From Kansas with Love

Well, the visa process is moving along. We would really appreciate your prayers for everything to be approved without any more bumps in the road. Lord willing, we will be departing for Russia May 14! Yea! :) It has been really wonderful spending time with family. Right now I'm up in Kansas spending time with my parents. Joel needed to stay in Oklahoma City to take care of some details. It is hard to be apart, but we just didn't have a choice this time. My parents live in a very small town called Mapleton. Dad pastors a small, country church in Xenia, Kansas. Mapleton is about 200 people, and Xenia is about 20 people! Xenia Baptist Church has been around for about 65 years and has seen many ups and downs, but has remained a faithful, Baptist church the whole time. The church has started seeing revival in the last month! It is so exciting to see!! Praise the Lord!!

Not all of Kansas is flat and treeless. : ) This is on the other side of the road by their house. Right before I took this picture, a turkey came out of the bushes. It flew into a bunch of trees before I could get a good picture.

My parent's house is the white building on the right side of the picture. The country life may not be for everyone, but they love it!

The two closest, slightly larger towns are Fort Scott and Iola. During my stay here, I have been reminded what I love about small town country livin'! : ) The weather has been just perfect lately, and I took a walk yesterday down the "highway" in front of my parents house. They get maybe 2 vehicles every hour that pass by. One of those that passed while I was walking was a nice old man in a truck. He stopped and asked if I was just walking or needed help. I told him I was just enjoying the beautiful day and we bid each other good day. That's true country folk! I love it! When we went into town (Fort Scott), I needed a few things from Walmart. I was shocked at the almost empty parking lot at around four in the afternoon! But Walmart is no place to be on a perfect spring day! Dairy Queen and Sonic were packed out! : )

I hope you all are enjoying good weather and the beauty of God's creation! I'm so thankful for what God has given us to enjoy hear on earth while we serve Him and wait expectantly for our home in Heaven! It is impossible to fathom how beautiful Heaven will be!