| Author | Message | ||
| Clintonc Registered user Username: Clintonc Post Number: 33 Registered: 10-2007  |
Thank you so much Colleen for sharing what happened. God is doing wonderful, marvelous things through the work of you and everyone at LAM. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Ps. 98:1 | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10086 Registered: 12-2003  |
My goodness, the midwest is lovely! Today we're driving under overcast with the temp being somewhere in the 70s. The four of us Ratzlaffs/Tinkers experienced the Mississippi River today. We took a river taxi out for a trip and got to see it right up close. It even sprayed us in the face! It's so cool for me to see up close and personal these landmarks I've formerly barely glimpsed or else flown over. (Not the same!) And last night we saw fireflies. They just don't exist in the desert! So we're driving in Indiana right now. I know that Lake Michigan is close, but I can't see it. There are deciduous trees everywhere! In some ways the scenery reminds me of Portland, OR, the area where I grew up, but Portland is just full of evergreen trees, especially firs. Here, the natural forests are mostly broad leafed trees. I don't know why I'm going on like this; I know this isn't news to most of you! But I'm really enjoying seeing the midwest up close and personal. The last time I was in these parts was the late 70s, not long after I graduated from college. More later! Colleen | ||
| Melissa Registered user Username: Melissa Post Number: 1678 Registered: 7-2003  |
Chuckle, Colleen. I was just in Indiana last week  . Jonathan loves fireflies and looks for them all the time when it's their season. He collects them and puts them in a jar to watch them light up, then we let them go before he goes inside. If you really wanted to see the Mississippi up close, you could have taken a kayak :-D. That's my favorite way to see a river, though I've never been on the Miss (too far east). Enjoy your drive through our neck of the woods. Many orange barrels on your journey? | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10087 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yup, just passed another one! (Orange barrel, that is!) We just had dinner with several "formers" in Michigan. We had a really good time; I feel for those just beginning to experience the reactions of their families. Sunset here (or maybe it's not just sunset but the descent of night) is late. It's 9:42 PM, and it's still not dark. "They" tell me it doesn't get dark until 10:00...but it's dark enough see the fireflies as we drive back to our host's house. So cool! (The fireflies sort-of seem magical...!) Colleen | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7149 Registered: 3-2004  |
That is interesting that you are seeing fire flies. We had them in our yard in Paramount, CA when I was a kid. Loved to catch them and put them in jars. Diana L | ||
| Gcfrankie Registered user Username: Gcfrankie Post Number: 501 Registered: 1-2007 |
Colleen, My husband and I were back there in 1993 and just got across the Mississippi River before it flooded and that was in the spring. Yes it is pretty back there. God be with you in your travels. Gail | ||
| Clintonc Registered user Username: Clintonc Post Number: 34 Registered: 10-2007 |
I grew up in Southern Indiana, it's very different than the rest of the state. Hilly and lots of forests. Yeah, sunset is really late this time of the year there! I remember as a kid not liking the post 9pm sundown time on sabbath. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10090 Registered: 12-2003 |
Today we went by the St Joseph EV Free church where the meetings will be held next week. It was a lovely place with a fairly new sanctuary—and posters re: the meetings are all over—even in the bathrooms! We're going to see the Michigan panhandle during the next few days. Today is mostly cloudy and in the low 60s...the trees are just gorgeous. Definitely there are more trees here than in the midwest! We walked in the sand by Lake Michigan earlier today and walked out on a pier. It seems almost exactly like being at the ocean—except there's no salty smell or shells and seaweed. But there were wavelets rolling onto the beach and gulls and people fishing from the pier. It's lovely here... Colleen | ||
| Seekinglight Registered user Username: Seekinglight Post Number: 257 Registered: 3-2009 |
Colleen...so glad that you're enjoying the treasures of the Midwest! | ||
| Melissa Registered user Username: Melissa Post Number: 1679 Registered: 7-2003 |
wavelets, that's funny. That water up there is COLD! I don't know how much it warms up in the summer, but I was there in July a few years back and I don't know how people got in it. | ||
| Indy4now Registered user Username: Indy4now Post Number: 609 Registered: 2-2008  |
I missed the whole part of you being in Indiana!!! We love the fireflies too! I see now where writers get the inspiration for fairies and such. Too funny you mentioned sunset!! Now we can get together with my brother on a Friday evening at 8:00pm, ski a little and not break their Sabbath! ha! We've actually mowed the yard at 9:30pm! I'm not sure why they need daylight savings time out here. It's really hard to get the kids to go to bed.  Haven't been to Michigan... praying for the meetings up there. We're excited to meet "y'all" in Ohio! ~vivian | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7162 Registered: 3-2004 |
Thanks for your updates on your travels, Colleen. I am praying for your safe travel and for the meetings next week there in the "Lion's Den". I know God is with you (by you I mean all the people involved in the meetings) and protecting you. God will keep the lion's mouth shut, as He did for Daniel, and many people will hear the gospel and seeds will be planted for God. You will have unexpected adventures, like you had in the meetings in Nebraska. Vivian and all those who have not met the Tinkers, you will love Colleen and Richard. They are real warriors for God. I am praying for all of you to our awesome God. May His Name be honored and glorified and many come to know Him personally. Diana L | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10093 Registered: 12-2003 |
Thank you all for your prayers. Remember last year just before we left for Israel, Richard's back got really bad and he had to be in bed without getting up for any reason for five days? We had some friends/family come and pray for him, and God literally healed his back. That same place began hurting badly last night; he could hardly walk. I know driving doesn't help, but it just started to hurt more or less out of the blue. I sense spiritual opposition. We've been praying and we enlisted our kids to pray as well; he's much better today, but he has some soreness when he drives for a while. He and I both think this is no coincidence. I'm telling you this so you will join us in praying. God is faithful. Last night we stayed in Ludington, MI. Again, the beauty is amazing. Everything is green and lush. We even walked through an unmowed field next to our motel...the vegetation reminds me a lot of the Portland area where I grew up—there just aren't many evergreen trees here. I realized suddenly that even the weed and grass seeds in a damper climate are different from those in the desert or semi-desert like So Cal. The weed seeds in the desert are much more "aggressive" than those here. We could never have walked through a field in So Cal without getting FULL of sharp, long, intractable, burrowing stickers and fox tails in our socks and pant legs. Here all we had to look out for was (we thought) poison oak...although we weren't sure there was any. Today we woke up to rain and temps in the low 60s. The rain has stopped, and it's overcast but not hot. I'm glad that so far we're not having that traditional humid midwest summer heat! (Oops--spoke to soon! It's raining again...) We hiked to the Big Sable Lighthouse along Lake Michigan and climbed the 130 stairs to the top this morning. Right now we're continuing our trek into upper Michigan. Such fun new experiences! Just a few minutes ago we passed a sign for the Lion's Club Pig Roast in Manistee....ha! We'd just never see that in Redlands... Dale and Carolyn are also in MI and are resting, sight-seeing, and working on the coming presentations this week. God has been keeping both of them well. I praise Him and pray for His continued blessing on them and on this trip. All of you are part of this Tour, you know...God totally gives us His commission to pray for each other and to support one another and share in speaking forth the gospel. More later... Colleen | ||
| Indy4now Registered user Username: Indy4now Post Number: 612 Registered: 2-2008 |
"Lion's Clug Pig Roast" hahaha! The first year we were here ('06) we saw this bubblegum pink bilboard that was advertising a "Pork Fest" with a cute little pink pig on it! We all laughed so hard and said the same thing... "we'd never see this in California!" ~vivian | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 69 Registered: 12-2007 |
Colleen talking about all the different scenery etc on their travels reminded me of something from years ago :-) We used to live up in the mountains near the Sequoia Park, and we got the "Mother Earth News" magazine (do they still print that ?) anyway, I had read an article about KUDZU and how it grows so fast and makes good cattle feed... well we had dairy goats and cattle and I wrote to the Editor of the magazine and asked how I could get a starting of Kudzu ... LOL I got a very nice letter back stating that if I were to introduce Kudzu into California I would be a candidate for tar and feathering. LOL Hubby and I were on a trip to South Carolina a couple years later (business for him, I just tagged along) and we drove out in the country and saw Kudzu growing over this old cabin, up into the trees, up utility poles, etc.. I pulled up a small piece with root, put it in a zip lock bag with wet paper towels and carried it back on the plane with me.. just thought it was a pretty plant so put it in a pot with no intention of planting it in the ground... but it died.... probably for the best. :-) | ||
| Skeeter Registered user Username: Skeeter Post Number: 70 Registered: 12-2007 |
As for Richard's back, ICE ! (at least 20 minutes at a time) It works MUCH better than heat. DONT use heat,, it feels good at the time but will actually make it worse. (advice from my chiropractor and I have found it is true) If you dont have an ice pack handy, just put a few plastic bags inside each other so it doesnt leak,and go into a McDonalds or find a hotel ice machine someplace and get some (just ask they wont mind) When we are traveling we are in our van which has a space between the front seats, we keep an ice chest there and keep frozen water bottles in it so we always have cool water to drink and I put an ice pack down among the frozen water bottles to keep it cold till I need it.Also dont let him drive or ride over an hour or two at a time without getting out and walking around a bit.Remember... ICE! :-) Sometimes I even go to sleep at night with an ice pack on my back. | ||
| Seekinglight Registered user Username: Seekinglight Post Number: 259 Registered: 3-2009 |
Colleen I'm praying for healing for Richard's back. Backpain is no fun! | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7164 Registered: 3-2004 |
Colleen, just a word of advice from an OT. When using ice or heat. Do not leave it on for more then 20 minutes. I am sure you were told this before. Praying for healing of Richard's back. Diana L | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7165 Registered: 3-2004 |
Ice is used to cool the inflamed muscles. Diana L | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10095 Registered: 12-2003 |
Thank you all for your prayers. Richard's back is so much better--he's having essentially no pain. I have no illusions that this is "random". God is keeping him. I know how bad this back was--last fall it was "we'll wait and see if he will need surgery after six weeks..." But God literally healed him. His back has been better than before it "went out". So this attack was out of the blue, and I know there's opposition involved. Thank you for continuing to pray. Yesterday we took a boat to Macknac Island. Oh, my--if you ever get a chance, visit there! It was gorgeous; after the drizzle in the morning, it stopped. The day was overcast until late afternoon when the sun came out, and the colors and foliage were astounding. It keeps reminding me of Oregon..except Oregon isn't on the shores of Lake Huron! We tasted so many flavors of fudge...we had to narrow our choices way down and finally settled on buying some blueberry fudge, some amaretto, some maple, some orange cream, pumpkin pie, and caramel/vanilla/chocolate. (I'm so thankful for health reform...!) Mackinac Island knows how to do fudge! There are no motorized vehicles on the island, only carriages drawn by teams of draft horses. The taxi carriages have teams of two, and there are large wagons that hold 35 people that they use on the island tours that have teams of three. We learned that Mackinac Island has the largest "fleet" (is that the right word? herd? collection?...) of draft horses in the world. They have both Belgians and Percherons. It was pretty funny...we even saw a street sweeper with the mechanism mounted on a wagon pulled by two horses. We have a couple of very interesting stops scheduled for today...I'll tell you more about them later. I just want to reiterate how important your prayers for us all are, and I want to thank you again for praying. There are people involved in the planning and implementing of these MI meetings who are on the crest of the wave of leaving the church. Some of these people have Andrews connections, and their lives are currently very much in states of transition and flux. God is faithful. We can totally trust Him to keep His promises. He is already the Victor--the anger and fear of people wandering in darkness does not need to cause us to fear. We just need to stay alert, praying for each other on all occasions. Thank you--more later! Colleen |
