Washington DC Day 2 and 3

Still trying to catch up on blogging!!  Here is the rest of our DC trip:

National Zoo

(wonderful but we only allotted 1/2 a day and really could have used a full day)

$22 flat fee for parking but not bad for a group of 8 to visit a zoo

*I left out the snake pictures because Grandma is not a fan but I had to include this one where Little Miss turned around and said "Here is my freaked out face." 

poisonous frog

(there is a lion is on the very top in the background)

Whit House

Arlington Cemetery

JFK 

Did you know that in March of the same year JFK died, he stood at the house pictured above(General Lee lived there BTW) and said he could stay there forever?  Sad.

View from JFK site to Lincoln Memorial

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

*Chills*

Lincoln Memorial

We were really looking forward to this one.

Vietnam Memorial

My oldest brother's Uncle, Joseph Arnold, is on the wall.

We were going to visit the National Holocaust Museum but decided to visit Mount Vernon instead.

We hear that The Holocaust Museum is tragically wonderful but also that you shouldn't try to "squeeze it in".  It is a full day thing.  Plus it deserves the proper amount of time and respect. So hopefully sometime in the future we can get back there to go through it.

Mount Vernon is fairly expensive to visit, but for all there is to do, it's not too bad.

Life size replicas of the Washingtons. George was like 6'4".

Mount Vernon

The view from the back porch of the Potomac

We couldn't take pictures inside of the house, but the kitchen was outside as was customary during those times. So we could take pics of that along with all the other buildings. 

 It is like a little town there. We only spent half the day but could have used a full day for sure. 

The museums are great!

Stables

Sissy and Princess don't have twins.  Bubba just did a panorama and it caught them walking so it looks like there are two of them.

This was really the best part of Mount Vernon-

Washington's Tomb

George is like right there.  Martha on the left and George to the right. Crazy

Actor portraying Washington's Valet

Actor portraying Martha

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

So glad we got there at night when it was lit up

Do you see the man in the suit sitting on a bench toward the right of the pic?

He was there the entire time we were there.  Just sitting there.  Don't know if he knew the person whose bench he was sitting on or not.  Wish I would have asked but I didn't know how to without feeling intrusive.

All of the memorial benches are facing in the same direction toward the pentagon as the plane.

Benches that face away  from the pentagon signify those that were in the pentagon and those benches facing the pentagon represent those in the plane.

Overall we really loved DC and the area! I wish we could have had 4 days but oh well. 

Many Blessings

The Mama

How the Ministry is Going

I wanted to talk about the ministry side of our trip.   Hubby and Sissy are still doing Sunday worship when the opportunity presents itself.

When we arrive at a campground we ask if they have any church services.  Even if they do we ask if they have any worship music with it(often they don't). Then Hubby tells them(manager,front desk,etc) about our trip and the worship music we provide and ask if they could play.

We have had only one place in Massachusetts(Traveler's Woods) were they did not provide a church service and did not want us to do worship music either for whatever reason.

Other places are usually open to it.  If there is already a church service then often the management have to talk with the pastor to see if they would like worship to along with their service.

Most places have no services at all.  The difficult part is always the same: getting the word out.

Generally, RV Parks don't want us going door to door handing out any fliers or anything.  Sometimes we can post an announcement in the office or in the bathrooms. We try to use word of mouth as much as possible but that can be tough.

We figure at the very least campers can hear the worship music through out the campground(via our sound system) even if there aren't a lot of people in attendance.  Some filter in too once they hear it.

It's been about a month since Hubby and Sissy have played though.  This is due to different variables-we are traveling on a Sunday, we are staying at a boondockers house/property, etc.

Now that we are in Florida it seems the majority of RV parks have Sunday Services in place since there are so many long term residence(Snow Birds).

We encountered 1 campground in Pennsylvania(Tohickon Campground) where they already had a regular pastor that came each week.  That ministry is called Church in the Barn.

We enjoyed meeting Pastor Vic and some of the others who attended that Sunday. Vic and his wife came out to visit us at our campsite one evening also.

He brought us apples,donuts and a wonderful sign:

(I have no idea what was going on with my hair that day)

Vic nicknamed our campground ministry: 

One the Road Ministries 

and put some wonderful scripture on our sign.

If you could take a minute to pray blessings over Church in the Barn and Vic and his family that would be wonderful.  If you want to further support Church in the Barn (Quakertown PA)  you can find them on facebook and like them. 

Pastor Vic asked an interesting question while we were visiting-

'How much of your trip is ministry compared to pleasure?'

He was looking for a percentage but the question nagged at me.  Not that he said anything wrong.  It just got me to thinking. 

Are we as Christians ever 'off the clock'?  Do we have a time slot in our week for our pleasures vs what we are called to do in spreading the hope of Jesus Christ?

I realized that there is no difference.  The ministry is never ending.  In everything we say and do and with everyone we meet on our trip and in life we should be continuing our ministry.

I recalled our pastor,Jim, back home giving a message about this and at the time I nodded my head in agreement but the significance didn't fully hit me till that question was posed to me.

And I recall  Pastor Jim saying how no matter where we are, that is our mission field.

That may be at your job, in the grocery store, or traveling around the country. God has put you exactly where he wants you and where he can best use you.

So how much time do we spend doing our ministry?  We strive for 100% but it runs parallel to our pleasures and fun. There is no division.  The lines are blurred. They are one in the same.

It is soooo easy to get caught up in our everyday life, isn't it? We miss seeing those around us.  Everyone is going through something and might need someone to talk to, someone to pray with them, someone to tell them there is hope. We just have to open our eyes and pay attention!

So maybe we won't impact anyone at our worship services but that person we chatted with at Universal might be the reason God sent us on this crazy adventure. 

We will still provide worship to those campgrounds that welcome it but we can't get in the mindset that that is the only time of the week that we are 'on the clock' as Christ followers. 

Many Blessings,

The Mama