Greetings from Sunny San Antonio!

It is the third day of our journey and we are rolling like the blazing storm of Iowan thunder we are into the heart of Texas. It has been a cramped and jostled drive, but we have kept our spirits up, laughed off our roadblocks, and preserved what's left of Eric's sanity.

We kicked off at approximately 4 PM on Friday afternoon after loading the van, praying, taking pictures, and saying our goodbyes. After a brief pit stop at Dan Deery's to fortify the van's tires against the very full load riding on them, we set off on the highway. Dinner was at Subway ("Crab- it's like soft candy fish!" - Joel) and before we knew it we were in Kansas City. That night we slept soundly in the youth room of the lovely bluffside Parkville Presbyterian Church, after playing sardines with the lights off, war-painting ourselves, and developing an irrational fear of organist's shoes.

We set off bright and early Saturday morning, ate breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts (exotic!), and settled in for our longest driving day. As the Kansas landscape grew monotonous we occupied ourselves with sleep, reading, movies, and the occasional tickle fight.

We took our luncheon at an exceedingly sketchy Oklahoma City Taco Bell, charmingly situated between two strip clubs and apparently run by the Russian mob. The tacos, at least, we're palatable. Eric the Fresno boy chalked it up to a "life experience" and attempted to convince us that his own upbringing was this rough. We're not buying it.

We crossed the border into the Lone Star state, and soon found ourselves in the fair city of Fort Worth, where Eric restored our faith in his gourmet sensibilities by taking us to an In-N-Out Burger. Delicious.

We then went to find our lodging for the night, and we were beyond thrilled to discover that St. Stephen's Presbyterian, the church in which we were to stay, looked exactly like Hogwarts. We dropped off our things, and then a few of us went to clean the van and pick up some supplies. In the process, Connor and I found a pretty fantastic deal on popcorn tops at Walgreen's. It was too good to pass up. Photos by special request only, please.

We returned, washed our hair family-style in the sink, and then went exploring. We discovered an underground tunnel that led to the sanctuary building, which was without a doubt haunted. We adventured around looking for a way into the bell tower until a marauding bat loose in the sanctuary cut short our plans. We then watched Harry Potter 7 in the church theatre (yes, Hogwarts has a theatre, although it may have been the Room of Requirement) until it was time for bed. At long last, we took our slumber in the Great Hall, on mattresses from the church's homeless ministry. A peaceful night was had by all.

We all hope you're holding down the fort in Iowa. Thanks for your support and prayers!

The CHCPC Mission Team (post by Jake)