STAS part 2

*for info on the very un-creative title, scroll down to see "part 1"*

Our big trip while we were in the States took us 5,000mi through like 10 states (and that's midwestern states, not itty bitty NE states! :) ).  I won't include tons of pics from everywhere we went, but here are a few of the highlights:

First, we headed up to Minnesota to see Steve's grandma and church that sent out his family.  

 After several rousing games of rumikub with Grandma, we headed West to South Dakota to see some of our great country on our way to our next stops.  First we saw the Badlands: absolutely amazing!!

 From the Badlands, we headed to Mt Rushmore and got the stock photo there.

 Next was Custer State Park, complete with wild burros.

 We drove around for hours, hoping to see some buffalo, but it wasn't till we had left the park and were headed south that we finally found some.  They were actually in the process of crossing the road (read: hanging out in the road), so we sat for about 20 mins in a buffalo crossing traffic jam. Living in Manila, we've sat in countless traffic jam, but this one was actually enjoyable. :)

 Next stop: Nebraska to see some dear friends from our Bible School days.  The adults had some great talks while the kids enjoyed their farm vehicles and wide open spaces.

 Kansas was next on the route, and we SO enjoyed reconnecting with our church family there.  We were spoiled rotten by our hosts, and we felt very loved and supported.  It is so good to know that people are so faithfully standing behind us like they are!

Here's a pic of us sharing at that church.  We spoke every Sunday we were back, often a couple times in a day.  The kids shared in our presentation too, and they did a great job!  Just like on the field, we are so thankful to have them on our team for STAS.

Something else we did as we traveled from place to place is toured college campuses.  Mikayla only has 2 years of high school left, and she won't be back in the States until she is starting college, so this was her only chance to see schools before she makes her decision.

 Our next stop was in Texas to see Steve's other grandma.  We had a wonderful time catching up with her as well, and Mikayla had fun doing some quilting and craft work with Steve's aunt there.

 Our last stop was in Arkansas to see some old friends from the Philippines.  These boys used to be all around the same size...not anymore!

And that concluded our tour of the Midwest!  It was a crazy trip, but we had a lot of fun and were blessed to reconnect with a lot of loved ones.  God is good!