Week Five: The Smokey Mountains

Sunday morning we packed everything up and headed a couple of miles to a nearby church.  

To our surprise - and my delight - we were told that this week was their once-in-a-blue-moon missions conference, and several of their missionaries were speaking in the classrooms before the sermon.  It was really a treat to be able to listen to stories and testimonies from the mission field, especially from a young couple working in Germany.  As a bonus, we even got a piece of German chocolate! The missionary preaching the sermon was fairly long winded, and we ended up leaving the church much later than planned.  It was certainly a special Sunday morning, though!

After church, we drove a few hours to a campground in the Smokey Mountains.  The area was beautiful, and quite accurately described by its title.  Right behind our campsite was a creek where the younger ones spent the majority of their time.  One of our favorite activities at the campsite was riding circular tubes down the creek.  It was a lot of fun!

Monday was my 18th birthday, and I awoke to a festively decorated RV to help celebrate.  The weather forecasted for the day threw our birthday plans a bit for a loop, but with a bit of rearranging it all worked out in the end.  We went out to a cute little coffee shop in the afternoon with the family, and Mom, David and I went into Cherokee, NC in the evening to watch the drama Unto These Hills.  

The next morning I went with Dad and Bethany to go horseback riding up a little trail in the mountains.  Poor Bethany.  She was so scared of the horse at first, and cried pitifully.  In the end she loved it, and said she wished she "could keep riding for six more hours!"  

Week 4.5 ~ Greenville, SC

With Dreher Island as my favorite campground thus far, Greenville, SC has to be my favorite town yet. As a junior, I went with Trinity to Greenville on a college visit to Bob Jones University.  Memories from that trip are some of my favorite from my Trinity years.  There were only seven students going, prompting the leadership to forego the roomy bus for the church van for the rather long trek. Turns out we sacrificed little by doing so, finding the lively conversations, games and funny stories prompted by us being so close far outweighing any former notion of personal space. The college itself was nice enough, and the classes were extremely insightful. Many Biblical thoughts and insights still stick with me from classes and a chapel service we attended.  The memories made on the trip will be with me for a long while yet.

This time around it was Brandon's turn to experience BJU with Trinity for a basketball camp held there.  I have to admit I was rather jealous - several days at college with a school so dear to my heart? Never mind that I never cared a thing for basketball and the students attending were all younger boys, Trinity + BJU simply equaled me wishing I could be there. 

But of course I couldn't so I went with Brandon to check in, asked him to FaceTime me at some point (he didn't), and left with the family for the campground.

The campsite was a far cry from our old spot on the lake, and the paved space for the RV was so bumpy with under-grown roots grown that the two front wheels of the RV stood nearly a foot of the ground when the RV was leveled! However, the spot served its purpose and we were out in the city for much of our time in Greenville.

One plus of the campground was that the sweetest cat lived there. I'm far from a cat person - I honestly rather dislike them - but this cat was the sweetest, and a great buddy for the week!

 Sometimes RV life means you grill several meals a week - rain or shine!

The campground also had a rather historical pond from the mid 1900's that seemed to be a popular gathering place for families, friends and groups.  There was a nice little trail around the pond and under a little waterfall made by the dam.

Enjoying the city was certainly my favorite part of our time there, however, and it didn't take long for downtown Greenville to have me under its charm.  Little stores, restaurants and coffee shops lined the streets as people walked along the sidewalks chatting.  The area was nicely kept, growing, and seemed absolutely ideal for small business to thrive.  I was charmed!   It reminded me a bit of Washington DC with its many attractions such museums, historical monuments, theaters and such, though it was much less crowded. The younger kids even got to go to children's museum which they really enjoyed.  

A great highlight of our time there was getting to have coffee with an old friend of mine I haven't seen for years. It was nice getting to catch up with her and hear what her future plans are. Last time we saw each other was the summer between our 8th and 9th grade year.  We've gone from little girls heading into high school to young women ready for college.  Time has gone quickly. 

Another plus of visiting Greenville was being able to accomplish a few steps toward getting my Bulgarian visa. Very exciting! 

Week Four ~ Dreher Island, SC

Dreher Island has been my favorite stop on our RV route so far!

Our campsite backed right onto a lake very similar to the one Gandy and Pop live on in Virginia.  It really felt we were back at their lake, and should be able to simply turn a corner to have the lake house with all the cousins come into view.  The lake setting made us miss them, but it was a happy sort of missing them, and we really enjoyed our time on the Island. We did a lot of kayaking, swimming, exploring, fishing and generally just enjoyed the beauty of the area. 

Sunday morning we attended a cute little Baptist church near the campsite.  Sunday mornings are always like Christmas to me - we never know what we're going to get, but it's always something good. Since we're never in one place long enough to go to the same church twice, every Sunday has been very unique and sweet in its own way.  As we pulled into the church parking lot, we noticed an unusually abundant number of occupied handicapped parking spaces, though few cars were parked elsewhere.  As we entered the church, feeling rather like the new kid on the block, nearly everyone of the sweet elderly congregation came to greet us and shake the seven pairs of hands belonging to my family.  After being thoroughly greeted, I counted the congregation out of the corner of my eye.  Our family alone made up a full third of it!  Sundays have been such a gift from God to me, and this one, though a bit of a different atmosphere, was another such gift.  As we got in the car to leave afterward, I scrutinized the sign and was disappointed to see that there was no evening service listed.

Early in the week, Mom and I paddled out in kayaks to the middle of the lake and had a long, honest talk about the challenges, joys and struggles of RV living.  Though a gift and blessing, the challenges of all of us being so close for so long certainly are very present.  After both being quite real with each other, it has felt like much of the weight and strain that was there before has been lifted.  Directly communicating what my attitudes or actions have been hinting at has been a game changer for me and allowed me to really begin embracing our new normal.  It tangibly brings out the truth of Mark 4:22 when it says: "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open."  It's so amazing how God's word is always proven true, even through unexpected ways.