On Mission Celebration

This is the first "OMC" that we have had the privilege of participating in. It is being held in Harrison, MO, (northwestern part of the state) just about 90 miles north of Kansas City. We are being hosted by a wonderful family in Eagleview - Bret & Lisa, he is the pastor of the church in town. Their daughter, Lena, is a great 11 year old who is very talented.

You might ask what is an OMC... well, it is a time for missionaries to share with local churches about the ministries and work where they are serving. There are international missionaries like us, home missionaries and state missionaries. Each has an opportunity to go to different churches during the four-day event and share through various mediums what the Lord is doing through them. It gives the church members an opportunity to share in that work and receive a "report" as it were of what the money they give through their churches is doing.

It also gives missionaries a wonderful opportunity to connect with prayer supporters as well as those who give so generously to work around the world. It is so neat to meet the church members and see their interest.

I am so grateful for the expressions of love and support from people like these here in northwestern Missiouri. I like to hear their stories as well and hear their hearts as they minister at home.

Stepping Back in Time

I wrote this on Friday, September 22, 2006

The Eagle View Inn B&B, Wamego, Kansas, is in a restored boarding house that used to sit over Boyd Blacksmith Shop. That site is now the Friendly Corner restaurant. The B&B is nicely done with four bedrooms each with a different name (Boyd, Sunflower, North View and Sweet Dreams). We are in Sweet Dreams which has a king sized bed and private bath. There is a nice kitchen, parlor, enclosed porch with hot tub and wicker furniture. The front parlor faces the main street of town with the Columbian Art & Culture Center. We have enjoyed walking around the town – the library, post office and city park. Located at one side of the park is the historical society’s museum highlighting the history of the town since the 1850’s. We saw the one-room school house that was functional until 1947, the one-room jail, the general store, the telephone company and the old mill that is still in use to grind corn and wheat into flour.

Today we traveled in Pottawatomie County searching for the property where Clayton’s great-great grandfather, James Lewis Rock, and his great-great-great grandmother, Rosana Forbis Rock Ferguson lived. He knew it was in Shannon Township near the town of Fostoria. We drove from Wamego north to Westmoreland the county seat where Clayton talked to a lady in charge of deeds. He was able to find Charles B. Rock’s record of a deed. He got directions and we drove out west of Westmoreland toward Fostoria and turned right at Shanuk Lane (gravel road) and drove almost a mile until the road was no longer gravel and quite muddy. Clayton walked about 400 yards from there and found the place. There is no house there just land with grass, trees, etc. Now he feels connected to that part of the family history. James Lewis and his wife and children returned to Kentucky but the other Rocks stayed on in Kansas and then moved further west to Colorado.

We drove through Fostoria, has few houses and businesses, on Route 16 through the small towns of Brian, Wheaton and ended up in Onaga where we had a late lunch at Lo’s Pizza and more. The chili dogs were delicious and service was great and friendly. The small town have some buildings that date to 1878 and was once a major train stop. We looked at the “Doughboy” statue which is a 1920 memorial to the 39 “boys” from Pottawatomie County killed in WWI. The names of those killed in WWII, Korea and Vietnam have since been added.

From Onaga we drove south on Onaga Road about 15 miles to the site where on the Oregan Trail crossed the Vermillion River. Louis Vieux owned the crossing business and charged a dollar for each outfit to cross the river. There at the site is a graveyard where many were buried due to death from cholera. The years of 1849, 1850 & 1852 saw several epidemics of cholera.

To travel the roads and see the sights of the area where people traveled in the 1800’s to find new land and begin new lives. The hardships they suffered, the lives lost (1 in 10 died along the way), the adventures remind me that I can’t relate at all. Riding in an air conditioned car that provides me with such comfort makes me realize that it must have been very difficult for those traveling in the heat, rain, etc., and walking such long distances each day and not being sure of whether the food would last until the next trading post.

Missouri & Kansas

We are in Kansas City, KS. We enjoyed today’s outing at the huge outdoor store – Cabelas. It has more than 180,000 square feet of space. There are several animal exhibits, realistic “outdoor” scenes, a waterfall and a fish pond with several kinds of fish. There is a restaurant where we ate a great lunch of bison sandwiches. It was the first time we had bison. Clayton found “his” tent on sale and was thrilled to get the one he wanted at such a discounted price. We saw other things in the area including a statue of President Eisenhower “fishing” in a pond. It was “interesting” when we asked a gal at a local shop where the statue of Eisenhower was, she didn’t know. When Clayton explained that he was “fishing” and in middle of the shopping area. She said, “oh, you mean the old man who is fishing”!

We left Louisville on Sunday and drove to Columbia, MO, where we spent the night. Yesterday morning we got up early and went to the Missouri Historical Society library for Clayton to do some research about some ancestors who went out to Missouri in the 1800’s. After about four hours there and lunch we headed out to Howard County where the family members went and married, bought some property, etc. We drove through some beautiful farm land and several small towns. We stopped at one little store to ask questions about a cemetery which he didn’t know but directed us to another man in the adjoining town, three miles, who is an expert on county history, etc. Clayton enjoyed the conversation with him and two other locals who happened to be there but they had never heard of the cemetery. We drove several miles in county but never were able to find the cemetery. We did find one old cemetery in the area where his ancestors had property but it was not any of the Rock family.

It was late when we headed toward Kansas City. We were in need of a stop and some supper so stopped at the first exit off the interstate. The only restaurant was a truck stop! It was definitely an old one evidenced by the shabbiness of the furnishings. There was no “no smoking” section. The waitress smelled of bug spray – every time she came to our table we smelled it! The food was plain but fairly good.

Tomorrow we hope to see old friend, Rich, and enjoy learning about President Truman at his library and other sites.

Just musing!

It is Saturday afternoon in Louisville and we are working on getting things together for our trip to Missouri and Kansas which begins tomorrow. Clayton plans to do some family research en route to the missions conference which begins on the 23rd. Some of his ancestors traveled to those states back in the 1800's so he wants to check the "paper trail" if there is one.

I met Sylvia for lunch today. She drove her dad up from Franklin for an annual meeting at a local restaurant so we took advantage of that time to have a meal together and talk. It was a fun time.

House hunting continues as we look at different kinds of things that are available in our price range. I lean more toward the "patio homes" since the yard and all is maintained by someone else. We have seen some houses that we like as well. We aren't in a rush but it would be nice if we found the right one to have that out of the way! Of course, the housing market is flat right now so it may be to our advantage to wait a few months. We shall see!

Kimberly was here for a couple days attending a conference related to her job so she spent two nights with us. It was nice having her around and listening to her stories. She always has at least one if not more. She added to her repertoire while she was here as she had some experiences in the shower besides not having anything but a hand towel to dry on. In the past there have always been towels in the closet in the guest bathroom so I had not checked that in preparation for her visit. The funny part was being overheard telling Craig about it and some people at the hotel where the meeting was thought it had happened there and asked if she had been put in a broom closet!

I spoke to the WMU at Walnut Street on Tuesday morning and that was good. I showed a PowerPoint about Buenos Aires that I had put together and it was well received. I enjoyed the salad luncheon afterwards with the women.