On December 9th I embarked on my journey. I had arranged to live for ten days at The Hermitage retreat center near Three Rivers, MI. On the way to The Hermitage I stopped in Kalamazoo to visit Marion Palmer, a dear friend of ours. Marion invited me to attend the worship service at North Presbyterian Church in downtown K-Z where she is a member. The congregation there is very special. Many of the members have unique and challenging needs. I felt the presence of the Spirit in very tangible ways.
Most of my time at The Hermitage was in silence, solitude and stillness. There were interludes for daily community worship and optional spiritual direction. This retreat center is informally associated with the Mennonite tradition. David and Naomi Wenger have been the co-directors for eleven years.
Another interlude to my silent retreat was spending a most enjoyable day with Dan Kragt, M.D. and his staff in northern Indiana. Dan is the son of Hazel Kragt of First Presbyterian Church of Grand Haven. When Dan learned that I had an interest in learning more about the Amish people, he invited me to his clinic which serves mostly Amish families near Goshen, Indiana.
I intend to describe my experiences at North Presbyterian Church, at The Hermitage and at Dan's clinic in greater detail in future posts on this blog.
From Dec 18 through Dec 27 I was with son David, his wife Cindy and their two teen age daughters, Hannah and Rachael. Hannah is in 11th grade at Ankeny High School and Rachel is a freshman at Central College in Pella, Iowa. They are such fine and mature young women. It was good to be with them. They introduced me to several board games. Much fun! The family often is a foster family to animals from the local humane society. Luna, a rabbit, currently resides with them.
I am now visiting daughter Susan and her family in Commerce City, Colorado. I left the morning of Dec 27 from Ankeny, Iowa hoping to drive one-half way to Susie's home. However snow started to lightly fall late morning so I played it safe and stayed at a motel in Minden, Iowa). On Jan 3 I will fly to Haiti to visit Tom and his family. Tom is arranging for Jean Rony, a long-time employee of Faith In Action Int. and me to live in a mountainous community so that we will be able to observe and record with camera and pen the life of families that FIAI serves.
Upon returning to Denver on January 28 I will drive to the southwest to visit sanctuaries, relatives and friends as well as to camp in the desert. My final trip plans are to be in Santa Fe, NM for a conference sponsored by the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring Franciscan priest Richard Rohr and psychotherapist Dr. James Finley--two of my 'heroes'.
May you have a most blessed and joyous 2013.
Love,
Larry
The Braak family in Ankeny, Iowa. From left to right: Hannah, David, Rachel and Cindy. 
Rachel, Hannah and Cindy making cookies 
The Hermitage retreat center near Three Rivers, MI where I stayed for ten days.
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