The past couple weeks have been pretty good. I got to visit a little with my grandmother's cousin Jalane and I took a trip with my church to Pocatello, Idaho to attend a missions conference. While I was in Pocatello, I had lunch with my cousin and her two kids.
Grandma's cousin was traveling from North Dakota to Washington. Jalane lives in Washington, but every summer she goes out to North Dakota to stay with some of her family. She was on her way back home and was able to see me. Of course she came with her yellow lab Shammy.
My cats didn't approve of the dog very much but they put up with her. Butterscotch, surprisingly, did the best around the dog. Eventually, Butterscotch was willing to watch Shammy at near eye-level (instead of from her perch on top of the piano).
While she was here October 9, Jalane and I talked about some family history. She has a very clear mind still and is able to tell stories. Although I didn't record her voice, I wrote notes about things I didn't already have. We discussed some notes that were written about her half-brother who was adopted and about our family. Our debate was who the authors were (since we could both tell that the documents were written by two separate individuals), and when they were written. I know that doesn't sound very exciting to many people, but I enjoy research. Jalane and I decided that the first two pages were written by Betty, Grandma's sister in 1997.
Since I've had time to go to Bozeman on a more regular basis lately, I have been going to Calvary Chapel Bozeman. I've enjoyed being part of a church for the first time in many years. Yes, I'm taking a long time driving twice a week, but it's been a good experience. It's been great meeting new people and fellowshipping with believers again.
A missions conference was being held at Calvary Chapel Pocatello October 19-20. I definitely see things from a different perspective after my mission trip to Angola this year. I looked forward to going with a few people from our church.
It ended up being a guys' road trip. I drove from Gardiner to West Yellowstone through the Park, where I met up with the rest of the crew. It just so happened that they arrived in West Yellowstone at the exact time that I did and I turned right behind them. After leaving my vehicle near West, I traveled with Pastor Ted and his son Stephen, Josh, Pat, and Robert.
Once we arrived in Pocatello, we registered at the Best Western Cotton Tree Inn, which is only a block away from Calvary Chapel Pocatello, where we registered immediately afterward. That night we did get started into the conference.
The next day we listened to speakers for most of the day. I enjoyed hearing some of the stories, especially from John Michaels, who had quite a bit of experience on the field. (We truly live insulated lives in the United States.) The conference covered several topics but the speakers used Joshua 1-10 as a basis for their talks.
For lunch, I separated from our group a little bit so that I could eat with my first cousin Kim and her two kids. She's a store manager in Pocatello and seems to be pretty successful. It was great getting to know Ashley and Mark. I haven't seen them since 2000 when we all went to a family reunion at Silver Falls, Oregon. I hope I can see Kim's mom/my aunt Sue soon. I really have been wanting to visit with Sue and George for awhile now.
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| My cousin Kim is pictured with her children, Mark, Ashley, and Brandon at Silver Falls State Park on June 17, 2000. |
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| Mark, Ashley, and Kim in Pocatello October 20, 2012 |
As I write this blog, it's snowing outside--the second or third snow of the season in Gardiner. I think winter has arrived in Montana!
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