You’re probably wondering why there was no update last week. Well, if you don’t know me, you may be wondering. The answer will follow. It will also explain why we did all that we did to the car in week 31. So, following a short entry will be a longer one.

Sunday – It was a weird Sunday as half the congregation was away on vacation. We had planned to do a spoken Mass, singing the hymns a capella. I wasn’t sure what to expect for Bible Study, though, but we still showed up in time for it. As it would turn out, a young lady doing some schooling in the area visited us and joined us for Bible Study. A few others showed up for Bible Study, so after a time of conversation, we studied. The service went pretty well, though the hymn singing felt a little awkward. Once we got home, we started doing some sorting and packing.

Monday – It was a day for more packing and loading the car. The night tonight was going to be a short one for me unless I got to bed early, so it was an early night for me once all of the work was done.

Tuesday – Up at 3:30am, dressed, got the kids up, loaded everyone in the car, and it was time for a family vacation. We were on the road just before 4am. We’re on our way to South Dakota, visiting some old friends and places from my first call! The task today was to get to our hosts’ house in Chancellor, but we would take a bit of a scenic route, going north through Wyoming and into the Black Hills. We saw Mt. Rushmore on our way there, but we would spend time at the monument on the way back. On our way to our hosts’ house, we went through Marion and Parker, and we just had to stop at the house of one of the Parker ladies for hugs. We got to our stay just after 8pm central time. The kids spent the night chasing and catching fireflies while Genevieve and I enjoyed some wine and the company of Mikaela’s Godparents (well, most of them).

Wednesday – Now that all of the driving was done, it was time for our vacation to begin in earnest. Today, we would drive back west. What? Well, not all the way, and only for a time. First, we were going to meet a friend and pastor from the circuit for lunch in Mitchell. We chose to dine at Pizza Ranch, a buffet place that we all loved when we lived in South Dakota. It was good seeing our friends again and catching up with them. Following lunch, we went to the World’s Only Corn Palace (there’s a reason why it’s the world’s only). It’s an attraction, and it’s covered (normally) with some neat artwork, all don e in different colors of corn. Then it was time to head back east. But we made a stop in Freeman to visit a shop that had an ice cream parlor in the rear. We closed the place down for the evening, enjoying some delicious ice cream. Back to our home away from home where it was time to catch fireflies again.

Thursday – Today we were invited to breakfast in Marion. Yes, we went back to Marion. Our old neighbors were probably the nicest people in the whole town. They were certainly the nicest people to us. Too bad they weren't members of the church, too; though perhaps that was a good thing. Anyway, they treated us to breakfast at the nicest restaurant in town (which also happened to be the only restaurant in town). It’s the same place where the only restaurant in town used to be, but it had changed hands, names, and themes...again. Following breakfast, we spent some time with them, looked at the parsonage (which the church has since sold), and met one of the current owners of it. Then, it was time to go to Parker to be received by the LWML ladies of the church there. It almost felt like old times, spare a couple of ladies missing, and it wasn’t a real meeting, just some social time. It was good to talk to the ladies again. It was an earlier evening with our hosts.

Friday – It was a rainy morning. Every morning so far has been. But we were determined today to go to the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls. There, we met with three of Genevieve’s friends and their kids; there were many children in our group, that it almost seemed like a field trip (if it weren’t for the fact that school was not in yet, and I think we’re all homeschoolers). After everyone left, we hustled back to the giraffes, where it was said that we should have been able to feed them, but the signs were taken down since our first trip out that way, and we determined that feeding wasn’t going to happen because the weather conditions wouldn’t allow it (though it had stopped raining by then, the grounds were still very muddy). The long day at the zoo was followed by dinner at Wendy’s in Sioux Falls, then a quiet ride back to our hosts’ house.

Saturday – We went back to Sioux Falls today for a Famers’ Market. At the market, we bought some bread from one of those friends of Genevieve who happened to be a baker. At the market, we met up with another former pastor from the circuit (who has since taken a call to Minnesota, though he still lives in Sioux Falls). It was good to see him again. From there, we jumped over to Falls Park. We made our way up to the observation deck and saw an amazing view of the falls on the Big Sioux River. Just before we made our way down, we saw the trolly pull up. We rushed over to ride it; it makes about a 20-minute loop of downtown Sioux Falls. And, 20 minutes later, we were back at Falls Park. We walk around the falls, took a few pictures, enjoying the cooler weather of the day. After leaving Falls Park, we made our way to the hospital where the two older kids were born, made our way to the top of the parking garage hoping to see the helicopter (it wasn’t there), then back down again. Then, we made a stop a Breadsmith, an amazing bakery, where we were able to fill out our old card from 7 years ago and get a free loaf! A stop at Hy-vee to get the final fixings for tonight’s dinner (and some other stuff), then to our hosts’ house where we made dinner for them (and us): Spätzle and brown gravy. Dessert was prepared and procured by our hosts.

Sunday – It’s a slower Sunday morning than usual; church doesn’t start until 10:30. This year, Parker has the later service time. Being in that building for services brought back memories, though it was nice to be solely a recipient today than that and a giver, too. After church, they had Bible Study. What I had tried to do there, their pastor was able to start: Bible Study before the early service at one place, and after the late service at the other. That pleased me, and the pastor said that I laid the groundwork for that to happen, which also pleased me. From there, we headed to Marion so Robert could see the church that he was baptized in; our hosts accompanied us in order to vouch for us that we weren’t doing anything that we shouldn’t be doing. I stayed in the car with Tirzah while the rest looked around. My picture is still in there with confirmation classes, and they haven’t been defaced! It was a lazy afternoon. That evening, our hosts prepared dinner, and it was delicious.

Monday – Our last day in eastern South Dakota is also the first day of the Turner County Fair. Having been drugged up for allergies, we made our way to the fairgrounds for early festivities. Not much was open at the time, though we did see a few animals, petted a few in “Old MacDonald’s Farm,” saw a few exhibits, and had some homemade ice cream. We headed back to the house for lunch, preparing for our return to the fair for supper. A few more things were open, and there we lines for dinner. All were surprised at just how many people were there on the first day; it was somewhat unusual. Then, it was time to go to the house for our final evening and night in eastern South Dakota.

Tuesday – Knowing we had a short distance to drive today, we made our way out of town slowly, leaving at around 10:30am. Topping off the fuel tank in Parker, we were on our way. We stopped at a rest stop outside of Chamberlain that overlooks the Missouri River and had lunch there. We were going to walk a little toward the river, but the path had been expanded and it was very sunny and getting warm, so we turned around and went into the building which was set up like a little Lewis and Clark Museum. After a short while, we were back on the road. We made it all the way to Wall, where we spent some time at Wall Drug, touring the halls, looking at the exhibits, taking pictures...simply having a good time. We had ice cream and coffee, then it was time to go again, just a short distance to our destination for the night, but first, our only fuel stop for the day (we made terrific mileage). Into Rapid City, where we would spend the night, but first it was supper time. We were looking for one place when Genevieve noticed the Pizza Ranch, so that’s where we stopped. From there, only 14 miles to our stop, where we spent some time with one of Genevieve’s friends from college.

Wednesday – Again, we had a short distance to drive today, so it was a slow start morning. First, though, our hosts treated us to home-raised eggs and sausage. 10:30 came, and we started our trek back south. 20 miles later, we were at Mt. Rushmore. It was a good stop, very educational for the kids. They even had an assignment from the park rangers, whereupon completion, they were made junior rangers. After some souvenir shopping, we loaded up in the car and made our way back to Rapid City for lunch. From there, it was back south to Hill City, where we visited our favorite winery: Prairie Berry. They have expanded since we lived out this way, but the wines were still good. It wasn’t long until it was time to hit the road again. This would be our long section today, like the section between Chamberlain and Wall yesterday, but a little longer. We stopped at the very same rest stops on the way down that we did on the way up. We stopped for fuel before getting on the interstate.

Thursday – It was about 12:30 this morning when we got home. Unloading most everything, the kids were changed and in bed, as were we, but about 1am. It was back to work for me today. This day, however, I would not get up early enough to make it to Bible Study, which I suspected long ago would happen. I went into the office, and felt a little dazed and confused. I knew what I had to do, I just wasn’t sure where to start. As it would happen, the Gospel lesson for Sunday is one of the more difficult ones in the lectionary, so that didn’t help in my preparation any. I was able to get some other things done that I needed to get done, because the sermon wasn’t the only thing. After picking our our week’s worth of mail, I headed home, and boy was I exhausted. There was some imposed quiet time shortly after I got home, during which I rested, but was still tired afterward. It was kind of a quiet evening after that.

Friday - I had to get the bulletin for Sunday done. I had a sermon to write. I got the bulletin done, but got nowhere with the sermon. There was supposed to be Bible Study this evening, but our host bowed out with some fatigue of her own; I completely understood that. I was informed that there was only one other person who regularly attends Bible Study who was still in town, so I told him the news once I got home. A short time later, he invited me over for a movie night at his place. After some discussion with Genevieve, I countered with inviting him over for pizza, floats, and a movie. He agreed, so we had some nice company this evening, watching Iron Man 3. Shortly after he left, I started fading fast.

Saturday – So I have to write the sermon today. It has to happen. I’ve got some ideas, thoughts that I had over the previous two days, but I’m not sure yet how to connect them. It took me all day, and a little help from a brother pastor, but the sermon is finally written. After that and this, my brain is exhausted—it feels like jelly.