North Dakota

Certainly our storms cannot compare to that in the Philippines, but i must share our experiences in North Dakota. "Why not Minot?" is a slogan here. The answer is "freezin' is the reason." It is seriously cold! It is subzero temperatures with wind chills diiping into the -20's or so. Right now we are having wind gusts so hard I'm afraid our house will blow down! We got ready to go to church this morning and our van wouldn't start. We have a block heater ( a must here) so that our gasoline won't gel, but we think the cold outdid our battery. Luckily we had a nice neighbor friend who made double trips so get us there. The little black Mazda Ben got from Mom and Dad won't work either. The clutch won't work. We're not sure if it is frozen, or if it just popped and needs to be fixed. The same neighbor friends have been kind enough to lend us an old beat up truck, so that at least Ben can get a new battery (hopefully that is the problem) and use it for work temporarily. Anyhow, does anyone want to come visit North Dakota! It is adventurous! We are still alive and happy however. The boys are as cute as ever and would love to see anyone that wishes to come our way. We are sad we couldn't be there for Rachel's blessing, but thought of the Dave Benge family all the while. That is the hardest thing about being so far away. We miss being there with all of you. We love y'all.