Trip to Fort Smith

We had a great weekend trip to Fort Smith! We headed out Friday afternoon at about 1, with a first stop in Searcy to have dinner with my cousin Jordan. We would have loved to have my cousin Sarah there as well, but she's on Harding's track team, and they were at a meet in Oklahoma. From there we headed south to Stuttgart for the night, staying at Lisa's Aunt Ann's house with her brother Chris (Ann is out of town... are people trying to avoid us?). Saturday morning, which was stunningly beautiful, we got up to head for Fort Smith at a nice leisurely pace. On a whim, we stopped at Toltec Mounds State Park to walk around 1,000-year-old Indian mounds and feed some turtles.

Upon arriving in Fort Smith, we visited the Fort Smith History Museum, which was really well done. Next door to it is the Fort Smith National Historic Site. For those who don't know, Fort Smith was the center of administration for the Indian Territories (now known as Oklahoma) in the days of the Wild West. If you've seen either version of True Grit, that story starts out in Fort Smith.

We were very blessed to be able to have dinner with Shawn Moore from Spokane, WA on Saturday evening. Shawn spend two years in Athens, Greece, where he got to know Hristo and Vania very well. He is the preacher for the Northside Church of Christ, which supports the Arnaudovs and their work. He shared with us his story, and we shared ours with him. It is amazing how God works in the lives of His people!

We stayed Saturday night with Jerry and Meg Canfield, who graciously opened their home to us. Sunday morning, I taught the adult auditorium class at the Westark Church of Christ (with some MC-ing by Chris Benjamin). It was wonderful to see familiar faces again from our summer trip to Sofia! I was blessed to be given the opportunity to preside at the Lord's Table for Westark, as well.

After an amazing lunch at El Rodeo (I've never had molcajete before - fantastic!) with the Benjamin family and Shawn Moore, we headed back on the road. It was a great trip, and we're very thankful the Lord brought us safely through our journey of just over 1,000 miles.