Travelers to Tucson Part 1

Well. We did it. We LEFT Florida and began our journey westward on April 1. 

We got a late start the 1st of the 2 driving days.

The 1st night we pulled in late at a truck stopto stop for the night and of course Judah had just had a nap.

we gassed up and nestled in among the big rigs & red clay.

God knew by day 2 that if we had driven in the sunshine 

I would have cried passing though all the incredible places that were on my list of places to visit...

like this one from Houson 

in the distance the clouds looking ominous hovering over the city

I am once again remineded that this journey isn't about me. 

We love this gypsy life though and rather than consider all the places we

 couldn't stop at this trip we were thankful for safe travels.

by the time we got to Texas however,  we knew we needed a few day break in travel

so here we are for a few days in Columbus, TX just a little west of Houston.

while there are still many miles to the big roadschool convention in Tucson we needed a couple days of no travel before we continue westward. And with over 600 miles remaining just in Texas alone we willrun, jump, play, fish, and hike for a few days before we jump back in the van and continue our westward journey.

Suds & stuff

Well. Its laundry day. Thankful today for a nice comfy laundromat with wifi.
The clothes will be clean & fresh & ready to fold soon.... but in the meantime I thought perhaps I could manage a quick hello. We are down to less than a week in sunny Florida. Winter here has been good...and challenging... but we have met quite a few full time families & made some great connections with some. People we will treasure in our hearts and look forward to reconnecting with them somewhere down the road.

 

So the big question is WHERE in the world are we headed next? 

The answer is NOT North Carolina or Georgia although that may disappoint us I have become used to God changing MY plans. 

We are headed to the world's best roadschool convention in Tucson AZ. 

I am not sure WHY but God has a plan. So we are throwing all our eggs in one basket and rolling west.

on April 1st.

no. It's not an April fool's joke. 

The good news is we have absolutely no plans to come off the road anytime soon. 

We love our nomadic life. 

Which we have dubbed *the adventure of a lifetime*

So we pray we can come back & visit. 

But for now in less than 36 hours we will load up and yell.... "wagons ho!" 

See ya down the road

The Passion

I have been trying for over a week to figure out WHAT to write. We desperately needed some family downtime & readjustment and I am happy to report that things are almost back to normal. ..whatever that is in our world. We spent a week just outside of Orlando & have moved campsites once already to Wildwood Florida. 
We are taking the next week or so to fill up spiritually at Grace Tabernacle   & enjoy some fellowship there with people we met back in November as we arrived in Florida... little did we know then we would spend 4 + months in Florida. This church has  kind of stolen a piece of our hearts...and while we love our nomadic missionary journey, we also know a special place when we find it.
They put on two massive productions a year The Gift at Christmas and The Passion at Easter.They have everything from theatrics, live musicians and dance and even aerial ballet. It is truly amazing. Tickets are reserved but FREE all you need to do is go to the church website to reserve them. www.gracetab.org  The Passion dates are April 17-20 at 7pm & April 19 matinee at 3:30 pm. Wildwood Fl is about a 45 minute drive from Orlando and well worth it. Honestly I had hoped to be here for the Passion but it looks as if our time in Florida is nearing its end.
But that's a different post entirely.

Reunited

I left California a mixed mess of emotions.  Not thrilled leaving mom behind but desperately missing my little family.  Thanks to some amazing friends I arrived "home" to our 300 sq ft rolling house. If things are silent a few days please forgive us we readjust and rediscover our family roles.

Countdown

On March 11 I will fly back to Florida to be with Frank & the kidlets.
And while this IS the right thing to do..
My heart is torn leaving my mom here alone.

My eyes have definately been opened to the humdrum and mundane and lonely life in a trailer park.

People are lonely and hurting because of it.

SO. Once Frank & I are reunited we will be working n preparing the RV for travel.

BIG TRAVEL.

Like across the US at a snails pace travel.

Meanwhile I have been working on the 1st phase of many preparing to ask churches for support.

The missionary suport letter is written,
The tri-fold brochure is being revised
And the new business cards should arrive on Monday
125 Envelopes have been addressed to chuches in California, Florida, NY, Virginia, Indiana, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, & Texas. Each time I work on them I pray for the church to see our vision and join our journey... but that's another post for another day.

I have had time to work on this list and have had time to prayerfully consider each church I have written to....many of which are along our southern route from Florida to California. 

Some of you may be wondering if we will see you ( as we hoped) this spring... the truth is... I don't know.
It seems there is another curve in the road that is definately different the I had planned...
There I go thinking I get to plan this journey again.

We  will be travelling back toward California but certainly nit atrecord speed and also hoping to stopand visit some of the churches we will be asking to partner with us.

God is good. Despite the change in MY plan.

Sometimes I need a good swift kick in the pants as a reminder that I am not in control.

So. How am I getting back?

Last week I finally swallowed our pride & asked for help through Facebook.  Thanks to your generous donations I was gifted a plane ticket and (if we budget well) enough money for the new camper tires we  desperately needed before we can travel.

once again the support from friends and even strangers has blown us away.
We are trusting the churches we are writing to will catch our vision and join us on the adventure of a lifetime.

waiting

well. Here we are. 1/2 a world apart. And we are waiting on God for the answers. 8 months on the road have gone by & we have less answers than ever. We have been brought to the end of our means. And honestly, God shows up every time. But right now we are waiting.
waiting on God.
waiting on finances.
waiting on time.
waiting on circumstances.
when I came to California in January for my moms hospitalization we knew there would be challenges. And we knew I might get stuck here.
I am working on a support letter to send to churches. When we left last year we left solely on Franks retirement & the little bit we had in the bank. We have made it this far & we are sure this is what we are supposed to do. Many of our friends have been praying & have donated to our travel budget. Its gone. We live month to month thankful for Frank's USMC retirement. We live by faith... Not by sight. But it's time to find churches & individuals that would be willing to come alongside us and take this journey with us.
we honestly can't do it without prayer & financial support.
so please pray for us. Being this far apart is very difficult on all of us. While my mom is doing much better we need to be closer to California. And we are praying whether or not to fly me back to my family. Truth is that plane ticket fare could help buy us some much needed camper tires. Or gas to at least get a few hundred miles closer.
But right now, if every single part of our budget doesn't experience a slight hiccup... We might be able to budget it so Frank arrives back in California sometimes in June. . That's over 4 months away. This mamas heart may break before then.
~Jennifer

It's all in God's hands.

Have you ever been in a place where you were like "OK God I get it now."

For several weeks Jennifer has been back west helping her mother on the road to recovery and it has been great to hear all the improvements she has been achieving all this time.  Yet with this great news also comes the being a solo parent as the mommy is away.
There are days where if the kids are dressed I have accomplished my goal and yes pj's count.  I now understand where my wife had issues in the past that I never could fathom.  Yet there are other days that I attempt to make all the meals from scratch too include bread for pb&j.  Ok so the jam my wife made and the peanut butter is store bought... give a guy a break. 
As we are being tortured here in Florida with all this sunshine as the rest of the country is under snow and freezing temperatures we have been going through sympathy pains when we get out of the pool.  Yet as I look to the humorous side of things to help keep my head on straight there still is the deep fact that we are separated from the greatest woman in our life my bride and mother to all my children.  We are unsure when but pray that it will be soon that we will be reunited once again so that we may continue on our journey sharing the Gospel. 
God is completely in control of this and will guide us back together.  Please pray for us to stay in God's will so that we can use this for His glory as we pray to find the correct path in reuniting us all.