Wild Wonderful Wednesday: Wild ones

This is a 5th Wednesday, so we get to go to places wild and wonderful. This time I would like to take you to some of the wilder things we can remember doing (that we are willing to share). But actual locations (cities) often have little to do with the wild wanderings we have made. These wild places and situations could be found in many places.

Although I remember living in and visiting places as diverse as Germany and Greece, some of the wildest moments I remember were when we had moved to Colorado. In those days parents didn’t worry too much about where their kids were (or at least we were allowed to be out of the house, on our bikes as long as we were back for dinner time). My brothers and I were always discovering new places. 

Maybe it was more my oldest brother who made the plans and me and my younger brother followed. Whatever it was, we had good fun and we are glad that our parents didn’t know until later. One of these times was when we took our bikes to the floodway on a rainy day. A floodway in Colorado is designed for rainy days. It is meant to take the quickly rising water safely away from residential areas. Usually the floodway is simply a concrete river, empty of water. Perfect for riding your bike or skateboard or whatever. 

Of course once the rain starts coming, the floodway can turn quickly into a raging river. Not too long after this adventure I heard of a classmate of mine (in Junior High) who was drowned in a floodway. But that was after our wild adventure. And we were young and unaware. 

We rode our bikes to the floodway where we had often gone. This time there was a bit of water running along the bottom. The challenge was to sit in the water and then stand up. But when my younger brother sat down, he began to be swept away. We jumped in to help him stand, but one of the bikes now went in the water and started moving along the water. We were able to get everyone and everything out of the water (which was maybe 6 inches deep at the time), but it woke us up to the dangers. 

In that same floodway were large pipes which took the water from the streets into the floodway. On dry days these pipes, large enough to walk in while standing, were a great challenge. Were we brave enough to walk up the pipe without a flashlight, touching the walls as we walked, perhaps touching some insect or worse? The pipe ended after a turn. If you looked back, the tiny dot of light that until then had encouraged you was suddenly gone. And now, to return, you had to walk back in complete darkness. Exciting. Adventurous. 

These days our adventures mostly take us along the canal behind our house. You might think that is quite bucolic and simple. But in October the winds start and the walk along the canal becomes a risky adventure. We have frequently had parts of trees (and whole trees) fall across the pathway. We noticed this past week that there are even 6-8 trees which are marked to be removed - hopefully before they fall on some poor dog walker or jogger. 

What brings adventure into your daily life? And what kinds of wild adventures have you experienced? 

Wild wonderful Wednesday

This is the first 5th Wednesday this year that I have been able to write. So we are going to do things a little bit differently. I won’t be taking you to any spots near our house. Instead I will take you far away.

When Shirley and I started our life together we had no idea of what was to be in our future, but we wanted to face it with a smile and courage. So we made even our difficult times an “adventure”. If something was an adventure, then we could handle it and enjoy it. We did not have the possibility to travel much in the beginning, so even our walks out and around became adventures. We named our feet (mine were Ralph and Fred) and asked how they had enjoyed the adventure to the muddy swamp at the edge of the field, for example. 

And through the years we have had some amazing adventures. When we had our first car, we went to help pick someone up in Forth Worth, Texas. Unfortunately, our car broke down somewhere on the highway in Fort Worth before we could get to the young man we were to pick up. We spent the next few days walking from the cheapest hotel we found near a garage we found willing to tow our car. We had just enough money. We got coffee at the McDonald’s, purchased some cheese and bananas at a little supermarket and prayed that the garage would work out a deal with us. For two days we walked back and forth between the cheap hotel, the supermarket and the garage. I can still remember the smell of the asphalt of Forth Worth. 

Then there was the visit to the hotel in San Antonio, Texas a few years later. We wanted to visit San Antonio because that is where Scott was born. As we arrived downtown in our brand new second hand little station wagon, baby Stephan in the baby seat in the back, a pick-up truck turned left through our green light and smashed our cute little car to bits. 

Everyone seemed fine. Somehow (we still do not remember how) we got to the hotel we had planned to stay at and we made an adventure of the next few days wondering how we would get back to Abilene. That was solved by a brother (Bob Gorsline) who was traveling through and was able to take us with him. We never did see the Alamo, although we were able to purchase a sombrero. Ralph and Fred had a good time. 

But our adventures were not restricted to Texas, nor were they all difficult times. Between the two Texas adventures we traveled to Europe on a survey trip to see if we would be able to do missions there. This was before Stephan arrived and we had a Eurail ticket which meant we could travel all over Europe with the train. Ralph and Fred were excited. We would often plan our trip so that we could sleep in the train, saving costs. 

We walked up the hill to the castle in Salzburg, Austria. At least, we walked a good part of the way. Shirley did not do well with the altitude, so it was slow going. But we made it. In Greece we walked through the market and up to Mars Hill, imagining what the apostle Paul saw when he had been in the same places. We ran through the narrow streets of Venice as we hurried to get back to the train station after a day visiting the canals and bridges and glassblowers. And in Bremen we walked calmly through a park, finally sitting on a bench as we waited and prayed for a lost passport and Eurail pass which finally showed up when we returned to the train station. 

This past weekend we met up with our Chinese professor friend who is hosting her mother in the coming weeks. They told of the trips they will take to Paris, Rome, Venice and Munich. It reminded us of the journeys and adventures we have had. Life is exciting if you can make it an adventure. And oh the stories you have when all is said and done!

Where have you been? Where are you going? What adventures have you experienced? What adventures await you? Ralph and Fred still enjoy everything I throw at them. Walk with joy and courage. Walk with God and it will be great.  

Wild, Wild West (Home Assignment 2023 Texas)

Our time in Texas has not disappointed. When people think of Texas, they think of BIG, adventuresome, wild. All of those words describe our short time here, starting with the “Tale of the Difficult Easirent”. 

As with several parts of our trip, we rent a car to get around. We were blessed for the Midwest Loop with a car lent to us from a member of the church in Minnesota. We will be similarly blessed in California. But in the other places we will be renting a car. As anyone renting a car presently knows, prices have gone up. So when we planned our trip we were looking for the best prices.

On arriving in Texas we expected the normal shuttle from the airport to the car rental place. This time we also needed to take an extra shuttle to an off-airport location of this cheaper rental provider. This might have been a portent. When we arrived we were required to purchase an extremely expensive insurance. We considered choosing a different provider, but were of course now in the middle of the city with no way to get anywhere. We were over a barrel. So we signed. It did mean that the car was well covered as far as insurance was concerned - or at least that is what they told us. 

As it turned out, the car had a slow leak in the right front tire. We of course did not see this until the next morning when the car itself told us of the problem and told us to inflate the tire to the correct psi. We inflated and drove on. The next morning, the tire was low again, so we inflated again. But now we knew that there was something not quite right with the tire. 

When we arrived at our destination (Abilene), we were finally able to contact the rental company and ask what we needed to do. It was a Sunday. The rental company informed us first that tires were not covered - they were our responsibility. So although we had the most expensive insurance, covering everything, it somehow did not cover leaking tires. But after some back-and-forth they gave us a number for roadside assistance. 

The roadside assistance sent a tow truck to tow our car…. To where? We had no idea. We were supposed to receive information digitally, but nothing showed up. We called the tow truck in the evening, disturbing his evening, and were informed of the address the tow truck had been given. We tried to call, but it was of course Sunday evening. No one was available. 

The next morning we tried as well, but it was Memorial Day and shops were closed. We drove by with a friend and saw the car, but the shop was closed. We would have to wait for the next morning. We were planning on traveling on that day, so it was imperative that we get the car back in time. We would be flying on Wednesday. 

When Tuesday arrived, the phone marathon began. The shop where the car was left had no idea why it was there and could not help us. The rental company didn’t answer their phone. The roadside assistance needed to know which insurance was used, but we didn’t know since it came from the rental company. The towing company would figure out where the keys were left. The rental company still didn’t answer. 

In the end, we were able to track down the car and the keys. We picked up the keys at a collision place (who of course could not hel[ us with tires) drove it down to a tire place where it was fixed for FREE - Thank you Discount Tire on Catclaw in Abilene! This made everything amazing, even if we were later than we wanted to be. We were able to get on the road back to Haslet where we could rest one more time before returning the car. 

We planned on complaining when we returned the car on Wednesday, but a major accident on the way snarled traffic to a stop and we had just enough time to drop off the car and get on the shuttle to the shuttle to the airport. So in the end we got where we needed to be - no thanks to the “easy” rental company. 

But that was only part of the trip. The rest was the big, wonderful adventure of a Texas visit. We stopped in twice at our good friends, the McNeill’s (after arriving and before leaving). Memories of times in Belgium, catching up with current life and sharing beautiful Texas sunsets and wide open Texas skies.

The second day in Texas had us driving down to a ranch outside of Throckmorton to meet with the Bundy’s. The Bundy’s had been everywhere in Europe, where we met them in Switzerland and Belgium. Sean spent some of his time living with them at their apartment in Brussels. (You can see pictures of that time here.) Now they are in Lubbock when they are not out at this ranch with their family. And now we were welcomed here. 

The weather threatened to rain, but cleared up enough for Scott to even throw some discs at the homemade discgolf (three targets) before dinner with Bill’s brother and sister-in-law. Big steaks, baked potatoes and ice cream to boot. We were able to share good conversation, talking about the work of God’s kingdom in sod many places around the world. 

We drove off the next day in a storm that had been waiting to fall. The rain slashed across our windshield as we drove over the single lane highway through the vastness of empty space filled with mesquite trees. Driving down into Abilene, the clouds parted for a moment before closing again as we reached our destination at our friend’s E.B. and Jean Dotson’s. 

Walking into the Dotson’s house is always a coming home. We stay here every time we return to the States and look forward to how we can be at home here. We can say hello to the birds, just sit quietly, or engage in various conversations. We always enjoy a movie together at some time. This time we added popcorn and m&m’s on the last evening together. 

In the meantime we were blessed on the Sunday with family time. Our very first congregation, two days after we were married, was S. 11th & Willis in Abilene. When we decided to begin the work in Maastricht, they were right there to support us financially and have been with us since then. They support and have supported missions in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

This would be our last visit with them as a supporting congregation, since they would be ending their support, but it was so good to be able to see members we have known so long and who have loved us for so long. Scott preached and we enjoyed conversations afterwards before going out to lunch, being blessed by hospitable hearts.  

In the evening we attended another congregation in the area and talked about what we do with the church in Belgium and The Netherlands. Since we were losing support, some friends encouraged us to consider picking the missed support up somewhere else. In this meeting we met with people who already had links with missions in Germany and were more than willing to listen to what was happening in the neighboring countries. Texas hearts and hospitality are big and wonderful. 

Our drive back to the airport covered all the vastness of West Texas fields and skies which seem to stretch out forever. The sky is nowhere as blue as in Texas. And our last evening in Texas was one with good friends and peace. Our Tale of the Difficult Rental ended - as a trying sickness ends with a feeling of exhaustion and a desire to simply move on. We are so thankful for the trips we are able to take, for the people who welcome us so warmly. No we move on to the next step and the next stories. If you want to see some pictures from Texas, you can find them here.

The Tale of the Alternate Airport

All airports are areas of amazing adventure. Our journey across the water began in Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport) and ended in MSP (Minnepolis-St. Paul, which is Minnesota), but it was the stops in between which make the tale complete of course, since we did not fly from Amsterdam to Minnesota. No, in the effort made by many these days (remember the days of consulting a travel agent?) to make flying more affordable, we had booked a cheaper flight, which meant more flights. 

I must apologize that we have no pictures of this part of our travels (these are not mine). We were too busy getting from one place to another. We flew from Schiphol to London Heathrow early in the morning. In London we enjoyed the hospitality of this mega-airport for a short time before stepping on the plane to Ney York City’s John F. Kenndy airport. A short 6 hours or so (and several movies on our personal media device) later, we landed in the Big Apple – and there began our biggest adventure. 

We had planned a flight from Newark airport to Minneapolis. For those of you who do not know, Newark is in New Jersey, which is the next state over from New York. “No problem”, thought I, “New York City and Newark are actually right next to each other and flow into one another.” And we had more than four hours on a layover to get from one to the other. We had landed at midday and our flight wasn’t leaving until after 5pm. As long as there were no problems with the bus we had arranged to get us from one airport to the next, their would be no problems at all. 

And that is when adventures truly begin. When everything is going as planned, adventure is waiting, watching for the moment to jump in and make things exciting. It is when things begin to fall apart, depart from the plan, that adventure smiles broadly and makes an entrance. And so too with our trip. 

The bus was called and would arrive within 45 minutes. We sat waiting, watching the various peoples that congeal and disapate in laughter and conversation, welcoming parents from their trip, screaming in delight at seeing one another after many months or years. A girl’s volleyball team loudly saying goodbye to each other as they went their separate ways. Several Jewish families waiting patiently to be picked up. A southern couple drawling about what they had seen and would tell to the grandkids. 

And we waited. Our flight was to leave at 5:30pm, but we knew we would still need to go through customs and get to the gate once we made it to the airport. We figured (and had checked out) that midday traffic across town would not be bad and we should be able to make the trip in 90 minutes. So if the bus came by 2pm at least, eveyrthing would be fine. But it was now 2 o’clock and the bus had not yet arrived. 

After waiting 2 hours, the bus finally arrived, having already passed our entrance and needing to drive completely around the airport again to arrive back at our entrance. Together with a man who was outwardly showing what we were feeling inside, we handed our luggage to the driver who would load it on the van. All of the luggage (the van was full of passengers) had been tossed higgeldy-piggeldy in the bag of the van, piled up like the stack a young child makes when cleaning up their toys. 

The van departed into what was now quickly becoming rush hour traffic – in New York City! “Are we heading into that traffic?” one passenger exclaimed with anguish. We tried not to worry, knowing that, whatever happened, we would be okay. We looked for things that Sean and Jill might see on a regular day, names of places we had heard them mention. We thrilled at crossing the Verazzano Narrows bridge. And when the van came to a car-pool lane and passed by all the still-standing traffic, we all breathed a sigh of relief. 

In the end, we – as the last ones out of the van, after the driver had to undo his toy-stack with each departing passenger – arrived at our terminal, ran to our gate and stood in line for the security check (shoes off, belt off, change out, computer out etc). It was 5pm and our flight would board at 5:05pm. In the row in front of us, two women jovially discussed their work. They too, were on their way to Minneapolis and seemed not worried in the least. 

It turns out the plane was slightly delayed and we had time to grab something to eat from an airport store. We even enjoyed another sit down watching the people who would board with us. This would be a slightly shorter flight and we were planning on sleeping. It had been almost 24 hours since we woke to go to the airport. When we arrived in Minneapolis, we were met by Dale Hawley’s friendly face. He took us to our hotel (we would be leaving for Iowa the next morning), gave us the keys to his car and bade us good night. 

We had survived and enjoyed another amazing adventure. We have learned, time and again, that even if things do not work out as we expected or hoped, they work out. God is with us wherever we go. Which is why we simply look out for how we can be an encouragement to those around us and enjoy the ride. But the ride – that is the next tale. 

Ascension Adventure

Years ago, when Shirley and I were young marrieds (wait a minute - we are still young marrieds!). we would often go off on a walk somewhere, just wondering where it would lead us. We looked for "adventure" this way. Sometimes taking a new road, sometimes not worrying about whether our shoes would get wet or muddy - whatever. When the boys came along, these adventures slowed down (although they were just as much a part of the adventure!).

Now that the guys are older, can handle themselves at home alone, and aren't always interested in doing what Mom and Dad are doing (did that surprise you?), Shirley and I decided to leave them on their own for a bit and go on an adventure. Ascension Day is a holiday here, so we jumped in the car and drove off - we had a general direction, but simply chose a turn whenever we approached an intersection.

We are blessed to live in a very international area, and a very beautiful area, so we drove through hills in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany - all within 10 minutes of each other. There is a "three-country-point" (which we didn't visit since we have been there before), and lots of rolling hills and picturesque villages. A stop for coffee and lunch in one village, wondering where that road leads to (and finding out), several castles and ending up at a village where they were holding an antique and rummage sale (one man's junk is another man's antiques!).

We got home in time for dinner and played a game with the boys before watching a movie together. It was a great adventure-filled day!