The attack of the No-See-Ums…

It is Madison, MN, October 6, 2021. Minnesota is home of “no overnight parking” at the rest stops, miles and miles of farmland, rough roads, not many roadside turnoffs, the Spam Factory (Tim’s favorite place), Honeycrisp apples, the land of 10,000 lakes, Loons, Yurts, and more. We came here to see Bob and Wendy, Tim’s brother and sister-in-law. What we didn’t expect and hadn’t encountered on prior visits were the Ceratopogonidae, commonly known as the No-See-Ums. Strange name, but very fitting; pesky, tiny, barely visible, bugs who bite like mosquitos, and leave a welt. They are worse though, for they come in droves, like gnats and land on you, many at one time! These critters attacked us yesterday as we were walking around Madison with Malia and Leighlonnie, Tim’s niece and her daughter. Our entire walk was spent swatting them away or smashing them in their moment of defiance. Not our favorite afternoon pastime!

Since my last blog, we have passed through some spectacular scenery on our way to Bob’s. Half a day was spent driving through Yellowstone National Park. There we stopped and saw some amazing geysers, including waiting a half hour on a very cold bench for Old Faithful to blow. It was worth the wait. Yellowstone has some beautiful scenery, but no real Fall colors. In fact, there was not a whole lot of lush green either. A gray wolf hurriedly crossed our path, a chipmunk kept its distance, and a bison nonchalantly continued eating grass while we walked by. Overall, we were not impressed enough to come back the next day as originally planned.

Now Grand Teton National Park was another matter. Brilliant, vibrant, amazing Fall colors met us where ever we went. The atmosphere was friendlier and welcoming with better roads and turnoffs, more accessibility to the scenic sights, a lot more room to observe and explore, plus lots of bike and walking trails. The mountains were majestic and breathtaking, the lakes clear, clean and cold. Animals we saw along our way: Chipmunks (we thought of you mom), antelope, black bear, bison, and lots of horses. We definitely plan to spend more time there in the future!

Driving through Wyoming we observed a feast of texture and color. It was a reminder that Hawaii doesn’t hold court alone in the realm of beauty and richness in that field. Driving through there in the Fall was an added bonus! We felt like we were on overload! And earth is just a dim reflection of what heaven is going to be like… Oh wow, I can’t even begin to imagine that! The time spent with Ricardo Hosein and his family was short but such a blessing. Ricardo and Kristin, who are with CEF of Wyoming, have 5 lovely, well behaved children who are growing so fast. At their place we were able to fill up our HUG tank.

While still driving through Wyoming, we visited Devil’s Tower National Monument. Now that is a must see if you are ever passing through, it is so worth it! The walk around that monument took us a little over one and a half hours as we took our time soaking in the incredible view, enjoying the walk, and taking lots of pictures. At the beginning of the trail we met two ladies who shared some fun information. They were told, if they scratched the bark of the Lodge Pole Pine they would smell chocolate, caramel or another scent. Since that main tree in the park, we had lots of opportunities to test it out. Sure enough, I kept getting vanilla caramel but unfortunately no chocolate.

We spent the night in one of our favorite camping spots which overlooked the Badlands. God was gracious and gave us a very good spot right at the beginning of the parking area. The park was pretty full this time around so we were grateful. Such a fantastic view of the Badlands as we rode our bikes along the rim at the top of the cliff. It never ceases to amaze me how creatively diverse God is. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” How can people see all this beauty and not believe there is a Creator God behind it? Romans 1:20 declares, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” They may deny it, but they know.

Although we have seen such scenery beyond description, our journey has not been without challenges and difficulties. As we made it over the pass from Idaho into Montana, we were greatly encouraged as it appeared our overheating issue was finally solved. But as we welcomed in October, the overheating popped up it’s head once again. Furthermore, there seemed to be another leak from somewhere else. Was there no end? Though greatly discouraged, we chose to trust God no matter what the outcome. Romans 8:28 says, ^“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This new development does cause us to stop and consider what the Lord is trying to teach us. We know He has called us to this new chapter in our lives. As yet, we don’t know what our ministry in Tennessee will entail. Our prayer is to trust Him no matter what. We want our lives and ministry to bring glory to His name.

Please do pray for us, as the difficulties do emotionally drain us. Nevertheless, we want to enjoy the journey, no matter what God brings our way. We serve an incredible, amazing, HOLY God who is in control of all things. He is faithful in all He does. 1 Thess. 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” He has called us, so He will accomplish His purpose in our lives. Furthermore, 2 Thess. 3:3 states, “The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” That is a great promise. May we “walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls [us] into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2:12).

Blessings, till the next time.
mari

PS. Thank you for your patience as I learn how to do this blog. I will try and get out one to two articles a week depending on Internet access. You can now subscribe down below if you want to be notified when the next article comes out. Furthermore, I am grateful for each and every comment.