The Events of Sunday, August 29, 2010

This morning we enjoyed a great breakfast. Amanda was our hostess, and Pam’s cousin Dan prepared the food. He rode his bike two blocks from his house, perfectly balancing the food on his handle bars. Dan’s wife Jenny and Pam’s Aunt Karen joined us for the meal, but Karen opted to sit at the “kiddie” table, which amused the kids. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage (cooked by Caitlin), melon, coffee cake (courtesy of Karen), orange juice, and (the kids’ favorite) waffles. After breakfast, Ben had just enough time to play chess with Amanda’s husband Matt, while the girls squeezed in some more time playing with the kids.

Then we drove about an hour to Gurnee, where Pam’s Aunt Linda and Uncle John live. They met us at their church, Lakeland Church, for the Sunday service. In fact, Uncle John met us on the parking lot to guide us to an RV-friendly spot. Inside, Aunt Linda had reserved a whole row of chairs for us. Several people from congregation, including the pastor, greeted us warmly as members of the extended Holden family. Worship was refreshing. We seem to be on familiar turf again, with songs and instrumentation much like what we had at home in Elk Grove.

For lunch, Pam’s Uncle John and Aunt Linda took us to one of their favorite restaurants, Rhapsody Café. At church, there had been two announcements about upcoming events that included food. The pastor even commented that “we like our food here.” That got me thinking: what is food’s role in life? Is it merely to nourish our bodies? Is it mainly a context for socializing? One of my favorite movies is a Danish piece called “Babette’s Feast”. The message behind that movie’s simple story is that excellent food can change hearts and lives. We certainly have enjoyed our eating experiences here in the Chicago area. Our hosts have lavished us with gustatory delights at every turn. The pattern clearly testifies that the people here value good food. Perhaps they would agree with Babette’s message.

After lunch, we spent some time napping and resting. It felt good to have an afternoon with no plans. Pam went to Starbucks with her Aunt Linda for some girl time. In the evening, Pam’s cousin Jeremy and his son Jack came over, and we enjoyed getting to know them better. We also hung out with two of the Holdens’ friends from church and exchanged stories of traveling adventures.