Back on the Streets

Monday June 18th was our first day back at work. The things that happen when you turn your back - or take a three week vacation. Two employees resigned and are already gone. Two employees who had resigned are back. Keys for the ministry van went missing. Another employee gave birth to a beautiful 11 lb 3 oz baby girl. Apparently clients missed us, they were asking for "big Ed and his woman". At least they didn't ask for "big Trudy and her man". We got lots of hugs, lots of reminders that what we do is appreciated. It is good to be back. Our first day was somewhat hectic but at least for now, until God calls us somewhere else, this is where we belong.

Matthew 25:38-40
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Vacation 2007 [part 5]

The Final Chapter

June 6 We took the kids to Storybook Island. It's a wonderful, free park in Rapid City operated by one of the service clubs (I can't remember which one for sure) running entirely on donations. The boys had a fantastic time there. Afterwards we had a picnic in the park until a thunderstorm started. There were tornado warnings that night!

No, I didn't take this picture. I found it on the Internet and liked it so much I couldn't resist.

That night we said our goodbyes and in the morning we left Rapid City. We drove through South Dakota & Wyoming, making a stop at Garyowen in Montana at a museum of Custer's Last Stand.

They had a lot of wonderful displays and a 40 minute video that considered if the story would have had a different ending if Major Reno and Captain Benteen had not hated Custer so much and had gone to his aid.

We spent the night in Billings Montana. The next day we headed out and drove straight through, arriving home at 2:30 AM on June 9th. We were exhausted and worn out but we had an exceptionally great time.

Vacation 2007 [part 4]

June 3rd Old McDonald's Farm

We took a 2 hour driving tour through Bear Country. As well as bears there were elk, riendeer, wolves, big horn sheep, dall sheep, Rocky Mtn. goats and buffalo. There were Texas gates to keep the animals separated but we did see wolves in with the bears. It was interesting to see the bears try to chase the wolves away from their food and then watch the wolves slink back.


On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Fort Hays, the set for "Dances With Wolves". I'm standing in Kevin Costner's footsteps where he got his orders to go to the frontier. Ed is trying out a casket for size.

June 4th We took a trip through the Black Hills on the 1880 Train. The scenery was breathtaking. Apparently the Black Hills were originally reserved strictly for the natives. There weren't supposed to be any white people at all. Then gold was discovered and all bets were off.

June 5th We spent the day at Circle B Ranch where we had a bar-b-que and there was a country music concert in the evening.

Vacation 2007 [part 3]

On June 2 we visited Flintstones Bedrock City. The Flintstones have always been a favorite of Rob's and Bedrock City was a major consideration when they were choosing a vacation destination.

Check out Ed's new ride. "Look out Sturgis. Here I come."

When we had our fill of The Flintstones and the Rubbles, we headed for Mount Rushmore.

Then Rob, Michelle and I decided we wanted to take a helicopter ride. Ed wasn't interested in going up if they wouldn't let him do the flying so he stayed with Zach & Ian.








We flew over the site of the Crazy Horse Memorial. The picture in the background shows the current extent of the construction. The picture in the foreground shows what it should look like on completion. The Mount Rushmore sculptures took 14 years. In contrast, The Crazy Horse Monument was begun in 1948 and it is estimated that it will take another 50-75 years. This picture was taken from Wikkipedia. You can go to their site for more information or to the Crazy Horse Memorial Site.

Vacation 2007 [part 2]

On May 31, the third day of our vacation we arrived in Yellowstone National Park. There were herds of buffalo not 5 feet from the highway that were not fenced in and we saw a grizzly bear but it was too far away to get a picture. We crossed the Great Divide - altitude 8390 feet - and lots of snow. We saw Old Faithful as well as several smaller geysers. Old Faithful erupts on an average of about every 90 minutes but we only had to wait about 40 minutes to see it. We also saw Fountain Paint Pot. The minerals in the ground makes swirls of different colors that give the natural phenomenon it's name. Mud Volcano is a fascinating sight; apparently in the 1880's the mud actually shot out of the ground like a geyser until it finally literally blew itself apart. It still bubbles and boils.

We stayed in Cody Wyoming that night. The next day - June 1 - we drove straight through to Rapid City, South Dakota where we met up with Rob, Michelle, Zach and Ian about 7:30 PM. We spent the evening in the hotel pool.

Edwin A Madge

We came home from our vacation to the sad news that on Saturday June 9 at about 6:00 AM Ed's dad died in the Royal Alexandra Hospital just short of his 87 th birthday after a lengthy illness. He never totally recovered from a broken hip last summer. He leaves a wife of 56 years and 7 children, 20 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren, 2 brothers and a sister.










This picture was taken in 2005 [all Edwins]
The baby is the 6th Edwin Madge

Vacation 2007 [part 1]

We're baaaack! We left Tuesday, May 29. The 1st little kink in our trip had happened a couple of days before we left. Ed had taken the car to Midas Muffler for an oil change and tune up. They told us that we needed $3000.00 worth of work and the car was a road hazard. It seems that whenever we go to them that is the diagnosis. We didn't believe them. We drove over 5000 km on pretty rough terrain [up and down a lot of mountains - that still had snow - and over a lot of road construction] and did not have a single mechanical problem, not even a flat tire. This picture was taken in Wyoming on June 1st.

We spent the 1st night in Lethbridge and tried to cross the border at Coutts on May 30th. That's when we ran into our 2nd kink. We were aware that you don't need a passport yet when you're driving to the US, only ID unless you are flying. Unfortunately Mr. Ed lost his birth certificate years ago and never replaced it. The border guard asked for our drivers licences and birth certificates. When Ed told him he didn't have a birth certificate he got really snarky. He told us to get out of the car and go into the building, where he questioned Ed about if he has ever had a criminal record. Being honest, Ed admitted that he did from over 30 years ago and that he has a pardon. He was grilled for some time. It really didn't look like he was going to let us in. I was literally praying the whole time and suddenly the border guard just stopped and said "Oh. Go ahead." We got out of there real fast before he could change his mind. [on the way back the Canadian border guard was very surprised that he had let us through] Oh the power of prayer! Thank you God!!! We spent the 2nd night in Bozeman Montana.