. Years ago, when we first lived in Abilene, Texas, Shirley’s sister, Mary and her two kids, Chris and Nikki came to live with us. This gave us a very close relationship and it is still so good to be able to spend time together. While in Omaha we also want to visit a congregation, usually on a Wednesday evening. This time we went with Mary to a congregation in North Omaha. This was the congregation where Shirley was baptized. The evening we arrived was an evening for singing, so we enjoyed the time together. Afterwards Shirley saw someone she recognized and there was a great reunion with some of the very members who had been there when she attended so many years ago. And the next day, even after we had traveled on to York, Nebraska, we received a phone call from a woman Shirley hadn’t seen in so many years but who had been influential in her life! God’s family is so good!
As mentioned we moved on from Omaha to York. We were able to stay with some people we had met while up in Minnesota. They had stopped in at the people’s home we stayed with in Minnesota, but lived in York. They offered then to put us up for a night since we had to be in York early to show Stephan around the campus and talk about the possibility of him attending there next year. It is always so refreshing to be refreshed by the saints. These are the kind of people we want to be as well. God blesses us and teaches us at the same time!
Even better, while with the Lynn’s, we realized that there were several old friends in York who we hadn’t seen in years. Shirley and Scott first went on a campaign with 12 other students from York College (and Tom Schulz) back in 1981. Two of these students lived just around the corner from where we were now staying – so we got to reminisce and catch up on how things were going in their lives. The next day, while being shown around the campus (amazed at all the changes and constantly mentioning “When we were here . . .”), we ran into several others who we had not seen in so many years. It is great to know that we have a relationship together that transcends distance and years (that of being brothers and sisters in Christ – although the York bond is awfully strong too).
After a quick tour and information, we headed out for Colorado Springs – a 9 hour drive across Nebraska and the north corner of Colorado. Scott was able to drive 75 mph (just about 130 km/h) most of the way, we had plenty of snacks, could listen to Sequel to Adam’s cd once again (the boys love it!) and stayed awake through the unending miles of nothingness stretching away from the highway. It had been a wonderful visit full of all sorts of family in Nebraska. What a blessing!
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