I recently returned from a weeklong vacation to Sweden, April 20-28. Although it was a bit tiring at times, it was a great experience. It was awesome to see my friends at LifeStyleTV — the Nybos, Pedleys, and Ramonts — as well as my friend Ellen in Stockholm. And I also made some new friends whom I hope to see again some day.
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This news goes back a couple weeks, but I thought I ought to bring everyone up to speed on the happenings here.
First, my hopeful prediction on February 3 that we might be nearing the end of winter weather turned out to be grimly mistaken. In the several days leading up to 2/11, we had warnings that a severe winter storm was afoot. Nevertheless, the morning of that day wasn’t too bad. I started to see snow and a bit of sleet coming down on the way home for lunch. Still, I was somewhat surprised to be caught at home after lunch, when I learned that 3ABN was closing due to badly deteriorating road conditions.
I spent December 19-23 at the Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have attended each year since the first one, and as usual GYC was very good.
I arranged my own hotel through Priceline this year, and that saved me a little money (it was $60/night). The hotel I got was the Hyatt, right next to the convention center, and one of the main hotels other GYC attendees were using. My room was nice, with a king size bed, and a nice 15th-story view of downtown Minneapolis. For some reason the thermostat was a little flaky, and the wireless internet ($10 extra per night) was very poor — worse than dial-up. But I had a comfortable place to rest, and everything else worked well. Nothing I couldn’t live with.
I had a great time outdoors with friends at Bell Smith Springs state park, about an hour from 3ABN.
On the descent: April, Adam, Gabriela, Jason, Eva, and Ashley:
The colors of autumn seem to be quite vivid this year at 3ABN. Below are a couple photos I took recently, and a very short a simple video.
Bradford pears along the entrance way to 3ABN:
