Trip to Alabama

The contrast between Maine and Alabama is pretty striking! And it is not just due to the fact that we had to use our heater in one place and the air-conditioner in the other. However, among believers, there is a common warmth and fellowship wherever we go.

We had a really nice visit with the people of Faith Baptist Church in Decatur, AL. We enjoyed the privilege of joining them for a church picnic on Saturday and then the services on Sunday. A special treat was the time we were able to spend with Pastor Jeremy and Ruth Nason, friends from college days. The Nasons treated us to real Southern barbecue at Big Bob Gibson's for lunch. We also visited with them in their home following the evening service, where I'm afraid that we were enjoying the fellowship so much that we kept them up rather late.

Tomorrow (3/28) we leave for Ohio. Snow is predicted for Sunday there! Pull out the coats again and turn that heater back on!

Travels in New England, Part 3

We are now back in Spartanburg, SC, with the windows open, enjoying 70+ degree weather. It is hard to believe that less than a week ago we were up in Madawaska, Maine experiencing windchills of -19!

This was truly a wonderful trip. We traveled through two Canadian provinces, 15 states and the District of Columbia, putting more than 7,000 miles on our van. (By God's grace, with more than 217,000 miles, our Dodge Caravan is still running strong!) This trip was special in that we not only met many new friends, but got to reunite with many friends that had been made on our previous trips to New England.

Here is the final segment of pictures from this trip. As you will see, the trip ended with a very enjoyable stop in Wilmington, NC, and a trip to Papa and MeMa Pahnke's in Wake Forest, NC.

(To view slide show in a larger format, click here.)

Acadia National Park

Thursday we took an afternoon excursion to Acadia National Park, one of the most visited of all of our country's national parks. In the wintertime, many of the roads are closed, but the ones that are open still offered us quite the breathtaking views! We thought we'd share some of the scenery with you in the short video below.

More travels in New England

Here are some more slides that take up where the others left off. We have weathered at least three significant snow storms. However, we are thankful to God that not one service has been canceled. Ironically, our home church in Spartanburg, S.C., did have to cancel their Sunday night services yesterday due to snow!

One of the true blessings of these travels are the friends that we have made. It is hard to express how enjoyable, encouraging and endearing some of these friendships have become to us.

Click here to view in a larger format.