A Journey for Everyone
07.02.10
Tomorrow (at 3:00 AM) begins an exciting, thrilling adventure for the entire family as we head off to visit relatives in Pennsylvania. It’s been a while since Hannah and I were in PA with the family, as they visited twice while we were on different Journeys. This time we are all going together and will be staying with a man my parents met at a Health Conference back in 2006. He has graciously opened his home up to us many times over the past 4 years, and it is with great anticipation that we look forward to seeing him again!
One of our highlights of every PA trip is visiting Lancaster county and making all our favorite, familiar stops along the way. Driving the short 1.5 hour stretch from Pennsburg to Lancaster has become a family tradition! We eat breakfast at our favorite smorgasbord, “Shady Maple” and then visit the gift shop down below that is entirely HUGE – it take about 45 minutes to see everything, if you have already seen it all, and are hurrying through 
Throughout the day, we “get lost” in Amish country, visiting the Amish stores and touring the scenic farmland. We usually wind down the day with delicious home-made ice cream at Lapp’s dairy farm!
This year we are going to the Sight and Sound Theater, where Bible stories are dramatically acted out in a fantastic way! We discovered the theater a few years ago, and have seen Ruth, David, The Christmas Story, and Sarah and Abraham. This time we are going to see Joseph!!! I can’t wait also, our grandmother is going along for the second time, so we are thrilled!
On the 4th of July we will be watching fireworks at the park in town. Last year we were amazed at how close they were, since we are used to seeing them from far off in the distance. We were actually able to see the men shooting them off in the field in front of us, and the noise was electrifying:-) I think we should wisely take earplugs along this year…
On the 9th of July, Hannah and I head off to our 4th Journey from the Philadelphia airport, while the others drive back to NC. We are going with a team of 7 other young ladies, mostly whom we know very well. It feels strange to be going back for the 4th time, but I can safely say with great confidence that there has never been a Journey not worth the experience! Every time there is something new to learn, something new to examine and work through, something new to apply to life. I am assured that God is going to do a great work in our hearts, and that He will teach us new and wonderful things from His Word!
So…now that you have an idea of where we will be for the next week (some of us for the next 3 weeks), please pray for our family as we set off on this adventure! Pray for our visit to PA because my grandfather has advanced emphysema and we don’t know how long he has to live. Each visit may be the last time we see him, and that is difficult. Pray that we could be a blessing to them. God can do so much in and through each one of us, and He will if we are willing and obedient, open and broken, fully surrendered. When we arrive back from all the busyness of life away from home, there will be exciting new reports and stories to share, all proof of God’s unfailing, unchanging, everlasting love!
Until then, please keep us in your prayers
I most certainly will!! Thanks for the update, and have a great few weeks! We love you all.
Praise the Lord for all He is doing and for your work of faith and labor of love to be a part of it. We’ve enjoyed a lot of family adventures in Pennsylvania too. We were very glad for each time we visited our Grandpa before he died. God bless you’re entire trip(s).