The Map Idea
we had a map pinned up on our living room wall for weeks before we left on our roadtrip. We put pins representing the important stops and people we were hoping to visit so the kids could visually see who and where we'd be visiting.
Those pins became representative of people we loved and cared about and were looking forward to seeing.
As people visited our home, they would see our map and would ask questions about our trip, to which we were easily able to point to the colored pushpins and say who lived where. I realized how special it was to have people who we loved and cared about, and who loved and cared about us.
In our home...
On our trip, we saw similar maps with pins to represent where people had visited from. Near the start of our trip I saw one map in a Starbucks (while we were in line to use the bathroom!) and it showed hundreds of pins of people who had visited from all around the world.
Later on in the trip at a farm stand in Arkansas, I found a similar map, with hundreds of stickers representing people who, like us, had seen their billboard and thought 'that sounds great!' and stopped to buy a drink and/or a souvenir.
Above: Starbucks in San Francisco, near Fisherman's Wharf
Below: The Peach Barn, Oklahoma
Still later, while driving a main interstate, we happened to see a sign for a town we had never heard of, followed by a sign indicating that town as the home of a famous person our daughter knew well. Squealing with anticipation, (while some others groaned with annoyance) we turned out of our way--two hours out of our way--to head to De Smet, South Dakota to visit the home of a woman whose writing and story my daughter has loved.
I was surprised to find, even in a place that was (quite) out of the way for us, a map with hundreds of visitors who have loved the history and life story of this famous woman, and were willing to support her legacy.
Our trip was epic. Upon returning home, after being able to be with and share with loved friends and family our hope of showing and telling of the love of Christ with those in rural Japan, I had an idea.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes
De Smet, SD
