Last night we were hosted at three different homes of the extended family of Kathy Joyce and Brian Schindler. Kathy was out of town, but her husband was a real trooper to look after us after a long shift at the hospital.

The generosity and concern exuded from all three households.

We were joined the next morning by our good friend and local runner Jeremy Abramson. It is always nice to have a native to help us get around. He'll be with us for a couple of days.

Jeremy came just in time to join us at the Niles French Market where we were treated to a buffet of local fruit...

some lemonade...

and welcomed by the Mayor's wife, Lucy McCauslin.

Several of the locals held the torch and shared there aspirations for harmony.

Brian Schindler, last night's accommodations manager, put on a new hat as our tour guide to Niles. We are very grateful for his kind service and hospitality.

After the market, we made our way to the local library to greet a small but extremely attentive audiance. We had several true natives of Niles join us for the presentation.

3 local homeschooled children were very interested in the run and all the countries that we were from.

They were so delightful!

From there we ran to Three Rivers where we met Mayor Allen Balog. Some locals spontaneously joined the meeting. One in particular got inspired to run with torch.

And so she did. Emily ran for over 9 miles with us, the farthest she has ever run! She is a very good cross country runner and at only 14 we expect good things from her the next time we visit. Thank you Emily for sharing your smile with us.

We were fortunate enough to be invited to the Black Arts Festival in Kalamazoo.

They gave us a few minutes on stage between acts.

Then we milled around with the spectators sharing the flame of the torch.

Finally, we were treated to a wonderful buffet at Cindy Fadel's home. This has become a wonderful tradition over the years.

This time we got to meet more of her family and very close friends.

We had a wonderful time mingling with everyone, young and less young. Almost all the kids were homeschooled and were just an absolute delight to be around. There genuine interest and curiosity really shined.

Thank you all for an amazing evening! It was a very precious visit.

– Atulya

Distance: 94 miles

Team Members:
Shyamala Stott (Scotland), Banshidhar Medeiros (USA), Yuyudhan Hoppe (USA), Gautami Sykorova (Slovakia), Jirka Albrecht (Czech Republic), Uddyogini Hall (Australia), Jeromy Cheatham (USA), Salil Wilson (USA), Andi Schmitz (Germany), Putrima (Russia), Atulya Lee Berube (USA)

Harmonemail:
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Gallery: See more images!