Today has been a day of waiting…Last night (Saturday) Emily began to feel like the time was near for our granddaughter to make her grand appearance. So we have been waiting…Calls to birthing center, reports, and distance…Steve’s mother arrived just after noon and she now is part of the vigil. Updates will be coming, probably sooner than later.
The above situation meant that we could not stray far from home base, so we have been hanging around. This morning Nancy and I did drive through the area looking for a church with a service that was just starting, and we found a Presbyterian Church on Friendly Street. There was no outward indication of service times, but people were going in so we assumed that the appointed hour was near. When we walked in and identified ourselves as visitors we were warmly greeted and then asked “Which service would you prefer? The contemporary or the traditional?” Needless to say this piqued my curiosity so we asked for more information and were told that if we turned right we could worship in a traditional format in the larger sanctuary, but if we turned left we could worship in a contemporary format in the smaller chapel. Same hour, same campus, but two congregations.
My sensibility wounded, I did not know what to do—which should WE vote for? But we could not have both, so chose the smaller, which turned out to be fairly traditional itself, but obviously it was attempting to appeal to a particular clientele. There was a very well done drama, a children’s message (2 children were cajoled into coming forward, much to their discomfort, and they heard how Christianity can be compared to a pickle), a sharing time and a sermon, as well as some well presented but pretty tame praise songs. The people did chuckle when I stood up during the sharing, introduced myself and Nancy as visitors, and explained that if we made a sudden exit it should not be taken personally but would mean our cell phones (set on buzz) had gone off to inform us that our daughter was on the way to the hospital.
The closing song for the service was about being one body and one spirit—a reality, but one I felt not well supported by the division and forced choice of contemporary or traditional… Neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, contemporary or traditional-when will the church at large learn to live that out?
I was very saddened to hear on the news about a shooting in a Jewish center in Seattle and am praying for the community. And in the midst of it all we are called to be peacemakers…

Nancy aptly describes our life for the next weeks as CS Lewis described a halfway point between this world and the imaginative world called Narnia, the woods between the worlds. We are here now, but much of us is still where we were and some of us is where we are going to be. That is a between worlds place to be!
I arrived Tuesday after covering 2,935 miles in 6 days in our 1973 van. It was loaded with books and other heavy cargo, and some people doubted I would make it. But all went without a hitch, and I was duly greeted by Nancy, Steve, Emily and our grandaughter-to-be.
We are unpacking a bit, with the possibility of keeping our apartment here even while we are away--just for the sake of nesting. That is a term that means a bit more to Nancy than to me, but I understand what it is about. It would mean one less packing up (altho we have few possessions here) and a bit more stability for when we come back. While the Scripture says that our true permanent home is in heaven, the idea of place and home this side of there and then is a shadow of what is to come, and has God-given value. So, while we will be nomads for some time, a place may be a good idea.
Emily is due any day. Steve's mother is arriving tomorrow, will live with Nancy and me, and will take over cooking duties for us all. She is a professional chef, ran a restaurant in Haiti for years before things became too dangerous there, and now cooks for a nursing home. She can turn an ordinary meal into something extraordinary, and we are all looking forward to that.
Enough for now. Temperature is high and humidity is--such is life!

I learned a lesson the other day. I had spent the night in a town in Nebraska, and started out the next morning to continue my trek east. After about 30 miles I noticed a sign that was eerily similar to one I had seen before--and I was surprised to see it. The sign anounced that I was about to enter the Mountain Time Zone. I was a bit perplexed, as the sign I had seen the evening before had said I was entering the Central Time Zone. My first thought was that there was a small jog in the line between the zones, but then I quickly realized there was another very logical explanation, namely that I was actually going west instead of east. A rapid closer glance at an interstate marking sign confirmed my suspicion. I had entered the freeway going the wrong way, and was heading back to Seattle instead of forwards towards my destination, Greensboro, NC. Feeling more than a little foolish I took the first exit, retraced my route, and headed back in the right way....

As I thought about it, and tried to figure out what use I could make of my silly mistake, I realized that it will some day make a good sermon illustration. The point being that God has given us directions for our lives in his Word. They are pretty clear and pretty important. But if we do not pay attention to them, if we don't know them or if we head out without carefully looking at them, we could waste a lot of life and get in a lot of trouble....

Having left Calvin and not having a place to regularly preach any more, I am recognizing how much that activity means to me. A message I heard from Dr. Dale Brunner quoted another theolgian who said that we each have a place and a gift in God's kingdom and it can be found at the intersection between the needs of the world and our point of joy. Preaching and teaching God's Word give me joy, and as I continue to see how the experiences of life can be used to illustate that Word, I look forward to discovering the opportunities God will give me to share them with others.

A little over 2,500 miles done, just over 400 more to go before I get back to Nancy, Emily and Steve. Looks like I will make it before our first grandchild is born. The interstates work well for moving quickly, but they standardize an amazingly diverse country... Good and bad I think.

Different color, but same 1973 Dodge van. Emily coming home from the hospital.

Yesterday began trip #2 across the USA. This time I am driving the old 1973 Dodge van loaded with things Nancy and I will need for our time in Albania—and who knows what or where else…I find it incredible to think that I am still driving the same vehicle I used for family moves to Los Angeles, Clarkston and Calvin, and that youth groups sang, slept and sweated in for thousands of miles en route to mission trips in Mexico and elsewhere. There is nostalgia in driving this van, along with some hope in the thought that old things can still work! They need maintenance and care and an occasional tune-up, especially as they get older, but by the grace of God they can still keep going—just like people…

The old van has taught me some lessons about life and utility, and reminded me over and over again about what I believe is one of the greatest dangers (i.e. idols) of our culture— that is believing we always need the newest and the best—and paying the price for it. We don’t! We need to more deeply and regularly scrutinize our choices and priorities in the light of Christ’s command to serve him and further the kingdom with the resources we have been given by God…

A highlight of my two days back in Seattle was seeing people I love. Our family foray into the wilds of Carolina is a trip far away from our roots, and the people of those roots. In one sense being away for only a few weeks was nothing unusual, but there is a finality to it this time, and I feel that finality. It was good to be with men in morning groups and with the Israel 2006 contingent. The memories we shared of that trip and the pictures we saw reminded us all of how wonderful it is to be in fellowship with each other as believers in Christ and pilgrims along the way. On a travel adventures such as ours the dynamic heightens our awareness of this, but it is a common factor in all Christian fellowship and service. We are the body of Christ and if we do not have the opportunity to sail together on the Sea of Galilee (photo) we still serve together, share together, and will spend eternity together…

Steve's Fire Truck
His crew is called to assist others who have more elaborate equipment. The advantage is that they get a lot more action than some crews--which Steve loves. We met the people he works with, and they seem like a great team to be a part of.

Jamestown Presbyterian Church. Near Greensboro and where we worshipped this Sunday. The pastor was on vacation so instead of the usual preaching there was a gospel trio which we enjoyed very much. Danny would have felt right at home I am sure... We were not greeted as visitors, which is unusual, but I think possibly it was because their regular schedule of one traditional and one contemporary service is reduced to one combined service for the summer and many regulars were strangers to each other so we did not stand out. Just a possibility, but a point for blended worship and everyone sharing the same experience...

What an interesting time and place we live in... Yesterday I was in Greensboro, NC, just starting adventures in that new-to-me place. Today I am back in Seattle, having retraced in 6 hours of flying the miles it took Nancy and me just under three weeks to drive. This has been the plan all along--Nancy and I drive to Greensboro together in our smaller car, then I come back to pick up the van and bring it, holding some of the things we will need for the next 6 months to a year, to Greensboro. It is actually interesting how much stuff we do NOT need, but a few things--like clothes and books--are nice to have.

So, I have returned to Seattle and will be here for two days, doing some business, seeing friends and family, and getting the van back from the auto shop I left it with. Although I have confidence in the 1973 van, I thought it wise to have it looked at before embarking on a trans-continental journey. The mechanics are surprised at what good shape it is in, but a few minor things are in order...Actually they also noticed that the whole body is tilted several inches forward, but when I explained the contents it is hauling they understood--and I will readjust the load. Books are heavy...

One event taking place while I am here is a reunion of the people with whom I went to Israel, Palestine and Jordan recently. As I anticipate this gathering and at the same time look at the news of the day, several thoughts go through my mind. Of course one is the amazing timing of our trip. The places rockets are falling today are places we visited only six weeks ago, and while we were there there was no reason for anxiety. Now we could not go there. Another is the perpetual strife in that area of the world and the tragedy of that strife. Biblically I do not agree with those who give special attention to Israel of today and see in the people of current Israel a particularly favored place in God's plan. I take the New Testament seriously when it declares that the church of Christ, made up of those who have faith in Christ, is the new Israel and the new people of God. I pray for these believers in the midst of the conflict there, and grieve that they are so marginalized that so many have left or are leaving the place Jesus lived. But I also pray for peace in Jerusalem--and peace in that part of the world. I pray that the peace of Christ would be spread abroad by people coming to faith in him, and I pray that political and social peace with justice would come as well. It looks unlikely now, but God is in charge...And I remember, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

Well...It only took just short of three weeks and just over 4,000 miles of travel--with a Fulbright conference thrown in--to drive from Seattle to Greensboro, NC. The last 24 hours, since leaving Washington DC and the conference, took us through some of the most historic places in the country. Close together is the phrase that differentiates the east from the west to me, and that is the best descriptor I can use for these 24 hours. Both have many places of interest, but the west spreads them out and the east bunches them together. In just a few hours we passed the great homes of Jefferson and Madison, the great battlefields of the Civil War, the home town of Meriwether Lewis and much more.

Now we have arrived in what will be our home for the next two months--. ...
These apartments will be home for Nancy and me until I leave for cycling in Eastern Europe on August 28, and for Nancy until she leaves for Albania on September 30. We have rented this apartment in the same complex as Emily and Steve so we can be far enough away to not intrude all the time but be plenty near as our first grandchild is born.

Yes, Emily is pretty obviously pregnant, and yes, Steve is thoroughly enjoying his new profession as a fire fighter. Life is very good for them, and Nancy and I are thrilled at the opportunity to spend this slice of life with them--and have JJ join us for much of the month of August. The baby is due August 3

It is a little different moving from our wonderful home in Seattle to an apartment in the south. Nancy reminds me that "progress" in our world and our families' histories has always been about moving west--and now we are moving east. A bit of a paradigm shift. Then from our home to an apartment that, in some ways, is like the apartment we lived in when first married. It is very comfortable, quiet and pleasant, but we have changed a view of the Olympics for a view of the forests, and lots of space to little space. But it is right and good and we are grateful for this time of life and what is has, is and will bring--by the grace of God.

First the quiz: On the map, locate the following: Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, and Slovenia,. Then place Albania where it should be…


Now that you have passed this little test you can imagine just a bit of what we faced when we arrived Wednesday in Washington DC for our Fulbright briefing and preparation time. Americans who were just returning from their Fulbright experience are here, as are scholars and students who are preparing to go out. Some were on the field, in these named above countries, for nine months, some shorter terms; some are going out in a month, some in the spring. Each returnee with a story —one about police in Slovenia, one about small sea creatures off the Croatian coast, one about classes in Albania, and each grantee who was preparing to go out this year had a plan…

Our preparation was partly general—from security issues (the greatest danger is automobile accidents) to tax issues to how to contact the embassy to be sure to bring boots for the winter and be careful with the water. It was also partly country specific, that is each country group met separately to share questions and experiences. Since Albania is a small and seemingly insignificant country, our group was small—Nancy and I plus one returning scholar and wife, and one returning student, and one other outgoing scholar and wife and two outgoing students. The discussion and sharing was very helpful and many questions were answered. Probably the most helpful bit of information was simply: you can’t anticipate what you are getting into as a scholar, the people there probably don’t know what will happen, so be prepared to flex! We are still having trouble knowing when school begins in Tirana, but we gather the people there do not know either—and once decided it will change. Such is academia in another country, and that is OK since Nancy is great at being creative and flexible anyway…

Friday we finish our orientation and head off to Greensboro. Thank you for your prayers and interest in our world—a world that is very big, very interesting, and a world of which you are an important part.

Today was short on driving but long on history, as we only drove 25 miles to Harpers Ferry National Historical Site then 40 miles to our hotel near DC. The east has its own kind of beauty, but the natural grandeur of the west seems much greater. On the other hand the west has its history, but the immediacy and moment of the history of the east seems much greater.
Harpers Ferry, located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, is one of the most significant sites in our nation’s history. It witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. Nancy and I focused on its place in the Civil War, and we were rewarded by a most knowledgeable guide, historic buildings, and views of the actual hills and river-banks where Union and Confederate armies lined up for battle. The images evoked by the place and the narrator were strong and reminded us of the horror of war, and especially of the Civil War where brother fought brother and incredible amounts of blood were spilled.
Today is a significant day for us—not just because of what we have seen and where we have been, but because it marks the end of one phase of our lives and a beginning of another. Tomorrow we will meet people we have never known and hear about places we have never been (except for me being in Albania for 3 days). Yet those people and those places will shape our lives and our futures. We will be hearing from the State Department about the Balkans, and, we hope, about specifics concerning Nancy’s assignment in Tirana and my role accompanying her. The last two weeks have been an interlude, tomorrow begins a new scene—and it is very unknown. While I have used the analogy of Abraham before, his being called to go to a new and unknown land and leaving behind all he could not physically take with him, up until now it has been only talk. Now we are going to begin the journey. Where it will lead, we do not know, and what it will involve is not clear. But we feel God has called, and that God is present, and that is what counts most. Life is an adventure, rooted in faith—and here we go…

The last couple days have been spent traveling through the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia. Saturday night we spent in Charleston,WV, and worshipped Sunday morning in the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston--a very different setting than last Sunday's worship in Scottsbluff. The Charleston church is large and its worship was quite formal, obviously it carries with it a long and respected history of witness and presence in the city. But equally as obviously it is faced with figuring out how to relate to a new generation and reach out to people outside its traditional circle of mission. The challenge of mainstream downtown churches!

Then on to the mountains... Very different from the mountains of the west, but impressive in their own rights. We stumbled across a lodge in one of the State Parks and spent the night there. Called Hawks Nest, it overlooked a river below and looked out on a panorama of tree covered hill after hill. A tram carried people down to the river where a jet-boat trip provided entertainment for part of an afternoon. It was a joy...

We have been avoiding the interstate highways as much as possible, and in this part of the world that means going through many small and often poor towns. The mainstay of the area seems to have been coal mining, and there is still some of that, but it appears that many of the mines have closed and there is little to replace them. I wonder about the future and what it will hold for many of these people--but have enjoyed their friendly hospitality and warmth.
Once again I am reminded of the value of meeting new people, going new places, and learning along the way.

Today was a short day--we lost another hour in passing between Illinois and Indiana. The highlights of the day were looking for white squirrels in Olney, Illinois (we never saw any but we did see our first cardinal) and finding the Inn at Spring Mill State Park, where we are spending the night. We saw the land change from very flat to hilly, figured out that along with corn it is soya beans that are being produced by the mile, and got a taste of French colonial history (they settled in this area).

As an ordinary day went by, I began to think back on our visit with Nancy's sister Janet, in Homedale, Idaho. Some of you have met Janet, and know what an amazing person she is--getting Colin Powell to address her library group in Homedale, personally sponsoring a school in rural Mexico, arranging cowboy and St. Patrick's Sundays at her little local church, etc. She is an unassuming person in a very small town, but is a make-it-happen (vs. watch it happen or I don't know what is happening) person of the first order.

Anyway, when we visited a week ago Janet was taking care of two of her small grandchildren for the morning. With Nancy and me and Benny and Olivia in tow, she drove out to an even smaller town near Homedale. She parked her car and then introduced us to a new game--find something interesting. It is a simple game but occuppied us for much of the morning. All you do is try to find/see the most interesting thing you can, and point it out to the others, and whoever finds that thing that all agree is the most interesting wins, and gets to choose first out of the pastry bag that we had filled at the panaderia in Homedale. A simple game, but all of us, young and old, could play--and did play. And what it did was turn the ordinary into something most interesting... No GameBoy or XBox or whatever, just a small town and eyes that were being taught to look at things in a more careful way...

So--Nancy and I tried that as we traveled along endless stretches of corn and soy beans. (We are avoiding freeways and seeing much more that way.) And today in the ordinary we did see some things that were interesting--like an amature parachute club and a local treat in a deli--and almost some white squirrels.

Lord, give us hearts that care and ears that hear and eyes that see the special and the interesting in the ordinary things--and people--we pass every day.

The Mighty Mississippi...Standing by it and looking at it is amazing--such power, even 1,000 miles from its mouth! Some time ago Richal Smith gave me a book entitled, Rising Tide: The Great Missippi Flood Of 1927 And How It Changed America. It was a fascinating book that clearly explained how foolish it is to think that we can completely tame this great river. Yet we keep on thinking that we can tame just about anything--despite the contrary evidence of earthquakes, time, space and much more. This kind of thinking reminds me of Psalm 8 and the amazing declaration it contains,
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.
So small yet so great--so insignificant in the creation yet so loved by the creator. How amazing!

Nancy and I visited the Mark Twain Museum and complex. We saw the fence Tom Sawyer fooled his friends into painting, for a price, and we saw this famous quotation, My books are water; those of the great geniuses are wine. Everybody drinks water. These words imply a realistic combination of humility and optimism, and remind me of the hope that we have. We may not be a genius, the smartest or the fastest or the most articulate, but if we offer what we have to God he will use it mightily!

The Fourth of July began for us as usual--with pancakes... But the only difference was that instead of hosting a bunch of people at our home, as has been our tradition for the past 25 years, we ate at Penny's Diner in Marysville, Kansas. The pancakes were good, but the company was a bit hollow--we missed laughing and mixing with our friends!
Then on we went to another strange Kansas site--the Davis Memorial tomb in Seneca. This Davis person had no claim to fame except that after his wife's death he used a great deal of money to build a very elaborate memorial for her, complete with several statues of himself. And he did this during the depression when the money could have been used for the betterment of the community, and the community noted this fact with great disdain...To emphasize how little he cared about others' opinions he had a very expensive marble wall built arond the tomb, so no one could get to it... Not very note-worthy a site, but it does raise the question of how we use our money and the impact of that use on others. The news articles about the recent donations by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet refer to their conviction that wealth should be used for the good of the people. That is straight from John Calvin--and good advice... Just a thought on our use of resources--are we building monuments to ourselves or leaving legacies for others--and the kingdom of God...

The rest of the day was pure 4th in America. A parade in Cameron, Missouri, complete with tractors and candidates...Then a riverboat dinner and fireworks on the Mississippi at Hannibal, the home of Mark Twain. What a country we live in!

The word meander and the word random are interesting words, and they came vividly to life today. Meander implies unplanned and undirected movement--for some people it characterizes their entire lives, while for others it comes in certain times of leisure or transition. Random is the unanticipated which intrudes into life at any turn. Sometimes, in God's hand, these two words come together and the result is a spiritual serendipity.

Nancy and I are finding ourselves free for the moment, since there is plenty of time to leisurely travel to Washington DC for our next deadline. So today we decided to meander. A newspaper article in the morning paper described several unusual destinations in northern Kansas, and we set out to try them. The first was the geographical center of the continental United States--described as that place where if a pin were placed underneath it,it would balance. The second was the site of the world's largest ball of twine--something we could not pass up and still seem honorable to Kathy Gow.

So off we went--stopping at the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial And Educational Foundation Center on the way. At least this would give us something of literary worth to talk about, and make the planned day somewhat meritorious.

The center of the US was not particularly well marked, but we reversed ourselves enough to find it. There was a flag, a plaque, and a little chapel--all fine but not hugely impressive for a place of such monumental significance.

The Geographic Center of the United States


Then on to the ball of twine in Cawker City. Begun in 1953 using sisal twine which then wrapped hay bales. it is now over 7,900,000 feet long and weighs over 18,000 pounds. Every day it is visited, and the local feed store now donates a supply of sisal twine (now replaced in the fields by nylon) to have on hand for tourists to add to the ball. You can only imagine the anticipation with which we approached this monument to Americana.

To make a long story short, when we arrived I was disappointed to find the object of our trek somewhat obscured by several people, lights and other electrical equipment. What we discovered was that these people were a film crew on a pilgrimage around the United States making a documentary on the topic: True Love In America. The genesis of the trip was a personal question the director was asking about whether or not he should marry his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years. The goal was to have that question addressed in some of the most beautiful and some of the most quirky places in the country, and in the process make something in a movie form which could be commercially sold. Needless to say, it was not long before Nancy and I had engaged the film crew in so much dialogue that they asked if they could interview us on film. We said yes, went to lunch, and on coming back all was ready and the cameras rolled. The planned 5 minute interview turned into a 30 minute one, and ended with the director saying that my statement, "The question for you is not why you should marry her but why you should not--i.e. what is keeping you from doing it", was going to give him nightmares.

The World's Largest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, Kansas

Today meandering and random took on new meaning to me, as Nancy and I went from a museum dedicated to one of the great American writers to a filmed interview on love and marriage in front of the largest ball of twine in the world. I guess Solomon was right, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Or, I could slightly modify what Nancy has always said, Commit each day to the Lord and feed whoever walks through the door, to Commit each day to the Lord and talk to whomever you might find in front of a large ball of twine...

Today is Sunday, July 2, and we went to worship at the First Presbyterian Church of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The service was well ordered but personal. The message was given by the Children's Director, who shared from the first chapter of Ruth--particularly Ruth's pledge of allegiance to her mother-in-law, Naomi. The scripture was read by three women, each voicing the part of one of the women in the text, and the point of the message was that if our primary allegiance is to God and God's people (as Ruth's was to Naomi and Israel) then while we may be called to leave much behind and risk much, what we receive for leaving and risking will be great. This was a pertinent word to us, having left people we love and a ministry we loved at Calvin in order to follow what we believe is God's call.

After worship and some fellowship we continued our visit of sites along the Oregon/Mormon/Emigrant/Pony Express Trail. As we see these places and hear the stories of the sacrifice and hardships that these travelers went through in search of a new life, we have been reminded again of the call to sacrifice for the gift of the new life we have been given as citizens of the kingdom of God.
Chimney Rock, a famous sign of the completion of the first third of the trip west--and of the hardships that awaited the traveler!

FYI: Did you know that the Pony Express only operated for 18 months? True--it was replaced after that time by the trans-continetal telegraph.

After visiting with Eugene family, we headed for Clarkston, where Will had pastored for nine years before being called to Calvin. Friends there had arranged a potluck, which meant that we had a chance to catch up with a number of good friends from our time there. Among the special people was Annice Edmundson, an amazing woman with a deep compassion for ministry with marginalized people. We were able to surprise her by returning a plant to her that she had given us as a "welcome to Clarkston" gift on June 5, 1977. What a joy it is to be in relationship with people whose walk with Christ continues for a long time!