Mackinaw Island: Day 2

We spent Wednesday on Mackinaw Island itself. We took the 9:00 boat to the island, and crossed again to Mackinaw City just before dinner. We sat on the roof of the ferry boat, and the wind was frigid! It was interesting.. I had never been on a cold vacation before, but around noon I was ready to take off my sweatshirt.

Two Arnold ferries ready to board passengers and cross Lake Huron to Mackinaw Island

Here I am faking a decent smile! (Meanwhile, miserably cold!)

Dad and Mom, both dressed in Colts blue!

Approaching the island (notice lighthouse)

The Mackinaw Island southern harbor

On the island, we did a few different things. We took a carriage tour through town and through Mackinaw State Park, then back through town. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth the dollars! We wouldn't have seen half of it if we decided to go only by foot or bike, and we wouldn't have known what anything was! It was hard to know what was inhabited by Mackinaw citizens, or what was a tourist spot, but despite the crowds of vacationers, it was clear the citizens live the simple life that I love! Absolutely no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island (with exception of emergency vehicles), mail is delivered only 3 times weekly and must be picked up at the post office, and no franchises are permitted to move to the island.

Bike rentals!

Getting toward the edge of town. If I remember, these 2 carriages are taxis.

The first carriage we took through downtown.

Rock candy!

The arch rock in Mackinaw State Park

A view of the coast below

Mackinaw Island is very sacred land for Native Americans; these woods are full of legends!

Little Stone Church

to be continued as we spend the afternoon at The Grand Hotel..

Makinaw Island: Day 1

I title this post 1 because I predict I will probably have a couple vacation posts. Not nearly as many as Keetha, but potentially more than 1 or 2!
Tuesday morning I left with Jessie and our parents and we drove to Mackinaw City, Michigan. It was about a 6.5-7 hour drive, and with the exception of lunch and 1 rest stop, I slept every minute between our driveway and our hotel! It was wonderful.
We arrived shortly before dinner, and enjoyed our 1st meal at Dixie Saloon. My sister was really bothered by the carvings in the table, because the creavices would be too difficult to sanitize. I agreed to an extent (especially when we saw a family being seated at a table that hadn't been wiped after the last family,) but I wasn't going to completely avoid touching the dinner table!


After our meal we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge to the Upper Peninsula; it is 5 miles long, and supposedly the 3rd largest bridge in the world. Lake Huron was beautiful, and I absolutely love being on the water! We found a beautiful lookout area where I climbed a mound of large rocks, put my toes in the cold water, and sat on a bench gazing my eyes across the horizon, and a long, colorful flower garden. While our parents enjoyed a written history of the bridge in a small shelter nearby, Jessie and I enjoyed the scenery and took lots of pictures.
Later that evening, we enjoyed a round of mini-golf. (A MUST on a Reed family vacation.) It was called Animal Tracks Adventure Golf and each hole had animal tracks to be identified. While I would assume bear tracks, rabbit tracks, moose tracks, and duck tracks look nothing alike, the word bank was no help at all! HA.

Enjoy the pictures and look forward to another post about our adventures on day 2!

THIS is vacation!

I loved how the rocks just off shore cut up the water!

I would have loved to watch the sun set over the water, but nonetheless, the view was gorgeous!

I like how this turned out, considering it was 1 of the few NOT posed!

I really like this one of Jessie!

These jumping pictures are really "my thing"

Our family picture taken by a friendly fellow tourist

This beautiful flower bed extended the whole area; there were dozens of colors and dozens of flower varieties

How we spend our days..

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

— Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

*Picture taken at dusk, Wesleyan Bible Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 2009

Today, I splurged...

Yes, I splurged on calories.

On my way to work, I stopped at Starbucks. It's been 3.5+ weeks since I have had a good coffee. My choice:: Grande White Chocolate Mocha, double shot with cream. Then for lunch, instead of the usual raw veggies or delightful Lean Cuisine microwavable dinner, I had a ham & cheese hot pocket.
Also, I have only been to the gym ONCE this week.

I'm bad.
I know.
I'll be better next week.. I promise!

Mozambique & The Unusual Things Blog

If I haven't already mentioned it, I'm going to Mozambique next May, co-leading an IWU team with my advisor, Steve Pettis. It should be a good time.. and I'm getting excited for the new experience. Earlier today I was researching Mozambique on Google, specifically the coastal cities of Xai Xai and Maputo, where we will be doing all our ministry. I tried finding anything really about our missionaries, the Emmanuel Evangelical Wesleyan Bible College in Xai-Xai, or the Wesleyan outreach center in Maputo - I found nothing on the matter, but I did find this blog: Unusual Things, which is very interesting. In the entry "Top 25 Dirtiest Cities in the World" I discovered that Maputo is number 23.
Located on the Indian Ocean, the Eastern African country of Mozambique suffers from lack of sanitation processes--specifically the lack of a solid waste removal system as well as sewage treatment. The capital city of Maputo feels the worst of these consequences. Piles of garbage line the streets, and the sewage in the river is visibly thick.

I did find these pictures of Maputo on wikimedia:

Urgent prayer request from Cambodia!

I know this isn't the usual entertaining blog post, but I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to catch your eye (even if it is few eyes!) to share with you this urgent prayer request that I received from my missionary host in Cambodia. A little history: I spent almost 2 weeks at the Bible college this last summer, and more time last summer. The students there have grown very close to my heart, and I have a deep deep respect for Pastor Greg and Resie. I hate to see this happening, and I fear that this could close the WBI and cease it's ministry of training Cambodian Christian leaders.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM CAMBODIA

“The Prayer of a Righteous Person is Powerful & Effective”

Dear Partners and Friends

Wesleyan Bible Institute (WBI) is facing an urgent crisis where legal counsel is indispensable should the assailant pursue their threat to sue the school because of its stand against immoral act among its constituencies. We cannot disclose the problem in detail for security reasons but please pray that those Christian parents appealing for lawsuit against the school’s leadership will change their mind for Christ’s name sake and His Kingdom. While we are ready to go to jail if necessary, appearing in court taints the name of Jesus and His church when the litigators are fellow believers within the Wesleyan Church. We talked to them today and tried to persuade them not to continue the lawsuit but talk it over amicably. Our attempt resulted in vain; they are serious in taking the matter to the court. Your prayers can change the situation for His glory.

Under His Wings,

Greg, Resie, Aleeyah, and Esher

“Together, WE Can Accomplish the Impossible”

The Bible college::

Rice fields behind the WBI

The Wesleyan Bible Insititute in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; building completed in January 2009

A beautiful sunset over the property

Me and the wonderful ladies of the WBI

Students and staff at the WBI during our Friday fellowship, my 1st evening in Phnom Penh

HERE is a link to the only semi-frequently updated blog of the Wesleyan Bible Institute.

Sad day in the neighborhood...

So I just realized that this blog was never officially posted, but has remained a draft for almost 2 weeks. So finally here it is!

My family has a huge 75-year-old maple tree in the middle of our front yard, and today when I return home from work, the tree will be gone forever. Our house and yard will never look the same. The tree holds many great childhood memories; memories of climbing its mighty branches with the neighbor kids or the cousins, memories of a lemonade stand in its shade, and memories of raking its many leaves, only to scatter them again by jumping in the piles (and make Dad angry! Hey, we raked them anyways!) It's a sad day. Our city has decided that the tree has grown too large, and is too invasive of the electrical lines. At least they aren't charging us for the tree's removal...

BEFORE:

And 3 days later:: (Yes, it took the city 3 days of work to cut down our tree)

A week later, our tree still remains a shoulder-high stump in the middle of our front yard. Not only does it look dumb, but everyday it is a sad reminder that that the beautiful tree is now gone forever. When will the city crew finish their job?!

July 25th update..

I apologize for a slow week of blogging! I did have a semi-full weekend of activities! Friday was my day off and it was wonderful. I slept until 9:30 and went to the gym at 10. I'm used to going alone (or with Mom) at 7:30, so it was different to go with my sister and have her push me on machines I'm not used to! My routine is to run 3.5 or 4.5 miles, and then I'm done. Jessie runs less, and does more machines. Most of the afternoon I worked on a video that I've been creating to send to my friends in Cambodia. I went swimming in my own pool.. for the first time all summer!! Friday night I met some wonderful ladies at church and we scrapbook'd until after midnight. I only got 3 spreads done in 6 hours, but I did have alot of fun and I'm now motivated to scrapbook more this week. My intentions are to have it completed before the Ford family reunion in mid-August. It appears far away, but considering I have 200+ pictures and could spend 1 hour on 1 or 2 pages.. I need to keep focused! Speaking of motivation, this afternoon I cleaned my entire bedroom! That required unpacking from college and unpacking from IWU, neither of which I had done. I also realized why I feel like I have been re-wearing the same old clothes. I hadn't unpacked my suitcase from camp either, and all my clean laundry was sitting in a hamper in the corner of my room. haha!