September 25, 2017
Our Dear Friends and Family,
We are in Pennsylvania for the long weekend! Pennsylvania is SO lovely. I’ve always thought that Revolutionary War films were strategically filmed in lovely, rolling landscapes and dramatized by the morning fog, but this countryside is gorgeous. Living in a place with natural beauty is like having amazing background music to your life; it’s something you don’t miss until it’s gone. The beauty of Pennsylvania has filled us, and we have been made to feel so at home.
Much of this sensation of home has come from staying with the Weaver family— whom we have come to call our friends. They are the family that gave Annie the outstanding bike to ride, their daughter, Katie, (Anna and Megan’s friend from Pensacola) is the one that connected us with the GBS college in Cincinnati, and now they and their church are hosting us. They have a very nice RV for hosting, and when we arrived they had three kinds of cookies on the table and the fridge stocked.
The Weavers have led extraordinary lives; they worked with the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, where they partnered with other missionaries in running a school. When they left, they held legal guardianship of five native children and brought them to Ohio to raise them. They are in the business of building monumental, large scope structures, while also engaging in the art of hospitality. Their family and church are philanthropically kind and they know how to have fun as well as anyone I’ve ever met. The Weavers white water raft in class 5 rapids, play about every sport American culture has to offer, climb, and ski. Fun is from God, and they know how to have it. They also have so much love for one another.
Saturday, their friends, Matt and Emma Fisher hosted a youth gathering at their lovely home: they had a huge bonfire, and everyone played games from volleyball to croquet. There is such a sense of community and love that we weren’t sure whose kids were whose that first night.
Anna, Megan and I spoke at their evening service, Sunday, and we were very impressed with their hearts for the pro-life movement. Pastor Weaver gave one of the best pro-life messages we’ve ever heard, and everyone down to the littlest children seemed excited about the cause.
Today, we were invited to visit their friend Benji Holderbaum’s store. He surprised Annie with a biking jacket and shirt, a bike light, and new tires and tubes for the bike. It was so sweet! It was also just a fun experience; I love being around outdoors gear; it feels like adventures yet to be had.
Our cups are very full. Anna is a little unwell in terms of the flu, but we are getting very close to finishing the biking. We are not anxious for this season to be over, but we are grateful, so grateful for God making this journey possible. Solomon says that the end of a things is better than the beginning. I really begin to understand this saying.
All our love,
Sarah-Marie Hoduski
& The Project If Life Team