From North Carolina to Pennsylvania to South Carolina

Well, after the good meeting Sunday night, we got back on the road and headed to Lehighton, PA. That is a pretty long drive, so we broke it up over Monday and Tuesday. Monday was just a day of riding and stopping to eat. We stopped for the night somewhere in Virginia. On Tuesday, we drove through Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware and Pennsylvania. We arrived at the hotel in Lehighton, PA around 4 pm. Lehighton is close to the Poconos Mtns. Our hotel was right on the Lehighton River. It was beautiful. Rodney had a fishing pole in the suburban, so we went to the local Walmart to see what the cost of a tourist fishing license would be. It was $30. Needless to say, Rodney did not fish! He just could not justify spending that much for a one day license. Katie & Josie swam Wednesday afternoon in the hotel pool, and we caught up on some emails and online bill paying. We had a good meeting at the church Wednesday night.



On Thursday morning (June 5th), we got up early and headed toward our Sunday meeting in Cayce, SC. We decided to take the route through Washington DC. We arrived in Washington DC around 3 PM. We decided to spend the night there and spend some time Friday sight seeing. After checking into a hotel and resting for about an hour, we drove over to downtown Washington DC. We had spent one afternoon in DC on another trip back in April. The girls love that city. Josie said she would like to live there. We visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. My (Faye's) dad fought in the Vietnam War so it was a special thing to be able to visit the memorial. My dad had given me 4 names of people he wanted me to look up on the Wall. It meant a lot to me to be able to do that for him. I hope one day that he can see it for himself.



While we were walking around in DC, we ran into Lyndsey Street. The world is such a smaller place than we think. We travel all the time, and we meet people that have some kind of connection to us in many of the places we go.



On Friday, we got up really early and got (free) tickets for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. That is where the money is made. That was a very interesting tour. After the tour, we got back on the road and headed toward Cayce, SC. If you are ever within driving distance of Washington DC, I recommend that you visit the city. Most of the monuments and tours are free if you don't go through a touring agency. We visited all of the monuments and the Bureau of E & P for free. It has been a real blessing to be in the capital of our country and to see all the history there. We are going to be in a meeting in a few weeks in Oakton, VA. Oakton is within about 30 min. of DC so we are going back to see the Declaration of Independence. Deputation has allowed us to see many things that we probably would have never seen. We are so thankful for these opportunities.



Our meeting on Sunday, June 8th, was in Cayce, SC. We were at the church for both the Sunday morning and evening services. The church was having a Missions Emphasis Sunday. They have a conference each year, but also several Mission Sundays. There were four missionary families there--two other Macedonia missionaries and one missionary to the South Carolina prisons. It such an encouragement to see other missionaries and hear how the Lord is working in their ministries. We love it!



On Monday morning, June 9th, we had to get on the road early to take Katie to The Wilds for camp. On the way there, we created a little road kill!! Rodney was driving down the interstate at approximately 70 mph. There was a car in the lane next to us; so, there was no way to get in the other lane. Up ahead there were probable 5 or 6 buzzards eating something in the road. We knew we were going to hit one, and we did. Just as the buzzards lifted off to fly away, we slammed in to one. It hit our windshield and cracked it all the way up. Praise the Lord we did not wreck. Pray that we make it home before the crack gets any worse. We arrived at The Wilds right before the Newton Baptist church bus arrived. Katie could not wait to see everybody.



After dropping her off, we headed to Charlottesville, VA for our meeting on Wednesday night. We decided to take the scenic route--the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is the second time we have done this. We have finally learned an important lesson regarding the Blue Ridge Parkway. Eat lunch or supper before you get on it. There are no restaurants and few gas stations along the parkway. Both times we decided to take this route, we failed to eat. Thankfully, we had some oreos and potato chips to snack on.



After the service on Wednesday night, June 11th, a dear couple in the church opened their home to us. It is such a blessing when a family does this. It gives us a chance to get to know them a little better. We have made some good friends staying in the homes of church members. And this time, we were prepared for the Blue Ridge Parkway (though we did not take it). This family stocked our cooler with fresh strawberries, grapes, special recipe fried chicken, and macaroni salad.



Thursday morning, June 12th, we drove to Maryville, TN for a missions conference. We will be at this church through Sunday, June 15th. We will have to pick Katie up from camp Saturday morning and hurry back for the Saturday evening service. It is about 3 hours one way. Saturday is going to be a long day.