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| our reflection in “the bean” … it was a rainy morning. |
This weekend, Leon and I made our last “major” road trip in our days on furlough. We have spent the weekend in Chicago.
Friday night, we made a stop in Flossmoor, where our friends, Bethany and Tim live. They were gracious enough to feed us dinner and give us a place to sleep. :) It was also nice to be able to spend some time with them before we depart for Carlisle in the very near future.
Saturday Leon and I hopped the Metra into Chicago. That was a bit dramatic, as we weren’t expecting to have to run to the train station in order to make the train in time. I didn’t even really get to say good-bye to Bethany before we flew off on the train.
We had a few friends we were meeting in or around downtown. I have to say I enjoyed being able to take the CTA the entire time we were in the city. It saved so much stress with driving–even though my husband is an excellent driver! We ended up meeting Helen and Julia for lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery. It was nice to catch up with them as well as share about our ministry. Later, we took the CTA a bit farther north to visit with one of Leon’s friends Rebecca at a quaint little coffee shop right off the ‘L’ called The Perfect Cup.
After we met with Rebecca it was back to Flossmoor to pick up the car. We were fortunate enough to have dinner with Bethany and Tim and properly say our good-byes before it was off to Waukegan to stay with some friends of ours there. We are so grateful for their hospitality–This weekend we finally slept well enough to feel well rested for the first time in a long time! It was lovely.
We were in Waukegan to visit with a church who supports us and to hopefully raise more partners with us in ministry. We had a lovely time visiting with the people in this small church and sharing with them about our ministry. It was also the first time Leon had me speak myself about what I’ll be doing. I wasn’t too keen on it at first, but with the Lord’s help no one could really tell I was nervous! :) Afterward they had a potluck and everyone stayed around for food and fellowship. It was nice to chat with people further, and even connect with some of the ladies in attendance. It was a very lovely time, and Leon and I were left feeling very encouraged by the words of affirmation and grace extended toward us.
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| On the Metra |
Monday we had a couple more meetings with people. Leon and I once again hopped the Metra from Waukegan. We met up with a friend in Evanston, and then it was off to downtown Chicago again. I’m absolutely convinced that it rains every time we arrive off the CTA (This time it was pouring!). Anyway, we weren’t meeting my friends Melodie and Chad until later that evening, so we spent the afternoon wandering around the city. We couldn’t decide what to do, so we just walked down the Magnificent Mile all the way to Lakeshore Drive, and then walked along Lake Michigan until we got to Navy Pier. It was very enjoyable, and I did get to see parts of Chicago I had never seen before.
We then walked all the way from Navy Pier to a stop on the Blue Line, where we met Melodie and Chad for dinner. We went to a restaurant that serves Mediterranean food. It was delicious. Mmm… pitas and hummus! After dinner, it was time to part ways so Leon and I could get back to Waukegan before the last train left. Melodie and Chad were kind enough to walk with us to the train station and wait with us until it came. We had such a lovely time with them.
Today we are at last back in Bloomington for the week. Our schedule is full of meeting with people, pretty much until we leave for England. We truly did have a nice weekend, but it’s also nice to be back in a familiar place for a time.
