Mitchell, SD - Plankinton, SD

Today we got to sleep in! What a joy to be back to the days of civilian life!

I took a quick shower and then headed to church with Aaron, the pastor's son, who offered to drive us to the 11am service. Along the way we passed the famous Corn Palace, a building that is covered in corn in a very ornate fashion. It was impressive from the glimpse I got but we saw no need to explore it any further.

I was surprised at how large the church was but even more surprised to hear that they had out grown it and were planning to build a new sanctuary. I guess knowing they have 3 services should have been a give away.

During the service I tried to sing but in Marshall I had been a bit too vigorous with a Q-tip and had pushed the ear wax down in such a way that my hearing was almost completely impaired and my joyful noise would have brought great sorrow to the body of believers we worshiped with. We took communion together which I find interesting because on this trip we have attended church all but once, each time with a different denomination and each time partaking in communion. As a Nazarene I'm on overload from all this blood and body but thankfully the blood was not fermented as was the case at the Lutheran service we attended in Conyngham a month ago.

After service and a good deal of fellowship with people who were interested in our journey, we headed to Corona Village which is a Mexican restaurant and not a place where people live in drunken beer induced harmony. It was nice to be able to discuss matters of the church with the pastor and I found myself referring to Desiring The Kingdom by James Smith and A Royal Waste of Time by Marva Dawn...did I actually pay attention during my last semester of college? Thank you Dr. Dunnington!

After loading up on chips, burrito, and conversation, we headed back to the house to get changed and load up the bikes.

I must say that God must be looking out for us and you all must be praying like pros because yet again we stayed with a family who in just a short period of time almost adopted us. I feel like I gained another foster mother and father and a wise older brother and for that I am blessed.

We took our pictures with the family and off we went in search of Walgreens so Jared could buy a new toothbrush to replace the one he left in Sioux Falls and I could get peroxide (per my mother's suggestion) so that I could pour it in my ear in order to look like a complete idiot in public (or to clear it out supposedly). Of course I couldn't justify throwing out most of a bottle that I shelled out a dollar for so I packed it like the pack rat I am.
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