I was able to take the trailer back to north MS with no problems, at least so it seemed. I arrived without incident on Friday night, but was nagged by some things that I noticed about the trailer. To begin with, the trailer seemed to be leaning to the passenger side—listing to starboard, as sailors would say—even though it was on relatively even pavement. A man in a trailer repair shop in Anderson, SC, had looked over my suspension and pronounced it good to go, but after my trip to north MS, I was beginning to doubt his word. Secondly, when I arrived at the church, there was the unmistakable smell of burning rubber wafting about the parked trailer, and particularly on the passenger side. (What is it about that side?) Further inquiry revealed that the first two tires had touched each other countless times during the trip as well as rubbing on the top of wheel well, combining for a burnt rubber sensation to rival Daytona or the drag strip. Though it was dark, I decided to look into the trailer yet that night and try to ascertain what was causing the problems I had discovered. The pastor and another man in the church immediately volunteered to help me and we three worked until midnight assessing problems and getting a part list together for me to find on Saturday. The problem as we saw it was an equalizer, a triangular part that couples the rear of the middle leaf spring to the front of the rear leaf spring. On the passenger side, this piece had almost been cut in two by the constant bumps and jarring of the road, the cut costing the trailer about two inches of height compared to the other side. The opposite equalizer on the driver side, though it was not nearly as bad as the passenger side, was nevertheless damaged and also needed to be replaced. By midnight the old part was off on the passenger side, the trailer was suspended safely on blocks, and the tools were in place to put the new parts in on Saturday.
Saturday morning was filled with futile efforts to locate the parts that I needed. Not only did I call businesses all over the Memphis area, I also visited many of them in person, hoping that though they did not have a part from the original manufacturer, they might have one from another company that would meet my need. After three hours of this work, I was still without the parts that I needed to get the trailer fixed. In the providence of God, the owner of one of the trailer repair places that I had called was in his shop on Saturday, even though he normally does not keep Saturday hours. He was in the office and heard me leave a message on his machine about the parts that I needed. He returned my call and assured me that he had the exact parts I needed. A quick run to his establishment prepared me to put the trailer back together. We still had to make one more run to get some bolts that we needed to put the parts on. The pastor and I made this run while the other layman stayed and completed some other tasks that he needed to perform at the church. When we returned, he informed us of another discovery: one of the welds that held the front leaf spring on had come completely off. Can you guess what side it was on? At this point, I decided to take the trailer in and have someone who was set up with all the tools on hand do the work. So our plans were altered yet again.
We stayed the night in the trailer Saturday night and got ready to go to the Sunday service. Sunday night, the pastor asked me to preach once again to his people, and the Lord gave us another good service there.
Monday morning, I took the trailer into Memphis to the shop and left it in the care of the Surwic Trailer Hitch Company. The owner, Danny Surwic, assured me that he would complete the job on Monday, if he had to stay until 7:00 at night to get it done. A few minutes before 5, the work was completed and they called me to ask that I would come pick it up. The workman did an excellent job on the suspension, repairing anything that showed any signs of weakening due to age. The result is a trailer is very road ready in the axles and suspension.
This morning, we left the Memphis area headed for Texas. We arrived at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX, a little before 8:00 this evening local time. After installing the proper receptacle for our trailer (they had the wrong one), we plugged in only to notice a burning smell in the trailer. It smelled as if it were some sort of electrical problem. After power was on, I finally pinpointed our problem. The inverter that converts 120v AC to 12v DC has burned out and will have to be replaced. That means that most of our lights now run off the battery instead of the normal power supply, causing them to grow dimmer the longer we run them. The good news is that this part will be relatively easy to replace; the bad news is that it is expensive. At least we are in a big city right now on a normal workday. The part should be easy to find and install tomorrow, but then, I have said that before.
We can still make it to CA in the time that we have. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us. The temptation to abandon the trailer along the side of the interstate is growing in strength, and though we have not yet yielded, we must fight it harder than we have ever had to before.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Trailer Ransom
After a great meeting in Southaven, MS, I left the family in the prophet’s chamber of the Clearview Baptist Church and headed out alone to get the trailer in SC. Traffic was perfect; or the trip was timed perfectly so that even Atlanta was a breeze to travel through, and I arrived in Anderson, SC about 3:30 this afternoon. Since my dad had picked up the parts to fix my trailer, I asked him to meet me at the gas station at which I had left my trailer on Saturday of last week. He arrived there shortly before I did and immediately called me to tell me that my trailer was not there. By the time I arrived, he had done some investigation and discovered that the owner of the gas station had towed my trailer off the premises at my expense. (I should have anticipated this development. The station employees told us that the owner was a jerk.) Thankfully, the towing company that towed the trailer was just right across the overpass from the gas station, and we could get to work on repairing the parts almost immediately.
This morning, when I left north Mississippi, the temperature was a balmy 63 degrees. Though thunderstorms had moved through in the early morning hours, I anticipated a nice day to work. By the time I hit Atlanta, a strong front had moved in, dropping the temperature over twenty degrees and bringing high winds and rain. The result was that the dirt lot that housed my banished trailer was a soupy mess of Carolina mud. When we got the hub off the axle and began putting the new studs in it, I noticed that the newly purchased studs were not quite the same as the ones that had come off the trailer originally. Specifically, their threads were not as deep as the original studs, causing me to wonder if the wheel would tighten down properly or not. Before putting all the studs in, we tried the tire on to see if the lugs would tighten and, thank the Lord, they did. So, for better or for worse, I made the decision to go with the parts that the manufacturer said should go on the trailer, even though they differed slightly from the originals. Once I finally got everything put back together, I left Anderson, tired, wet, cold, and $300 poorer. Far better to pay that much to get our old trailer than to pay $80,000 for a new one, I figure. Besides, if we totally got rid of the old trailer, I would have replace all of my wife’s shoes and clothes. Who knows how much extra that would run?
The plan is for me to take the trailer back to north Mississippi tomorrow, pick up my family, and continue on from there toward California. Everything seems to be going on schedule for those plans except one thing: they are calling for snow here tonight…
This morning, when I left north Mississippi, the temperature was a balmy 63 degrees. Though thunderstorms had moved through in the early morning hours, I anticipated a nice day to work. By the time I hit Atlanta, a strong front had moved in, dropping the temperature over twenty degrees and bringing high winds and rain. The result was that the dirt lot that housed my banished trailer was a soupy mess of Carolina mud. When we got the hub off the axle and began putting the new studs in it, I noticed that the newly purchased studs were not quite the same as the ones that had come off the trailer originally. Specifically, their threads were not as deep as the original studs, causing me to wonder if the wheel would tighten down properly or not. Before putting all the studs in, we tried the tire on to see if the lugs would tighten and, thank the Lord, they did. So, for better or for worse, I made the decision to go with the parts that the manufacturer said should go on the trailer, even though they differed slightly from the originals. Once I finally got everything put back together, I left Anderson, tired, wet, cold, and $300 poorer. Far better to pay that much to get our old trailer than to pay $80,000 for a new one, I figure. Besides, if we totally got rid of the old trailer, I would have replace all of my wife’s shoes and clothes. Who knows how much extra that would run?
The plan is for me to take the trailer back to north Mississippi tomorrow, pick up my family, and continue on from there toward California. Everything seems to be going on schedule for those plans except one thing: they are calling for snow here tonight…
Monday, January 18, 2010
Off the Highway
Please forgive me for not updating you sooner. The trailer is no longer on the side of the highway (sorry to all you curious South Carolinians who wanted to drive by and see it), and we are in Southaven, MS in our scheduled meeting.
On Saturday, my dad and I took the two remaining lug studs and installed them opposite each other on the hub so that we could temporarily attach the wheel. Then I drove down the shoulder of the interstate never going more than 10 mph to the next exit. Once we were off the road, I turned carefully into a gas station parking lot. The spot where we were initially was not a good one, so I eased the trailer into yet another turn so as to round the building to to more spacious part of the lot. In this slow, gradual turn, one of the two remaining lugs broke. I pulled the trailer out of the way despite this loss of the stud, and simply left it there. Then, Dad and I went back to Taylors where I picked up my wife and family and returned to where the trailer sat. Sarah and I packed up all the things that we would need for this meeting and we took off down the road in the rain. After a favorable time change at the GA/AL state line, we arrived in Southaven, MS shortly before midnight local time. The rain that started falling while we packed our things never let up the entire time we were driving, causing some of the items that I normally sell on my table to get wet.
The meeting started off very well yesterday with excellent crowds and tremendous response in all three services. Several people from another area church have told us they will be out during the week as well. We look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do.
The meeting closes Wednesday night, and we will go back to the trailer on Thursday, fix it, and then turn around and immediately head west again. Thank you for all of your prayers in our behalf.
On Saturday, my dad and I took the two remaining lug studs and installed them opposite each other on the hub so that we could temporarily attach the wheel. Then I drove down the shoulder of the interstate never going more than 10 mph to the next exit. Once we were off the road, I turned carefully into a gas station parking lot. The spot where we were initially was not a good one, so I eased the trailer into yet another turn so as to round the building to to more spacious part of the lot. In this slow, gradual turn, one of the two remaining lugs broke. I pulled the trailer out of the way despite this loss of the stud, and simply left it there. Then, Dad and I went back to Taylors where I picked up my wife and family and returned to where the trailer sat. Sarah and I packed up all the things that we would need for this meeting and we took off down the road in the rain. After a favorable time change at the GA/AL state line, we arrived in Southaven, MS shortly before midnight local time. The rain that started falling while we packed our things never let up the entire time we were driving, causing some of the items that I normally sell on my table to get wet.
The meeting started off very well yesterday with excellent crowds and tremendous response in all three services. Several people from another area church have told us they will be out during the week as well. We look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do.
The meeting closes Wednesday night, and we will go back to the trailer on Thursday, fix it, and then turn around and immediately head west again. Thank you for all of your prayers in our behalf.
Chinese Fire Drill
Ministry Update
We headed out of NC yesterday after our children finished school, hoping to stop in a church parking lot in Conyers, GA for the night and continue on to Southaven, MS the following day. The trip down was uneventful enough until we crossed the county line between Greenville and Anderson counties in SC. Shortly after crossing that line, a man pulled up next to me on the left hand side and just stared at me. This usually means one of two things: either something is seriously wrong, or he wants to race. Under normal circumstances, I prefer the latter, being rather confident in my diesel’s ability to out-accelerate many challengers to the posted speed limit. When I am towing the trailer, however, people who pull up next to me rarely want to race. Usually their presence indicates some kind of a problem. The age of the driver next to me on I-85 seemed to confirm the problem theory of why he was there, but he never said anything to me. He just stared and then eased on the accelerator, dropping back behind me again. After a few times of doing this, he eased up alongside me again and his passenger mouthed to me that I had a flat tire on my trailer. We immediately pulled off onto the side of the road to change the tire. I discovered, however, that the tire was perfectly full of air, but five of my eight lugs had broken off. If this story seems familiar to those of you who read these updates, it is because the same thing happened to us on the same side of the trailer (different axle though) while we were heading to the same area to be in a meeting in the fall of last year. Now we need to find a place that has the parts so that I can get back on the road. The SC Highway Patrol says that I have 48 hours to get the thing off of I-85 and we are supposed to open a meeting in Southaven, MS Sunday morning. The Lord knows all of this, and He has perfectly planned for every detail. We were able to spend the night with my parents, enjoying a wonderful meal in the process. In addition, the kids got to see their Grandma and Papa, a circumstance the announcement of which caused spontaneous cheers in the cab of our truck. In addition, the church to which we are headed has a prophet’s chamber so we can head on to the meeting if need be. God has it all worked out. We only wait to see His plan unfold. In the meantime, please pray that we can get the parts we need. Labor is not the problem—after all, I have done it before—but the availability of parts on Saturday is a hurdle to overcome.
Family Update
Yes, we are on yet another adventure! I couldn’t believe it when Paul told me that the wheel was coming off - again! Granted, it was a different wheel this time, but I am beginning to wonder if perhaps they are all going to come off while we are driving. It creates a certain paranoia that causes me to want to do a Chinese Fire Drill at every stoplight, checking all the lugs on the tires. It would affect our travel time in a very negative way, I suppose, but no more than being stranded on the side of the road. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the Chinese fire drill actually originated because the Chinese knew that the cheap bolts they used to hold their tires on were of such poor quality that they needed to be checked at every stop, lest the tires break off and roll away while they were driving. Perhaps now that everything is made in China, we should all resort to such measures. Be glad that I have forewarned you. One day you will thank me for this keen observation!
We are thankful that the Lord planned this out for our good. We were on our way to Memphis, but because of the rockslide that closed I-40 some months ago, we had to take the southern route through Atlanta. That may sound strange, but in reality, it is only 30 miles longer, and there are no mountains to navigate, which is a definite plus when you are hauling an RV. Had there not been a rockslide, we could have been in the mountains on I-40 when the wheel came off, with no place to stop or pull over, and been in a terrible accident. Thank the Lord for His protection and direction in out lives when we don’t even realize it! When I think of this event in that light, it is easier to bear the inconvenience and praise God for His goodness. Truly, He does all things well. We don’t yet know how this will end, but we do know that He will work it out for our good and His glory, so we can trust Him and keep praising Him. Sometimes the most difficult circumstances precede the greatest meetings. We look forward to a great meeting in Mississippi this week, and ask that you pray for the Lord to work mightily in the hearts of those that attend.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Off and Running
Ministry Update
The Lord has graciously allowed us to be in meetings during a time of year when things are usually a little slower for us. We had a wonderful meeting at Maranatha Baptist Church of Yorktown the first full week of January. The pastor wanted not so much a revival meeting as he wanted me to preach a conference on holiness, roughly following the contents of my book. The Lord used the meeting in the lives of many people and we are so grateful to see that.
We started the month in the Tidewater area of Virginia and before the end of the month, our meetings will take us to San Diego County, California, a great place to be in the winter, to be sure. Then in March, we will once again be in eastern North Carolina for meetings. Don’t feel sorry for me in the travel. I look forward to it about as much as a little child looks forward to Christmas. The family does not always share my zeal for hours in the cramped quarters of the truck, however, and doubtless would appreciate your prayers.
Family Update
Due to the many drains and demands upon my time, I have taken an unintentional hiatus from writing our updates for several months. School and travel have kept me quite busy in addition to the normal duties of a wife, homemaker, and mother of four very active children.
In November, Daniel celebrated his first birthday in great style. We actually had two parties in two different states, and all of his grandparents and some of his great-grandparents were in attendance, along with other family members. He was a bit uncertain about the candle, but quickly caught on to the cake idea! It was really nice to be able to spend time with our extended family on this special occasion.
Christmas came with a whirl of activity – parties and church programs, rehearsals and the like. One of my favorite things is to watch our children participate in the children’s programs each year. Something funny always happens, and this year, Esther was the one who made us laugh. Although she is only three, she has an uncanny ability to think and act older than her years. Her job in the program was to hold a sign that said, “Merry Christmas.” She turned it over at the correct time, but it was upside down. She cannot read, but she kept looking at the sign as if she knew something was wrong. Finally, a helper turned it around, and only then did she smile and hold the sign proudly. It was one of those “mother” moments!
We had a wonderful Christmas with our family as well as extended family. It was a blessing to us to see Josiah become a giver this year. We do not encourage greedy materialism at Christmas, although we do give gifts to one another. Josiah came to us and said he wanted to spend his money to buy gifts for all of us this Christmas. He carefully and thoughtfully planned his budget and picked out the “perfect” gift for each person. His generosity has shown itself on several occasions this past year, and we are thrilled to see him giving with a cheerful, willing heart not just to his family, but to missions as well.
Abigail is well entrenched in the trials of kindergarten. She is somewhat of a perfectionist, and gets quite frustrated when her shaky letters and wobbly numbers don’t look like the ones printed on the pages. However, she is quickly learning to read, and can be found sounding out words she sees around the house. So far, the most impressive one is “pomegranate.” She is so excited about reading, and her eyes just sparkle when she learns something new. This year she has also stopped sucking her thumb and biting her nails, major milestones for her. I am so proud of her for working hard to conquer these difficult habits!
Esther is more and more the vivacious, helpful, little sweetheart. Her energy knows no bounds, and she is always doing some kind of imaginative play. She loves her dolls, and many times the babies can be found in various places “sleeping,” so we have to be very quiet! I do hope my children outgrow their penchant for weird names before they start having children of their own. Josiah used to have pretend children that he named Shadrach and Meshach, which, though unusual, are not too terrible, but the girls have followed his example in such a way that now we have dolls named Mrs. No Head, Grandma Cock, Flamingo Baby, and Italy. It really is scary!
Daniel is up and running – well, at least walking very quickly. He perambulates about the trailer finding all kinds of trouble. He loves to eat crayons, play with scissors (left out by his thoughtful older siblings), tear pages out of books, eat baby wipes, and wave pencils in the air as he walks around the house! He is a real cutie, and loves to play “rough” with us – growling and chasing, tickling and giggling. He also plays “where’s Daniel?” which is our version of peekaboo. He covers his ears and says “doo” without looking at you, and then he will make eye contact and shriek with laughter, as if you couldn’t see him at first. It makes us all laugh to hear him chortle so happily. It is hard to believe that just a few short years ago, it was Josiah that I held in my arms, and now, my firstborn is eight years old!
Josiah spent New Year’s Day in the hospital with a severe asthma flare-up. It all started with a cold and twenty-four hours later, he was in the ER. He ended up being hospitalized for three days in Virginia. He Lord was so good to us, and the church where we were ministering that week was so gracious and helpful. I know that many people were praying for him that weekend, and our family thanks each one of you that spent time interceding for Josiah. He went for a follow-up visit to his own pediatrician when we came back to North Carolina, and she declared his lungs totally clear. Some of you may have heard the saying, “Swallow a frog first thing every morning, and no matter what happens that day, it will never be worse than swallowing the frog!” I do hope that this was our “frog-swallowing!” We are so thankful that Josiah has had such good health for the last few years. His last hospitalization was over three years ago, and while his asthma still flares from time to time, we know that it has been the good hand of God upon him that has given us such relief from a really serious episode. Please continue to pray for health and safety as we travel.
We look forward to what the Lord is going to do this year. We anticipate a tremendous year of ministry and blessing that only He can provide. I will try to be a little more frequent in my updates, so that you will better know how to pray for us. Thank you for your prayers and your part in our ministry. Your words of encouragement mean so much to us. We thank the Lord for such faithful friends.
The Lord has graciously allowed us to be in meetings during a time of year when things are usually a little slower for us. We had a wonderful meeting at Maranatha Baptist Church of Yorktown the first full week of January. The pastor wanted not so much a revival meeting as he wanted me to preach a conference on holiness, roughly following the contents of my book. The Lord used the meeting in the lives of many people and we are so grateful to see that.
We started the month in the Tidewater area of Virginia and before the end of the month, our meetings will take us to San Diego County, California, a great place to be in the winter, to be sure. Then in March, we will once again be in eastern North Carolina for meetings. Don’t feel sorry for me in the travel. I look forward to it about as much as a little child looks forward to Christmas. The family does not always share my zeal for hours in the cramped quarters of the truck, however, and doubtless would appreciate your prayers.
Family Update
Due to the many drains and demands upon my time, I have taken an unintentional hiatus from writing our updates for several months. School and travel have kept me quite busy in addition to the normal duties of a wife, homemaker, and mother of four very active children.
In November, Daniel celebrated his first birthday in great style. We actually had two parties in two different states, and all of his grandparents and some of his great-grandparents were in attendance, along with other family members. He was a bit uncertain about the candle, but quickly caught on to the cake idea! It was really nice to be able to spend time with our extended family on this special occasion.
Christmas came with a whirl of activity – parties and church programs, rehearsals and the like. One of my favorite things is to watch our children participate in the children’s programs each year. Something funny always happens, and this year, Esther was the one who made us laugh. Although she is only three, she has an uncanny ability to think and act older than her years. Her job in the program was to hold a sign that said, “Merry Christmas.” She turned it over at the correct time, but it was upside down. She cannot read, but she kept looking at the sign as if she knew something was wrong. Finally, a helper turned it around, and only then did she smile and hold the sign proudly. It was one of those “mother” moments!
We had a wonderful Christmas with our family as well as extended family. It was a blessing to us to see Josiah become a giver this year. We do not encourage greedy materialism at Christmas, although we do give gifts to one another. Josiah came to us and said he wanted to spend his money to buy gifts for all of us this Christmas. He carefully and thoughtfully planned his budget and picked out the “perfect” gift for each person. His generosity has shown itself on several occasions this past year, and we are thrilled to see him giving with a cheerful, willing heart not just to his family, but to missions as well.
Abigail is well entrenched in the trials of kindergarten. She is somewhat of a perfectionist, and gets quite frustrated when her shaky letters and wobbly numbers don’t look like the ones printed on the pages. However, she is quickly learning to read, and can be found sounding out words she sees around the house. So far, the most impressive one is “pomegranate.” She is so excited about reading, and her eyes just sparkle when she learns something new. This year she has also stopped sucking her thumb and biting her nails, major milestones for her. I am so proud of her for working hard to conquer these difficult habits!
Esther is more and more the vivacious, helpful, little sweetheart. Her energy knows no bounds, and she is always doing some kind of imaginative play. She loves her dolls, and many times the babies can be found in various places “sleeping,” so we have to be very quiet! I do hope my children outgrow their penchant for weird names before they start having children of their own. Josiah used to have pretend children that he named Shadrach and Meshach, which, though unusual, are not too terrible, but the girls have followed his example in such a way that now we have dolls named Mrs. No Head, Grandma Cock, Flamingo Baby, and Italy. It really is scary!
Daniel is up and running – well, at least walking very quickly. He perambulates about the trailer finding all kinds of trouble. He loves to eat crayons, play with scissors (left out by his thoughtful older siblings), tear pages out of books, eat baby wipes, and wave pencils in the air as he walks around the house! He is a real cutie, and loves to play “rough” with us – growling and chasing, tickling and giggling. He also plays “where’s Daniel?” which is our version of peekaboo. He covers his ears and says “doo” without looking at you, and then he will make eye contact and shriek with laughter, as if you couldn’t see him at first. It makes us all laugh to hear him chortle so happily. It is hard to believe that just a few short years ago, it was Josiah that I held in my arms, and now, my firstborn is eight years old!
Josiah spent New Year’s Day in the hospital with a severe asthma flare-up. It all started with a cold and twenty-four hours later, he was in the ER. He ended up being hospitalized for three days in Virginia. He Lord was so good to us, and the church where we were ministering that week was so gracious and helpful. I know that many people were praying for him that weekend, and our family thanks each one of you that spent time interceding for Josiah. He went for a follow-up visit to his own pediatrician when we came back to North Carolina, and she declared his lungs totally clear. Some of you may have heard the saying, “Swallow a frog first thing every morning, and no matter what happens that day, it will never be worse than swallowing the frog!” I do hope that this was our “frog-swallowing!” We are so thankful that Josiah has had such good health for the last few years. His last hospitalization was over three years ago, and while his asthma still flares from time to time, we know that it has been the good hand of God upon him that has given us such relief from a really serious episode. Please continue to pray for health and safety as we travel.
We look forward to what the Lord is going to do this year. We anticipate a tremendous year of ministry and blessing that only He can provide. I will try to be a little more frequent in my updates, so that you will better know how to pray for us. Thank you for your prayers and your part in our ministry. Your words of encouragement mean so much to us. We thank the Lord for such faithful friends.
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