Monday, November 25, 2013

Earth, Wind, & Fire
November 2013

In spite of the fact that all parts were not in good working order, we decided to start traveling in our motor home at the end of October, as it would allow Grace to lie down instead of sitting in the wheel chair all day long and it gave us some options for sleeping that we wouldn’t have otherwise.  We had been to Houston (in the van) and on the way home on Monday, Bobby told me he would drive our shuttle bus to Michigan on Tuesday, leave the shuttle with a friend to begin renovations, and drive our motor home back on Wednesday.  Three days after that we left for Kansas and stayed in Kansas and Oklahoma for 10 days.  The motor home served its purpose for the most part.  We couldn't totally get away from hotels (not that we want to) as the hot water isn't working, but we were able to keep our purchases down to 1 room per night because the motor home provided extra sleeping space, whether it was for the oldest children or for "the guys."  It also provided a pantry and refrigerator so that we didn't have to buy as much food.  As a matter of fact, in those 10 days we only bought one meal!  On top of that, we were given food - enough that we didn't even have to buy groceries like we had planned on doing.  The Family of God Church in Topeka, Kansas gave us some munchies before the service on Sunday evening, and then brought us fixings for sandwiches, plus canned fruit, after service!  The next morning we went back to the church to help with their monthly food distribution and received even more food afterward!  We even received a cake for Bobby's 50th birthday and that afternoon, Pastor Randal took Landis, Hope, and Faith, along with his own daughter, Hannah, to see a matinee.

Thursday evening we made a return visit to Chisolm Trail Cowboy Church in Enid, Oklahoma.  Landis said this was our 10th visit there but I think this was more like our 8th visit.  And then on Sunday we sang in Paden in the morning and Chickasa in the evening, both Oklahoma.  On Sunday evening, Pastor Gary Rogers was moved to tears when Hope admitted to her dad on stage that she didn't even know what state she was in.  Her ignorance, I thought, reflected on my ability to home school my children and I chuckled at my embarrassment.  I wasn't aware of Pastor Gary's emotional reaction until later.  He was moved by the fact that this 10 year old girl is gone from home so much that she's not even aware of what state she’s in.  My take on it was more that Hope just isn't paying attention all of the time and has no conviction about that.
Our pastor had requested that Bobby sing a song at our church on the weekend of November 9th and 10th so Bobby made that work out with our schedule.  This was great for the kids and I as we got to stay home and attend weekend services at our own church - first time since Mother's Day. 

The drive to Michigan on Thursday, November 14th was easy but the wind picked up steadily as the week drew to an end. We sang in Bay City Friday evening and plugged in and slept at the church, leaving for northwest Ohio on Saturday morning. 

Sunday.  Big Wind.  Here’s what I posted on Facebook:

"What a day!  Bobby struggled to keep the motor home between the lines as we drove from Grand Rapids, Ohio toward Coloma, Michigan, the wind gusts rocking us. While on the toll road near South Bend, Indiana, the storm hit and Bobby pulled over along with many other drivers and just parked on the side of the interstate because we couldn't see 20 feet in front of us.  When I saw leaves and debris coming toward our huge windshield I got up and moved toward the back, urging Bobby to do the same.  Arrived in Coloma to sing only to find out the church was without power and the service was canceled.  Drove back to my sister's house passing many dark homes without power.  Sister's house lost power shortly after we arrived and Dad started the generator.  Now we're being rocked/sung to sleep in a cold motor home by a fierce wind.  Very thankful for His protection in this big box today."

And now for the "fire" part of this story: We had an oil leak repaired on the motor home on Thursday and Friday and on Saturday, after driving not quite 30 minutes up the interstate toward Ohio, I smelled something burning; an electric smell - maybe plastic.  Bobby pulled over on the side of the highway and confirmed the smell.  He went outside and could see smoke coming from underneath. He drove us safely to the next exit and pulled into a truck lube/tire place.  Seconds after we parked, I could hear someone outside yell something about a fire and extinguisher.  I turned around to look toward our engine (which is our bunk room and Landis was sleeping) and saw Justis waving his little arm through smoke rising from the engine box below.  I grabbed Justis and yelled for Landis to get up fast.  I knocked the open suitcase upside down in the process.  Poor Grace had to wait until last to get out as Bobby and Landis struggled to get her down without a ramp. The fire was out quickly with no significant damage. However, Bobby was uncomfortable with the idea of continuing on to Ohio and since we were so close to home we went back and got the van and trailer. We grabbed a bite for lunch at home, repacked, and headed north, Take 2. 

As I finish writing this on Monday morning, there are more adventures to add and I can’t close without including them.  Evidently they weren’t expecting any snow in southern Ohio but it fell heavily between Cincinnati and Columbus and the ice trucks hadn’t done their job yet.  Traffic slowed to a crawl as we inched along on black ice for several miles.  Conditions improved and we alternated back and forth between clear, wet, and snow-covered roads the remainder of the way, driving through very heavy snowfall around midnight.  But God delivered us safely to our hotel at 1:00 a.m. and I actually made it to bed less than an hour later.  Intermittent snow showers continued on Sunday morning and it was absolutely beautiful against the birch trees as we kept an eye on it from inside the warm sanctuary. 

I’ll close with one last “event.”  With six o’clock came a crack, thud and a cry from Justis.  He fell out of bed and hit the corner of the nightstand on his way down!  It wasn’t just a bump.  He hit the corner of it with his forehead and at first there was an indentation but a few minutes later it began to bleed. I ran down the hall for ice and held it on his head for several minutes until he went to sleep.  Of course this morning he’s showing it off to everyone. 

I know the enemy wanted to keep us from going on the road this weekend. I don’t know of any salvations this weekend but we did give an invitation in both services.  What did happen was following each service I was asked to pray with people and that’s something that doesn’t normally happen either.  You know sometimes we forget just how powerful our prayers are because of WHO we are praying to.  How many times have you heard people say, “Well, all we can do is pray.” Are you kidding me?  ALL WE CAN DO?  Sadly, Satan is more aware of the power we possess when we pray than we are.  He didn’t want those moments of prayer for healing from cancer for Lucille or for Susan’s spine to be healed, or for Daniel to surrender his heart to the Lord, or for peace for Nancy whose wayward son passed away in August.  Satan knows his kingdom suffers greatly if Daniel gets ahold of Jesus. (Daniel lives in Nashville, by the way.)

It’s a beautiful sunny but cold morning in Columbus and I expect good things on our drive home today.  We will celebrate Jesus and give thanks this Thursday with the rest of our country.  I’ve often wondered how long we’ll acknowledge Thanksgiving as a nation because, after all, if you’re thankful, isn’t your thankfulness directed toward someone?

Happy Thanksgiving!