Advent, 2015

Dear Family & Friends,

We again began the year escaping Iowa cold by traveling, because Mark was not scheduled to teach in the "January Term" at Luther College.

This time it was the classic “golden triangle” of north India, beginning in Delhi, on to Jaipur, and ending at the Taj Mahal in Agra. We then flew on to Kathmandu, getting a good view of Mt. Everest from the air.

We were, of course, saddened to know that many of the sites we saw in Nepal were destroyed only a few months later in the major earthquake there.

You can go back through our travel blog, Radio for the Eyes, for details and photos, if you wish.

Other excursions included some time in Door County, Wisconsin, several days along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, a couple of trips to Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa, and of course, journeys to the Washington, DC suburbs to visit the grandchildren (and Sarah & Brandon, too, of course). In October we traveled to Overland Park, Kansas where grandson, Corbin, was baptized at his dad’s home church. Big sister, Harper, looked on.

Other events included visits with Katherine & Matt, who joined us for several days in Door County and visited us in Decorah in August. There were also a number of trips to Des Moines, where Mark’s parents continue to do well. Mary spent several days with them in October, after Mark’s mom had a successful knee replacement. Mary had excitement of her own, with a fall at home that resulted in broken ribs in September. The long recovery was a reminder that we are getting older!

The new year will find us embarking on another adventure, as Luther College has appointed Mark to direct a study abroad semester with 12 students to the island nation of Malta. The program includes excursions around the Mediterranean, to points in Europe and North Africa, as well as to nearby Sicily.

We wish you, too, a year of adventure – but also a year comforted by the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate in this season.

Mark & Mary Johns