Finally….I met Mary! She’s the sweet lady who I wrote about in my February blog (we met due to my former neighbors’ Christmas display of a cross and manger and the photo that I took of this moving display). An idea soon bubbled up, which my daughter Stephanie felt I should act upon. I gave Mary a call and asked her if I may stop and see her while traveling through Kansas City. Typically, our driving route across the Great Plains is done quickly on I-80. This time, though, my intention was to avoid I-80 with its zooming traffic, and instead opt to take I-70, which provides a much calmer drive across Kansas. I was thinking along the lines of taking Mary to dinner. Though once I shared my idea with Mary, I not only had an invitation to stop, but a welcome to spend the night and to speak at her “Wildwood House of Prayer” ministry the morning following my stay with her.
Upon arriving at Mary’s, it hit me that I was only familiar with her voice, having just enjoyed phone conversations up to this point. As the door to her lovely estate home swung open, there stood an attractive woman with a big smile on her face and snow-white hair. We exchanged hugs and smiles, standing in disbelief that finally were seeing each other. The evening flew by quickly as we seemed to converse almost non-stop. Mary took me to one of her favorite dining spots, which offered good home-style cooking. As I left early that morning from Salina with several stops in Kansas City en route to Mary’s, I didn’t allow time for a proper breakfast and only taking time for a handful of walnuts and almonds to go along with a cereal bar for lunch.
The next morning I was up before dawn to finalize the talk that I would give later than morning at the Wildwood House of Prayer. The House of Prayer is Mary’s ministry to people in the Parkville, Missouri area. Mary offers Bible studies and provides guest speakers. As their Wednesday guest speaker, I decided to share my faith journey and passion for photography with the ladies. Despite having been with Mary for less than 20 hours, I left filled with such respect and admiration for her. She is quite a lady, who is passionate about her faith. I am delighted that I finally met Mary!