To Chicago!...via Eau Claire...

Our trip has begun!  I'm writing this from gate M13 at the international terminal of Chicago's O'Hare airport, exactly where I expected to be at this time.  How we arrived here is another story, however.  Just hours before we were scheduled to hop on our charter bus for the trip from Belgrade, MN to the Minneapolis/St Paul airport, we found out that our flight from Minneapolis to Chicago had been cancelled.  Our travel company tried to get us on another flight, but to no avail.  Plan C became, "What if we rode the bus all the way?"  We had about 8 hours to make it and Google maps was saying it would take us 7 and a half.  Our brave bus driver barely flinched when she showed up and several members of our group greeted her with, "Can you take us to Chicago?"  She is most certainly the hero of our trip so far!

So instead of finding ourselves at the Minneapolis airport, boarding an American Airlines flight, this was the sight that greeted us in the middle of the afternoon as we made our one stop for food:

That would be the lovely McDonald's in Eau Claire, Wisconsin just off of I-94.  We had to laugh when we saw a sign inside that said "All Bus Service Cancelled."  Apparently it also serves as a Greyhound bus station.  Pastor Wiese joked, "It's a good thing we're not a bus...we're a plane!"  

Back on the road, it wasn't long before we were enjoying the rolling hills of Wisconsin and watching the sun set on an absolutely frigid evening:

It also wasn't long before a friendly game of "500" had been set up in the back of the bus:

I told you these Minnesotans are hardy (and hearty!)  Making the best of the situation, keeping a smile on our faces, and all the while trusting that somehow things will work out and we'll get where we need to go.  So far, so good!  We're relieved to be this far, but our travels have really just begun!  We hope to begin boarding soon for our long flight to Jordan.  Stay tuned.  Thanks for your prayers and thanks be to God for bus drivers!

+PBK