We began to see the beauty of the Gorge come into view, the lush green trees surrounding us, the river on our right, and occasional waterfalls on our left. This has become one of my favorite places to be; I think it’s so beautiful. Our time in Boise, Montana and Washington was so great, we soaked in the beauty of the mountains and the wide open spaces but all the lush green was gladly welcomed today. It’s funny how things change, how God can change your heart if He wants you to be somewhere different. I really believe He has done that for me in this place. It was a great break from the city but I really do love it here.
Over the course of our 11 days away we were able to sit across the table with dear, sweet people who pray for us, support us financially to do this ministry, and love our family. We feel richly blessed to have these people in our lives and that’s why we think it’s so important to make an effort to see them every couple years if we can. Our hearts are encouraged but now our bodies are a little weary. We just counted up how many people we saw over the past 11 days and it came out to 85 people (not counting people we saw at church in Bozeman); 85 people (that did include kids too, but they are people too) that we had real time and conversations with. It was a sweet time for sure. We didn’t have time to walk around downtown Bozeman or do many other extra curricular activities but we did manage to fit in a quick hike with our dear friends. I just have to say thanks again to the Allen’s who graciously hosted us for 5 nights (there aren’t many people you can stay with for that long and not get a little annoyed and I know even after that long we were sad to go and wanted more time together, hopefully they feel the same way).
We also got to see Matt’s sister, brother-in-law, niece, and mom in Spokane. His sister’s family just moved from Scotland so we’re grateful to get to see them more now. The kids had a great time bouncing on the trampoline together and were sad to say good-bye to each other, but we’ll see them again really soon.
Upon arriving home we were greeted by our garden that has gone crazy, weeds to pull, and a yard to mow and we couldn’t be more thankful. Just one, ONE, of the zucchini’s we had waiting produced 8 cups of shredded goodness. I already made some delicious bread out of it and froze the rest.
Now, I need to go watch the Olympic and regret my decision to stay up way too late tomorrow. Thanks again for everyone who made our trip so wonderful. We love you all!