Our main goal tis year is to visit all our ministry partners. During Spring Break in April, we made a road trip to Tulsa, OK. Michelle’s University was not on a break, so she did not join us. And Ben dislikes long car rides, so he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. So it was Ron, Janet and Nate, who got lots of driving done in preparation for his driver’s test.
First stop was at Abe Lincoln’s home in Springfield, IL
Next we passed through St. Louis, MO and snapped a shot of this famous landmark as we drove by. Been there, seen it years ago, and had other sights in mind to visit that day.
In fact, this was a “guy” trip. So, our first gear head museum stop was the Kemp Auto Museum in St. Louis, which boasts “one of the finest collections of Mercedes Benz in the world”!
Arriving in Tulsa we stopped to see fellow Cameroon missionary friends – Jim & Cynthia Lemons and their son – with whom Nathan has been friends since they were like 7 or 8 years old!
Then we got to stay with friends we’ve known since before we were married! That’s over 20 years ago!
The purpose of the visit was to connect personally with Redeemer Covenant Church in Tulsa. It was a joy to share what God is doing through the ministry of Rain Forest International Church during each service, with the youth during the Sunday School hour, and with another group of folks during lunch afterwards. We have a display table set up where people can meet with us between services and talk in more detail. And that evening Glenna hosted a dessert gathering for those who were unable to attend the lunch but wanted to get together with us. It was great to have so many opportunities to meet people !
One of my favorite things to do in churches we visit is to check out the bulletin boards to find out what is important in the life of the church. It’s always a pleasure to discover a missions board — and an extra special pleasure to find pictures and information about Covenant missionary friends and colleagues.
On the way home to MI from OK we visited more aviation museums than I knew existed! With a son interested in a career in missions aviation, this was the theme of the trip.
After seeing the Tulsa Air & Space Museum, we drove up to KS to visit more of our missionary family. Dean & Gretchen Samuelson, who were Covenant missionaries for many years in Congo (Zaire). 20 years ago last Fall Ron & I got to know each other while at their place in Congo/Zaire.
We had such a good time, they convinced us to stay in Topeka to see the local sights! So we took in a visit to the Capitol building where you can climb up inside the dome. We also visited the Brown vs Board of Education museum which was a great follow up to our recent Sankofa Journey.
And before leaving KS we were able to take in yet another aviation museum! Our guide, Ralph, was a vet who had great stories and lots of interesting information to share.
And finally, on our way home we passed through Omaha to visit the Strategic Air & Space Museum which was by far the biggest and most impressive of all the aviation museums on the trip.
What a great trip! Not only did we get to visit ministry partners, friends and colleagues (former & current) but we got to take in museums of interest and Nate got in lots and lots of driving time toward earning his lisence! Praising God for a safe trip and good quality time with our big boy!
