After we left Kansas City we headed toward St Louis and on the way we had the opportunity to connect with some of Debie’s family. We hadn’t seen them in a little over 30 years and it was fun to just around a table getting caught up and sharing our stories. It was an awesome time.
Next we took in the St. Louis Arch. Now when you’re 20 miles away from this steel arch, and you can see it, you know it’s big… but when you’re standing under it, staring 600 feet up, it’s amazing, architecturally speaking, that something that sleek and smooth in texture and design, can be so enormous. You can see why it’s one of the 7 wonders of the modern world. Reading all the history and actually being there was very inspiring. It made me (Rob) want to build something.
How many of you have been to, or heard of, Valparaiso, Indiana? Us either. This small town about an hour outside of Chicago came alive with rich history when Tamara Tanner gave me (Debie) a walking tour. Gene and Tamra Tanner, our hosts for the week, pastor the Valparaiso Nazarene Church. They are doing some really innovative things in worship and are in the middle of building a new worship center. We were so encouraged by their ministry. We’ve picked up insights at every church so far.
While we were there we launched out and went to Amish country. It was quite amazing seeing horses pulling the plows through the fields and the little horse drawn buggies. We couldn’t help but think of the shooting at the Amish school a few months ago, and how redemptive they were in their response. We were reminded that all our advancements haven’t necessarily given us the most important things in life. We also enjoyed an Amish buggy ride tour.
We walked the campus of the University of Notre Dame. WOW! It’s pretty interesting to see what a few billion dollars can do for you. We saw “Touch Down Jesus”… I’m not sure that was what they intended, but that’s what football fans the world over call him. We peeked through the locked fences of the football stadium. We heard a few minutes of a graduation concert in the cathedral, and were so impressed with the beauty and grandeur of this enormous campus built a little over 150 years ago.
We spent a day in Chicago. We took the train into the city. We were glad we did it, and have sympathy for those who have to do it every day. The city was truly remarkable… the history, the architecture, the pizza. It was all fantastic.
Yesterday, we worshipped with the Tanners at Valparaiso in the morning and at Mars Hill where Rob Bell pastors in the evening. Both services were a blessing. In the morning they were casting vision for their new building and in the evening, experiencing a baptism, similar to ours in format.
Well, we’re off to enjoy Michigan. Have a great day, and thanks for looking in on us.
We miss you all.
Rob and Debie
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3 comments:
Wow!! I had to look up the Gateway Arch on Wikipedia. You can ride to the top of that thing!!
The interior of the Arch is hollow and contains a unique transport system leading to an observation deck at the top. - Wikipedia
What???? You mean you actually PEEKED THROUGH the fence instead of climbing over? Where's your spirit of adventure? Or is it taller than the Riverlakes fence?
I've seen the arch several times, but always at a distance. That's wonderful that you've gotten to see it up close.
Thanks for the great blog entries & photos. We miss you but are glad you are having such a good time.
We stayed in the hotel right across from the arch for NYC this last summer. But, there were always 10,000 students trying to go up it tat the same time, so I never made it up!
Jason
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