Cincinnati

Time to whip out the XXL toothbrush!  

One of the many car accidents that we saw on the road towards Cincinnati.  

Indiana, Lincoln's Boyhood Home.  What else is in this state?  The Colts.  Indiana School for the Deaf.  We don't know much else!  We only saw snowy roads.  

We then got into Ohio.  There was so much to discover!  

Sunday morning.  We passed by St. Rita School for the Deaf, a Catholic-run school in Cincinnati.  We were on our way to church.  

Rod Burke, the minister.  He's an awesome fellow.  Very friendly and welcoming of us and of the mission to help orphans.  

Tim Nagel.  He and his wife were our hosts in Cincinnati.  He's a very funny guy, and has a great sense of humor.  He is giving a play about why it is important to listen to the Bible during the Lord's Supper.  

Preachin' a sermon.  Try to guess where Alex is in the verse based on his signs.  

We didn't get to have pictures of the soup/sandwich fellowship we had between lessons, but it was a good hour and a half of fellowship - and that is when everyone got back to listen to Alex talk about Operation Deaf Orphans.  

The friendly Ohioans!  This group raised so much support for us - and we are extremely grateful for them.  

After church, we went to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to visit a deaf Romanian boy!  We were thrilled when we found out that two members of the church knew this family who moved to Cincinnati from Romania because the boy, Beni, had problems with his intestines and had to get surgery.  Doctors there messed up his operation and he wouldn't have lived had not doctors in Cincinnati saved him.  All of this paid for by Ronald McDonald Charities!  Yeah, we like McDonald's!  And their burgers/nuggets/fries taste good :)  

The Romanian family.  They were very nice and friendly!  Meeting them made us even more excited to go to Eastern Europe.  The parents and the girl, Naomi, are hearing.  They even said we could stay at their apartment in Romania.  They really love their son and is willing to do anything for his health.  When I asked them if they liked USA - they paused, and then said, "This is a very blessed country.  Lots of food here."  They were serious when they said it.  It made us think of how much food we eat on a daily basis here in USA.  Especially around the holidays!  

Monday.  Alexa looks very happy.  Why is that?  Look at the next picture.  

We found a Tim Hortons in Cincinnati!  For those of you who don't know, Tim Hortons is a very popular coffee/bakery in Canada.  It's the Canadian version of Dunkin Donuts.  We always drink and eat at TH whenever we are in Canada, so it was a very nice treat to find one in the U.S. and it made Alexa feel a bit at home.   

Yeah, Alexa loves Tim Hortons.  Alex likes this place as well.  

We ate at Skyline Chili, a popular place in Cincinnati.  Their chili tasted so good.  

Got this picture off the internet.  This is what their dish looked like.  Very cheap place - most of the things on the menu are five dollars or less!  Their chili is very good.  

Downtown Cincinnati.  It was very cold that day - maybe 20 degrees F.  The Bengals football stadium is to the right of the picture.  

The Deaf Institute.  It is a ministry that focuses on spreading awareness of the need of churches to make accommodations for their deaf members.  They have a good relationship with Deaf Missions.  This is their office near downtown.    

Monday night.  The Nagels (our hosts) invited a nice deaf couple, the Schrefflers, and we all had dinner together.  Alex knew Joshua Schreffler (guy on far left) from high school - they both were on the football team at Florida School for the Deaf.  

Photographers have to do this to get themselves into blogs!  

Tim and Cheryl Nagel.  Very nice, friendly deaf couple!  Their house was very comfortable and we really enjoyed staying here.   Good food, good bed, and good conversations.  We miss them.  

It's off to Louisville, Kentucky.