Summer Fun in Indy

I must say, after living in Budapest, Hungary, it was an adjustment to move back to the mid-west. I've been gradually adapting to our new culture and community. But now that summer is here–and I absolutely love summer anywhere–Indy is becoming more and more endearing to me. It's a delightful city with so many bonuses.

I love this city for all the following reasons:

• Cultural Trail - 8 miles of trail that connects five Indy cultural districts for those who want to bike it, take a leisurely walk, or run.
• Biking -  I can ride my bike to practically every significant place in the city. And, those significant places are:

• The White River State Park
• The Canal District
• The Zoo
• Mass Ave
• Indy Reads Books - an amazing non-profit book store on Mass Ave
• Central Library
• City Market
• City Circle

• Children's Museum is amazing - best in the nation
• Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) with its 100 acres of woodlands and trails

I think more than anything, I have enjoyed riding my bike around the city. The Cultural Trail makes the city so biker friendly.

Summer pictures so far, with grandchildren included!

Love my Fairdale bike!

Enjoying the Canal District with Miles, Leo, and Stella (of course Josh and Joni, too)

Swinging at IMA with Joni and Miles

Loved having Joni and Miles for a visit the week of 4th of July!

More IMA fun!

Dennis & I enjoyed watching fireworks spouting off the Regions Bank Building this year. Didn't have to fight traffic, just a short walk from our place gave us this incredible spot.

Dennis and I took a day at McCormick Creek State Park for some much needed recovery time. Hiking - one of our favorite pastimes. Indiana has great state parks! And, as always, our Keens proved to be great hiking shoes for crossing creeks and jumping stones.

TODAY we get to pick up Jamie, Evee, and Iris in Chicago!!!! Something our whole family has been anticipating for months!! Definitely pictures of their month-long visit to come!

It's about time!

Well, it is about time! Except for a 3-month period a couple years ago when I intentionally took a blog break, this is the longest I have gone without a blog post over the six years I've been blogging. I've been back from Africa for two months now and life has been full-on since then connecting with kids and grand-kids and a FLAME class (my final one!), and getting to know our new community.

LATEST TRAVELS: Dennis returned to Africa, connecting with our 160 Sierra Leone pastors and the National Superintendent during their National Church Conference. He even had the opportunity to meet the President of Sierra Leone. From Africa, he flew to Vienna, Austria, where I met up with him to spend a few short days with Dave, Dina, and Emma Horne. It was so great to spend time together in their new home and city. From there, the four of us, flew to Birmingham, England, for the weekend of the British Isles District Conference. It was a blessing to reconnect with friends and acquaintances, as well as to be encouraged by the good things that are happening in the BI District.

A joy to be with Dave, Dina and Emma (who is taking the picture:)

DOWNTOWN INDY: I love where we live! Give me a year and a half, and I'll have the lay of the city figured out. They say (whoever "they" is) that it takes 18 months to settle in to a new place. Today I took advantage of a beautiful summer day by riding my bike on the Cultural Trail. You know how much we loved Budapest? Well, when we moved to the city, I was so surprised to find that Indy has a City Market! It looks like a mini of the Grand Market in Budapest. What a gift that was to me! It's not the Danube, but Indy has the White River, as well as monuments, local coffee shops, and friendly people. Not to mention the Children's Museum (top museum in the country!), the Indy zoo, and a great central library.

 Clockwise: White River, Cultural Trail street crossing, Cultural Trail, City Market, & Calvin Fletcher Coffee Co.

OUR NEW HOME: When I sent out our latest newsletter, a few people thought the brick school building was our home. No, we are one of 18 condo units in the school building. We're enjoying living in this historical place. Below you'll see a few pictures of our home.

So happy to have this brick wall for the art piece we bought in Sarajevo, Bosnia!

Lots of daylight with these huge windows.

A small kitchen, but very practical. I created a "window" above my sink with some greenery and birds. The hummingbird on the blue jar reminds me of our Margot.

My Grandma's Lane Cedar chest with her jewelry box, a young photo of her, and a Norman Rockwell plate she gave me years ago. It's entitled "A Young Girl's Dream." The plate is a picture of a young girl sitting on what is probably a train station bench, with a suitcase by her, and a box of tissues on her lap. Grandma told me that the girl reminded her of me, as I left my home in PA to follow my dreams.

Well, a few more pictures of family time, and I'll end this post.

A trip to Grand Haven called for a walk on the pier. Miles loves jumping the rocks.

Birthday #4 for Miles (Stella watching in the background)

Leo

Well, that about sums up the past couple months.

ANTICIPATION! We're looking forward to having Jamie, Evee, and Iris in a few weeks for the month of July! We can't wait! A year and a half is way too long to not see family, especially growing grandchildren.

Africa

When I was young, I remember thinking that Africa was an entire country. World geography was distant lands that I couldn’t comprehend as a visual learner. I must admit, that it was far into my adulthood that it finally registered that Africa is one of the seven continents of the world. And, with our recent trip (as recent as typing this post in the Johannesburg, South Africa airport awaiting departure) I learned that Africa is made up of 54 countries, all unique as the 50 states of America.

Before this trip, my only taste of Africa was documentaries on African wildlife, where a cheetah is chasing impala across open plains. (A little trivia for you - remember the Chevy Impala named after this fast and graceful African antelope?) Having visited only three African countries–South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique–I am by no means an expert on the continent, but I do know that I have had a small glimpse into some of the history and cultures within Africa, not to mention a better understanding of the Wesleyan work on this continent. 

Over the past week Dennis and I have had the privilege of joining our Africa missionary team for an annual retreat in Mozambique. We flew into Johannesburg to meet up with each other. Dennis had spent a week in the Philippines prior to his arrival. This was my first time to visit Africa, which gave me the pleasure of adding continent number six to my list, and most likely, my final one. I have a feeling Antarctica isn't going to make the list, and I’m not interested in making it a part of my bucket list.

Usually we have little time for touring any significant places in any given country, though we count it a privilege to often see what tourists don't see, which is far more the real world than any touristy area. But, this time, Bob and Brenda Bagley, our Africa Area Directors, asked if we would be interested in stopping by Kruger National Park in South Africa on our drive up to Mozambique. We didn’t hesitate at the opportunity to see African wildlife in this park named after Paul Kruger, a South African soldier and statesman (1825–1904). 

Though no hunting is allowed in the park, our eyes were on the hunt for wildlife as we drove slowly - about 25miles/hour - searching for movement in the bush or sweeping the area for stripes and spots. It was more than once that we stopped and backed up to see a grayish rock that looked like a rhino or a brown anthill mound that was mistaken for a wildebeest or any number of wildlife.   

Below you’ll see some of our finds at Kruger. We were told that the cheetah was a rare treasure. 

Giraffe. Monkeys. Kudu. Elephant. Cheetah.

Crocodile. Rhino. Hippo.

Fever Tree on left - once thought to be the cause of malaria before the discovery that it was mosquitos - the tree grows in swampy areas.
And, I just liked the bare branches of the other tree outlined so vividly against the blue African sky. 

From Kruger, we headed north to Swaziland for the evening and a night’s stay, which is the location of one of our Bible colleges. The students were waiting for us upon our arrival at Emmanuel Wesleyan Bible College. As we walked into the chapel they were singing and dancing, obviously passionate about their love for Jesus. I was encouraged to see both men and women preparing for the ministry. An open forum was held with Dennis, giving the students the opportunity to ask questions, particularly about Global Partners and ministry in the Wesleyan Church. 

Emmanuel Wesleyan Bible College in Swaziland

Early the next morning we began our final leg of the journey to Mozambique, with the Swaziland missionaries joining us in travel. A lunch stop in Maputo, capital city of Mozambique, gave us the opportunity to visit the nearly constructed ministry center for the Mozambique Wesleyan Church, a prime location in the city where vocational classes will be held, as well as ministerial training, meetings, and gatherings.

After lunch, we added more travelers to the convoy and headed to the retreat location. We turned off the main road onto a sandy drive and drove 10K to the shores of the Indian Ocean. The Mozambique coastline extends the length of the east coast in the U.S. It was a beautiful spot for the retreat. We were close enough to see the ocean in all its glory, not to mention, hear the ocean waves thundering against the sandy shore as the tide came in. Three full days of encouragement, connections, and learning proved to be a fun, relaxing, and meaningful time. Dennis and I love attending these annual retreats in the Global Partner parts of the world. It’s such a wonderful way to meet all our M’s at once, yet get to spend one-on-one time with many of them as well. I had the opportunity to share two devotionals and Dennis taught 6 sessions. My greatest joy, though, is to connect personally with the M’s. 

Africa Team

The Wesleyan Church in Africa is growing and thriving. We are in 16 countries, with over 1,000 churches, 2 hospitals, and 7 Bible schools. We thank God for the opportunity we had to serve our missionaries who so faithfully give of themselves on this great continent.