Following the SMART National Muster, we traveled from Shawnee, Oklahoma to the National Convention of MAPS RV Volunteers in Carlinville, Illinois. It's an old-fashioned campmeeting, but with a lot fancier rigs. We met morning and evening for worship together, as well as to afford the volunteers opportunity to meet the local project sponsors and decide where to go in the future. Kind of like a "job fair" for volunteers.We were entertained by a men's quartet from Springfield, MO.
Dave Roever, a wounded warrior himself, was a most-inspiring speaker. He ministers regularly to our troops and visits them in hospitals. He also has a rehab facility, Eagle Summit Ranch, near Junction, Texas which is dedicated to helping the wounded get back to normalcy or as close as possible.
I'm not sure why, but lots of folks decided big hats were in order!
Two Army Chaplains were with us for Military Appreciation Night. A treat and a blessing!
Carlinville is only a few miles from Springfield, IL, the home of President Abraham Lincoln. This is a national historic site and worthy of your visit if you ever can.
It was so fascinating and more extensive than we had thought, that we spent two days there.
The Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is downtown, not far from his home and law office. 
The fall is a beautiful time of year in Illinois. This was early October and the leaves were beginning to change, putting on a glorious show, "just for us!"
On the outskirts of town is the main cemetery and the final resting place of our 16th President, arguably one of history's greatest men. His tomb is an inspiration in itself and worthy of special visit. Try and make time for the sights of this small city as you travel this wonderful country of ours.
"I believe that --- intoxicated with unbroken success --- we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace --- too proud to pray to the God that made us."
---A. Lincoln
