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Part 2

Justin & Haley Gordon’s Wedding

 

Velda and Denise signing the guest book.

 

 

Samantha, Dave, Mother High, Denise, Dan, and Brittany

Dave and Denise (aunt of the groom) live in Florida and could not be at Mother’s 95th birthday party in September, so I asked them to pose for a picture with her.

 

 

Waiting for the wedding to begin

 

 

Mel, Dave, and Cerwin

 

 

Brittany giving Jeremy some last minute instructions.

 

 

Brothers-in-law, Dave and Rod (father of the groom) checking the time.

 

 

Wedding guests are beginning to arrive.

 

 

Ushers Eric and Dan

 

 

The benches are empty – but only for a short time.

 

 

 

 

The view from our seat.

The rest of the photos in this entry are taken without flash, so will have a bit of a soft focus.

 

 

The mothers lighting the parents candles.

 

 

The men and ministers are in place.

 

 

Watching the ring bearer and flower girl enter.

(Notice Megan’s face in this picture. She is Justin’s sister and is second from left.)

 

 

Now look at Megan’s face as she watches her brother’s bride walking down the aisle. (A Kleenex was needed.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Justin Gordon.

 

 

 

There is one God and Father of us all, who rules over everyone.

He works through all of us and in all of us.

Ephesians 4:6 (Easy-to-Read Version)

 

 

 

Justin & Haley Gordon’s Wedding

Saturday, October 20

Yes, I’m catching up on events that happened before our chapel delivery mission trip to Illinois.

 

We arrived at the wedding location (Neffsville Mennonite Church) early because we like to get to weddings early. Also, we had Cerwin’s mother with us and didn’t want to get great grandma there late.

 

 

Flowers were waiting for family and the wedding party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first glimpse of the groom (white vest). Justin is the son of our niece Dorretta and her husband, Rod. I don’t know the little boys. The young man on the right is Justin’s cousin Dan.

 

 

Brittany (cousin to the groom)talking to great grandma.

 

 

Justin and great grandma.

 

 

 

 

Velda (Cerwin’s sister and grandma of the groom) and granddaughter Brittany.

 

 

The sanctuary is prepared.

 

 

Unity candles

 

 

 

 

 

 

The musicians

 

 

 

 

Velda & Mel – Justin’s grandparents

 

 

Pre-wedding photos.

 

 

 

 

This pretty little girl was delighting in having a grown up role at the wedding.

 

 

She was at the registration table.

 

 

Of course there will be more photos tomorrow night.

 

 

From everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s mercy is on those who fear him.
His righteousness belongs to their children and grandchildren,

Psalm 103:17 (GOD’S WORD Translation)

~~~

Our hearts are rejoicing today as our granddaughter Gloria made a public decision to accept God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ at the closing service of our church’s revival meetings last night.

Nothing in life matches this kind of joy for us.

 

 

 

 

Final Part of Our Trip Home

Friday, November 2

 

 

We were on the road early, so I was delighted to enjoy the atmosphere of another sunrise in a new location while drinking my first cup of coffee.

This time I was drinking my favorite coffee in the world – TA Travel Plaza’s “TA Extreme.” It is dubbed by drivers as “the 500-mile coffee” – a highly caffeinated, dark roast gourmet blend available only at TA locations.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My trusty driver.

 

 

 

 

CBs and GPS units are part of a truck driver’s life.

 

 

 

 

The bottom bunk and a small closet held our clothing and other supplies.

 

 

 

 

We drove through light snow twice in western Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cerwin and I were enjoying some gummy candy, when Cerwin gave a disgusted sigh – he pulled a crown off an upper molar. I asked if he wanted me to make a dentist appointment for him. That reminded him that he wanted to get the oil changed on our RAV4 before leaving on a hunting trip next week.

 

 

Before long we began seeing a few pretty trees.

 

 

 

 

Some interesting scenery

 

 

 

 

This area of Pennsylvania is where I can sometimes get truck photos that may work as cover shots for TFC’s Highway News & Good News.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s fun to spend a bit of time looking for cover shots. It’s sometimes a challenge when we are traveling 55 to 60 mph and the other vehicles are going the same speed the other direction.

 

 

There is still some high water following Hurricane Sandy.

 

 

This pretty array of pumpkins is the last photo I took on this trip.

 

 

 

Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

Ephesians 1:5 (The Message)

 

 

 

Meeting Friends at TFC’s Toledo Chapel

Thursday, November 1

 

Our destination for Thursday evening was TA Travel Center, Perrysburg (Toledo), Ohio, where TFC has a chapel.

 

 

It is a delight for us to pull into a truck stop and see a TFC chapel.

 

 

It’s even more delightful to meet with our chaplains. In this case it was Lead Chaplain Wayne Dunlap. We called the day before, so he was expecting us.

 

 

Cerwin noticed that our trailer lights were still on and left the chapel to turn them off. On the way back he noticed a rig with a very long sleeper, and thought the trailer looked familiar.

 

 

He was correct. It was the John Rissler family with their brand new tractor. Cerwin thinks he remembers John saying that the sleeper is 120 inches long.

 

 

John sent the two youngest boys to the chapel to see if I would recognize them. I did recognize them and was so surprised!

 

Riley and Jaylyn were anxious to show me their new home.

 

 

Riley, Cerwin, John, and Jaylyn.

They recently purchased this and are still in remodeling mode. I hope it is finished by next year’s truck rally so I can photograph the interior.

 

 

Kyrell and Karen.

The mirrored area on the right is their bathroom/shower. My favorite part is the top bunks that go up and down with the push of a button. Karen said they are a great place to put all their bedding.

I agree that they needed a bigger “house” as they spend most of their time on the road and homeschool their boys.

 

 

As John went to pay the fuel bill, he asked Karen if she would pull the truck forward so the rig didn’t block the next truck, and the boys headed for the chapel.

 

 

Hey, ladies, how would you like to pull this forward or drive it on the road?

 

 

No problem for Karen!

 

 

She and John are team drivers – meaning they take turns driving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They came to the chapel for a short visit. By this time Chaplain Wayne’s wife, Lynne, (right) had arrived to join us for supper.

I love this family and it blessed my heart to meet them on the road. We held hands and prayed God’s blessing on them before they headed east.

 

 

We enjoyed a wonderful meal and evening with Wayne and Lynne in the truck stop restaurant, then went back to our own traveling home where we crawled into our bunks and fell asleep to the sweet rumble of the engine.

 

 

 

Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God.

1 John 4:15 (The Message)

 

 

 

A New Trailer for a Future Chapel

Rochelle, Illinois, to Hudsonville, Michigan

Thursday, November 1

 

 

I love early morning driving and watching the sun rise over areas that are new to me.

 

 

It blesses my soul to have my morning coffee with fabulous atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops! Somebody’s plans were changed for the day.

 

 

We couldn’t see this deep quarry when we were headed west because Cerwin and I were in Glenn and Rachel’s car.

 

 

An oversize load for sure!

 

 

A wind turbine blade.

I read that one blade is 130 feet long. I expect the length varies and have no idea how long this one is.

 

 

 

 

I got my “fix” on seeing some old barns and buildings – and wishing they could tell me their story.

 

 

Very creative advertising on a mobile billboard.

 

 

Seeing lots of axles tells me that we are in Michigan where heavy loads are permitted.

 

 

 

 

Our destination in Michigan.

 

 

This is where we picked up a trailer for TFC’s next chapel.

 

 

Dwayne Johnson (left) made this contact for us, thus beginning the conversion process of a new chapel.

 

 

Dwayne is TFC’s Vice President of Location Development. He also serves as a chaplain at our Grand Rapids and Holland locations and ministers at several truck terminals.

 

 

Dwayne cranking up the dollies.

 

 

Cerwin connecting the airlines and trailer lights.

 

 

Dwayne explaining the paperwork to Cerwin.

 

 

Pulling this trailer to TFC’s Marietta, Pennsylvania, office/shop is an exciting, very early part of transforming it into a chapel.

Special thanks to those who made this happen.

 

~~~

Due to a proposal from a church in our area, this one may go through a new process before being placed in a truck stop. We are excited at what God is doing, and will tell you more about it in a later post.

~~~

 

 

 

The wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure.

Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere.

James 3:17 (GOD’S WORD Translation)