Instead of dressing up for Halloween, we decided we would spawn multiple instances of ourselves in the Redwood Forest.
Archive for October, 2007
This post is long overdue. I think we have both been overwhelmed by the need to reduce the experiences of the last week or so into words. Here’s my attempt (it may be lengthy).
Last week we spent a few nights with a friend of mine in Moscow, Idaho. For a small town Moscow is pretty happening. And don’t be mistaken, it’s named after the Moscow in Pennsylvania not Russia. We met some really great people and experienced some very dear fellowship. We even broke out guitars and percussion for a bit (in exchange for food).
Then we set out west into the heart of coffee land. I had just commented about how strangely similar eastern Washington was to West Texas when I glanced down to find a temperature needle pointing as high as it could. Before we left on the trip, my dad and I did all sorts of maintenance on my car but we overlooked the water pump. So we had just been crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. But alas, our crossed fingers did not keep the water pump bearing in place. Our car was officially broken down in Washtucna–a town with 300 people and no parts store.
We killed the engine, pulled off the road, and spotted what looked like a garage up ahead. We coasted down the hill and explained our situation to the man outside playing with his dog. He informed us that he was a retired mechanic and located the part for us in the next town (30 miles away). Due to recent surgery he was unable to use his arms, so we were on our own for getting there. We made a sign and stuck out our thumbs at the main highway intersection. After a short 10 minutes and only a few letdowns we were picked up by Washtucna’s mayor of 30 years. We got our part and the owner of the store was kind enough to let his employee Daryn give us a ride back on the clock.
Halfway through disassembling the engine (and after the parts store had closed) we realized that our timing belt was only half as wide as it should have been. Daryn had given us his cell number so we gave him a call and he graciously offered to bring us a new belt. With the guidance of our Bud Light drinking mechanic friend we eventually got the car back together. We fired up the engine and it sounded better than ever. It was dark by that time so Daryn showed us the town and let us crash at his place.
I have to say a few things about Daryn. He was a tremendous blessing to us. I don’t know if I have met someone with such selflessness and servanthood. He told us that up until 10 years ago he was a desperate alcoholic. His brother then led Him to the Lord Jesus. Though he doesn’t drink anymore, he spends his evenings at the town bar giving rides to the people who are throwing away their lives. He told us that, just like in his case, they would not give up drinking until they made the decision for themselves. So he felt it was his duty to help them out until they were able to make that decision.
Basically, everything worked out as perfectly as it could have and we can only praise God for his continual Providence.
In this state we have met nothing but nice people. Of course this is just our experience. I have also heard some other stories too…In the past 24 hrs in Montana we have met 8 locals, who loved what they did, were truly friendly (not superficial) and helped us out in different ways. For instance, our war horse rolled into a Toyota shop at exactly 600 miles on the tank. Time for the oil change. The owner, a man seemingly content with his life and job, talked to us for a good while giving us tips on the car and charging a very reasonable price. Another one jumped to our register at Safeway when he heard that we didn’t have a loyalty card and gave us his! Saved us $3.50! Most enjoyable though was our cultural experience in a local burger place in an old gold town of roughly 3000 people. The girl serving was fascinated by our height, culture, language (we spoke German for the kicks), and stories…
So far the pattern has been that any drive we take will end up taking another 25% of what it should normally take. If there’s something that we feel merits a detour, we usually take it. The sun was just now setting and we saw a sign for a lookout so we followed the dirt road for a mile out to a 15-minute walking trail. In order to make the stop a little speedier we turned the walking trail into a jogging trail. But the 9,666 ft. altitude did not look favorably on that decision. Once our heartbeats slowed we were able to enjoy the sun making shadows of pine trees as it hid behind the Rockies. On our hike back down Sammy had me stop to notice the sound: silence. No cars, no bugs, no wind, no nothing.
(We tried to post some pictures from the last few days but it didn’t work for some reason. They’ll come soon though!)
We left Chicago at 9:30am yesterday. So we were on the road from 9:30am until 2:30am this morning. 900 miles of concrete passed under our tires and our warhorse is running on applesauce right now. Seriously, there is no telling what we put in the tank at 1:30 in the morning somewhere in South Dakota, since the gas station was closed (pay at the pump), and we filled up with 91 Octane that had an “out of service” sticker on it. We just stopped in Deadwood, South Dakota, in a pretty fall-stricken little park and we cooked our lunch. We should be in Yellowstone later tonight.
So far a lot of this trip has been spending time with significant people in my life. And significant people are like mirrors sometimes. Especially the ones who have lived with you. We are in Chicago now with our friend and my room-, apartment-, housemate Brandon and his wife Amy. We have already tickled our diaphragm many a times over dinner and a good glass of Bourbon as we shared stories from our times together. And that’s been just great. The reason he is a mirror though is that he shows me who I am. For some reason it is good to have some pointers in your life to show you around when you don’t know what to think of yourself anymore. So I am thankful for all those significant people in my life like Brandon who help along the way.
Some lines in Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller struck a chord on this theme of finding oneself. He took a trip like this and writes about sharing his plans and reasons to go with people.
“…plans were shared with friends, but few understood. “Going off to find yourself” was the standard interpretation. I don’t think that is really our point. We are shaped by our experience. Our perception of joy, fear, pain, and beauty are sharpened or dulled by the way we rub against time. My senses have become dull and this trip is an effort to sharpen them.”
I think for me it is both of these ideas. Sharpening senses and finding myself or rather my path set out for me. Jamie Cullum’s words in “Twenty Something” still ring in my ears too…
1) It is Aaron’s 22nd birthday today!!
Everybody join for a biiiiiig Hurrrrray and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
2) My brother and his wife Margit had their first baby on Oct 3rd!! His name is Felix Matthias Ingo. I love the name! Praise be to the Lord!
So everybody join in a biiiiig awwwww and CONGRATULATIONS!!
I really don’t have any idea why Nashville is referred to as Nashvegas. Nonetheless, we are here and we are chilling at Centennial Park, home of the full-size replica of the Parthenon. Sammy is probably reading a book or doing something else enjoyable while I sit here and finish up some website work.
As the videos show, we’ve had quite an exciting time so far. To those of you dying to know, the fire was put out and nobody was injured (we even saved a cat from a nearby tree). But really, it has been great seeing all the old faces. Everyone has been such a blessing to us. Tonight we’re going to see Andrew Osenga in concert. He’s one of my favorite songwriters so I’m looking forward to it.
Back to work (soon I’ll be done for a long time!)
While traveling the world, we take our time to participate in random acts of civil service.
