Home Again, Home Again … But Not Dancing A Jig :-)

Linda and I have just returned home after an enjoyable weekend of travel and ministry.  Leaving here on Friday afternoon we made our first stop at the home of Chaplain Meyer in Nevada IA.  These folks are quickly becoming good friends and we enjoy spending time with them.  I was quite tickled with our success in getting Rob into the “wireless” set with his computer!  He can now read his morning e-mail in the kitchen with his coffee and toast while Chris “hovers” about.  Kewl!  Cut half his grass with his new John Deere lawn tractor/mower.  Fun!

Saturday afternoon we headed to the Loess hills of Iowa.   Loess is a term that refers to deposits of silt (sediment with particles 2-64 microns in diameter) that have been laid down by wind action (aeolian activity to geologists).  Extensive, thick loess deposits generally formed in areas bordering large, continental glaciers. Large volumes of meltwater flowed from the edges of these glaciers during the summer. This meltwater carried large amounts of sediments that formed as the glacier ground the bedrock over which it moved. Much of this sediment was silt-sized material known as rockflour. During the winter, when the glacier did not melt, the area where the water flowed was primarily dry. The winter winds would pick up the rockflour from these dry areas and carry it long distances in huge dust storms.

When the wind slowed, the silt would fall out and blanket the area. Frequently the resulting loess deposits are several meters thick (tens of feet). Because the source of the silt is the outwash from the glaciers, loess deposits are frequently most extensive and thickest downwind from large river valleys.

Western Iowa has many of these hills and we stayed overnight at the home of Steve and Choya Bielenburg and 12 of their 13 children.  We were fed well and the fellowship was great.  Watching that family in action was a real treat … like watching a many functioned, well oiled machine at work!  Preached at our supporting church in Mapleton.  Went prepared for celebrating Lord’s Table with an appropriate message … but due to a glitch there was no Lord’s Table … preached the message anyway [Jeske’s Law].  Had some of the best sweet corn (Ambrosia) that I have ever tasted and took some back to Meyer’s for supper and more tech stuff on Sunday afternoon.  I’m tired but blessed!