On a Tuesday afternoon in August, 57 people boarded a full coach bus behind Slumberland in Albert Lea. With Craig at the helm—a professional motor coach operator—the bus headed north on I-35. The passengers came from Hartland, New Richland, Ellendale, Geneva, Hayward, Glenville, Emmons, Lake Mills, Alden, Wells, Conger, Walters, Albert Lea and places in between.
Fully Rely on God (F.R.O.G.) of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church, rural Albert Lea, sponsored the bus as an outreach mission of fun, food and fellowship. (Wayne and Bev Indrelie and Bob and Genie Hanson are the co-chairs of F.R.O.G.) In looking at the passengers, it was plain to see the fellowship was centered in the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Everyone had something with the Twins logo on it.
The fun began with drawings for prizes donated by: Karen Flim, Genie Hanson, Karen Borneman, Ruth Olson, the Twins and Shannon. Each bus person was given a goodie bag with coupons inside from Arby’s, KFC, DQ, Trumbles and Applebees.
Deal or No Deal for prizes was played enroute to the Twins game. Prizes were all Twins-related (fishing lure, cap, puzzle, 1991 homer hanky, and cowboy hat were some of the 26 prizes). Grandma Denise Knutson was the winner of the No Deal cash prize, spent by her two grandsons.
The well-received prizes in the goodie bags were a $5 bill and a baseball Beanie Baby for everyone. Thanks to Minnesota for the corrugated box recycling color book with crayons to the youngsters on the bus (Even some old youngsters at heart relived their youth.)
Four people from the bus led in singing the National Anthem from center field prior to the game as part of the Lutheran Night at the Twins. Sue Barnes, Cindy Gaudian, Nancy Hoium and James Waltman were the honorees. Many of the passengers toured outside of the stadium to see the new statue of Tom Kelly, former Twins manager. Some said “hi” to the lady Twins organist.
The ballgame moved very slowly at first—in fact, the Twins were behind. The tempo shifted into high gear when the Twins’ bats connected. Five home runs with the first grand slam of the year hit by Dozier in an 11-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Before and during the game, the expensive food part of the mission was satisfied ($7 for a hot dog, $5.50 for a plastic cup of pop plus many other choices). The bus trip ended the next day (Wednesday) as 57 tired but happy Twins fans got off the bus at 12:45 a.m.
In conclusion, the outreach mission of F.R.O.G. (fun, food, fellowship) was most certainly achieved.
P.S. An extra bonus was when a full moon hovered over right field at the game.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.