Here I am back in Iowa, but not on vacation this time. We were at District Assembly in Austin when we received word that Jackie’s step father (he and her mom married 11 years ago) had passed away. It was not totally unexpected, after all, Ward was 97 years of age.

We left Assembly and drove 860 miles up I35 to Iowa to be here with her mom and to attend the funeral which took place today.

Ward pastored in this community for around 60 years, and the service took place in the Free Methodist Church where he pastored for decades. It was standing room only in the church, with the sanctuary filled to overflowing and the basemen filled with people listening on the speaker.

Jackie’s mom is handling it okay, although she is not well herself.

So we are back in Iowa tonight, enjoying the cool evening and reflecting on the event of the day.