We’re here! We are officially temporary Detroit residents. We are in the city, next to Hope House and less than a block from church. It’s wonderful! Hot, humid, lots of bugs, but hey, we are finally here.
Typical for this year, we had one more delay in OH. Low power mode on the truck again so another stay in an unplanned campground for a few days so it could recover. It seems to handle about 200 miles and then it says, “enough”.
Time for a new truck.
Archbold OH, where we landed, has a unique facility, Sauder Village Campground and Hotel. It’s a large, historic village, with multiple venues for groups to gather. The historic village has a town, train, craftsman shops and even a working gristmill. The grounds are located in the middle of what seems to be a prosperous farming area. The corn is getting high! Beautiful country with wonderfully cool temps for the first 2 days. And of course it wouldn’t be complete without,
A quilt store!
While Bruce worked on Tuesday I shopped, I even rode my new trike from our camping space to the store.
I love this thing! It gets me further than I can walk, is comfortable, fun and I don’t fear falling, (plus the color is cool). The fear of falling is real people! I know many women, (older than me) are riding 2 wheel bikes all the time. After the fall I took 2 years ago, and living with RV stairs that are tricky, falling has become a real issue for me. So…a trike it is. It’s presented Bruce with a conundrum. The bike rack that holds a 2 and a 3 wheel bike together, was outside of his financial comfort zone. So he bought a rack that only held the 3 wheeler, and we brought his bike inside the RV when we moved. He continues to surprise me when it comes to where his monetary threshold of pain is.
Whatever the case, I’m so grateful for wheels I’ll let him deal with their transport, minus the comments.
Other than shopping in the quilt store we didn’t explore much at the campground. Bruce needed to work and we waited for the truck to recover, so we could make it to Detroit without incident. And it finally happened! We’ve planned this for so long, and had so many interruptions that we began to wonder if it would ever come about.
As we drove into Detroit, people on the street watched with curiosity and puzzlement as we made our way through the neighborhood. A 42 ft 5th wheel isn’t a usual sight! When we found the lot that was prepared, it took a bit of maneuvering to reach the cement pad. Bruce drove up the sidewalk, across some grass and back under the trees where it waited for us. Our electrical box was close, all perfectly arranged, permitted, and ready to go. Unfortunately the main switch hadn’t been turned on, and when Bruce plugged us in – no power! Our friend Gary (creator of the cement pad, power box and owner of the lot) came to check on us and between them they managed to flip the main switch.
Next was the water hookup. Anyone remember how long it used to take for hot water to reach the shower? I think we used to say that it was coming from Alaska. We’re almost in that kind of situation here. We already had a couple of hoses, but it took 3 more to reach the spigot. And the plan is to leave them here so we don’t have to haul them everywhere, next year we’ll need them again. Yes, we’re already talking about next year…
Saturday saw us attending ‘Camp in the City’ an annual event, linking several organizations, bringing fun, food and friends together in the neighborhood. It was wonderful to reconnect with the people we’ve been meeting over the last 3 years. Many have followed our journey, and that face to face connection meant the world. Being known, and knowing others in the Kingdom is something that can’t ever be faked or duplicated. There’s an eternal quality to it that reaches deep in our souls.
https://fb.watch/B7c-mOshD4/?fs=e
Church yesterday, again saw more face to face time. And we’ll spend time again Wednesday with the Hope House group at their weekly meeting. Our welcome back to Detroit is exceeding our imaginations and we are so grateful.
Belonging…it’s what we all need isn’t it?
So as we settle in and find ways to serve, we’re excited and relieved to finally be where we’ve planned to be. After all the interruptions, along with the fire and all its upheaval, it’s wonderful to be in a place of belonging and care. There is nothing quite like it.
Let the truck shopping begin!
PS…Benji has a long lead and a big yard to run around in too!
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