Avant Retirees Visit Northeast

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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 25 Kingston, ON - Rockwood, ON
July 19, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
212 miles
Total miles 4,735

We had a nice send off from the Fung’s home by breakfast with the whole family. There was actually a time that Andrew prayed for us and our safety on the road.

I did my Friday morning zoom with everybody as we drive down 401. Beverly, Dorothy and Virginia.

We then drove 1 hour down the road to Francine and Jim’s place in Brighton. We met Francine and Jim in 2020 in Italy on the cruise from Rome to Dubai. We had hoped to go walking along Lake Ontario but couldn’t because of my right knee “gave out” on Thursday. We enjoyed sitting around their sun room. Jim then drove us through the natural park nearby. Great camping spot. We had sandwiches out in their patio.

We then braved the busy Toronto traffic. One point Glenn had to pull over and take a Power Nap.

We arrived here at Doug and Lori’s place and visited a while before we ate a Thai meal out in the patio. We met Doug and Lori on our very first cruise in .2005. They came through Guatemala in 2010 and we showed them Antigua.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 26 Rockwood, ON - East Caledon, ON
July 20, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F
75 miles
Total Miles 4,810

Today, was our time to visit the Chappels about 45 minutes from the Schinkel home. As we drove through the countryside, we came upon several bicyclists on this beautiful Saturday morning.

We enjoyed our 2 hour visit with Don and Phylis at their home. Come to find out that Phylis goes to the dentist office where Lori (our current host) works at. And also Lois whom we saw later in the afternoon, knows the Chappels very well. Don and Phylis served one year in Africa and then over 25 years in Ecuador doing various jobs. It was a total enjoyment to hear their stories and challenges through the year.

We left their place in time to swing by Walmart and purchase a knee brace for my right knee. 2 days ago, as I was walking my right knee gave out. I hope this helps.

Lois arrived at the Schinkel house at 2pm, and we immediately drove to the Rockwood Reserve to do a letterbox. This reserve was crowded but beautiful. Lots of camping spots and there a small beach that was totally packed out with families. There were some folks kayaking and paddle boarding also.

Unbelievably we found the letterbox. It took some time. We were at the wrong beach, but we found it. Lois and i had to crawl through a covert (tunnel), and found it under the 4th pine tree. We had to solve the riddle first. It was fun. We tried another letterbox but was unsuccessful.

We enjoyed a Diet Coke around the breakfast table, before Lois left. So gave me some dishrags that she knitted or crocheted.

Doug gave me a ride out in his electric car. Boy does it have speed! G forces! For evening, we sat out under the patio table and ate a delicious chicken meal and fresh corn on the cob. We laughed. Told stories and enjoyed out time with Lori and Doug. They are lots of fun.

Fun day connecting with retirees Don and Phylis and then letterboxing with Lois and nice evening with Doug and Lori.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 27 Stay at Schinkel’s home
July 21, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
0 Miles
Total miles 4,810

Today, we were able to rest up for the last 10 days of our journey. Glenn did drive to a neighboring town to get the RAV 4 with a routine oil change. I moved outside to the patio and was able to enjoy the weather, do some reading, research on my computer and also write many postcards.

Lori served me a delicious salad and burrito out on the patio for my lunch. We had a great conversation discussing our faith, our family, our travels and our friendships.

Then I took a much needed afternoon nap. Glenn went with Doug to his grandson’s baseball game. Good game. They rode in Doug’s electric car.

Glenn helped me finished the last of my post cards. We had a delicious dinner out on the patio. Great conversation and music. I made last minute arrangements to see Arnold Wry on our way to Michigan tomorrow.

Good day. Oh, Canada, you have been good.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 28 Rockwood, ON - Holland, MI
July 22, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 70 °F
414 Miles
Total Miles 5,224

We overslept our 6am alarm and waking up at 6:30am and we were still able to leave on time or there abouts. We said good bye to our wonderful friends, Doug and Lori and drove directly to Waterloo to meet with Arnold and Greta Wry. Arnold was waiting for us out in the parking lot of his apartment complex and ushered up to his 2nd floor apartment.

We had a lovely chat with both of the Wrys. They served and ministered in Bolivia with GMU back in the day, and returned to Canada back 30 years ago. He reminded us that yesterday he turned 92 years young. He and his wife have celebrated 72 years of marriage. Greta informed us that their children have their names in for area nursing homes, but nothing has become available yet. Lori sent me some homemade cinnamon rolls for us to share with the Wrys.

Our visit was quite short than I had wanted, but this stop was a last minute meeting, but so glad that Arnold could allow us to visit with them. As we were getting ready to leave, in the short 40 minutes, Arnold said “You can’t leave until you pray!” Wow, what a humble and godly man. I noticed on their refrigerator door was covered with missionary prayer cards. Even Phil O’Day’s card was on the refrigerator door.

We hurriedly approach the hi-way so we could drive on to Port Huron and onto Rochester Hills, MI to have lunch with Cheryl Eberline and the Ciluffos. Once we arrived at the BlueWater Bridge, it took over 25minutes to get through the Canadian customs and then another 25minutes to be admitted back into the states.

We arrived at Ram’s Horn Restaurant at 1pm. We had an enjoyable lunch conversation with Cheryl and with Joe Ciluffo. Jeannie wasn’t feeling up to lunch. We talked about old times, especially when Glenn worked at the CAM Center in Dallas back in 2001-2006.

After lunch, we headed on to Holland Michigan where we are staying with A Candle in the Window family. We stopped off at Aldi’s to get some picnic supplies for dinner.

A fun day. A long day. A good day.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 29 Holland, MI - Warsaw, IN
July 23, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
222 miles
Total miles 5,446

We slept well in the “ ACandleInTheWindow” basement room. We left at 8 am to drive 45min to Grand Rapids to pick up Delora Johnson. She was out by the curb with her walker waiting for us. We had a delightful breakfast at a nearby breakfast spot. Delora and her late husband, Ward, worked in Nicaragua and Costa Rica for 30+ years with CAM. I encouraged her to think about Homecoming.

We then drove to the local post office to drop off my postcards and then headed south towards Goshen Indiana. On the way, we stopped at Culver’s to use their picnic tables for our lunch.

We arrived at Fergusons 30 minutes late but enjoyed an hour full of reminiscing of old times in Bolivia. They served in Lomorio for 30+ years. Both Mel and Deanna looked the same. Deanna remembers me making Mexican casserole for Christmas dinner.

Then we drive 30 minutes to see Bob and Elaine Porch in Elkhart, Indiana. We had a quick 20 minute visit with them. Bob served in Peru.

Back to Goshen to visit Sylvia Lsmbright. She and Gene served 30+ years in El Salvador. She remembers Glenn when he rode his bike to South America in 1976. I encouraged Sylvia to go to Homecoming.

Last stop Fred in Warsaw, Indiana. 86 years old. Moody graduate. Served in Morocco, Spain, and Belgium. We took him out for supper and he loved telling his story. We are staying in his place.

He drove us around the Grace Theological Seminary, the Winona Lake and finally we did a letterbox.

Full day. 5 different retired missionaries. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Goshen, Indiana, Elkhart, Indiana, back to Goshen, Indiana finally Warsaw, IndianaRead more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 30 Warsaw, IN - Nashville, IN
July 24, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F
193 miles
Total miles 5,639

We left at 7:30 to get some do-nuts at a famous shop “Rise n Roll” to take to Rollie and Joanne Smith’s house.

The Smiths served in Guatemala fur 10 years before moving to Mexico and working there for over 40 years. Rollie had a contagious laugh as we revisited mutual friends and memories.

We continued on towards the Edwards’ house. We stopped by Naomi Boss’ office in Kokomo. Naomi was on 4th floor Houghton hall at Moody with me.

We wanted to see the church the Murphys attend and pulled off to use the potty also. It started to rain as we continued to the Edwards.

We arrived at Jonathan and Cindy’s place just after 4. They live out in the county. Wrap around porch. Jonathan built this house before Jan died. Then several years later, Jon sold his house to Cindy, then he married her..

We had a delicious spaghetti dinner with fresh corn on the cob. We visited out on the porch as the sun was setting.

Another good day!Read more
TravelerThat reminded me of our "Malasada" stop in Hawaii
7/25/24Reply
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 31 Nashville, IN - Fisher, IL
July 25, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
220 miles
Total Miles 5,859

We left the Edwards home at 5:25am. It was still dark and very foggy. There is about 5 miles of gravel road before we hit the pavement then the interstate towards Indianapolis. We drove through the city before the traffic got too heavy, then westward on to Fisher, Illinois.

We stopped by Wal-mart before arriving at Ellen’s place to get some extra groceries. Glenn bought a delicious watermelon that I had some for lunch. Emily (11) and Amanda (2) and I took the RAV 4 to get a car wash then to TJMax to pick up some shorts, PJs for Emily, Sandler for Amanda, a cute dress for Annie and pjs for Lucy.

We got home around noon, then Amanda and I took a good long nap. When I woke up, Ellen, Luke and Lucy and Elizabeth had gone for play practice. For supper, I re-headed the Mexican casserole and we made some pudding dessert. We then took a walk around the block, put our pjs on and now watching Beethoven (the movie we use to watch in the 80’s with Ellen and Karen in Bolivia).Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 32 Fisher, IL
July 26, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
48 Miles
Total miles 5,907

Happy Birthday to Dad, G’dad! Today Glenn turns 69. The kids came down to our basement room around 8:30am to serve Glenn breakfast in bed. They sang happy birthday and gave him precious memories. He ate his “pirates eyes” for breakfast.

I forgot about my weekly Friday morning Zoom call to Virginia, Dorothy and Beverly (no-show this time). After a short 30 min. Chat, everyone was out for a walk around the pond. I met up with Ellen and Amanda and we strolled around the pond.

I learned a new game called “King’s Quarter”, a twist on solitaire. I played with Ellen, Glenn, Emily and Lucy. It was fun.

We then watched the opening ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympics. As we watched the ceremony and each nation riding in the floats on the River Seine, the kids were trying to match the flags to the countries they seeing on the TV. Little Elizabeth enjoyed holding up these flags and wanting me to take a photo of her holding the flag.We had popcorn. Then Glenn and I took a good 2 hour nap with Amanda.

For the evening, we took 3 kids with us to the summer production of “Finding Nemo” in the near-by Gibson City. Both Lucy and Elizabeth have been having play practice all summer for this weekend. One of the reasons, we focused on ending our month long trip in visiting the retirees, watching this performance. The girls did great! They sang and did a great job.

Glenn and I brought the Double A’s home (Amanda’s and Annie) and we got them ready for bed. We leave early in the morning for our breakfast date with Scott and Carol Boerckel in Bloomington, IL.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 33 Fisher, IL - Kansas City, MO
July 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
419 miles
Total miles 6,326

We left Fisher Illinois as the sun was rising. Little Amanda always stays in her pack n play in our room, and this morning she didn’t stir at all as we were packing and leaving.

We had a delicious breakfast with Scott and Carol Boerckel. We prayed and we laughed and we laughed. It was fun to connect and enjoy telling stories. We talked about our recent trip to visit the 30+ retirees along the way and the lessons and observations that we learned.

We had a picnic lunch in a small town just before crossing the Mississippi River. We ate out on the picnic table and listened to live music that was being played in the square. We enjoyed a conversation with a couple that were packing up. They were curious as to our travels and all. Sorry no pictures of our picnic lunch, but it was the standard ham and cheese sandwich with carrots and applesauce.

Then later in the afternoon, we stopped at a Koch’s Country Store. This cute store had lots of homemade jams, jelly’s, fresh fruit stand, a small deli and bakery along with a sweet shop. I purchased an ice cream cone to share. We heard that there was a deal for “buy 1 get 1 free” of any of the bakery items. We looked over the beautiful and delicious items but decided against the scrumptious cinnamon rolls. Then as we were leaving the store, a young gal at the counter yelled to us and said “Go ahead and pick out a free item”. Hmm, I was intrigued why they would offer this to us for free. I found out the store was going to be closed on Sunday and they would otherwise have to throw the stuff away.

As I walked closer to the cashier counter 3 young gals asked if we were traveling. That was enough to start a fun conversation. “Yes, we are on day 33! And we’ve only stayed in 2 hotel rooms and we’ve gone over 6,000 miles”. Immediately they asked, where we had been and what are we doing? I explained that we were visiting retiree folks who had served most of their adult lives over-seas and have returned to live in the states. Their response was “Wow”. I also explained some of the lessons that we have learned along this journey up to Maine and over to Canada and back, which were that these folks are very grateful that we have made a special visit to them, and they’re grateful for their work overseas as missionaries and that the retirees sometimes are living in challenging circumstances such as waiting for a rest home to open up.

I concluded our conversation with a description about visiting Arnold. I described his living circumstances with his wife of 72 years and their modest apartment was crowded, old stacks of books and magazines in crooks and crannies of his small den, refrigerator was covered with dated missionary photos from countries all over the globe and half used. Kleenex boxes were on the ground. As we were leaving Arnold’s small apartment, we were stopped by Arnold who said, “No, you can’t leave now, we have to pray!”

I used this story to show how precious the folks are whom we have been visiting along this 33 day journey. The 3 gals were interesting. Their names were Ellie, Madison and Journey. I asked them where they lived and what college they were attending. We laughed as I mentioned, “Ok, I have an Ellen as a daughter, a Madison as a daughter-in-law” then they all said, “And Journey because you are on a journey”.

They asked if I would mention them in my travel blog. Of course. Koch’s Country Store in Macon, Missouri. https://kochsgeneralstore.com. Check them out. The store was very friendly, the food looked delicious and these 3 gals sure made my day by offering us free cinnamon rolls.

Summary, everyone has a story, everyone wants to be heard and we can share a little of Jesus with folks along the way.Read more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Day 34/35 Kansas City, MO - Tyler, TX
July 30, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 77 °F
634 miles
Total Miles 6960

Monday was a day we spent visiting the folks at the Avant home office. We had several goals. We needed to visit with Teresa and finalize the enrollment of Medicare and the supplement. She answered some additional questions and clarified some items. We also wanted to visit what Lori O’day about the upcoming Homecoming event in September. Lori wasn’t feeling too good, so we’ll get with her another time. Then Phil wanted to visit with us about the Board meetings in Guatemala in October. While visiting with Teresa, we found out that she’ll be attending also. We urged her and her husband to come down a few days early.

I texted Ellen early in the morning and suggested that they drop by the Avant office and they could use the bathrooms and the kids could play on the swing set. The Rosenberger were driving from Illinois to Colorado and Kansas City is right on the way. Ellen texted immediately and said they would be arriving at 9:25 and could stay a few minutes. Wow, what a special treat to see the grandkids again.

Monday night, Glenn and I ate dinner at 54th Street Restaurant in Zona Rosa. We normally eat there with Scott and Alicia, but they were out of town. We watched a little of the summer Olympics then packed up for our early morning departure for Dallas and Tyler.

I woke up especially early on Tuesday morning. We left around 4:30am. This time we drove down 69 and 75, instead of my preferred I-35 through OKC. We ate breakfast in the RAV4. We mailed some Birthday and Anniversary cards. We even drove by the diner where were stopped in 2019 on the Conversation Coast to Coast. Glenn did most of the driving. I drove about 1.5 hours.

We stopped at the Texas Roadside Welcome Center to pick up at TEXAS map for G’daddy and also had our normal tunafish and cheese sandwich with apple sauce and leftover popcorn and chips and carrots. We are down to the bare-bones in our picnic bag. A good thing.

We stopped to see Ronnie and Kelly in Sherman. Visited about 1/2 hour. Then we continued to Dallas to see G’daddy. He had a sandwich and salad for us. Again we visited for 1/2 hour and continued our way. We’re on our final legRead more
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Avant Retirees Visit Northeast
Summary of our 35 Day Trip
July 31, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
Beginning odometer reading 30,047
Ending odometer reading 37,007
Total mileage 6,960

35 days on the road
18 different beds - only 2 hotels
20 states
2 Canadian provinces

$661.52 total gas price
37.8 average miles per gallon on RAV4

34 Visits with Avant Retirees
17 special dinners
18 gift bags handed out

15 visits with supporters
6 visits with SAM missionaries
32 friends and conversations
5 Letterboxes found in VA, IN and Canada

The purpose for our 5 week trip was to visit the Avant retirees who live in the northeast such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine and states along the way. I would communicate with the retirees before hand coordinating when we could visit with them, then treat them to a special dinner such as Texas Road House, OutBack Steak, etc. It would be completely free for them, our treat. We would pick them up at their house and drive them to the restaurant of their choice. I also had a gift bag full of goodies which would include small books, thank-you cards, lotion and miscellaneous items. I would enclose a note of appreciation. Generally around the table we would ask about their first years on the mission field, what were some of the challenges living over seas and who were their close friends. As time permitted we would ask about their current family situation and ask about their adult children and grandchildren. We also discussed about the challenges of living on their retirement income and if they had problems with medical needs.

So besides taking the retirees out for a meal, we expressed our appreciation for their years and years of service. We would take a selfie photo and have them sign my “mobile guest book”. Everyone we visited expressed their appreciation for us taking the time to visit, to listen, to ask questions and to genuinely be interested in their lives.

In summary:
1. The retirees are grateful for our visits, the special meals and gift bags we gave them
2. The retirees are grateful for their years of service overseas, be it either South America, Europe or Africa, etc.
3. The retirees are still very active in a local church or organization even into their age of 80+ years. We use the term “active retirees”.
4. The retirees are prayer warriors, seeking to pray for the younger generation.
5. The retirees have adult children or grandchildren that have struggles (divorce, life-style change, drug and mental illness)

This trip was life-changing as we were able to build upon our relationships with these warriors for the Lord. We had divine appointments and conversations with the retirees and individuals along the way. We were blessed to be able to visit with dear supporters and friends who lived along our route. We connected with 3 couples whom we had met on previous cruises from 10+ years ago and also reconnected with a couple from Bolivia that we hadn’t seen since 1998. We chatted with 3 gals at an ice cream shop who loved hearing our story. We rode in a Tesla in Canada and a red convertible Miata in Pennsylvania. We walked through history at Mt Vernon and Valley Forge. We ate at countless restaurants, stopped at numerous roadside park for tunafish sandwich picnics and stumbled across a Bolivian store front that served our favorite Saltena. We spent the night with friends, new friends, one time we had 6 days by ourselves in empty house and many times we had the guest bedroom in the downstair basement. We learned how to quickly determine where to plug our CPAP sleep machines. And finally we prayed for these heroes of the faith over our meal and as we were departing. We heard their joys and felt their pain.

This is the best job in the world. Providing Member Care to the Avant retirees.Read more
TravelerSuch a blessing to be with you. See you in January!!!❤️
8/1/24Reply
TravelerLikewise
8/2/24Reply
TravelerThank u for personal your and lunch. What a treat!
8/2/24Reply
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Trip end
July 31, 2024