Independence HallThe week was really too full to give a comprehensive summary of it here! Great friends, full days, educational and inspiring lectures, thoughtful discussions, laughter, encouragement, long hours, lots of walking, lots of fun! If you have never been to one, you can only guess at why this is annually a highlight of our year. Below is simply a smattering of pictures from the week with more or less detailed captions. Hopefully someone of us will find time in the next few days to write a more detailed and orderly report of what we learned, saw, felt, and did. But for now, pictures!
Whenever a bench and a few moments to rest presented themselves, we were quick to take advantage of them!
It is quite an experience to walk through Philadelphia with a group of 160+ people!
Bill Potter is an incredible historian with a wealth of knowledge from many eras that he is always eager to share with us. Here we are visiting Old Swede's church from the very early days of the settling of the nation.
When you're in charge of sound and recording for an event, the sound better be good. And in the event of losing a part, Josh proved himself committed to quality by borrowing various supplies and sewing together a makeshift part for his mic.
The Monument at Valley Forge. What an incredible day that was! The sermon preached that morning on perseverance, and the visit to Valley Forge were both a great encouragement to our family!
The
Doug Phillips family (founder of
Vision Forum) at Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge.
What would be a F&F Tour report without including the buses? They always prove to be the most adventurous part of the trip. And really, we didn't get lost too many times this year, and we were only pulled over once, and it was only one night that we almost got killed... Oh, and those of you who know a little bit about our family history may find it amusing that the bus that I, Jessica, was on encountered a couple of deer in the road shortly after this picture was taken. No, we didn't hit them, but we did have to brake for them!
Here our group gathers on the steps of the 2nd National Bank before viewing the historic art gallery inside.
The Zes ladies and I discuss Quaker "theology" between stops at the Arch Street Friends Meeting House and Carpenter's Hall.
Jeremy & Joanna listen to Mr. Potter lecture on George Washington's historic crossing of the Delaware. Sadly, Sara developed a bad cold over the week and was unable to join us for a few of the days!
Ah, yes. The rainy days! By God's grace the major rain held off during the day as we visited Princeton University and learned of the great men who were used of God during the college's early days and the influence the college had upon the founding of our nation. Our visit to Princeton focused largely on John Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was also a pastor, professor, and president of the college.
After the lecture by the Witherspoon monument at Princeton, we had some free time...
On Saturday, our plans were rained out so we all headed over to the Franklin Institute to browse the museum. The flight simulator was very popular!
Of course, as one of our responsibilities during the F&F Tour is preparing and serving the lunches, I would be remiss to conclude this post without a couple of pictures addressing that aspect of our week! Vision Forum Intern and family friend, Phillip Bradrick, is pictured with us above as we fill the lunch bags with all the important goodies: cookies, napkins, chips, carrots, etc. Below, we have the food line set up and are waiting for the crowd to come through and pick up their lunches before boarding the buses.
