November 2-8, 2009

I didn't mention in the last post that the previous weekend was the first in a trip lasting nearly 3 weeks. We spent Monday and Tuesday, November 2nd and 3rd in Texarkana doing things that we really didn't have time to do at home like, having the kids portrait made. The guitar belongs to their Papaw.

On Wednesday after lunch we drove to Oklahoma to sing again at Eagle Heights Church of God with Don and Kathy Frankkum in Dewar. We had a short time of food and fellowship before the service with just the Frankkums and us and following a good service we made our way over to Oklahoma City to spend the night.

The following morning, Thursday, the 5th, we rose and after breakfast pointed our van in a northward direction toward Enid. We made a second visit to Chisolm Trail Cowboy Church with Pastor Dan O'Daniel. The last time we were there we nearly froze as the services are held in a cattle sale barn and there is no heat in the building. We had coats and jackets but the January air turned frigid and I think it got down to about 12 degrees...no kidding. The temperature was much better this time and the welcome back was appreciated. As usual, Pastor Dan had a relevant and easily applicable word from the Lord. Since the building is rented, the banners, sound and any other fixtures used for their church services are folded, rolled up, and moved out quickly like clock work when the service is over. Oh, and check out the celebratory (or whatever it is) dance that Faith enjoyed with Pastor Dan.

On Friday morning we headed back south. We had a very long day of driving ahead of us as our destination was Big Lake, Texas, which is about an hour south of Big Spring which is about an hour and a half west of Abilene. We arrived in Big Lake around 10 or 11 p.m., and saw the only hotel in town on the corner of the main intersection. There were certainly no extras, including no breakfast the next morning. But it was a good nights' rest and running water. That was all we needed. When we set out looking for breakfast the following morning we realized there really wasn't any place except the convenient store/gas station diagonally across from the hotel. We drove back and forth up and down the main road a couple of times hoping that we'd see something we'd missed the first time through. But finally when we landed in the convenient store, we found the most helpful, accommodating clerk behind the counter at the little grill. He made some special orders for us and was very gracious. While we were finishing up our breakfast, a tall man in a black cowboy hat approached our table and introduced himself as Pastor Buddy Helms from Bethel Baptist Church. He then led us to the church where we unloaded and while Bobby set up, the kids and I did school. Yes, it was Saturday but when you're in a dusty one-horse town on a Saturday with nothing else to do all day, you might as well make it a school day. There were children's tables and chairs as they have a day care in this building during the week. So it was perfect for us to hang out there all afternoon doing school and the kids had room to move too. Actually, we didn't do school all afternoon. We were hurrying to get the school work done before our friends, Mike and Irene Munoz and a couple of their children called to let us know they had arrived in town. They drove down to Midland from Lubbock the night before and spent the night at Mike's mother's home. On Saturday we planned to meet up and visit. It was so good to see them again. Bobby and I met them right after we got married. They lived in the same apartment building we did in Hermitage. We were together almost daily and sustained a good friendship for several years. They had four children when we met them and we enjoyed watching those kids grow. Right after I announced I was pregnant with our second child, Landis, Irene told me she was pregnant with her fifth child. I guess he was considered a surprise by some but Irene had been saying since I first met her that she wanted another baby. Elijah was born 3 days after Landis but when the boys were only 8 months old, the Munoz's moved back to Texas.

In June of 2006 after celebrating Bobby's parents' 50th anniversary with them in Texarkana, we were about to return to Nashville when we found out Mike and Irene's second son, Sean, had passed away at 24 years of age. We had literally just driven onto the Interstate but turned around at the first opportunity, rented a small car, taking Landis and baby Faith with us and leaving Grace and Hope with Mamaw and Papaw. We made an 8 to 9-hour drive out to Lubbock from Texarkana, hugged our friend's necks, reminisced and prayed with them before turning around and driving through the night back to Texarkana. It was a whirlwind of a trip and we were exhausted but it was worth it to see them. I wish we hadn't gone under those circumstances but I was tickled that Landis and Elijah got to meet for the first time, as far as they were concerned. In 3 hours they had become good buddies.

Mike's dad, Martin Munoz and his beautiful daughter, Sarah, joined us for the concert that night in Big Lake and after hugs, laughter and near tears, we said goodbye to Mike, Irene, Miranda and Elijah once again. And, once again, Landis and Elijah had become friends. At the beginning of the afternoon, Elijah was very reserved and stayed close to his parents. Landis whispered his frustrations in my ear but I told him to start slowly and ask Elijah a few questions about himself to break the ice. An hour later the two had finished their corndogs and chicken, sitting side by side in a booth and giggling. Irene said he hadn't opened up like that with another kid in a very long time. It made me proud of Landis for not giving up but pursuing a friendship.

We drove out into the dark dusty night across West Texas stopping in Van Horn to spend the night. We had dressed the children in pajamas before leaving Big Lake so they could sleep in the van and we could tuck them into bed once we arrived at the hotel. We found our room by midnight and the following morning we carried the children (still in their pajamas) back out to the van just before the sun rose. As a matter of fact, it was just getting daylight as we carried them outside and into the van and when they opened their eyes to have a look around, they were surprised to see the desert mountains and the palm trees. They ate the muffins and milk that we'd brought from the hotel and then changed into their church clothes at 80 miles per hour. I had to get a picture of the speed limit sign on I-10 between Van Horn and El Paso because that's not something we see everyday. About 30 minutes west of Van Horn, Bobby realized we were about to cross into Mountain time...which meant we could have slept an extra hour! Oh well. Nothing can be done about that now. Better to be early than late.

We arrived in Horizon City and found the elementary school where Family of Hope Church had their church services. Upon meeting Pastor Ron Kelly and his wife, Lori we immediately had this mutual feeling of like-mindedness. We just clicked right away and enjoyed some time of fellowship with them during the Sunday School hour. When the service started there was such an excitement in the room and when the first song kicked off, the congregation rose to their feet and began to worship. After the first couple of songs Bobby told them they could sit down if they wanted to. The service continued that way through the end and we finished with a large group around the altar in prayer. What a treat for us to meet this group of believers and worship with them.

Pastor Ron and Lori took us to lunch after church and conversation came so easy for us as we enjoyed each others' company a little longer. They even decided that they wanted us to come back for Easter Sunday. We were absolutely delighted for the invitation and are already looking forward to it.

After a very short rest in a hotel room, we drove further into Old El Paso and found First Assembly of God. We thought, by the looks of the old antique building that we had things figured out long before we met the pastor or anyone else. We figured that the evening service would be a far cry from the exciting and on-fire service we'd been privileged to be a part of that morning. But by the end of the evening we realized we were dead wrong and although the demographics were somewhat older than the morning church, they were just as much in love with Jesus as our friends in Horizon City.

There was food and fellowship offered following the service and at one point, I felt exasperated as Grace screamed in anger and the room we were all in had a lot of reverberation. I can't remember now why she was so upset but it doesn't matter. When Grace gets so upset you can't reason with her. The only thing that can be done to quiet her is to distract her with a thought away from herself. I did get her to calm down a little but after the screaming episode, I felt so alone. I'm not exaggerating when I say that her screams cleared the room a bit. People had finished eating for the most part but their conversation and fellowship was cut short because they couldn't hear each other anyway. Then a moment later a middle-aged couple approached us and smiled at Grace and I. They asked about Grace and then I asked them to speak some Spanish for Grace. She finds it very amusing to hear someone chatter in a foreign language. So he obliged us and Grace giggled at him with tears in her eyes. Then he told me he personally has seen 4 people raised from the dead. He reminded me that God wants to heal Grace and before he walked away he said he believed by the time he saw Grace again, she'd be on her feet. What a sweet and faith-filled man and wife. They were precious to me, just think how much more precious they are to God.

After a couple of late night loads of laundry, we rested and then rose with just enough time for breakfast the following morning. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I think the fine weather encouraged us as we knew we had a lot of driving ahead of us if we were to make it to Rockingham, North Carolina by Wednesday night. Onward!