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May 1989 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia
Volume 17, Issue 5 May, 1989
COAST TO COAST
During the month of May, our travels took us from coast to coast. No, we never made it to California. Our coast to coast trip went from North to South. We began in North Madison, on the shores of Lake Erie. We made the trip as a family, since we would only be about an hour and a half from home. That has been a rare occurrence this year. School has made it difficult to take the family along very often. We left early on Sunday morning and arrived at the church with no problems. During the Sunday morning service I talked about Colombia for the Sunday school hour and the preached the morning sermon. After a fellowship dinner we visited in the home of one of the members for a while. During the afternoon we went to the lake shore and walked the beaches for a couple of hours. It is easy to see why the Great Lake's shore line is called the North Coast. During the evening service we shared more about the work in Colombia and then packed up everything for the drive back to Rittman.
The kids spent the net two and one half days at school while Jeanie and I packed for our next trip. I had been invited back down to Georgia. My first two trips there had been so enjoyable I had regretted not being able to take the family. So for this time, I got permission to take the kids our of school so that we could all go. By Wednesday morning we were ready and began loading everything into the car. The mini-van was packed to the gills but we managed to get everything in. We picked the kids up during their lunch hour and we were off. The first night we drove as far as Pipestem, West Virginia. we set up our tents at a KOA. (We usually camp when traveling. Staying in motels would use of too much of the money that you have entrusted to us for the work in Colombia.) It began to get chilly as the sun set, so we turned in early. About three in the morning, I awoke to the chilled air. The tent was covered with a heavy layer of frost. We did not have Winter sleeping bags so I was concerned about the children. I whispered a question, "Are you cold?" All three bellowed back an unmistakable yes. I brought Alex into the tent with us and Jeanie took the girls to the rest room to get warm. I got out the jackets and the beach towels. By dressing them in the warmest clothes we had and covering them with towels, we made it through the rest of the night. The next morning the thermometer read twenty seven degrees. We were up and on the road as soon as possible. Soon everyone was warmed up. By the time the sun had come up, we were ready for breakfast. We stopped at the roadside rest area and got out our cereal. That day we drove as far as Myrtle Beach.
We had planned an extra day into the trip so that we could relax a while. Furlough rarely allows time for a vacation, so a day here and there usually has to suffice. We swam in the surf and collected shells on the beach. It was a beautiful time together. That evening was Spring tide. All in all, the tide rose 9 feet. The campground, which was on the beach, flooded. Water came within inches of our tent. As if that was not enough, severe thunderstorms were predicted. About midnight they hit with a furry. One tent collapsed and Jeanie spent and uncomfortable night in the Car with Susy. Wendy crawled into the tent with me and I ran around trying to catch everything that blew away. Alex was more concerned with is hermit crab than the gale force winds that battered his tent. The next morning we learned that tornadoes had killed seventeen people only about forty miles from where we were camping.
The next morning, we were up and packing again. By early afternoon, we were in Savannah, our final destination. The church there had rented a motel room for us. After three rough nights in a tent, it was pure luxury to sleep in a bed. Sunday we participated in the morning service and enjoyed a fellowship dinner with the brethren there. During the afternoon, one of the families in the church took us on a tour of historic Savannah. It was fascinating. For evening worship, we presented the work in Colombia. Time there was simply too short. We would have loved to have spent more time with our brothers and sisters in Georgia.
On Monday morning, we were again on the road. Rather than simply driving up the interstate we caught the Blueridge Parkway. All day Tuesday, we marveled at God's creation. It was a spectacular drive. We camped for the night in a State Park and had a leisurely evening. The next morning we ate the last of our food and packed up. For some strange reason, every time we packed, in spite of a diminishing food supply, it was little harder to get everything in. By now the kids had only a tiny little cubbyhole in which to sit. But this was our last day, so we could put up with it. We drove to where the Parkway intersected with the interstate. There we stopped at a Pizza Hut for lunch and caught I-77 North. We made it back to Rittman by early evening. Everyone was tired and we hit the sack immediately.
The next morning it was a little hard to get everyone up for school, but we made it. With our coast to coast trip and the other visits I made during the month of May, we put over three thousand miles on the car. But it had been a rewarding and enjoyable month. Being part of God's great family makes life a real pleasure!
THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HATH MADE.
REJOICE AND BE GLAD THERE IN.