Missouri to Illinois

(again, this post is way over due, but I want to post it as it was originally written. so sorry for the delay)

I can’t believe that today is Thursday already. Five days into the race and we have come so far. This trip is funny to experience because it never stops. Just when you think you have finally gotten somewhere and you are going to get settled, you find yourself back out on a highway moving toward a new destination. The anticipation you get of finally getting to a destination is never quite quenched because even though you know your shift may be over, in a few hours you have to get back on the road and keep on keeping on.

We had a short team bible study when we arrived in Missouri last night (at least I think it was last night…I’m not really sure anymore, they days mesh together), and Martin talked to us about perseverance. How not only is in important in this race, but also an important part of our lives. “The christian walk, is a lot like this race,” he said “there are both hills and valleys as well as flat stagnate seasons in our lives.” The cool thing is, that like on this race we have a team of people that make everything possible, in our lives we can surround ourselves with fellow believers who will support us and encourage us so that we can finish the race that is laid out before us.

A quick update on what has happened in the past 24-36 hours…

On early Wednesday morning we passed the 1/2 way point in Kansas!!

Way to go blue squad for taking the team past the 1/2 way mark.

By late afternoon on Tuesday we had crossed over into the rolling green hills of Missouri.

I was in the crew RV and we arrived at our base camp (after getting lost for a moment or two in ). Chef Jen had gotten her hands on a wonderful treat for all of us right before we got out of Kansas: hand cut Kansas beef. We fired up the grille and everyone had delicious steak for dinner.

We also had a chance to celebrate two birthdays at our little barbecue. Martin and Greg have both had their birthdays this past week so we had to celebrate.

We made our way across Missouri fairly smoothly. I followed the red squad in the chase vehicle with Katie and Jen last night. Ben had an encounter with a raccoon, a couple of opossums, and lots of bugs. We had to take an alternate route due to all of the flooding from the rivers which gave all the squad members a 20 minute break where they could rest until they got to the drop point. This morning at about 10:20ish, Ross was riding down a highway when a piece of corrugated sheet metal about 2×4 ft flew out of the bed of a passing truck and floated high in the air in the lane right next to Ross for about 15 seconds before crashing to the ground. It would have been really easy for that metal to fly intro him with the wind blowing rather hard, but thankfully it barely moved and no one or nothing was harmed. Praise God.

Ben took us across the Mississippi and down into Illinois. Again, we got lost for a moment or two but soon found ourselves back on track.

While driving to the next time station (aka-check-in point) we found a cute little pie shop and so of course we purchased a butterscotch murane pie. Within a matter of minutes it was devoured by the red squad, Jen, Katie, Dave, and myself. Mmmmm, butterscotch….

Now the blue squad is on the road, and a new set of crew members are out there with them guiding them closer and closer towards our ultimate goal. We hope to get to Annapolis by Saturday night. Please continue to pray for the safety and unity of our team. Your support means the world to us.

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