Beginning the loop

Each time we plan this Home Assignment (the trip we take every three years to re-connect with supporting congregations and family) it always includes a section of driving. We usually leave Minnesota and make a loop through Iowa, Colorado, returning to Minnesota before flying on. When Stephan moved to Indiana, we cadded this to the loop, but later made Indy a flight.

This time, since Scott’s brother and mother moved to Montana, the loop will include Montana, Colorado and Iowa before returning to Minnesota. The beginning of this loop includes three stops: Sioux City, Iowa; Belle Fourche, South Dakota; and Billings, Montana. Pull out a map and follow along on this exciting first section of the loop. 

Our first real stop on the loop is planned to be Billings, Montana, but to get there from Minnesota we have to drive quite a few miles (or kilometers). So we split the drive up into three sections and planned on visiting good friends and supporters along the way. The first stop was after a shorter drive of 5 hours to Sioux City, Iowa. This city is in the Northwest corner of Iowa and is only about an hour away from Omaha, Nebraska. We stopped here back in 2023 on our way to visiting Shirley’s family and took a picture of our friends’ house before they even saw it. 

This time we stopped to spend an evening and morning with Daniel and Tonita Stovall and also got to see Dale and Vicki Hawley who live in the area and have been mentors and encouragers throughout our time. Tonita is originally from Omaha, where Shirley is also from. She and Shirley were roommates at Harding and Tonita was the maid of honor at Shirley’s wedding. Daniel sang at our wedding. They were influential in connecting us with the support of the congregation in Minnesota when they were living and working there. 

They have continued supporting us financially and we have almost always found a way to get together in Texas for an afternoon when they were living there. This time we were able to play some guitar, reminisce and even talk about future plans. It was an encouraging stop along the way to our next stop in South Dakota. 

After spending a night on the edge of Iowa, we drove out across South Dakota on what would be a long 8 hour drive. Much of eastern South Dakota is farmland and flat. But toward the West the country starts getting quite rugged. We took a short section through the “Badlands” and stopped for a restroom break at Wall Drug. Hundreds of billboards along the route across South Dakota tell all drivers to stop in at Wall Drug Store. 

Our trip ended in Belle Fourche, South Dakota where we connected with the sister of one of our members from Maastricht. She and her family work with the church in this beautiful little city and surrounding area. They had arranged a beautiful retreat for us after our drive. This was the first time we had been alone for some time. The sunrise woke us for another new day and we met the family for a breakfast in town before heading off on another long drive towards Montana. 

To get to Billings, Montana, we would drive through the Northwest corner of Wyoming, driving right past the natural monument of Devil’s Tower. This looks like a mountain that has been scratched down the side by a monstrous bear (which is one of the myths around it). We skirted a severe storm, glimpsed the Rocky Mountains in the distance and finally drove into Billings by the evening. Scott’s brother and sister-in-law welcomed us along with Scott’s mom who lives with them. 

For a few days we enjoyed the quiet ruggedness of this cowboy state. Lots of pickup trucks and casino’s (entering the state we were greeted with a sign “Entering Crow Country” - the Crow being the local Indian tribe). We went out to breakfast with Scott’s mom - a local “greasy spoon” eatery where she has met lots of regulars sitting at the counter and the waitresses all know her by name. We went walking along the Yellowstone River with Chris and Lynette one morning and visited an immense sporting goods store called Scheel’s (“Like a Cabela’s but better” we were told). 

This was a place of rest and retreat, connecting with family. The severe weather came and went, slashing hail across the yard, but we were safe and well inside. Scott got to discgolf again (he had done a little in Minnesota and California) and we enjoyed time together. On Sunday we met with the local church of Christ and ran into some people who knew people we knew as well as being built up by a wonderful lesson and worship time. Family is clearly important in Montanas. 

This first section of the loop was full of sharing memories and making new ones, time to rest and recover from the traveling we have been doing. Our next stop will be in Colorado. It will start with a long drive through Wyoming and down to Colorado Springs, but we are looking forward to the next step. 

You can find pictures of this first section of the loop here. 

Whatsit Wednesday: “Hagelslag” - it’s hailing!

From the name, one might think that “hagelslag” had something to do with the weather. In a country where the weather is often the topic of conversation, this would be a good guess. Talking about the weather is something that everyone in the Netherlands (and Belgium) does. Complaining about talking about the weather is the other thing that most will do. 

But “hagelslag” has nothing to do with the weather. The literal meaning is “hail strike” or some such. But hagelslag is mostly reserved for a delicious meal (if you are Dutch). It involves bread, some butter and a typical open-faced sandwich. And hagelslag of course. Hagelslag comes in various colors. It can even be licorice flavored. In a slightly different form (little mice) it is used specifically for celebrating the birth of a child, when it shows if you have had a boy or girl (and in Belgium this is reversed!). 

But I am getting ahead of myself. What is hagelslag? It is (usually) chocolate sprinkles. It can be dark chocolate or milt chocolate or white chocolate. As mentioned there is a licorice version (which is white. And there is a multi-colored version, although older people will consider this quite modern. “In my day hagelslag was simply chocolate” you might hear them say. 

The “muisjes” or little mice are not chocolate at all, but are more like a candy. They are only blue or pink and are put on a sort of cracker  and passed out to guests to celebrate the birth of your son or daughter. But hagelslag can be eaten on any day, although most often only for lunch, or maybe breakfast. A slice of bread is lightly spread with butter and then generously covered with hagelslag. This is eaten open-faced and all of the sprinkles that fall off onto the plate are gathered and eaten as well. 

What do you put on your bread for lunch? What kind of sandwiches have you experienced before? Have you ever had hagelslag?