On the way home

There's really not a lot to tell about the last 24 hours...mostly because we've spent it all on the road.

We grabbed breakfast at Chick-Fil-A yesterday morning and left El Paso around 10a.m.  We were in Texas until after 9p.m.  This group has declared that they have bladders of steel and the staff believes them.  We've been pulling 4 hours drives in the car without a break!  They're doing great and aside from really long stops for meals (not our fault, the restaurants we've been going to have not done well with large groups), we're making great time.  We're already 3 - 3.5 hours ahead of last year's schedule.

Either food poisoning or the stomach flu went through a few students over the past 36 hours.  Dakota and Brooke started it with chills and aches and then it moved onto Kelsey about 12:30a and Kevin L. around 9a.  They have all been quarantined to our minivan (the ugly duckling) and Brandon has bravely been the student who chose to ride with them.  They slept most of the day and night and everyone seems to be doing better this morning!

Van 1 has dubbed themselves as the "fun van" and have made several music videos on Cassie S's phone and posted them on Facebook.  Van 2 is the quarantine van and Van 3 is the "chill van".  Van 3 has played games with sticky notes on foreheads, Monopoly Deal and Phase 10 as well as plenty of naps.

We're Caseyville, Missouri eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel before possibly heading to City Museum in St. Louis.  It's a jungle gym for adults essentially and we had a great time there last year! There's a St. Patty's Day parade going through downtown however, so we're trying to figure out the logistics.

Everyone is doing well.  We're all ready to be home and out of the vans (they seem to be shrinking with each hour on the road), but it's less than 10 hours from here to get home (not counting food and bathroom stops) for FSU.  MTU has about 13-14 hours to go.  

It's been a long week, but really, really good.  We're impressed with the depth of character that we're seeing in our students, their willingness to serve wherever we are and their flexibility and ability to adjust when plans change on the fly.

Thank you for your prayers. We love you!