"On the road again, just can't wait to get on the road again...." This morning we packed up and headed out on a road trip that will take us through six states. Our car is loaded with snacks, music, books, and baby toys. Kentucky, here we come!
We're ultimately headed to Louisville for a medical missions conference. We're stoked! This is an annual conference focused solely on medical missions and we are pumped to be among other people who are called on a similar journey as us. It's rare to find people who are headed overseas to do medical missions, and even more rare to find people who want to do it long-term. Sometimes it can be lonely on this side of the fence. But this week, for three days in Louisville, we will converge with hundreds of other people to be mutually encouraged, edified, and challenged as we let God speak to us about what He has for our future in missions. Some people, like us, are confidant that we're called to do medical missions. Others are trying to figure out whether they're called to this or not. Still others want to support medical missions although they maybe aren't going overseas themselves. The point is this: there will be a very large gathering of people who love Jesus and love medical missions in some fashion, and we get to be a part of it. We are sooooo excited!
The conference doesn't start until Thursday but we left a few days early so we could make some stops along the way. Our first stop: The Farm.
Let me tell you about The Farm. This is a place that is near and dear to our hearts. This farmhouse, in Cambridge, MN, belonged to Eli's great-grandparents and has stayed in the family ever since. It's a big 'ol house with lots of space to run around and it's a fabulous place for family gatherings, which is what happened today. The Horns descended upon The Farm to watch the Vikings game. Eli was in heaven :)
Eli grew up spending nearly every weekend at The Farm, hanging out with the Horn cousins, and he has innumerable fond memories of the place. While we were dating, I too grew a special place in my heart for The Farm, mostly because it's not in the city. Eli would take me there to get out of St. Paul and I loved it.
Eli proposed to me in this barn! I was completely surprised and it was incredibly romantic and I said yes, which was the best decision I've ever made :) Sigh... I love this barn.
During our first year of marriage, Eli and I lived at The Farm for 4 months. It was incredible. We were both working at a group home and arranged our schedules to work 40 hours in a row (including an 8-hour asleep shift), and then had 5 days off a week! What does a newlywed couple do with 5 days off a week for 4 months straight? They go camping, they watch movies late at night and sleep in, they ride the go-kart around The Farm, they go to the local coffee shop and read, they pick apples off the trees in the yard and bake pies, they go bike riding through the country, they enjoy every minute of every day because they know this bliss won't last forever. And it was, indeed, bliss!
So this is a special place for us, and today was Caleb's first trip to The Farm! He had a great time exploring and playing with the cousins. And he loved this trunk. He was playing with the flaps and feeling the wood, and he stood there like this for a little while. (He may have fallen over shortly after this picture was taken, but Eli was there to catch him.) And we learned that this trunk was the very trunk that Caleb's great-great-grandpa brought over on a ship when he immigrated from Hungary. How cool is that? Real history. I looooovvvee history.
So we had a great time on our first stop on the road trip. Now we're in St. Paul for the night, and tomorrow: Chicago!
Can't wait for your Dayton Stop!!!!
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