Where, oh, where do I begin? The past month has been jam-packed with heartbreak and loss, blessings and bounty, love and prayers, and lots of activity. For those of you who are not yet aware, in the middle of February, we were involved in an accident in Illinois after getting caught up in the blizzard that swept through much of the midwest region. Our motorhome, Libby, was totaled. After a few days of dealing with the insurance company, we packed up what we could, loaded it into a U-haul trailer, and made our way to our next meeting (a missions conference in Alabama) via our tow car, which fortunately suffered only cosmetic damage in the crash. The bad news, of course, is that we lost our home and were very out of sorts during the entire conference. The good news is neither of us was injured in the crash, and the outpouring of love and offerings from family, friends, and some people we didn’t even know was unbelievable. It was amazing to watch God work through His children to be an encouragement to us during a time we truly needed it.

Today is Saturday, January 30th. We are currently about an hour away from our next stop in Kent, Ohio. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but through it all, we’ve seen God’s promises fulfilled and our prayers answered.

In our last update, I told you of our breakdown and the circumstances surrounding it. Many of you have contacted us, prayed for us, and sent money to help us financially. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is! Thank you so much for all you’ve done.

As it turned out, the main issue with the motorhome was the water pump. It was late Thursday night before this diagnosis was pronounced, and after several calls to surrounding businesses to find a new one, we soon discovered the closest one was two hours away in Salt Lake City. After a “goodish” night’s sleep in the repair shop, Jason and I awoke early Friday morning and drove out to Salt Lake City to pick up the new water pump while the repairmen got busy removing the old one. Four hours later, we arrived back with the new parts and lunch for ourselves and the men (which they greatly appreciated). Another four hours or so after that, everything was ready to go. After a quick test drive, we were relieved to discover that Libby (the motorhome) was running better than ever. What a relief!

I trust everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and is excited about starting a new year. Our time off was a bit like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs. On the upside, we were able to spend time with our family, friends, and church family during the holidays. That was more of a blessing than words can describe! On the downside, our Xterra decided to break down the Sunday before Christmas and ended up costing us over $1,000 in repair costs, and that didn’t include fixing our broken window (long story!). But, on the upside (again), the Lord sent in many generous Christmas offerings from churches and individuals that covered the cost and then some. Isn’t God good?

On December 28th, we hit the road again, excited to be raising the rest of our support but dreading the forty hours of driving needed to reach our next destination—California. In those five days of travel, we saw sunshine, rain, snow, fog, and everything in between. We’ve experienced temperatures in the mid-50s and those in the teens. It was a long journey, but the Lord took great care of us and met our every need.

Well, let me begin by saying we’ve been getting a lot of use out of our boots and coats lately. It’s been quite chilly in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and we even enjoyed a day of snow flurries. Thankfully, we haven’t had to contend with snowy roads yet. Hallelujah! We are equally grateful for the wonderful heat in our motorhome and luxuries like heated throws and heated mattress pads. God has been good!

I won’t bore you with a long list of churches we’ve been in, but I will tell you God has kept us busy. For the past three Sundays, we’ve experienced morning turn-around services followed by evening services at a different church. For those of you who are confused, a turn-around service means they have Sunday School, morning service, dinner on the grounds, and then an afternoon service, which takes the place of their evening services. This is becoming more popular, especially in areas like this that encounter harsh winters. So, we would arrive early, stay for all the services, then hurry on to the next church to be in time for the evening services there. It made for some long, tiring days, but we enjoyed the extra time to get to know the people.