Salt and Birds

We viewed Salt Lake while eating breakfast.  Would you like some salt on your eggs?  Get some right out there.

Morton Salt Factory

JONATHAN:  “Do they WASH the salt?”  Me: “That would dissolve it”  JONATHAN: “You mean our salt has bird pooh on it?”

Stopping to walk about

That's a TALL train

Heading up toward the Rockies

heading toward the Rockies

JONATHAN: “Hey we’re turning.  That’s all.”

“Moon River” (aka Colorado River)

Jonathan watching the Colorado River

Jonathan watching the Colorado River

We had a relaxing and long journey from Chicago to Sacramento.  As often as not, across the country, we were following a river–and we were usually right NEXT to it (looking down directly to water!)  We followed the Colorado River for at least five hours.  The views were spectacular and they are quite different than what we get from the road. When I asked whether the great views of the river or the steep rock cliffs or the long views of the sky were best, JONATHAN said: “The best part was when the river rafters MOONED us.”  He learned a lot on this trip.  Apparently it is standard procedure for the river rafters to moon the train whenever it goes by.  Each one (in different groups even) gave us this standard greeting.  So much so, that it has come to be know by train-riders as ‘Moon River’

Empire Builder Closed

The route from Chicago to Portland (The train route known as the Empire Builder) is closed due to flooding in North Dakota.  Perhaps this is a good omen that the EMPIRE is about to fall.

Anyway–this means a couple stops we had planned are not possible (including Missio Dei in the Twin Cities).  It also means we’ll have many, many hours added to our train ride as we go south through Denver, to Sacramento, then up to Portland.

But we’re rolling with it, and it’s all part of the adventure.  It should be beautiful going through the rockies

Next we're re-routed through the Rockies

REBA Place

We spent a couple nights in Evanston (just north of Chicago) interacting with the many different forms of intentional community expressed here. I have much more to say about this well-established, and wise community, but we’re about to leave Chicago for the next leg of the trip.  Wonderful relationships started here…looking forward to more.

JONATHAN loved the rope swing in one of the backyards, and we went to the OTHER (west) shore of Lake Michigan.

REBA-LAND

We were welcomed with warm hospitality to many of the different arms of community known as the Reba Fellowship.  This group is one of the oldest Protestant Christian Communities (if not THE oldest).   Sally showed us the daughter community known as Living Water Church (and Rogers Park Community of Reba Fellowship).  More on this later.

Place for recycled bikes--one of many ministries here

LivingWater Church

Chicago and the Jesus People

We were welcomed to Chicago by JOBY from Jesus People USA (JPUSA).  A community of about 400 people living with a common purse in uptown Chicago.  Thanks for welcoming us into your community.  Many of them were on their way to host the famous Cornerstone Festival.  Many thanks to Joby for filling us in on the oral history of this famous and long-standing community.  They are really reaching out to the city around them, and I love the humble approach to life (and to themselves) that they take!

More on this later.

Over 400 people live in community here!

Kalamazoo!

What a treat to meet up with Mark and Kristin, whom we started a community house with back in New Haven.  We spent Saturday on the shores of Lake Michigan, catching up with dear, good friends from past community!

Jonathan had a great time being the ‘big kid’ to Grace (4) and Jake (2)

(will write more about our time there later)

Grace and Jonathan in Lake Michigan

Leaving Kalamazoo to Chicago

 

Jesus Radicals

Thursday evening we had dinner with Joanna (currently working for the Mennonites) and Mildred (who worked for the Mennonites for over 40 years).  More inter-generational community–thanks for hosting us!!

And then we hung out talking late into the night with Andy, Nekeisha (who host Jesus Radicals) Josh, Joanna and others about different ways people are trying to radically follow Jesus.  Looking forward to connecting more with these good folks!