Edgerton, MN

So we arrived Wednesday afternoon at Sleepy Hollow Campground in Oxford, IA. Like Grandpa's Farm the previous night, we hit the jackpot. Wonderful, friendly family-run place, owned by the Gingerich family; a Mennonite family. The "plain folk" moved that far west, but not much farther, they said. (My initial phone conversation there gave rise to some thoughts on calling I will try to write on my regular blog.)
We arrived in 90 degree heat, went swimming, grilled burgers over the fire pit, then went for soft-serve ice-cream--then went to bed. At about 4 am--major thunderstorms. Then--a very, very cool day today, as we headed out to Edgerton, MN, population 1030.
Dennis and Rose Kroll live in Edgerton. We served together in China 20 years ago, from 1990-1995. Am having a wonderful visit here.
Iowa and Minnesota (all that we traveled today) is very flat. There are no trees except the groves that mark a farm; every farm has trees planted to its north and west, as wind and possibly snow breaks, I take it. You go down the highway (I-380 N to US 20 W to I-90 W) and never see a town, really. Farms, and lots of giant windmills along the way.
Edgerton is a town of about 1000 inhabitants, where there are five churches: 2 CRC's (that's Christian Reformed Church for those who don't know--Dutch Reformed), an RCA, a PCUSA, and a Protestant Reformed. Recently an Evangelical Free Church plant has come into being. There are two Christian schools, one K-8 and one high school, with 120 students in the high school. All that to say, it is a thoroughly "Christianized" and even "Reformized" small town. Dennis gave us the tour: "up town" are two grocery stores (one also has a drug store), a hardware store, and--very importantly--a real live bakery. Yes, a bakery such as we haven't even located back in Berks County. It is a very different culture here--and conversation with Dennis bears this out. So glad we stopped in to see them--even though Rose left town this morning on a business-related trip. So glad to reconnect with an old friend, who was part of a community we had in China such as I have not found anywhere else ever since. More about that perhaps on my regular blog at a later time.
I also hope to get some pictures up here soon. I know you will be much more interested in them than you are in words...