Before sharing the ups and downs of our last day on the road, I'll share a little photojournaling with you:
During our family trip to Dollywood on Monday, Scotty spilled the beans about the reservation he had made at a gorgeous bed and breakfast in the Smokies of Tennessee he had made for us that night. After saying a quick good-bye to our family, who we had been enjoying enormously all of the previous week, we headed out of Pidgeon Forge to our hill-top refuge. Whitestone Inn is a top notch bed and breakfast, created originally to bless those in ministry as a place to be well taken care of and refreshed by beautiful natural surroundings and pampering opportunities. Our large 2 bedroom room with waterfall shower and whirlpool tub, lakefront balcony and king-sized bed, usually going for $250/night, was given to us at a $16.00 service charge. I am amazed and grateful to this couple who have chosen to get involved so graciously in ministering to those who are serving overseas. After a restful night and a hearty breakfast (blueberry pancakes- my favorite!), we hit the road again with high hopes of seeing our own home 4 or so hours later. As we pulled off the interstate for lunch, we felt a sickening wobble in one of our wheels and prayed that we would make it back before anything happened. Near Hickory, NC, our hopes were dashed as we felt the tire go. God graciously protected us from a blow-out, which could have been more dangerous, and we found the tire had shredded its tread. After unloading three weeks worth of luggage and accumulated stuff from the trunk, Scotty grabbed the spare tire and started working to get us quickly back on the road. Unfortunately, the lock lug nut on the hubcap stripped as he was removing it, and the tire became impossible to remove without the assistance of a trained professional. We enjoyed the lovely, intensely hot day on the side of I-40 as semi trucks blew by, waiting for our Knight in Shining Tow Truck to rescue us. Only $55 and an hour or so later, we were back on course. All was well when we returned to our cozy Poindexter love shack (baby, love shack!) until I sighted something awful. As you can see above, our beloved "Herb" didn't make it through our 3 week absence. This was my first rosemary plant and one that I used often to brighten our lives and dinner plates, and it was tragic to see him so brown and crunchy. The events of the day finally took their toll on me after our grocery trip to Wal-Mart later in the evening, and I experienced a minor meltdown. We have been reminded by other missionaries that emotional downs after such intense, people-dense trips are normal and to be expected. Scotty and I were encouraged over and over by the people we spent time with, but we are very happy to be home. I think Dorothy's mantra was right..."there's no place like home".
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
During our family trip to Dollywood on Monday, Scotty spilled the beans about the reservation he had made at a gorgeous bed and breakfast in the Smokies of Tennessee he had made for us that night. After saying a quick good-bye to our family, who we had been enjoying enormously all of the previous week, we headed out of Pidgeon Forge to our hill-top refuge. Whitestone Inn is a top notch bed and breakfast, created originally to bless those in ministry as a place to be well taken care of and refreshed by beautiful natural surroundings and pampering opportunities. Our large 2 bedroom room with waterfall shower and whirlpool tub, lakefront balcony and king-sized bed, usually going for $250/night, was given to us at a $16.00 service charge. I am amazed and grateful to this couple who have chosen to get involved so graciously in ministering to those who are serving overseas. After a restful night and a hearty breakfast (blueberry pancakes- my favorite!), we hit the road again with high hopes of seeing our own home 4 or so hours later. As we pulled off the interstate for lunch, we felt a sickening wobble in one of our wheels and prayed that we would make it back before anything happened. Near Hickory, NC, our hopes were dashed as we felt the tire go. God graciously protected us from a blow-out, which could have been more dangerous, and we found the tire had shredded its tread. After unloading three weeks worth of luggage and accumulated stuff from the trunk, Scotty grabbed the spare tire and started working to get us quickly back on the road. Unfortunately, the lock lug nut on the hubcap stripped as he was removing it, and the tire became impossible to remove without the assistance of a trained professional. We enjoyed the lovely, intensely hot day on the side of I-40 as semi trucks blew by, waiting for our Knight in Shining Tow Truck to rescue us. Only $55 and an hour or so later, we were back on course. All was well when we returned to our cozy Poindexter love shack (baby, love shack!) until I sighted something awful. As you can see above, our beloved "Herb" didn't make it through our 3 week absence. This was my first rosemary plant and one that I used often to brighten our lives and dinner plates, and it was tragic to see him so brown and crunchy. The events of the day finally took their toll on me after our grocery trip to Wal-Mart later in the evening, and I experienced a minor meltdown. We have been reminded by other missionaries that emotional downs after such intense, people-dense trips are normal and to be expected. Scotty and I were encouraged over and over by the people we spent time with, but we are very happy to be home. I think Dorothy's mantra was right..."there's no place like home".
1 comment:
We had an equally traumatic trip! I think we all should have stayed home!
So long, Herb. We'll miss you.
Post a Comment