Wednesday, March 27
We started the day by walking around our yard, looking for new growth. They are fascinated that we have porches and chairs in front of the house. In Belgium you sit outside in your back yard.
Inge, these two pictures are for you – the crocus, daffodils, and tulips you planted at your cat’s graves.
Lehman’s bison were out in the sunshine as we drove by on our way to Manheim.
After checking out the bison we went to Manheim to see Ferrellgas where Cerwin worked for forty years (until retirement), dropped off some used items at Jubilee, stopped at Double G to talk to Rose Gehman (Gene was on his way to Mid-America Truck Show), then drove by the Manheim Auto Auction. Hans had heard about the auction, so it was one of the things he wanted to see in Manheim.
Our next stop was Lancaster DHIA (milk testing lab) where our son Jere is CEO. He gave them a short tour of the lab. From there we drove by Jeff (son) and Chris’ farm and White Oak Mills where Jeff has been a driver since high school. We missed seeing Jeff by just a few minutes.
A highlight of their day was visiting Chaplains Chris and Joe at the Flying J Truck Stop near Harrisburg. Hans is showing them a video of his 50th birthday party where he learned about his and Anneke’s gift of a trip to the USA.
Joe (left) is lead chaplain at the Frystown Chapel. He and Chris have lunch together most Wednesdays.
Anneke is telling them how difficult it was to keep the trip a secret until his birthday.
Coming to America has been a dream of Hans for a long time – and since buying a lighted cross (from me) for his truck in 2005, he dreamed of meeting us, Transport For Christ staff and chaplains and seeing trucks and chapels.
Hans and Anneke weren’t sure about some of our food, but they knew they like hamburgers and French fries.
Visiting the chapel
What fun spending time with Chris and Joe and hearing their “chapel stories”. Hans said he wanted to be immersed in our Christian culture. By the time we left the chapel, I told Hans that he will soon be drowning in our Christian culture. 🙂
Hans writing their names on the chapel’s sign-in sheet.
More about our day tomorrow.
It’s always interesting to learn of the different customs of other countries — the outdoor seating in the back yards, for example — and the different animals. It sounds as if you had a great tour of the area, and that looks like a wonderful hamburger!
They were surprised at all our “front of the house” porches and chairs.