We drove all day Monday from Chicago to Mapleton, IA. We were hosted by the wonderful Kaftons, whom Gena and I were privileged to stay with three years ago as we were just starting out on this adventure. This time they hosted Gena and I as well as the boys, providing a wonderful meal and comfortable beds to sleep in – a true blessing!
Tuesday was our day to present at Mission Central. However we were informed the previous Thursday during our Reconnect in St. Louis that Old Missionary Gary Thies’ wife, Maxine had passed away and the memorial service was to be April 16 – the date of our scheduled time at Mission Central. But Gary had sent word to OIM to tell us that we would continue to present in the afternoon as scheduled. Nothing deters Gary from spreading the word of the Holy Spirit’s work around the world through not-normal-people!
We attended Maxine’s memorial service that morning at 11am. It was a packed house at St. Matthew’s in Mapleton. The service was short and blessedly centered on Jesus and his promises that formed the center of Maxine’s faith. Good stuff to hear. We ducked out of the luncheon afterwards and headed to Mission Central to get ready for our 1:00pm presentation timeframe. Gary’s volunteers know how to keep things running even when he’s not there, and after troubleshooting a small technical problem, we were able to share updates about our work in SE Asia with about ten people who had come from the surrounding areas to hear us.
Afterwards we spent a bit more time with one of Gena’s long-time friends, someone she first met nearly 35 years ago in El Centro, CA. What an amazing world we live in where we can connect and reconnect and stay connected despite long distances of time and geography!
It was a full day, capped off by a five hour drive from Mapleton to Minneapolis. Everything went smoothly though. It rained most of the drive there and we were grateful to reach our hotel for a good night’s sleep!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 