½ Tank #7

We refueled in a little town a little ways out from Cody, WY. The gas station we stopped at had a brand new puppy, a dog who looked to be on it’s last legs, watery hot chocolate, and kind attendants whose daughter Hannah was mistaken for by another customer.

From Cody we headed back south about 30 minutes to a tiny ranch outside of Meeteetsie. That’s where our residence for the night was: a YWAM post called “Cowboys With a Mission.” We met Laura first, who was just returning from the stables and whose outfit was complete with spurred cowboy boots. So awesome. She showed us to our bunks (literally the upper beds of two bunks) and the bathrooms, then led us back to the kitchen area where we met Jill and Ruth, both of whom chatted with us while we ate dinner. Then we went back to our beds where we tried to kill time because we felt pathetic going to bed at 8:30 p.m. I eventually passed out around 10:30, as soon as I climbed up to the bed. At some point I had talked to Hannah after receiving a text, but I don’t remember what I, or the text, said. Oh, and another random detail: waiting for us on our beds were little baskets of goodies, including mugs, waters, poptarts, fruit snacks, rice krispy treats, and granola bars. We thought that was super kind and considerate of them.

The next morning we woke up around 8 p.m. to one of the girls telling someone that there was snow on the ground. We checked out the blinds and sure enough, it was snowing very lightly. Hannah was excited. Me, not so much. It was beautiful, and actually not too cold, but I just don’t like the snow after the past few years in Bellingham. We gathered our things, said goodbye, then headed off toward Cody to try to find a good looking church to attend. We drove around until it became too late to attend a 10:30 a.m. service and finally settled on a Methodist church even though neither of us really knew what that entailed.

A few minutes into the service I had already received a few “signs” (a reference to a crossword puzzle clue from the day before and mention of living “life to the fullest,” something that resounded with me several months before) that I was supposed to be there. Hannah on the other hand didn’t think she had the patience for the slow moving sermon, so she left to have some quiet time at a coffee shop. Maybe a minute after she departed, the pastor asked if there were any new visitors there. I was of course to shy to say anything, but the couple in front of me stood and introduced themselves as being from Seattle, Wash. I got really excited and started planning how I would approach them after the service. The sermon ended up being a very traditional one because apparently it was world communion day, so it was definitely a different experience for me. The pastor talked a bit about communion allowing us to become a new kind of human as we rededicate our lives to God. That was interesting, too, because it related a lot to a conversation Hannah and I had that morning on the way to Cody. Hannah mentioned that she hadn’t really been letting God lead the trip thus far, and we began talking about what we hoped to have happen during these adventures. After the service I met a greeter and the Washingtonian couple, who were actually from Port Orchard but they round up to Seattle because that’s the only place most people have heard of. I chatted with the couple on the way out of the church, we parted ways, then I grabbed my camera from the car so I could take a picture of the sanctuary because I thought it was pretty. Then I began the chilly walk to the coffee place Hannah and I were going to meet at, but when I finally arrived, she wasn’t there. I asked one of the workers if they had seen her and she said she had just left not long ago. I started wandering back toward the car, wondering how I would find Hannah if she had gone into a random store. One block later my opal green wagon pulled up on the side of the road with Hannah’s smiling face inside. We giggled about how we much have just missed each other and then were on our way towards Billings, MT.

We stopped at a convenience store in Bridger for a restroom break and one of the workers was kind enough to let me plug my dead phone into an outlet so that I could call our Billings contact, Dave, and get directions.

When we arrived at Dave’s we met a few of the people who were also staying in his home: Jo, a woman who recently found out she’s allergic to just about everything and so had become vegan (Hannah was pretty excited about that and really enjoyed the healthy lunch she cooked for us), Tensy, one of Dave’s daughters who is 22 and seems to be very energetic and funny, and Jesse, who is 17 (and happy to be almost 18) and is staying in Dave’s basement for however long he wants. We chatted with everyone for a while before Dave had to meet with a friend for coffee Tensy had to leave for a Bible study, then Jesse accompanied Hannah and I to the mall. Hannah and Jesse quickly discovered their shared love of skiing, so they traded stories for a bit. We wandered around the mall for a little bit, then headed to Goodwill where we mostly laughed about some of the nerdier looking clothing. Jesse ended up finding a rad old-school snow suit that was so ridiculous it’s awesome. The best part: he actually got it! AND he’ll actually wear it when he goes skiing, because apparently he’s really good, so no one will be able to make fun of him too much. And he’s promised to send us pictures of the suit in action once the season starts.

We returned to the house for a bit, then, at the advice of Jo and Cindy, Dave’s wife, we quested to Albertson’s to find some dinner. We relaxed for a bit after that, then met up with everyone in the kitchen after they finished a movie. We shared random stories and laughed a lot.

Monday morning Hannah and I met Dave at a house a few blocks away. We decided to walk there since it was so close, but we hadn’t really thought about how cold it was before we made that decision. The house was very simple yet incredibly nice, like most of the houses Dave’s team builds. Our first assignments were to clean off the windows (tougher than it sounds), which Hannah tackled, and to clean out the showers (also slightly more work that it sounds like), which I worked on. Dave came and went most of the day because of various obligations he already had, but when he did return he brought with him tea for Hannah and hot chocolate for me and, around lunch time, he brought us granola bars and bananas (seriously, so thoughtful). After our first jobs were completed I spackled a bit and then we both worked on caulking.

We met up with Dave again at his house that afternoon and he was kind enough to take us to the Y as his guests so we could work out. It was a very welcome change from sitting in a car all day (even I was glad to run a bit), and Hannah especially enjoyed it. lol.

That night was also the Hagstrom family dinner night, so we had aMAZING soup that Cindy made. As a testament to how good it was, there were many foods in it (like celery, onions, etc.) that I don’t like, yet I REALLY liked the soup. We ate with Dave, Cindy, Abram, Jesse, Hudson, and Tensy, and we had a lot of fun. After dinner we walked down to Dave’s office where we got to sit in on his weekly Bible study. There were a few familiar faces from the last time I was in Billings, along with some new ones. We read through Luke 15 and it was really interesting to hear little details of people’s lives and how the chapter relates to them in their current circumstances. Everyone was so open and honest, too, despite two strangers being there, and I really appreciated that. The meeting lasted an hour and a half, but it seemed to fly by. We headed back to Dave’s home where we met up with Tensy to go to a coffeehouse to participate in a poll (of sorts) about t-shirt options for a microfinance organization that Abram and some of his friends are starting. The organization is called My Fight, and you should check them out. There are some really cool designs for shirts, and the money they make will go to great causes. That meeting lasted longer than we thought it was going to, so by the time we got home we were exhausted (and apparently it was obvious).

We weren’t sure what Dave had planned for us for Tuesday, and when we did get back home there was no note in the kitchen for us. Tensy said she would just wake her dad up and ask, so we all went upstairs and Hannah and I waited in our room while she interrupted her parents sleep. As we listened to Dave’s confused responses, we discovered a note from him on our bed. Tensy came back and we all felt really bad, but we laughed about it nevertheless.

The plan ended up being that Dave Brady would pick us up around 8 a.m. and take us to a different house where we would help paint. Tuesday morning definitely came way too early, but we managed to be ready in time. Dave was very helpful the whole day with explaining different areas for us to paint. We also met Dale, who had been at the Bible study the night before, and listening to Dale and “Dr. Brady” was quite entertaining, as well as inspiring. Another guy closer in age to Hannah and I was also working in the house. His name was Shawn. Or Sean. Or Shon. I’m not sure which. Probably not that third one though. I don’t know of anybody who spells their name like that. Anyways, we started out painting doors, then eventually moved on to painting casings and bases (me) and walls (Hannah).

At one point during the day we trekked off to find lunch, but Hannah didn’t like the looks of the food at the store we went to, so we walked a looong time in search of something else, but had no luck. When we got back to the house the guys were concerned that she hadn’t eaten, so Charlie, another one of the workers, brought something back for her. I really can’t get over how kind and considerate and thoughtful all of the people we met were.

Charlie took us back to Dave’s at the end of the work day and we tried to clean up a bit before we were to meet Dave for dinner. We ended up walking down to his shop (he seems to have a lot of structures in random parts of the neighborhood) and just sitting for a little while and talking about our day. Then we headed out to a little Italian place that had great food and great service. Dave spent a lot of time asking Hannah and I questions about our lives and our faiths and our relationships with God. It was a very enlightening conversation and it spurred Hannah and I to start doing a sort of Bible study in the car from now on, along with playing worship music for a while before getting into our “dance/stay energized” music. And later Dave gave us some verses to focus on and a copy of a book that he wrote. After dinner we went to the coffee shop we had been at the night before so that we could have a chance to ask Dave some questions. Unfortunately there was a mini-concert going on right next to where we sat, so we didn’t really get to talk all that much. I think that was Dave did say really did help give both Hannah and I more perspective on life.

When we returned home we chatted with Dave and Cindy a little longer and decided to have breakfast together at 7:15 a.m. before we all left. We left a note for Jesse inviting him as well, which he actually did join us for despite how early it was. Jo also ate that final meal with us, and it was a nice quiet time to start the day.

It was pretty difficult to leave Billings because it seemed like there was so much good there. I think Hannah and I both would have been satisfied staying there for a few weeks. Of course, Dave and Cindy are probably glad to have two fewer houseguests for a while. :) My hope though is that our time in Billings will have served as a foundation for the rest of the trip, and that we will carry the lessons we learned with us everywhere else we go.

God bless, over and out.
~Marissa