Fall Break 2011: We returned on Saturday from a week-long trip to Minot, North Dakota (October 16-22). The main part of the city was hit hard by the flooding of the Souris River back in June 2011. You know it's bad when they have their own Wikipedia article HERE.
My Bethany pal Sarah and I drove to ND and paired up with Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), an incredible organization that matches volunteers to projects needing completion. I'm pretty sure I've never worked harder in my life - I still can't open my water bottle or turn a doorknob without wincing. And there is so much more to be done in the city itself. SO much more. God's work. Our hands. Our really, really sore hands. The hours of work gave me lots of prayer time, lots of think time. Time well spent.
My Bethany pal Sarah and I drove to ND and paired up with Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), an incredible organization that matches volunteers to projects needing completion. I'm pretty sure I've never worked harder in my life - I still can't open my water bottle or turn a doorknob without wincing. And there is so much more to be done in the city itself. SO much more. God's work. Our hands. Our really, really sore hands. The hours of work gave me lots of prayer time, lots of think time. Time well spent.
Be sure to click on "Older Posts" at the very bottom of this webpage or on the Minot posts along the left side of the blog to read the entire story!
Emma and Madeline helped me pick outboots for the clean-up. BIG boots.
My friends know me well. A care package before I departed.I kept eating and eating and eating each day to keep my blood sugars up.
Mother of Pearl. 45 degrees. Oy.
Ah, the sun is up. Much better.
Lumpy, bumpy Wyoming.
Um...where's the road? UP. Down. UP. Down.
Biddle!? Really? This was the ONLY indication that we had crossed state lines and were actually IN Montana. Seriously, people, put up a simple sign. Just say hello. (Note: I later learned that the road signs are excellent targets for local shot-gun enthusiasts, and are often shot to pieces. Then replaced. Then shot to pieces. Repeat. Lovely.) 
Ooooh, don't go that way. BAD route.
Another sign we MIGHT be in Montana.
What the what?! We're LEAVING Montana?Well, hello North Dakota! We love your BIG, green sign!
Two new states for me in one day - such simple pleasures
Water. Color. Land. Horizon. Cross. Life is good.
WHOA! I'm still not entirely sure why there are fires anywhere NEAR an oil rig, but we saw TONS of these giant, flaming pipes. And near the ground, too. Very creepy.
MINOT! It's finally on the map! BOOYA!
Whoa...little town: We stayed with the good people of Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenburn, ND. Pastor Heather and her husband, Dave, greeted us as we quickly munched a late dinner at Wendy's, and lead us 25 miles or so past the Minot Air Force Base to the middle of nowhere.
Yikes. 35 degrees and 841 miles later. Oof-da.
Who do we find on the wall of the church but Pastor Andrea (the pastor on the far left with 2 crosses)! She was Ruth Ann's Bishop years ago and has visited Bethany on multiple occasions on behalf of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative! Small world!Be sure to click on "Older Posts" at the very bottom of this webpage or on the Minot posts along the left side of the blog to read the entire story!
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