IL, IN, KY

We have made it into KY, but let me back up.

Central IL and IN are farmland. In case you did not know that already.

This means that they tend to be somewhat flat. However, I found that there was a very serene beauty to the landscape. It was very calming to be driving along without a lot going on around you. I was able to listen to the Gospel of Luke and most of the book of Acts yesterday and then today I finished Acts, and the epistle to the Romans, and most of the Gospel of John.

We continued through most of IL and IN and then made our way into KY. As you cross into KY, you are immediately aware that you are moving into a different state. First off, obviously there is the sign. But even before this, you begin to see Louisville off to the right. It is a very beautiful city. We visited there before for a North American Christian Convention and had a wonderful time. We also visited Southeast Christian Church.

So far it is been a very good trip and God has taken great care of us. For those of you in warmer weather, let me try to help you understand how significant this statement may be.

We have traveled from an area of the country in which we had to bring in any liquids so they wouldn't freeze. This also means roads that were salted or graveled. I leave you with this image, this is what your car looks like after you have driven through that kind of an area for more than a day.

Moving Along

Yesterday I traveled through MN, most of Wisconsin, and into IL.

Although it is really cold (-4F) on one of the mornings here, it is very beautiful country. I tried to take a picture but the window has some road grim/salt on it. However you can still see the WI countryside. A lot of barns and silos.

Traveling through different areas, in different seasons require a different frame of thought.

For example, I had to bring in any items that I would not want to have frozen. That might not seem like that big of a deal, but would you have thought of the print cartridges in the printer? How about canned goods?

One great thing is that by using Facebook, our class has already been getting into contact with one another and so I was able to caravan yesterday with one student and then today we will connect up with another one.

It was wonderful visiting with family. I was able to take a long drive from Minneapolis with my sister and her family and we had a really good visit. I was also able to stay with my folks who were a HUGE help to me.

God is good in the way He brings things together to take care of His people.

Have a wonderful New Year (I had to write 1/1/09 yesterday and that was weird),
Corey

Travelogues

I'm not sure that I have that title spelled correctly?

I had a friend that went to Costa Rica a number of years ago. He had not previously been much of a writer that I knew of, however, he did a wonderful job putting together a travelogue of his trip.

I am hoping that I can do a similar job with this blog.

My day yesterday was somewhat uneventful as far as the actual travel goes. The most difficult part was actually walking away from my family.

Today I and my sister and her husband and three kids will head to northern MN to visit with my folks for a little bit. Right now it is not snowing, and hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

Minneapolis is a beautiful city in the winter. Especially at night. As I was driving to the hotel I found that I really appreciated all of the different lights on the buildings and skyscrapers.

The drive north will have a different type of scenery as we head into trees and cruise past some of the 10,000 lakes that are here.

I will try to keep you all posted on my progress from here.

Have a happy new year,
Corey

Heading Out

So I am getting all of the final arrangements made and then I leave tomorrow.

It is almost unbelievable that this day has finally come. In many, many ways I am not looking forward to leaving, but as my wise wife points out, "tomorrow just means that our reunion will get here sooner."

It is also almost unbelievable because God has been bringing us to this point for so long. I have looked back at some old journals and found that we began looking into the idea of military chaplaincy back in 2000-ish. So in some ways this has been a very long road. In other ways it has come quickly.

Today we did a "send-off" at church and had a bit of a going-away open house at the home of some dear friends. It was wonderful seeing everyone and being encouraged by them.

As much as this day seems "almost unbelievable", it is exciting to be serving God and knowing that He is calling us to this ministry.

As I have mentioned, I am going to try to update this page daily. I will also try to make sure it is somewhat interesting. Stay posted.