On April 25th left Wilson, NC to head to Burlington, NC. On the way we had lunch with our friend Nathan Rittenhouse. The next evening Nathan and his wife came to have dinner with us where we were staying.
April 25-29th we stayed in Burlington, NC at the missionary house of Beacon Baptist Church. Saturday ad Sunday we enjoyed visiting with our friends the Councilmans and some of the pastors from the church. We also stopped by the Alamance Battlefield.
Monday morning, April 29th we drove up to York, PA to participate in the Mission Festival of Church of the Open Door. We stayed with my parents that week, since they live nearby. Isaiah got to go to first grade with my mom.
We had a wonderful time at the COD Mission Festival (April 30-May 5th). It was great to see people, meet new people, and fellowship with other missionaries. Josh went to the Bible Museum with the church. Our kids loved the Saturday evening Street Faire – highlighting different missionaries and countries. I enjoyed the special missionary ladies pamper morning. One special treat was being with Rosa, a missionary who I met when I was 17, and watching my kids interact with her – their favorite Tea Lady from the Street Faire.
Tuesday, May 7th, we drove down to Arlington, VA to spend some time with the Gustafsons. It was great to see them again.
Wednesday morning, Mr. Gustafson dropped us right outside the entrance of the National Museum of Natural History. We had a great morning looking at lots of things. For lunch we met our friend Rebekah for a picnic out on the Mall green, rode the carousel, and spent a little bit of time at the Air and Space Museum. The three older kids drove the Metro with Rebekah back to her apartment and the rest of us were picked up by Mr. Gustafson to get back to our car. We’re very thankful for his generosity to us with all the time he spent driving us around.
Wednesday evening through Saturday morning we were with Richard and Rebekah Yamada. We enjoyed getting to spend time with them both. Good to catch up with Rebekah in person and get to know Richard better.
Thursday, May 9th, Josh took the older three kids to Mount Vernon. They had a great time.
Friday we drove to have lunch with Bob and Anne Headley. Bob is the author of The Cambodian and English Dictionary. Josh has enjoyed corresponding with Bob. They were a delightful couple to be with.
Saturday, May 11, we drove to Engleside Baptist Church and spent time with the Smith family. Our kids loved playing with their children. We enjoyed our time with the Smiths and with the church people on Sunday.
Tired yet? We were! So the next thing we did was to head to our long awaited vacation (see next week’s post). On May 12 we hit our halfway mark for our time in the States. Less than three months until we get to go home!