Texas Trip

Howdy! So, you know, I had big plans to do an epic post, with tons of pictures and tons of words and stuff. But then I started editing pictures, and I ended up with 98 ones that I liked.And suddenly I didn't want to upload them all to blogger and write about them. So here's what I'm doing. I'm putting the link to my fb album RIGHT HERE and then I will write a big long post that tells the story. So you get the pictures and you get the words, just not in the same spot.

We left last Wednesday, at about 6 am. We had packed up, made lists, made food, and basically gotten details ironed out before we left, so we loaded ourselves up, set Garmin westward, and headed off. Josh and Katrina were really excited about seeing "the mountains of the west" but of course they were a long way off. We were headed out to MO to pick up Rachel, and as we had made our travel plans, we assumed we would need to stop a night between here and there. But, we forgot one detail: central time. We had thought about it in connection to other things, just not with travel time. So, we made it all the way out there by Wednesday night, spent the night, and the packed and left by 8 am the next morning. Then we drove all the way to Big Sandy, Texas.

It was about an 8 hour drive, so with stops, it was maybe 5 when we got there. We drove through OK (sadly did not see any tumbleweeds), and then finally into Texas. We passed a lot of cattle ranches, slept on and off, and played some games. But finally! we arrived. And in typical Erika fashion, I got bit by an ant minutes after arriving at the conference. The first thing we did was find our primitive campsite. Now, a little background story first:I really, really wanted to see a cactus in Texas. Like, I really, really wanted to. So it was so cool when we finally selected our campsite, pulled up, hopped out, and practically stepped on a cactus. It was just sitting there, waiting for me to come and adopt it. And it was the only cactus I saw the whole time. I planted it in a pot and I'm hoping it adapts well :)

We finished registering at the convention center, and set up our campsite. My mom, Josh, and Katrina slept in a tent, and Annetta, Rachel, and I folded down the back bench seat in our van and slept in the back hatch/trunk. Yes, we fit. But barely :P

That evening, they had an opening session which we attended. Then we trekked back to our campsite, slew some of the monster spiders in the bathroom, realized it was futile, switched shower stalls to a less populated one, and then went to bed. (Yeah...Texas has daddy long leg spiders almost as big as my hand. They are creepy and awful and they like the bathroom and I hate every single one of them). In the fb album, you will note some interesting pictures that we took before falling asleep.

The next morning, we awoke and heard the melodic sound of wind whipping around and the air was freezing and the sky was gray. Clearly, our first thought was, "what in the world will we wear?? what did we bring that is warm??" That was a common theme. I ended up wearing two pairs of jeans, socks and shoes, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a short sleeve shirt, and a hoodie on Saturday...that's how cold it was. But it was adventurous and we survived.

Friday morning we attended the conference sessions. I think they were basically all group sessions. They had some special music groups and then speaking. After that, it was lunch time! So all we had to do was stroll down to the dining hall, get food, eat it, and then stroll back up to our next session. However, we did not know where the dining hall was. And it started raining lightly as we walked. We finally found it, went through the line, and sat down and ate. It was really good, too. Then we hiked back to the next session. My mom took the kids to a Bible story hour, while Rachel, Annetta, and I listened to Shalom Brand (one of the Pearls daughters) speak on Preparing to be His Helpmeet, which is one of the books No Greater Joy has written and sells. It was interesting, and while I am not wholeheartedly endorsing it, I really liked it. After that, my mom and the kids joined us for another session led by Mrs. Pearl and Shalom on homeschooling and stuff.

Once that let out, we had about an hour to spare before supper, so we headed to the area where the dining hall, gym, and rock wall climbing are. We hung out there, then had supper, and then there were a few more sessions.

Now, during one of the afternoon sessions, Mrs. Pearl informed the audience that this was a Shindig the likes of which was trying to get singles to meet each other and then, like, get married. But we singles needed a helpful boost in the meeting each other arena, so she had an idea that she was going to share later that evening. So after the last evening session, she told us all that the next day, she was organizing basically a speed dating event, where the guys and girls lined up facing each other and had one minute to talk. Then the guys would move down one, talk, move down another, and so on until they had met every girl. And that was happening the next day. But that evening, Shoshanna announced that she was organizing some games for the singles ages 15 and up. Ever played Musical Chairs with seriously 100 to 150 teenagers? It's a blast. So is Duck Duck Goose, played with perhaps 50 teenagers. One holds one's breath (figuratively speaking) and prays that one does not get run over. Rachel, Annetta, and I partook in these activities til about 10:30, at which point we walked back to the campsite. Then we froze through another night.

Saturday morning dawned with BLUE SKY! It was windy and chilly, but there was SUNSHINE. Again, we had breakfast at our site, had some main sessions, then had lunch. After lunch, Annetta, Josh, and I went rock wall climbing (pics of that in the album too). Then, my mom took Josh and Katrina and the Garmin to Longview to pick up Stephen from his college (LeTourneau University) to bring him back for the rest of the day. Rachel, Annetta, and I went to another session in the interim.

When they got back, we went canoeing on the lake (pics from that in album), and then had supper. After supper, we went back to a conference session, listened to Josh and Kelsie Steele tell their love story, walked around, talked, ate cheese and clementines and candy, sat down a bit, and then it was time to take Stephen back to campus. Annetta, Rachel, and I drove him back, and because it was open dorm time, we were allowed to (gasp) go into the boys' dorm and (GASP) into his room! We had to wait before going in because someone in his room needed to put a shirt on (don't you love colleges like that?), but we got to go in and meet Stephen's roommate and a couple other guys. Then we drove back to the conference.

The next morning, we packed up in the frigid coldness, ate breakfast in the frigid coldness, had the adventure of moving our borrowed picnic table back to its original space, hopped into our church clothes (when I packed that skirt and shirt, I was not thinking that it would be so cold down there...), and drove to the church where Stephen attends when he's at college. It was a nice service. The pastor talked about circumstances and used Paul's life as an illustration. After that, we had lunch at Sonic, because I've been wanting a strawberry shake ever since I had one 2 and a half years ago when Jess and I went to TN to campaign for our friends! So I got a strawberry shake and it was delicious.

We got to tour LeTourneau after lunch, and then we we left! We made it almost through Arkansas before we had to stop for the night...then we drove all day Monday, and had to stop again...and then we finally got home Tuesday around noon!

It was such a fun trip. I know that we'll remember it forever :)