After 52 weeks stateside, we're now getting a bit road weary. The first week in July was our hardest week of travel, with a trip to Kansas and Nebraska from Virginia. We can now say we have logged about 31,245 miles by car (that's 600 miles per week), while having entered and exited 29 states. Fifty-four beds will have comforted our increasingly weary bodies, but only 1 pillow (we take our pillow with us where ever we travel!).
One of our recent highlights was a 16 mile bicycle ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail with our long-time friends Ann and Paul. That's the longest we've biked in years, but fortunately it was all down hill. We rented bicycles from a company that took us to the top of Whitetop Mountain, and coasted most of the time. We even had a stop for lunch half-way down!
We're now in Salem, staying with our dear friend Peggy on her 126 acre farm. Yes, it is an absolutely delightful area. Like Abingdon, it's on the edge of the Appalachian Trail. The gentle mountains and ridges are full of wildlife. On the drive into Peggy's land, we saw a young two or three month old fawn. Within an hour of arrival, we watched wild turkeys cross a field. On the way out the next morning, we saw another yearling deer and rabbits. Tim is thrilled because there is grass to mow, and wood to cut with the chainsaw and split for the winter.
The good news is that our return to the UK is booked! We'll be counting down the 13 weeks remaining until our return to our own bed, our own stuff, our church family and many friends who we long to see and with whom we long to share how God has provided beyond what we could ask or imagine. But not yet.... We have a few more miles to go and more friends to see and more ministry assignments to complete.
One of our recent highlights was a 16 mile bicycle ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail with our long-time friends Ann and Paul. That's the longest we've biked in years, but fortunately it was all down hill. We rented bicycles from a company that took us to the top of Whitetop Mountain, and coasted most of the time. We even had a stop for lunch half-way down! We're now in Salem, staying with our dear friend Peggy on her 126 acre farm. Yes, it is an absolutely delightful area. Like Abingdon, it's on the edge of the Appalachian Trail. The gentle mountains and ridges are full of wildlife. On the drive into Peggy's land, we saw a young two or three month old fawn. Within an hour of arrival, we watched wild turkeys cross a field. On the way out the next morning, we saw another yearling deer and rabbits. Tim is thrilled because there is grass to mow, and wood to cut with the chainsaw and split for the winter.
