It is not quite Thanksgiving Day, but it is the day that I join the record number of people that are predicted to be on the road today. This post was published on this day 5 years ago. I thought it would be an appropriate one to be re-published today. I will be travelling a little over 200 miles today, and the plan is for me to return home later this week. That was not the case for the German Lutherans who were setting off for America in 1838. Their voyage was much farther, and they had no plans of returning.

I am thankful for those folks who were part of the Gesellschaft that made the decision to come to America where they would have the freedom to worship and teach their faith to their children as the Bible directs.

We are creeping closer to 2038 when we will celebrate the bicentennial year of this historic departure. If I am blessed to still be here, I will be pushing 90 years of age. One of our purposes at the Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum is to make sure that people will still care about why those brave people made the decision to come here.