Eugene, Oregon - New Friends

We woke up this morning in yet another glorious Wal-Mart Parking lot = ). I think its great because my parents have learned to text. I get the sweetest “Good morning I love you” or “I hope you have a great day” text from my mother. From my father I get text like this one that I received today: “Someone asked me where my daughters live and I said I have one that lives in Florida, one lives in Tennessee, and one that lives at Wal-mart” I literally laughed out loud! He thinks he is so funny =) I know dad, I make you so proud! = )
Anyway, after we got cleaned up and I boiled some water for coffee in the Wal-Mart parking lot, we headed to find the Saturday Market and a Seventh-Day-Adventist church. We found the market quite easily, but it was still early and not to much was set up so we went in search of a church. We wanted to attend a church service and had hopes that there would be a Potluck with lots of good food. = ) The search for the church was much more difficult then the search for the market. This will sound strange, but I felt like all these challenges to find the church were being put there to try to keep us from going, but something bigger was telling me to just keep trying and it would be worth it. We finally found the church, but we were early for the service. I went up to a woman and a man in the parking lot and told them that we were on the road, and did not have proper church attire, but wondered if it would be ok if we attended the service. The lovely older woman simply said, “yes, you just come as you are”. So we decided to head back to the market to look around a bit as we waited on the service. We passed booths with pie’s, soaps, clothing, jewelry, and so much more. There was so much to see, so we decided to come back after church. We arrived at church and were quickly greeted by several members., but Della was the first to really stop and talk to us about who we were and what brought us to church. She told us of her past travels, and of looking for churches along the way (and potlucks = ). She told us they were having a potluck that day, and invited us to join after the service. We went in and sat down to listen to the service. The pastor spoke about the power of prayer and all that is possible through prayer. After the service we went upstairs where we stuffed ourselves with delicious food and where we met Namita. We had sat down by ourselves at a table, and she came and sat right next to us and started to talking to us. She made us feel so welcome and had a smile that lit up the whole room! We all shared stories about travels, career paths, where we were from, and more. We want to Thank You Namita for your smile and your company! You have a beautiful energy and we wish you success and happiness in whatever roads you choose. Della also came up to us again and invited us to a bike ride later that day, dinner at her place, and a place to park the van to sleep the night if we needed it. I got her number and told her I would call when I knew our plans more definitely.
We then headed to the market where we saw so many more booths with beautiful and unique art, we walked through the farmers market section sampling fruits, oils, vegetables, etc. But my personal favorite was and area in the middle of the market place. A place where the street performers, hippies, grunge-skaters, etc came together to create a high energy area. Also many came to admire this unique cultural melting pot, but some came to poke fun at or judge. When we first arrived there was a small drum circle in the middle, but the longer we sat there the larger the drum circle grew, the more instruments that were added, and the stronger the energy of the place became. People of all ages were here, children, teens, all the way to “Original/Authentic Hippies” = ) It was such a neat place to be!
As the market closed we gave Della a call and ended up meeting her, her husband Don, and other church members for the bike ride. Even met a man named Steve that rode with a Christian Motorcycle gang. Sandy was not feeling well so she took a nap and I joined the group of church members on the bike ride along a trail that ran right next to a beautiful lake! Della and I rode next to each other, talking about life, God, and the paths we have taken to get where we each are now. At one point she stopped to pick up a small snake for me and the kids to see. After the bike ride we were invited back to Della and her Don’s home for dinner and a good rest. There at their home, other church members gathered, and we had a fantastic meal featuring Della’s homemade bread, fresh picked tomato’s, homemade vegetarian patties, homemade pie, and another woman had made homemade brownies. It was a feast that we took full advantage of. After dinner there was guitar playing, singing, and great conversation. After everyone went home we continued to talk with Della and Don about their travels and they let us do our laundry! Clean clothes!!! So needed = )
Ok, so this Blog is getting long as many of mine do…I just must say Thank You to all of the new friends we met today. Thank you for taking us in and making us feel so welcomed. “What you have done unto the least of them…” A very special thank you goes out to Della and Don! Your kindness is so very appreciated! Keep up your good works, know that they do not go unnoticed, and know that with each kindness you are changing the world! Goodnight all….we love you very much!