The Journey Begins

Bethany: Hi to all of those we love! The journey to arriving in Grand Forks and been a whirlwind. Saturday, July 23rd I (Bethany) received a phone call for an offer to pack up all the we had and cause even more people to question our sanity. Of course, Michael and I are always up for a challenge so that next Wednesday, after accepting the offer two days after it was given, we boarded a puddle jumper plane to Grand Forks, ND. (I don't think jets are allowed...)

Michael: Upon arrival to Fargo, the people at the airport made an obvious paperwork error and gave us a Dodge Charger for the weekend. It made exploring the city and finding a church and apartment a lot faster! (Note: Bethany had tricked me into allowing her to drive the one hour to Grand Forks prior to seeing our vehicle. I think she somehow knew ahead of time. She also squeeled the tires first...) Did you know North Dakota has a 75mph speed limit? Yeah, it's great. And I don't think they have State Patrolmen on their highways either... Anyway, first off we found a great church. We haven't even been there yet and they have already contacted us four or five times to make sure we are doing okay and feeling welcome.

Bethany: Ok...Mike is off to take some pics for you all to see so I'll take over...
Three days in North Dakota was enough to make us feel at home. We quickly found an apartment: DW, two pools, playground, tennis courts, basketball hoop, volleyball pit, garage and....PLUG INs? Yes, that is right, we have to connect our car to an outlet at night or it will freeze in the 40 below weather this winter. Anway, God set it up- great manager to work with, apartment, church and even a friend I met at the hotel we stayed at (Alyssa). We loved the city and were actually sad that we had to go back and pack. So one week from the offer we were back home and packing up our apartment. We managed to get it all together with the help of our incredible family and friends. Kristen and Paul (sister and bro-in-law) and my nephew Anthony came to help from Milwaukee. Let me tell you, there is nothing like an almost 18mo old "helping". He especially like the vaccuum... "Auntie Beth? Noise?" and the boxes. "Auntie Beth, pack? Help?" As he would remove items from the box and put them on the floor. Many boxes and tears later we were on the road with Mom Peterson and Dan (Mike's brother). We were quite a caravan. Thank God for in-laws as insane as us :)


After a stop off in a skanky motel 6....hair in the blankets and all...we arrived in Grand Forks. After signing the lease, and setting up our electric it was time to unload. Two guys came over from the church (Ministery Joe and Minister Jeremy) and before we knew it all the boxes were in the apartment. Thank God. The church secretary called the next day to check on us and later dropped off a fruit basket. The church is Church of God in Christ due to a course of God arranged events it wasn't an A/G church. Maybe we should take a cue from their hospitality.