The Journey…

Dear and I packed up early on Wednesday morning and headed across the line to Canada.

We found our way to Central Heights Mennonite Church to attend the Celebration of Life for Kathy’s (one of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook) dear father. After the service Dear and I headed to Bakerview MB church and found the other Mennonite Girls and their spouses for the reception. One of the things we learned about Kathy’s father Helmut during the many tributes expressed about him was that he had the “gift of encouragement” along with other “gifts”. We think our Kathy has received this “gift” and learned a lot about how to share this gift because of her dad. Here’s an email from Kathy’s dad to his kids after he learned to use email in 2015.

“Let’s remember that , ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’ We are totally dependent on the Lord for life and breath and the service we are to render to our family members and other folk. One of my challenging verses that JESUS gave us is recorded in Mark 10:45. ‘For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give HIS life as a ransom for many.’ Let us be faithful servants, managing our time, talents and resources well. God help us to be good witnesses for HIS glory. Love you all lots and pray for you daily. Dad/Helmut”

What a treasure to have a legacy of a faithful father to pass on. We know you will miss your dear dad, Kathy, but that you also rejoice because he is home with his savior.

After the reception Dear and I found our way to Anneliese’s home where she and her dear H treated us to a nice dinner before we headed to our next big event.

We followed H and Anneliese to the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. where our newly released book, Bread for the Journey, was to be dedicated and launched.

We were met by two bouquets of flowers lovingly and thoughtfully sent by friends of the MGCC girls. Thank you so much Richard, Dorothy, and Rosella.

Under watchful eyes Anneliese prepared for the Zwieback demonstration.

Judy and Lovella’s hubbies maned the parking lot helping our guests find a place to park.

A wonderful crowd appeared and watched carefully as Anneliese showed her method of making Zwieback. Lovella helped with the narration.

Each of the seven of us who could be at the museum had our part to play. Some of us read from our family stories and some of us read one of our devotionals.

I made my confessions and read a brief story about my family’s “Movement” from Russia, to Iran and finally to the U.S.A. I’m not going to lie, I was happy when my “spotlight” moment was done.

After we were done with our stories and devotionals we had a special treat of music. We were blessed with Father’s Daughter singing “Little is much when God is in it”. Wonderfully musically talented family.

Here’s what Lovella had to say about these moments caught in the collage above. “I wanted to read the dedication at the end before Gerry prayed but just couldn’t even get it out. My heart was so full. Gerry couldn’t read it because he didn’t have his glasses so he borrowed mine to read.” Lovella was hoping someone captured these moments and Bev’s husband Harv did so I borrowed his photos.

The dedication reads: “We dedicate this book and our royalties to orphans and widows who face each day in need. Our prayer is that they would see the love of Jesus extended through caring hands, one home and one heart at a time.

After reading the dedication with Lovella’s glasses, Gerry prayed a prayer for God’s blessings on our book.

We signed books for anyone who wanted us to while the great crowd that attended enjoyed coffee and Zwieback.

We were surprised at the number of people who showed up and also surprised that the museum store was soon sold out of our book.

At the end of the evening we took some group photos. We always wish the 10 of us could all be together for these special events but miles and life events have a way of keeping some of us away.

All of our hearts were full from the beautiful blessings we enjoyed on this day in Abbotsford.

Some of the photos in this post were taken by Bev’s husband. Thanks for sharing Bev. Some were taken by my Dear and myself.

Dear and I crossed the border into the USA at 9 pm and were home in bed before midnight. We are generally early to bed people. Today is a day of recuperating for me and I have another confession to make and that is that I am still in my robe and it is the afternoon already! Oops! I running upstairs now to get ready for the rest of the day!

Buffalo Bill Dam

D is for Dam…

On our way to Cody, Wyoming from the eastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was so windy that they couldn’t even raise the flags.

Buffalo Bill Dam, the tallest dam in the world when it was completed in 1910. Built with no steel reinforcement.

This photo is looking down along the dam.

You can read about the history of the dam by clicking to this link.

More than 100 years after it was built, the Buffalo Bill Dam (formerly the Shoshone Dam) still stands as an impressive engineering feat. When it was built in 1910 its 325-foot height ranked it as the highest dam in the world. Located roughly 45 miles east of Yellowstone National Park’s east entrance and six miles west of Cody, Wyoming, the dam was also one of the first concrete dams erected in the U.S.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday started by Mrs. Nesbitt and administered by Roger and a team of ABC’ers. Thank you Roger and team!

Linking to Tuesday’s Treasures with Tom the Backroads Traveler with this historical treasure.

I’m also linking up to signs, signs with Lesley on Wednesday.

Our kids from Eastern Washington left on Monday with a full load for the long drive home. We were happy to get a text that they arrived safe and sound. Here’s what their load looked like as they drove away from our house. Dear is very happy about the freed up space in his shop and now our son Dan can work on this project in his own shop.

Monday Mural ~ Fort Langley

Fort Langley historical mural in Gasoline Alley ~ Fort Langley, British Columbia

Artist listed as Brandon Gabriel ~ Paint on concrete block

Colorful mural displays various native heritage scenes and the arrival of settlers to the area.

Dear and I visited the historic area of Fort Langley, British Columbia on July 19th and enjoyed a walk-about the town and some shopping.

This weekend has been very full with our second born and his wife of one year here. I have not had time to be on the internet as we are enjoying face to face time with all of our kids. We also received very sad news that I will share soon. We are rejoicing and we are grieving all at the same time.

I will link up later to Monday Mural with Oakland Daily Photo.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the most breathtaking sight inside Yellowstone Park. Twenty miles long, the canyon is up to 4,000-feet wide and 1,200-feet deep in places. From several vantage points, you can view Lower Falls plunging steeply into the canyon 308 feet, or the Upper Falls tumbling 109 feet.

Lower Falls, the biggest waterfall in Yellowstone, is the most famous in the Park, hands down. In fact, the 308-foot tall waterfall it is most likely the second most photographed spot in Yellowstone, with Old Faithful Geyser being the first.

We are looking down here and just wanted the perspective with Dear’s arm in the photo. It’s a very long way down.

We viewed this area from both sides of the canyon. It really was amazing and it’s one of those areas where you really cannot capture the grandeur with photos. I hope you can go there in person if you haven’t been before. We also stopped at the brink of the falls. So powerful and scary.

This was our second full day in Yellowstone. We stayed the night at the Canyon Lodge area of the park which was close by. When we were in Cody, Wyoming later in our trip we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and I took photos of these artists renditions of the Lower Falls and Canyon of Yellowstone.

I’ll be linking up to ABC Wednesday, started by Mrs. Nesbitt and carried on by Roger and the team. C is for Canyon. I’m also linking to Tuesday’s Treasures with Tom The Backroads Traveler. Yellowstone is a National Treasure!

I’m posting this on Monday and we are a month into summer already. Today is window washing day at this old house. Dear has been working since the wee hours of the morning on the windows and soon I’ll start on my part of the process and lightly scrub the screens. The views are clear and sparkling through our windows already. Do you have any summertime projects?

Barns in B.C.

B.C. as in British Columbia not before Christ.

Dear and I were in Canada the 18th and 19th of July and I snapped these photos of farms along the roads we traveled.

This last photo is not taken from our car but at our first destination in Chilliwack.

Next week I’ll share more photos with this barn in the background.

I’m linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

InSPIREd Sunday

On Monday Dear and I drove to Chilliwack, British Columbia for dinner with the Mennonite Girls. On the way at exit #215 off Interstate 5 in Snohomish County we pulled off the highway to change drivers. We were so happy that this was the exit we took because we found some treasures to enjoy.

We saw this church in the distance and then noticed the sign below.

4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the most well-known Protestant theologians of the twentieth century, an active anti-fascist, a man who had an extraordinary personal courage, who was executed in a German concentration camp a few weeks before the German surrender. He is a symbol of Lutheran martyrdom in the twentieth century. His statue, placed on the western facade of Westminster Abbey in London among the ten Christian martyrs of that time. Several parish churches are named in his honour. Also a postage stamp released in his memory in Germany.
The Bonhoeffer’s theological views had a great influence on the further development of the Christian theology.

A couple years ago I read a biography of Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas that was a very good book and I highly recommend it. It’s available on Amazon…

As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a pastor and author. In this New York Times best-selling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer’s life—the theologian and the spy—and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil.

We made it to a small parking lot to change drivers and while I was out of the car I took these photos.

These plantings on top of these kiosks are to attract butterflies.

There were several senior citizens with easels set up busy painting.

We drove around to the front of the church to see the name, Freeborn Lutheran Church & Cemetery.

I plan to go back next March to see the 400,000 daffodils in bloom around the church.

Pilchuk living history farm is part of the property here, too. We didn’t have time to explore since we were only changing drivers and continuing to our destination.

I’m linking up to InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally.

We are having a very lazy day at this old house. We had a short shopping excursion and that’s about it. It took a while but the sun is out from behind the clouds. They are predicting some hot temps here during the next week. How are things in your neck of the woods.

Yellowstone Signs & Fences…

Here are more signs, signs and Good fences from Yellowstone National Park.

“So Long Pardner-Come Back Soon”

These photos were taken in the northern area of Yellowstone near Tower Junction.

Thank you Lesley and TexWisGirl for hosting these weekly memes that make us look closer at the world around us.

We were in Canada (British Columbia) Monday and Tuesday and I’ll be sharing a lot from our time there soon. Today we are back to organizing things around this old house. Daughter is arriving soon to help me out in the process. Dear is organizing things in his shop. Are you in organizing mode at your place?

Bison, “Buffalo”, and Beauty

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Where the air is so pure, and the zephyrs so free,
The breezes so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home on the range,
For all of the cities so bright.

Then I would not exchange my home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

The animal that most Americans call a buffalo is actually a bison. Buffaloes are found in Africa and South Asia, while bison roam in North and South America. Bison are also referred to as American Buffalo.

All of these photos were taken in Yellowstone National Park the end of June. If you’ve never been it would be a great National Park to put on your list.

I’ll be linking up to ABC Wednesday for the letter B. Thank you Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and team for this long running meme.

Dear and I are roaming about British Columbia today so I’ll be coming around later tonight or tomorrow to see more letter B posts.

Wyoming Critters

I’m joining Viewing Nature with Eileen for Saturday Critters today. The following critters were roaming and flying about Yellowstone and Cody, Wyoming.

Outside the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming.

The Buffalo/Bison are allowed to make their own crossings regardless of the double yellow lines.

This gives you some perspective on how large they are.

A herd of elk far away on a hillside. I’m fully zoomed on this one.

One closer up and saying goodbye to us as we exit Yellowstone National Park.

I’ll be sharing more of my Bison photos for ABC Wednesday since we will be on the letter B this coming week.

Thank you Eileen for hosting Saturday Critters and for always taking the time to leave comments. You really are amazing!

Today is starting a bit gloomy in the Seattle area with a cloud cover and no sunshine peeking through. It’s a quiet weekend around this old house which is always good. What’s happening in your neck of the woods?

High Five

On our drive from Yosemite to Cody, Wyoming we passed through the Absaroka range. The Absaroka Range across the Montana-Wyoming border, and 75 miles at its widest, forms the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park along Paradise Valley (Montana), and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. These rugged cliffs are home to the largest bighorn sheep herds in the United States. High on these cliffs the sheep are protected from their predators.

I’m thankful to God for the following five where and with whom I feel protected.

I’m thankful for my home where I am protected from the elements.

I’m thankful for my husband with whom I feel safe and protected.

I’m thankful for our local police, our state police, our border patrol who work hard to protect us from harm and who help us in crisis.

I’m thankful for our military who protect our freedom and our country.

I’m most thankful to Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross, for being my Savior who protects me from isolation and separation from God.

What or who makes you feel protected?

Linking up with Amy at Love Made My Home and with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Five on Friday and Friday’s Fave Five.

The truck attack in Nice, France is just horrible. I feel so sad for all the people who were struck down in the midst of happy celebrations. Praying for the families that are forever changed by this. Make peace with the one true God and hug your loved ones.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Travel