Gone Till November.... well, September.

Hey all!

I'm traveling the western states for the summer in an attempt to spread musical devotionals, empower youth, and explore the Teachings of the Baha'i Faith with others.

My friend Anya and I left Chicago on Wednesday, May 28th. We've driven through IL, IA, KS, CO, and now we're in Phoenix, AZ (well, Tempe, really) where we plan to stay for at least 5 days. We're meeting up here with some other Baha'i musicians - Gustaff Besungu, and Ali Youssefi (and his sister, whose name I don't know). Hopefully we'll be able to offer some soul stirring musical devotionals and concerts that attract and move hearts closer to the Beloved.

Here's a brief little update I wrote when we were on the road:

Day 1

Evanston, IL to Rockford, IL

Family time! Anya and I got to spend some real quality time with my grandma, mom, dad, and practically -family friend Tricia. We needed to go to Rockford to switch cars with my mom… my amazing mother, who GAVE us her brand new car to take for the summer. The car is a beautiful, blue 2008 Honda Civic EX. We’ve named her “The Blue Beauty, Jr.”. She’s the predecessor to Anya’s parents Toyota Highlander (the original Blue Beauty) which we were able to take the this year’s NEBY fest in Connecticut. Anya and I are quite aware of how lucky we are to have such supportive parents. We love them. A lot.

Day 2

Rockford, IL to Overland Park, KS (just outside Kansas City, MO)

We were on the road from 11:30am until 10:30pm. We had a good day! Iowa was really beautiful. At one point we were surrounded on three sides by massive lightening strikes. Quite the show! Lots of cattle – which made Anya very happy, because she loves calves… and there were lots of them.
    At one point in Iowa, I saw a sign for “Mitchellville”. Well, this deserved attention because Anya’s last name is Mitchell. I asked her if she wanted to check it out. She said she did, so I pulled off the Interstate, and headed toward to the little town. We stopped in at the public library to use the bathroom. I had a nice little chat with the librarian. Learned a bit about Mitchellville (a town of a few hundred, I’m guessing), and we were on our way. On our way back to the Interstate, we saw an old historic church with a large sign explaining the history of Mitchellville. We read a bit more, learned that Thomas Mitchell, for whom the town was named, was a pretty awesome guy who, in the mid-1800s voluntarily fed and housed pioneers heading west, stood up for the rights of America Indians, and hid runaway slaves. Alright, Thomas!
    We finally made it to our stop in Overland Park. We were lucky enough to be taken in for the night by Erin Jamison and her mother Julie. We know Erin through Andrew Johnson, a friend of ours who used to live in Chicago, and who is now her fiancé. One word for Overland Park - Hospitality! Thank you guys! We were treated to breakfast, and then devotions and great conversation at the Johnson family home. Food for the body and soul☺. Then mamma Johnson (Kathy) hooked us up for the next two nights with places to stay in Hayes, KS (where we are head at this moment), and Durango, CO. We were expecting to camp until we got to Phoenix (our current destination)… but it looks like we won’t need to. Thanks, Kathy!

Day 3

Overland Park, KS to hopefully Hayes, KS.
So far today, we’ve learned that KS looks a LOT like my favorite state – South Dakota. Well, parts of KS look like parts of SD. And we like those parts. We just passed a huge field of giant wind combines. Those things freak me out a bit. It’s 7:44pm on Fri, May 31st and we hope to be in Hayes within the hour. More later!

Signing out,
Jessica 

Comments

[Heather]

Booyah for updates on the trip as you guys go! Also, I originally read your sign-off as 'Singing out' which would have been equally fitting. :-)

Prayers for continued safe travels and successful teaching opportunities headed your way!

[Andrew]

Awesome!! So excited that you'll be updating us all on your travels and adventures! Also, really happy that you guys got to stay with (and meet!) Erin. :D

[Anna]

Woo hoo for awesome travels!! - And for you people! And for musical devotionals and working with youth! And for Ali's sister being named Nassim! ;)

[Necia]

People should read this.