Destination: Northwoods! | the VOICE journal

The adrenaline from the amazing musical was wearing off as we cleaned up and packed our bags. It was a very late night, but an even earlier morning. Aside from a few who accidentally overslept (oops…me included), everyone had their luggage down in the lobby at 3:00 a.m. We were on three separate flights to Chicago. We were thoroughly exhausted, and one of our students almost missed his flight because he was asleep at the gate. Another one came off the plane looking for his backpack, forgetting that he had carried it on and put it in the overhead compartment! That’s what only an hour of sleep will do to you. I was on a later flight, so I was happy to get my last Sonic drink before leaving the good state of Oklahoma.

Jimmy Brown and Ruth Strickler, who were joining us for the Northwoods part of VOICE, met up with us in the baggage claim of O’Hare. The drivers picked up our rental vans, and we soon started our trek to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Wes said it’d take 6-7 hours, but I think it took more like 10. At times my van was buzzing with excitement as we talked and ate Sour Patch kids, granola bars, and chips, but there were definitely extended periods of silence when people were sound asleep. Rest areas, gas stations, and fast food joints broke up the monotony of the van ride. Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was when a monarch butterfly committed suicide by flying into our windshield wiper. It was distressing and I had to block it from sight to prevent my driver from going ballistic. We were all amazed that it was still alive when we freed it at the next stop.

Our drivers showed great endurance, and by God’s grace we arrived safely in the Northwoods around 8:30 p.m. Boy, were we ready to be out of those vans! Dan and Coralie Davis and the Gillson family gave us a warm welcome to the Northwoods Conference Center. After a brief tour of the lodge we had team prayer and then met in the dining room to sing “Happy Birthday” to Henry and eat some ice-cold watermelon. It was a long day, but we are glad to be here, and our staff team is eagerly anticipating what God has in store for this week. Wish you all could see the Northwoods for yourself—it’s incredibly beautiful, and the star-lit sky is breathtaking!