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.