Hospers, Iowa

 A few days ago, I wandered over to Stuff in the Basement, a blog done by James Schaap, that I check out

every once in a while.  I appreciated his Good Friday post in which he showed a series of photos of the crucifixion.  Along with one from a mission in California and one from Rome, there was a statue from Hospers, Iowa.  Hospers, Iowa?  I was surprised and intrigued.  I emailed Mr. Schaap and got such a pleasant response.  The statue was in the cemetery across from the Catholic Church in Hospers.

I could not help but reminisce about the summer we spent in Hospers in 1972.  A few memories that I shared with Mr. Schaap brought back even more memories so here is a story about the lives of a young couple and their four month old baby—a summer in a parsonage in a town of 400 people in the middle of rich farm country.

Jim had finished a Fulbright year and was going to start Harvard in the fall.  We needed a place to live for the summer and an income.  He contacted Calvin Seminary and they placed him in a Christian Reformed Church in Hospers with the duty of preaching twice a Sunday and some visiting. 

It was an adventure for a city girl. Jim remembers the mayor who was a church member telling him that his goal was to keep Sunday softball out of Hospers.  I remember Jim was asked to judge the 4th of July parade because he knew no one and could be unbiased!  

I can’t picture the inside of the parsonage but I know there was a wringer washing machine in the basement.  A woman of the church taught me how to use it and for the next several weeks, I carefully did our laundry there remembering my mother’s warning about the danger of wringers.  I hung the clothes on the line, including many diapers, always aware that I was being watched by church members.  

We were given a lot of good food.  There was meat butchered from the farms and lots of sweet corn. There was more than what we could eat at times.  An older, wiser pastor told us to never turn it down but just say thank you and give it away if you needed to.  Or it would stop coming!

We were told that folks in town never locked their doors when people saw that we did take that precaution.  That was advice we did not heed having come from a rougher neighborhood in the middle of the city of Grand Rapids.  We faced a real problem when our Toyota died and needed a part that was nowhere to be found locally.  I don’t know where it got mailed from but it was about ten days that we were really confined to town.  I don’t remember how we got groceries during that time.  And how did I find books to read?  No Kindle app!

We were invited to a picnic at one farm.  The food was all out on a table outside with flies sitting on the food.  Literally a pigpen was feet away.  I tried to ignore my fears and just enjoy the feast and the company.

At the end of the summer, the church had a farewell for us and took up a collection with the warning that they hoped we could keep the faith when going to Harvard.  We did keep the faith in a much different setting but were glad to have had the experience of Hospers and yesterday I was glad for the reminder of that experience.  

A Contrast

Our pastor wrote a meditation for Easter Sunday in which he contrasted the mention of the dark in the gospel of John with the resurrection.  “While it was still dark,” the women went to the tomb.  I am thinking today has been a day of the very sad contrast between celebrating Easter and our president’s “expletive-ridden” Truth Social post in which he threatened Iran with bombing bridges and power plants and then mockingly said “Praise be to Allah.”  This was such a dark message on such a holy day.  Our pastor reminded us that “light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.”  He wrote “On Easter morning God’s resurrection people rise to shout into the world’s darkness and say, “No, no, no.  There is a better way.  Because Christ has risen.  He has risen indeed.”

We worshipped with grand music this morning and a powerful message.  We participated in the Lord’s table.  We even sang the Hallelujah Chorus as we always do on Easter morning.  Then we came home to a quiet dinner with just the two of us.  Our family is all traveling far and wide.  

So it was a good day.  But I grieve for our country and I am ashamed of our leadership and the ugly words that are our president’s way of commemorating Easter Sunday.  I pray for his change of heart every night. 

—————-Tuesday:  At 6:30 pm, there may be a two week cease fire.  Trump has threatened to end the Iranian civilization by 8 pm which is certainly a war crime and sounds like a threat of using nuclear power.  Iran may open the straights of Hermuz.  Pakistan may be the intermediary.  Whoever it is, there is a respite from destruction for now. There may be more calls for Trump to be removed from office which would be such a good thing.  

Good Friday 2026

 I have tried for several years to read an entire gospel or sometimes an epistle on Good Friday. One year I forgot and then did it on Easter Monday.  Another year I listened to one of Bach’s Passions.  Last year was a memorable year for this discipline but I couldn’t remember which gospel I read.  I think it was Matthew and I read it on my iPhone while going through the very stressful process of the nuclear stress test for my heart as a part of the preparation for hip surgery.  There was nothing wrong with my heart but the process was frightening as my heart was stimulated through a drug.  I guess because I was reading on my phone I did not record which gospel I read in our Bible.  However, I see that I had not read Luke since 2016 so that seemed a good book to read today—thankfully and mercifully just sitting in my “headquarters” as Jim calls it.

I have read the first ten chapters and am taking a break to shower and maybe do the livestream church service at noon.  I am reading on my iPad and using The Message, Eugene Peterson’s translation.  It is startling in its language of today.  As I often do, I thought can these words really be in Scripture?  I refer to the NRSV and sure enough, there they are in more traditional language.  So it is a good exercise to be reading a fresh translation and one that does not let me just slide over the words out of habit.

—————It’s now 1:45 and I have read the entire gospel and feel as if I have commemorated Good Friday and am leading up to Easter.  The church service at noon was all readings and music and was very solemn and ended up with the story of the tomb.  Now we wait for the celebration of Easter.  I hope we can worship in the sanctuary with trumpets and triumphal hymns and even the traditional Hallelujah Chorus.  

I was especially moved by the anthem “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say:”

1. I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting-place,
And he has made me glad.

It has been a year of feeling “weary and worn” more than once and I have come to Jesus “as I was.”  Now the year is over.  We don’t know what the next year may bring but I try to trust that God will go with us and we will have “a resting-place” again.

A Birthday Party

 

Last night there were 14 of us at dinner in a private dining room at Romeo’s Restaurant in Plainsboro gathered to celebrate our 80th birthdays—Jim’s was in February and mine is coming up in April.  We met with the owner on Wednesday to plan the menu. Romeo’s had the table set very nicely with black cloth napkins.  Jeff and Susan brought various items to celebrate—like a tiara and sash for me and a cap for Jim.  Laura had ordered huge balloons.  Our friends the Moorheads were able to join us but sadly the four oldest grandchildren were away at school or work.  

We chose a caprese salad and mozzarella sticks for a first course.  Jim and I brought wine from a morning trip to Trader Joe’s.  There were three entrees, spaghetti and meatballs, vodka rigatoni, and chicken parmigiana.  Each person ordered a dessert of choice from the menu.

I had made up a quiz for how well do you know your parents and grandparents and it went well with a lot of discussion and questioning and laughter.  

We felt very grateful for being able to celebrate with family.

 

12 Hours Without Power

 Last night there was a terrific wind and suddenly there was no power.  We were just getting into bed close to midnight.  We found the flashlight and knew that when the power came back on, we would be surprised with bright lights and loud signals.  But the power did not come back on.  I checked my phone around 1 am which was the only way to know the time and it gave an estimated time of 4:30 am for restored  power.  Then that got pushed back to 2:00 pm. 

 Jim had his annual physical at 9 am but the garage door opener was not functioning of course.  He was able to open the door manually which we had not done in the six years we lived here.  I tried to message him to pick up coffee at Burger King but with the internet down, that message did not go out.  However, he thought of that great idea himself and we got our drug of choice even if we enjoyed it a bit later than usual.  

With Jim gone and my cell phone out of power, I was more careful than usual not to fall.  I would have had no way of getting help until he got home.  It was so dark and disconcerting to walk into rooms and try to turn on a light foolishly!  We had guests coming at 4 pm and I was hoping to bake some almond bars but that had to wait.

11:44:  Suddenly the dining room lights brightened the apartment.  Power!  Hooray!  But we still had trouble with WiFi.  I suggested Jim turn the router off and on and that seemed to do the trick.  However, Xfinity messaged us later to say they restored WiFi at 4:50 pm.  

It was not cold at least  and we didn’t need to cook.  Jim took a quick shower before leaving home—while there was still some hot water in the tank.  I washed up with cold water later.  

How dependent we are on power!  I read my book for a while carefully finding a place where light was coming in a window.  During the night I opened the blinds just to have enough light from the sky to find my way to the bathroom.  

Our guests were at the Hampton Inn and were not aware of losing power.  Jeff said he was also not aware of losing power.  Maybe it was a very localized Barclay Square issue.  But we are glad it is over and we are in touch with the world again!

Celebrating the end of “The Year of the Hip”

The year began on March 3, 2025 when an x-ray came back as severe osteoarthritis and officially ended on March 3, 2026 but I was having too many problems with back muscle spasms to want to celebrate.  However, that has been much better the last few days so tonight we went to our usual place for celebrations—On the Border.  We were early enough to do the happy hour and today was a special for fajitas for two.  I thought I ordered a small margarita but there it was—the grande.  And it was good and a real treat after a month of no alcohol with my pharmacy of post surgery drugs.

I am able to walk without a cane or walker in the apartment.  I haven’t wanted to walk outside yet without some assistance but that time will come.  I am doing some exercises daily that Jennifer and Justin, my physical therapists,, taught me.  I am trying to walk at least a short ways daily.  Sadly, some bills are starting to arrive and there will probably be more asking for what insurance did not cover.  But the “year of the hip” is over and I am so grateful to be walking without pain and with more mobility.

A Bridal Shower

Katie’s maid of honor and bridesmaid gave her a lovely shower this afternoon. It was held at Chamber’s Cafe in Lawrenceville, about a twenty minute ride from Princeton.  Susan and Katie gave me a ride there and Alex gave me a ride home.  The room was decorated festively and there was a bingo card designed to help us mingle and get to know each other.  The buffet brunch was delicious.  I was thankful for Julie Weed’s help (Eli’s mom) because using a cane and filling a plate can be a challenge.  

The gift opening was going to be saved for later at Jeff and Susan’s house.  I was happy with my purchase of a mirrored vanity tray—very much like the one someone gave me at a bridal shower almost 60 years ago.  I hope Katie can use it and remember her grandma for many years to come! 

I was unsure if I would be able to make it to the shower with the back muscle spasms that have been bothering me this week.  But I did it and managed to forget them for most of the time.