Thursday, April 10, 2008

Our American Journey - Day 3

The last time we saw our friends, Andy & Lori Keener, was when we'd all finished our linguistic studies at SIL in Dallas, TX. That was 15 years ago! Since then, they've gone from no kids to four kids, and have just finished a New Testament translation for the Teribe people of Panama. It was a real joy to see them again after all these years, to meet their really delightful children, and hear of their adventures, insights, and lessons learned during years of fieldwork. Lots of food for thought as we talked about the remaining task of language work and Bible translation.

The Keeners live near Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and took us on a tour of the Farmers' Market, an Amish store, and the surrounding area. With such interesting sights and interesting conversation, we were loathe to leave and managed to put our departure off until just after lunchtime. Thanks, Andy & Lori, for your wonderful hospitality!

Then it was on the road again, with just a quick stop to mail some postcards to family & friends. Was it coincidence that we just happened to spot a Starbucks nearby? I prefer to think that it was divine intervention! A cup of bold for the road and off we were. Smooth travelling except for a bit of construction. The speed limit in most places on the Interstate highways was 65 mph. Everyone was going at least 70. Even when the speed limit was 55 mph, people still drove 70! I spent half my time watching traffic and the other half trying to figure out how fast I was going. While the numbers for speed in kilometres/hour on our speedometer are big and easy to see, the numbers for speed in miles/hour are not, especially if you're wearing sunglasses! Ah well, we all need challenges in life from time to time. Keeps things interesting!

As we passed from Pennsylvania into Maryland, and then on to Virginia, we noticed that things were getting more and more spring-like as we went along. Trees were budding and blossoming, flowers were blooming, and we even saw a guy mowing grass!

Our stop for tonight is in Richmond, Virginia. Tomorrow we'll go on to the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, North Carolina. JAARS is the aviation and technical wing of SIL. We'll be staying with former co-workers there from Burkina Faso.


Trees in blossom at a Maryland rest stop

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am trying again. I don't know how to sign it so will go with anonymous. The flowering trees are wonderful and Kathy, obvioulsy the fragrance is noticeable.