Zoe, Silas, and Chase chillin' on the Chilton Couch
We have just returned from our road trip to the Midwest! What a great time! Here’s a recap:
Thursday: We were on the road to Toledo, Ohio for the ARC Conference! We were on the quest for Starbucks on Route 80 through PA…. sadly, we didn’t come across many. Somehow we managed. We arrived in Toledo in the early evening and went for a dip in the Hilton Hotel pool. Have you ever slept in a Hilton Hotel bed? It’s pure heaven.
Friday: A Panera’s breakfast with our one and only, “Aunt Mare” along with Kevin and Angela Houk. Thanks for breakfast, Aunt Mare! We love you, Houks! Then we were off to the conference. It was great seeing all of our ol’ ARC friends as well as make some new friends too. It was a wonderful time to reconnect and hear what is happening with the various churches… in Poland (Mission Conference Center), Brazil (AIR), Boston (The Church Meets in Beverly), Seattle and Denver (Scum of the Earth Church)…
Saturday: We were off to Detroit to see our dear friends and mentors, Chilly and Netta Chilton and their fabulous five (Mariah, Courtney, Zoe, Max, and Chase). We had an amazing time catching up. It was like eight years had never passed between us. It was good to be on their green leather couch again, drinking tea and talking ‘life’.
Sunday: On Sunday morning we attend the church that Chilly and Netta planted in Midtown Detroit: Real Church! It was awesome to worship with such a lively and genuine group of folks who really are seeking Jesus for Detroit! So cool! What a blessing it was to have Real Church pray for us! We ended our time with the Chilton’s with some Chinese food for lunch after church, which use to be our tradition eight years ago. After church, we use to head to the Chilton’s home for Chinese food almost every Sunday! It was really fun to see our kids play together (it was first time the Chilton’s met Silas and Olive). The picture above is of Zoe, Silas and Chase cuddled up the couch watching a kid’s show together. We didn’t want to leave! There were some (happy) tears shed as we said our good-byes but we know we will be seeing them in Belfast soon.
The Chilton Family!
*Chilly was the one who introduced us to Belfast. He took us on our first mission trip there in March 2001.
On Sunday evening, we drove to Elyria, OH to gather with a group of folks from Harvest Christian Church. Mark and Ginger Widener graciously opened their home so that we could share our heart for Belfast with our friends from Harvest. We were so blessed to see so many come out to hear our story! There was sweet time of prayer that closed the evening! Our hearts were encouraged! We felt privileged to be in the company of such caring believers. Silas and Olive had such a fun time playing in the big toy room. Silas had so much that he up-chucked most of his dinner onto their nice carpet five minutes before we left. A BIG thank-you goes out to Mark for cleaning that mess up for us…
Monday: On Sunday evening, we had a big sleepover at Nelson and Melissa Juarez’ house. They live in the middle of nowhere, Ohio but the house and property are so beautiful. They even let us sleep in their bed and they took the couches! So hospitable! Nelson and Melissa are close friends of ours who we have developed a friendship with over the past few years. Melissa accompanied Noelle to Belfast this past February. They are sweet couple with a deep heart for Jesus. We are excited to see what is in store for their future as the press on to seek His will!
Monday morning, we all went out for breakfast at Bob Evans where we were waited on by our friend, Stephen Wacker. He tried to be sneaky and take care of our bill but we beat him to the punch…
Lots of laughs and lots of fun with Melissa and Nelson as usual. A big thank you goes out to Melissa who made a delicious Salmon dinner for us and who didn’t throw us out when Troy broke a valuable gift that Nelson brought back from Brazil for Melissa- we love you guys!
Troy and Nelson
We headed for Columbus, Monday evening, to meet with a graduated student from our youth ministry : Josh Harris! It was wonderful to catch up with him and hear about his life at Denison University. We look forward to him coming home to Jersey it two weeks. We will miss you, Josh! Come visit us in Belfast!
Josh!
After some lovely Chipotle with Josh (Chipotle is awesome, by the way)… we headed to a nearby Holiday Inn to chill out with the family before our long drive home Tuesday. We were so blessed by all the prayers, encouragement , and friendships that we experienced during our road trip. It was a wonderful time! Thank YOU!
Because Jesus IS Love,
da’ Rhodes
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