Expect the Unexpected!

I apologize, in advance, for the long post. There is much to tell you, but I’ll try to keep it as concise as possible.

So, when I left off in my last update, we were broken down in Denver. Fun times! But before I tell you about that, let me fill you in on the missions conference. It was a real blessing! We met some incredible people, had the chance to reunite with some other missionaries, and truly felt the Lord move in a mighty way.

On Sunday, we had three excellent services, and the missionaries each showed their mission videos and gave a brief presentation of their burden. The church treated us to lunch and dinner, which allowed us to get to know the pastor, his wife, and other church staff.

On Monday, we had a morning meeting where each of the missionaries preached a message. Afterward, we had dinner on the grounds, and then the men and women split up for the afternoon. The men went skeet shooting while the women got manicures and pedicures and perused the many goodies at the local candy shop. Believe it or not, I got my first manicure ever, and the Lord blessed in that the girl who did my nails was American and spoke clear English. She was impressed that the church was treating us to manicures, which opened the door for me to witness to her. She was very attentive to what I had to say, and when I left, I handed her a tract from the church that laid out the plan of salvation. She sat there and read it. Would you please pray for Emma that the Lord will take the seed planted in her heart that day and bring forth much fruit in her life?

Monday evening, we closed out the missions conference and went out to eat one more time. On this occasion, I had the opportunity to sit across from the pastor’s wife, and we had a great time of fellowship and lots of laughs. It was a lovely end to a wonderful conference. After sleeping in the following day, we packed up our stuff and headed back to Denver to pick up our motorhome. . .at least, that was the plan.

The repairs that were supposed to be near completion when we returned from our mission conference in Grand Junction were not even started. Nope! When we arrived at the mechanic shop, we found our motorhome unlocked, parked on the street, and completely dead. Evidently, the tow truck driver had failed to turn the lights off, so all the batteries were dead. Oh, and it was 103 degrees inside the coach. Anyway, I’ll spare you all the back and forth details, but the following week—yes, week—was a mess. Wrong parts. Delayed shipments. You name it! In the midst of all this, we also received word that Jason’s former pastor—the man who trained him to preach and witness—passed away from COVID. Please be in prayer for the Hines family and Lakeside Baptist Church during this difficult time.

After a week and a couple of missed meetings, we were back on the road. We were very frustrated, but we couldn’t ignore the blessings wrapped up in the whole affair. One, we were able to stay in the motorhome for the duration of the repairs, so we didn’t have to pay for a hotel room or move into a prophet’s chamber. Huge blessing in my book! Two, our tanks shouldn’t have lasted as long as they did. Our fuel and water should have run out, and our black and gray tanks should have overflowed, but they didn’t. We were very conservative, but even then, it was a miracle to see the capacity of the tanks. It was all God!

On Wednesday morning, after rearranging a couple more meetings, we drove to Stamford, NE. We attended church that evening and had the opportunity to sing, preach, and present at the church there. They were also kind enough to give us a place to park during our stay. The bad news is the place we parked was grassy, and Wednesday night, we had a lot of rain. Do you see where this is going? Nowhere!!! When we tried to pull out to leave on Thursday, we found we were stuck in the mud. (That was a first for us!) It took Jason, the pastor, a couple of his sons, and a couple of other men from the church to get us unstuck. After a long sigh and a good laugh, we began making our way to Wisconsin.

Because of the delayed start, we didn’t make it very far on Thursday before stopping at a rest area for the night. The plan was to drive the rest of the way on Friday, but that’s not what happened. About two hours from our destination, Jason noticed something wasn’t right with the coach and pulled into a rest area. A quick examination of the repair job that was done in Denver revealed that one of the main bolts that hold the driveshaft in place was completely missing, and the others were very loose. It’s a miracle we didn’t lose the drive shaft while driving down the road.

Fortunately, Jason is handy, and after driving our tow vehicle into the nearest town to pick up some replacement bolts, he was able to fix the problem. Additionally, this rest area was not your typical rest area. It was a quiet pull-out beside the river. It was beautiful, so I took advantage of the scenery and used the time to write and reflect.

After all that, we started the engine, and within a moment, we heard the sound of metal crashing to the ground. The air conditioner compressor pulley (a part completely separate and unrelated to the previous repairs) had shattered. Part of it was on the ground. Part of it was still in place. And the bearings were likely somewhere down the road. As I stared at the pieces, I was utterly in shock. When I described the situation to my mom on the phone, she said the whole ordeal sounded “otherworldly.” I’m inclined to agree.

Because it was Friday afternoon on Labor Day weekend, we couldn’t get a replacement part until after 2:00 on Saturday. So, we spent the night at the rest area and did our best to praise God in the storm. Through it all, I was frustrated but also at peace. It was strange. God was giving me grace and strength despite the many obstacles we were facing.

Finally, by Saturday evening, we reached our destination in Wisconsin, where we visited with a supporting church that wanted to have us in again and presented us with a special love offering. It was a great day, and we enjoyed spending time with these precious people. The pastor and his wife even took us out for dinner on Monday evening. (Yes, missionaries on deputation eat a lot. That’s why many of us need to diet once we reach our mission field.)

Since then, we’ve been in Ohio, visiting new churches and popping in on a supporting church. We’ve even had a couple more churches take us on for support, and we’re ecstatic. This week, we’ve had the chance to be still and catch up on some much-needed rest. We’ve also been busy getting things in order for our departure in January. There are many wheels to set in motion, so we’re trying to peck away at things whenever we have the time.

Today, we took a couple of hours to box up tracts at the Fellowship Tract League. Some people claim missionaries are superheroes, but I think anyone who follows the will of the Lord is a superhero because it’s not an easy road to travel. But, if you ever want to feel like a superhero, spend a little while boxing up tracts that will make their way to all parts of the world. There’s nothing like the feeling you get knowing you had a small part in getting the gospel into the hands of those who need it most. In just a couple of hours, Jason and I boxed up nearly 100,000 tracts. What a blessing!!!

Tomorrow, we head out to another part of Ohio for a missions conference, and from there, we have a long drive to southern Georgia. Things seem to be running well on the motorhome, but we greatly appreciate your prayers that things will stay that way.

Just a few more months, and we’ll be on our way to Wales. Can we be excited now? As the old song says, “It’s been a long journey, but I have been blessed.” Yes, it’s been quite the adventure, but God has been with us and taken care of us every step of the way. He’s a good, good God!!!