2020

October was a busy month, filled with new adventures! I took on two part-time jobs, starting on the same day! One of those positions came with the title, “Wilmington Yearly Meeting Coordinator”. Coordinator does describe some of what I do – coordinating meetings for the Quakers in Ohio and Tennessee. But “informer” and “encourager” feel like more important roles as I get started. Like most U.S. denominations, the Quakers have experienced a series of splits in the church over our position on gay marriage. Some Friends (as Quakers are affectionately called) believe we must declare a position one way or another. Other Friends believe that each congregation should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to perform a marriage in their church. Regardless of the denomination, regardless of whether they side “for” or “against”, churches have been filled with pain and loss and distrust. And we’ve realized we don’t really know one another. Which is where I come in!  My ...

As if the Geological Center of the United States, Deadwood, Sturgiss, Spearfish Canyon and Mt. Rushmore weren't enough, we discovered that South Dakota has so much more to offer. Too much to explore on this trip. But we did add in a few more stops. From Mt. Rushmore it is less than a half-hour drive to get to Crazy Horse Memorial . Like Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse is a carving in the side of a mountain, mostly created from strategically placed dynamite blasts. Korczak Ziolkowski, one of the men who worked on Mt. Rushmore, was approached by Chief Henry Standing Bear and the Lakota people to create a monument to one of their own heroes. Ziolkowski agreed with one stipulation: that he would never take any government funding--his own way of protesting the unfair treatment of our government on native people. Ziolkowski turned down multiple million-dollar offerings from the government in his lifetime. It is for this reason that the monument remains a work-in-progress to this day. The ...

Randy and I got up early one morning, leaving Van in bed at Robert and Suzanne's house, and went into the city of Boise. We met up with some former employee's of Randy's and delighted in catching up with them over breakfast. It was exciting to see them making Boise their home -- finding a sense of place where they could become who they were created to be. When they had to head in to work, Randy and I walked downtown Boise, checking out the courthouse, the Basque district, local coffee shops and more. It was fun to be a tourist again and was the momentum we needed for the next leg of our adventure. Since we'd picked him up, Van regularly asked if we were going to see Niagra Falls. And each time we reminded him that Niagra Falls was on the complete other side of the United States, and that while we were going pretty far east, we weren't going that far. We'd been together for 3 weeks by now, and Van wasn't giving up. Randy and I were starting to wish we...

Lufkin, Texas, to Corbin, Kentucky. This was our "touristy" leg of the journey. Every good road trip needs one. While driving north on 59 from Houston toward Arkansas, we noticed a billboard advertising the "Home of the Chick-o-Stick" in Lufkin, Texas. Randy loves this candy, so we immediately decided we needed to stop. The GPS took us 20 minutes out of the way but eventually we landed outside the warehouse we were looking for. At one end of the building a door was labeled "Candy Kitchen." We entered and were met with a tiny area filled with candy. We tried to buy souveniers -- t-shirts, bumper stickers, whatever -- but there were none to be had. We were there during lunch break so we couldn't get a factory tour either. But we loaded up on candy and were satisfied. Most tourist stops are like this aren't they -- meant to make you feel good for a moment but not really dramatic or life changing. And yet you leave with a good story and a me...

Randy and I (with the help of our granddaughter who is in town visiting and has been a godsend!) have been busy savoring each moment with the kids in our last week at Sonshine. We took the girls out to dinner Wednesday (which is a memory we will NEVER forget!) and we're taking the boys out shopping today. Followed by Randy's famous caramel popcorn and a movie ( The Star ). We've given lots of hugs and so far held back most of the tears. All of this focus on the kids this past week has made me want to seek out other organizations who are loving on all of God's children, to help support them to continue their work. These are two that I believe in. 40-40-40 ... Day 35: Right to Play I learned about Right to Play when it was advertised during the Winter Olympics this year. The mission behind Right to Play is: We use the power of play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities. The website g...

Welcome back to the 40 days of Lent! Between traveling for my grandmother's memorial and coming down with the flu, my 40-40-40 train definitely got derailed. Yet even in my derailment I've seen how God has already opened my heart to his generosity through this Lenten practice. (For example, at the airport on Wednesday I bought a candy bar and a book -- Ready Player One -- to send to our troops, without even thinking about what it would do to my budget.) Being at my grandmother's memorial also reminded me of the beauty of family. The opportunity to get together with cousins from afar and share stories of when we were kids was everything Grandma would have wanted it to be. And since I'm very much in family mode, I'm excited to share today's guest blog post by another family member! There is so much good being done in the world, and this good is being spearheaded by a Terrell... how cool is that! (Okay, so Sarah and I are 5th cousins by marriage or somethin...

Yesterday I made my donation to Modern Day . Modern Day is for people like Randy and me who feel called to serve in missions but aren't affiliated with any particular organization. When you go on your own, like we did, you are responsible for all of your finances, communication, connections, and spiritual support. When an organization sends you, they help with all of these pieces of the puzzle. Modern Day provides the same support that those sending organizations do. In fact, some sending organizations have started using Modern Day to help them too! One of my favorite parts of this organization are the video resources they provide, that offer tips and support for common missionary struggles: marriage in missions, rest in missions, safety in missions, finances in missions, guilt in missions (this one is HUGE!). These videos are all free and are right there on their website, so if you know a missionary (whether they are already on the field or are preparing to go or are praying...