Back on the Trail

Ministry Update

The Christmas holidays are over and it is time for us to resume our travels. We are grateful to have meetings so soon after the holiday season. Something happened today that has not happened to us in a long time. No, we did not get a new truck, another meeting, or a check in the mail. We had some trailer trouble. We had been trouble free with the trailer for a long time and we are so grateful for the time that we had without problems. Today, however, the trouble returned. As we were driving west on I-40, I noticed that there were two aluminum pieces flapping on the side of our trailer. I stopped and took a look, only to find that my awning had blown off. Only God knows where it is because we did not feel or hear anything. It looks as if the canvas separated along a seem and the strong head wind that greeted us all day today made quick work of the rest of the canvas. I’m told that the awning costs about $1100 to replace. Consequently, I don’t think we will replace anytime soon. Really, it is not as great a loss as you might at first think.

· The awning was constantly prone to mildew
· The draw string had retracted into the canvas so that I could not pull it out anyway
· It was viciously prone to break in a thunderstorm, the only time we really needed it
· It grew gray hairs on my head every time I left it open in the gentlest breeze
· It had caught at least one erstwhile road sign and countless tree limbs
· It was dead weight to carry
· It was just one more detail to check before pulling out

So really, we scorn rather than mourn the loss and have a good time imagining the junk collector who discovers it on the interstate. Maybe it will be some hapless inmate who tries to pick it up with his little stick. Perhaps some homeless man, having just lost his cardboard box, will happen upon it to his great relief. Once he finds that his new found tent is spring loaded and retracts at the slightest whim, he may be prone to return it to the interstate, in which case someone at Emmanuel can pick it up and use it at family camp next year…but that is another story.

Family Update

We have had a very enjoyable Christmas season back in North Carolina. The weather was much warmer, for which we are so grateful! There was a tremendous ice storm that covered the trees with a layer of ice ¼ to ½ inch thick. It was so beautiful, although many people lost power because of it! Thank the Lord we didn’t lose our power for even an hour, although some were without power for several days!

We enjoyed the special services at our home church both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was a blessing to reflect on the Savior’s birth, and the whole purpose of His coming.

I must say that one of my favorite things about Christmas is the decorating! I hung a garland on the large slide-out and we have a small tree that sits behind our couch on the storage cupboard. It is just the right size! I was sitting on the floor last week, putting the lights on the tree when Josiah said, “Mama, Abigail colored on the floor!” I looked, and sure enough, there was a great big blue stripe on our once-white carpet (RV carpet only comes in several shades of white, and is very hard to keep clean with children and NC red mud.) I got up to find the Goo-Gone, when to my horror, I saw about eight big purple stripes in the carpet further down! Apparently, she decided to do a little decorating of her own. I scrubbed for a long time, but there are still faint streaks of color on certain places in the rug. Later I found orange crayon on the day/night shade by the table. Oh, well. After this incident, as well as finding a green crayon in the dryer with my whites and favorite sheets, which are now cream colored with green speckles, and substantial evidence that some crayons had been eaten, I put the crayons up for a long time. Life is already too exciting to waste energy on crayon removal. The kids loved decorating the tree. I have a lot of child-proof ornaments, as well as a very unique collection of not-so-child-proof ornaments, and the trailer looked so lovely.

When I was a child, it was hard for me to sleep on Christmas Eve, because I was anticipating what I would find under the tree the next morning. ( I know, I was a very carnal child, but he which is without sin may cast the first stone.) This year, I could hardly go to sleep anticipating the kid’s reactions to what was under the tree. I was not disappointed. The Lord gave us the opportunity to share some very special things with our friends and family, and we are overwhelmed at His blessings to our family as well. He truly meets every need and gives us many of our desires, too.

We already announced that we are expecting another baby next year. Due to a conflict of opinions (the doctor, myself, and the ultrasound technician) we are as yet unsure of the due date. After my last checkup, they moved my due date back about 3 ½ weeks to the end of June. I was not a very happy mama. So, it looks like we will be having another ultrasound when we come back in March. Please pray for continued good health while we are traveling.

Many of you have asked about Josiah’s health, and we are happy to say that he is doing very well. We did have to take him to the ER the week before Christmas, but it was soon enough that he didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital, which was running on generator power at the time, because of the recent ice storm. All in all, it was an eventful evening. We are thankful that the Lord gives us just what we need when we need it – whether or not we think we need it!

We have enjoyed hearing from many of you, and ask that you pray for us as we travel this week to New Mexico for a New Year’s Eve service. So far, we drove about 420 miles today and are on the western side of Nashville, TN. We have a long way to go yet! From there, we are heading out to California, and then we will be in Arizona and Texas until March, when we will come back to NC. The weather should be much improved by then, too! Ha! We hope that all of you have a wonderful New Year in which to serve our Lord!

Sarah