The Big Peach

Last weekend, after our visit to North Greenville, we decided to spend a few days in Atlanta.  One of our friends that we worked with in Nigeria is now living there, and our volunteer teacher from those days lives a few hours away.  We all met up in the big city and had a great weekend catching up with one another.  It's amazing what kind of bond forms between people who share the kind of community that we shared with our experiences in Nigeria.  Even though we're at very different stages of life, we consider them dear friends and always to look forward to time together.

Some of the highlights of our weekend included a visit to MLK's childhood home, which is a great National Park site.  

Playing around in the visitor's center

 Posing in front of an MLK mural

Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK grew up

Dr. King's tomb

MLK's childhood home on Auburn Street.  We didn't get to go inside because the tours for the day were full, but we still enjoyed the other park options.

After our visit to Auburn Street, we enjoyed lunch at the classic Varsity restaurant.  Actually, I can't say that it was one of my favorites.  The lines were crazy, as was the seating and service.  The food was so-so.  But, I will say the experience was one of a kind and I'm glad we got to try it.

In the evenings we enjoyed making meals together.  I made a silly assumption that our single friend would own a cheese grater.  My mistake meant we had a few laughs "grating cheese" with a knife.  Truth be told, we ended up eating more than we put on our tacos, but we all appreciated the fact that the cheese was plentiful enough to just eat freely.  Africa will do that for you.

On Sunday, we enjoyed worship at Passion City Church.  We were surprised when the music started and the worship leader for the day was Matt Redmon.  That was a fun surprise, as he's a favorite among several in our family.

After church, we headed over to Stone Mountain where we enjoyed a wet afternoon tubing in the rain. The positive side of being soggy and wet is that there were no lines.   As fast as we can get from the bottom of the hill to the top, we could ride again.  We had a fun time, even if it took us a while to dry out.

No lines, no crowds!

Riding the conveyor belt back up to the top.  See General Jackson behind the girls?

Fun was had by all!

Monday morning, we visited a large Atlanta church which operates a missionary care center.  It was a bit like a nice thrift shop, except that all of the items were free.  We had a great time and we were blessed by all kinds of goodies from clothing to kitchen goods to accessories like backpacks and purses.  It was a great experience and we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity we met there.  We did look a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies as we pulled away with a van which was very, very full of our suitcases + all of our new stuff.

Poor Ryan, he didn't get to join in all of the fun.  He is trying to finish up an education requirement which must be completed before we can return to Africa.  He is taking two classes, which last for 8 weeks.  He had two papers due last Sunday night, so he spend about 1/3 of his time in Atlanta sequestered in the hotel with a laptop.  We are very thankful that he is nearly 1/2 way through.  We will ALL be thankful when he is finished in 4 more weeks.  Your prayers are appreciated as he pushes through.