The Midwest for Mexico Update #3
Through 3-3-01
Written by David Krabill
Here's the mine we visited in the last update.
Thursday morning found us still at Val Yoder's house, who had also procured a snowmobile, which, though slightly smaller than the last ones we used, again provided a source of great enjoyment for us.
The Yoder house.
And here's Brandon, the brave crossbow hunter.
That afternoon, just before we left, we were treated to some very good cookies made by Val's daughter, Delight. Fresh off the pan, wow! Too bad we didn't save any for Paul, I think he would have enjoyed them as well.
Around 3:30 or a little after, we left their place and headed towards Blackriver Mennonite Church by Loman, MN. The pastor of this church is the illustrious Tim Zook, who for a while had lived out in OR, though I'm not sure where at. For those of you who know Cliff Zook from Sheridan, OR, the two of them are brothers.
Tim and Kathy Zook.
After the service that evening we stayed at his house overnight, which, by the way, is huge (3 large stories).
Singing a tag in the stairwell.
Eating after the service.
I would have enjoyed the stay better if I hadn't gotten sick sometime during the wee hours of the next morning. I'm still not sure exactly what it was, but thankfully I finished taking inventory of my stomach before we left Tim's, and I didn't need the bucket we took along just in case. In spite of that, however, I was still feeling queasy most of the ride to our next service. So we had a little prayer meeting in the van on the while we were still on the road (yes, Paul kept his eyes open), since my health was a little questionable for the service that night. Praise God, I was able to sing with virtually no problems! Oh, by the way, that was Northwoods Mennonite Church in Hayword, Wisconsin, where we sang that evening.
This is Carissa Troyer (on the right) and her family, me and By went to BMA Bible Institute with her.
How nice it was to be able to see an old friend, Ryan Zook, who attends that church and teaches at their school.
Here's Ryan singing along with us in the lobby on "Fare Thee Well."
This friendly policeman quickly pulled out right behind us after a quick trip through town, but he evidently decided he didn't want to meet us, because he just followed us for miles and miles. I personally was disappointed, I just love to meet new people.
It's Saturday now, almost noon, and I'm writing the rest of this at the house of Paul's brother, Phillip.
Byran with his cousins.
We are planning to leave here about 3:00, I believe, and head south for Richland Center, Wisconsin. We have no service tonight, but we do have two services scheduled for tomorrow, so you will hear about them later from the other guys. 'Til next time...
David Krabill
(Editor's note: Here I am going to do a very brave but foolish thing, and turn the rest of the update over to someone less than qualified for the task, Byran Smucker.)
Trust me, people, this is the best decision he's made in all his editing days. With Tom maintaining a dictator-like grip on the role of editor of these updates, you get to see everybody else, but he is able to conceal his true nature as he travels along with the rest of us. Well, folks, I'm here to give you an inside look at Tom on this trip.
This is Tom doing what he does best. Notice his eyes closed in ecstasy as he virtually inhales this freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie. I must commend him publicly, however. He has certainly lowered his rate of consumption on this trip, as opposed to our stint at Bible School.
This is Tom doing what he does second best. If you are into challenges, try rousing Tom in the morning.
Here's another of his favorite pastimes. He spends hours in the van, and out of the van, on his trusty, though ancient, laptop computer.
Oh yeah, he does some singing, too. I guess that was the reason for this trip.
This is Tom doing what he does, like, fourth best.
So there you are. Tom's life is now an open book.