The Human Icicle

This is nothin' compared to how I felt this morning!!

Just in case you think life on the road is all peaches ‘n cream, allow me to lay that myth to rest.  One way in which living in a converted bus is different than living in a home is plainly obvious in the shower.

To start with, all of our plumbing is under the floor of the bus, and that means it is neither heated nor cooled.  It is merely outdoor temperature.  Our water heater can only heat the shower water so many degrees warmer than the water going into it.  So, that makes the shower frustratingly hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. 

Today, another dynamic was added: having to greatly conserve water because we’re running on the tank.  Now, our onboard tank hold 100 gallons of water, which gets us through a whole day’s worth of showers for 6 people plus one load of laundry.  That’s not bad.  And that usually works fine until we get to our destination where we can hook up to a water source…unless something happens and we don’t make it to our destination, like last night.

Everything was going fine until my husband, Iron Stomach Raub, got sick…terribly sick.  The odd thing is, in all the years I’ve known him (which is about thirty-three!) he’s NEVER gotten sick like that.  He’s gotten sick in other ways, but not stomach sick.  Unfortunately, he’s the only driver of this mess, and so we didn’t make it to our destination.  Instead, we spent the night in a Walmart parking lot.

That means that the water which was slated to last for a day has to last for an undetermined amount of time.

But, back to the shower.

This morning, I had to take a shower that used about 1 to 2 gallons of water. 

But to complicate matters, it was cold last night, about 31 degrees.  And our shower room has no heat.

I estimate my water temperature to be about 50-60 degrees, and the shower room air temperature to be about the same, but the floor of the shower room was about 40 degrees.  Add to that, the fact the condensation builds up inside the rooftop vent (35 degrees) and drips down on my back (no longer 98.6 degrees) because there’s only 2 feet worth of space in the shower room.  Yikes!

I think I was an icicle when I got out.  

But I succeeded in only using my allotted amount of water!

Hopefully, My Beloved will be better soon…(like, in the next few hours??) and we can roll along.

They may look innocent, but...

See that cement post on the left?  It's not as innocent as it seems!

We got hung up today trying to get the bus into a tight spot to get fuel on our way out of town.  We didn't know the cement post was there until we ran into it, but run into it we did!  I thought it was funny how about half a dozen men came out of nowhere, swarmed around and offered their opinions about what to do.  It was quite a scene; I imagine it probably made some of those guys' day to help us out.  (Excitement is hard to come by in Albany!)  Thankfully, with prayer and a lot of fancy maneuvering on my husband's part, and we were on our way again.  It'll take some buffing to get the blue scrape marks off the side of the bus, but it should come out.


Off we go to Southern California!


Keep rolling on for Jesus, dear ones!

Yikes!

We stopped to fuel up on our way out to the west coast.  Ouch!  But God always provides.  We had a church take us on for support on Sunday!!

But God Meant it For Good

One of the girls had just washed the bus before this picture, hence the puddle and cleaner.

We should have known we were in for it right from the beginning.

When we tried to pull out of the pastor’s yard with our 38,000 pound bus, the huge rear tires dug huge pits into the mud, and the bus sank deeper and deeper into the holes.

We were stuck.

No problem, we thought.  We’ll get a tractor to pull us out.  It wasn’t until 5:30 that the tractor showed up, but thankfully the fella had no trouble at all getting us out, and soon we were on the road again. 

We drove for several uneventful hours through Nebraska , finally stopping at a Walmart.  My husband and I got out and instantly heard a piercing sssssssssss coming from the drive axles.  It was a huge air leak in our brakes and suspension system.  A quick glance at the bus told us that the vehicle was listing terribly to the right.

 

My husband decided that he could see the situation better by day, so we boondocked in the parking lot for the night, running our generator for power and relying on the 100 gallon water tank, which was probably only 50 gallons by now.

It’s times like these that I go to bed feeling so spoiled, since even a breakdown in the bus, unless it’s the generator, hardly makes a difference in my life processes.

So this morning, my husband declared that the bus could not be driven to our next destination, that we were going to need to have someone fix it.  Now, normally he does his own mechanic-ing, but the space he needed to get into was too small, and the bus needed to be put up on some sort of lift.  That’s not something we carry around with us.

Amazingly, the Lord directed my husband to call someone from his database that lives in this city to ask for a mechanic, and we were put in touch with the pastor of a church here.  I was doing my usual tasks when, before I knew it, My Beloved told me that the Lord had worked out a solution to our problem, and we were able to limp the bus over to a shop where it would be fixed.  Praise the Lord!

And if that wasn’t enough, the church very kindly put us up in a motel during the repair.  And if THAT wasn’t enough, the pastor asked us to sing, and gave my husband the opportunity to present our ministry and preach!! 

As we entered the church, My Beloved introduced us and told someone, “we’re really not supposed to be here.”

The lady replied, “Oh yes, you are!”  God knows why and how to direct His people. 

I’m just so glad to be in His service, so that then my troubles can be put to good use!

The devil meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.  Praise His Name!

An Unusual Way to Spark Romance

It was the end of a very busy and stressful day…or was it?

I looked around at the mess I called home, and wished to just crawl under the covers and sleep for about two weeks. School has been especially difficult lately, and it seemed like the bus would never get clean, no matter how many times I went through and picked up stuff. Now all the children were in bed, and there was still a pile of dishes in the sink.

And I mean, a pile. I have no idea why there were so many, but there were. And I needed to do them before I could go to bed and take a coma.

I looked around and sighed, knowing I was in for a late night. And knowing I also had a lot of other work to do, as well.

I turned away from the sink to work on the floor, drudgery dogging my steps. Some days are just bone-wearying, and this was one of them.

After a bit, I heard water running in the sink, and turned to see My Beloved washing the dishes in the soapy water and stacking them in the drainer. Within minutes, he reduced the pile to zero! I rubbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes, smiling gratefully. "Thank you so much for your help! You just saved my life!" I quipped.

He smiled down at me and laid his hand on my shoulder. "How would you like me to see if I can get you a dishwasher?" he suggested.

My eyes grew round with wonder, and my mouth dropped open. A dishwasher…in a motorhome?? Whoever heard of such a thing? But my husband is always thinking outside the box, and he just might do it.

"Oh, honey, if you did that, I would jump into your arms!!" I exclaimed. He smiled broadly and replied, "Well, we'll see if we can do it."

That was a few weeks ago. And tonight, with much sweat, pounding, and grunting, he installed a small apartment-sized dishwasher in our motorhome!!!


And do you know what I did?

I jumped right into his arms!!

After some intense kissing, he said he thought he would like to install another one tomorrow…. ;)


 

 

God is So Good!

Yes, it has been awhile. Before I get into all my excuses, I want to make an extremely important announcement: I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER --- AGAIN!!!!

There you have it, Folks! Our beloved daughter and wonderful son-in-law are going to have their third little dumplin’ sometime next year, Lord willing! We found out on Thanksgiving Day! What a lot to be thankful for!! The Lord has been sooooo good to us!

Since getting back in the bus in November, I’ve been able to develop a good schedule for us here, wherever we happen to be. That’s something that is very hard to do, when your house moves every few days, but the Lord has helped me to do it. It’s been real good for all of us, especially the children.

We’ve been blessed to be able to use the BJU DVD curriculum for the younger children, which I (and they) enjoy immensely. The instruction is extremely thorough, and they are all very well done and interesting. However, it seems to take longer than I’m used to, to do the schoolwork each day. Hence, I have very little free time, especially since I’ve been doing a little work each day on my book.

Right now we are in Tampa, Florida, where my husband is seeing a Lyme Disease specialist. The doctor wants to put him on about six weeks of powerful intravenous and oral antibiotics to completely rid his body of the spirochetes and other co-infections. Of course, that changes our entire schedule – again (remember the bus accident??) – so my husband really wants to try to only go for two weeks. As the Lord leads you, it would be a blessing to me, and the whole family, if you could take some time to pray for him, and for us as we stay here to get his medical care.

Meanwhile, we now have an unplanned ministry to McDill AFB!! Isn’t God good?

Heading Home! Finally....

We are finally heading to our home, which is parked at a collision shop in Gaylord, Michigan. As of Friday last week, the bus is done and the shop got their check, so all we need to do now is show up and pick up our baby. It's going to be late when we get in tonight, maybe around 11:00pm or so, but I know everyone will want to go see it, even if it's cold, dark, and late! It's been almost two months since the accident, and we are going to be sooooo glad to be home again...even if home is only 320 square feet!

The Lord has kindly blessed us, and many people have put us up, or put up with us, as the case may be. We've also been blessed to be in several meetings and some missions conferences, several of which were unplanned - the folks knew we were around and asked us to come. All of these missions conferences have been a tremendous blessing, I love being with missionaries, and it seems that the Lord speaks to my heart more and more with each conference. For all the Lord Jesus has done for us, could it be considered a sacrifice to serve Him? No, not at all...

We have one more missions conference to go before we can head out to the military bases of the east coast. I have been somewhat chaffing at the thought of being stalled in the breadbasket of the nation, but the Lord has used it to help us in many ways. Still, I can't wait to get close to a base and be amongst the folks God has called us to reach.

Continue to pray for us for safety. When we pick up the bus tomorrow, we will still have a lot of glass to clean up, though we did what we could before we left. There will be other repairs to attend to as well, like the front curtain and rod. That will need replaced as soon as possible (nothing like living in a glass house... literally!!) And I feel fairly certain that after two months of sitting idle, something will need to be fixed! Just pray for us as we settle in.

A thought for today:

"The Lord has made everything beautiful in His time..." Each of us struggle with the voices from our past, those voices that tell us that we are stupid, or ugly, or wierd, or whatever. Sometimes a face comes with the voices, and sometimes those voices are alone, taunting us.

Always remember that those voices are sent by Satan to discourage you and make you ineffective for God. You see, if he can make you feel worthless, you will do nothing for God, and he knows it. He is lying to you, telling you, through those hurtful remarks, something that is not true! If we listen to his lies, we will be coming in line with his desires and wishes. As a born-again, blood-bought child of God, He sees only His Son, not our mistakes or shortfalls. He is "blinded by the Son," so to speak.

Praise be to the wonderful Creator, who loves us, made us beautiful through His Son, and helps us erase the lies Satan has emblazoned into our memories. God is so good!

The Saga Continues

It's been a long and trying two weeks since our incident, and the bus is still in the shop. My husband says they will work on it when they get all the parts together, which should take a few more weeks. Unfortunately, they are unable to speed up their processes. I understand it is a very reputable company, and one that does excellent work, but they work at their own speed and on their own timetable.

I guess maybe they don't realize that it is someone's home they have parked out in their lot, all taped up and just sitting there. Or, if they do, it simply doesn't really matter. I can tell you, it couldn't be soon enough for me.

We've been staying in various places while the bus is in the parking lot. First, we spent a week at a motel, then a church kindly allowed us to use their "prophet's chamber," an accomodation for preachers passing through. Michigan is not like the south, where there are prophet's chambers in abundance; it seems to me to be somewhat like California, with few, if any, places to stay in existence, let alone available.

So, this week, we've accepted an invitation to be back with our daughter and her family. They live in a school building, which is also the church, as well as Matthew's parents' residence. My husband and I have a room on one end, across the hall from Kathy and Matthew, while the kids are in a large room on the far side of the building. I'm not real wild about them being so far away, but they don't seem to mind. Of course, my husband is enjoying our little space, too.

Whether or not the bus is done, we will leave here on Tuesday, and go to a meeting in lower Michigan. Then, we need to be in Maryland not long after that meeting, so it will be a a long drive.

So, as you pray for us, pray that the bus will be done sooner than later, and that the Lord will help us during this difficult period of homelessness. Also, pray that the Lord will give us wisdom on how to pick up the bus when it's done (especially if we're on the east coast), and that the insurance company will not drop us like they say they will.

In case you're wondering, I can say from experience that the aftermath is worse than the incident itself.

A verse for today: "He knoweth the way that I take, and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." AMEN! Lord, be it unto Thine handmaid according to Thy Will.

More photos...

Sharon was sitting right in front, holding this laptop. This gives you a bit of an idea of how much glass she was showered by! It has to be a miracle that she did not get one cut!

Here's a look from the inside out. The right windshield got caught against that mirror in the middle, and didn't collapse until we were stopped and everyone was out of the way. The right windshield was stopped by the curtain rod (that thin line going across the top of the window).

The outside - sign and all!

This is the part that took the brunt of the hit - the passenger side middle. Simply amazing that no one was seriously hurt.

I told a friend today that it's hard to get a Christian down. When something happens, they just pop back up and say, "It could've been a lot worse!" "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39)

AMEN!

By the way, the shop says it will take 3 weeks to fix it. Pray for proper accomodations and guidance as to what to do about our scheduled meetings during this time. Thank you!

Bus "Accident"

While driving on a two-lane stretch of lonely road in northeastern Michigan on Tuesday, we had our first "accident." My husband is an excellent driver, and both of us have been driving without any accident whatsoever for the past twenty0six years. So it's no surprise to me that the "accident" we have is one that actually has to have something come and hit US.

My husband was driving, of course, and "all us kids" were doing our normal thing on a school-day: school! Some were already done, of course, namely Sharon and Lydia, who were both sitting right up front. Sharon was actually right beside the driver on the computer, and Lydia was right behind him, reading a book. Jason was done with his schoolwork as well, and was by Sharon, in the "passenger seat," or the window seat, as we call it - the seat with the best view. (It's also the seat that everyone fights over:) )

Only my husband and Lydia saw the tree. Later, Kev said, "I saw a tree leaning out, but then I realized it was actually falling! It was within a split second that I realized there was no way I could avoid the tree."

"Look OUT!" he yelled.

I looked up just in time to see - and hear - something really, really big slam into the windshield. Suddenlyit turned into a shattered gray puzzle, and we couldn't see a thing out of it. Glass pieces flew everywhere, and kids began to scream. For just a brief second, I saw the passenger windshield bow in and a tree branch - leaves and all - came through, paused right in front of Sharon (who had convered her head with her arms), and then slid back out and disappeared along the right side of the bus.

"It's OK, it's OK," my husband hollered. I knew what he meant, and I was releived to know that, though we were still going about 40 mph, he was able to control the bus and bring it to a stop. My job was to try to assess the extent of injuries.

Sharon, who was right in front of the windshield, had been showered with glass, but apparently was otherwise unharmed, because she was right with me, trying to comfort the young ones who were crying, screaming, and trying to run. (Running through glass in bare feet is NOT a good idea, in case you were wondering...)

I carried Jason back toward the back of the bus, trying to avoid glass, but it was impossible, as there was glass EVERYWHERE. Finally I took him into the shower room, and checked him over, looking for the origin of his drops of blood. I gave him a paper towel and went out to check everyone else.

Johanna was oozing blood from a dozen places, but thankfully had no glass lodged in her anywhere. My husband, praise the Lord, only had a few scratches, and Lydia only had a few also. Sharon miraculously escaped with no cuts whatsoever, and only one time got glass in her finger, and that was while she was getting glass out of Johanna's hair!

Not surprisingly, we've been finding glass pieces in strange places for the past few days. Even this morning, I found a small piece of glass in my mouth! The toothbrush? The toothpaste? Who knows?

We did end up taking Jason to the ER, where a doctor pulled a piece of glass out of his toe which was over half an inch long. I didn't think his toe was that big, but the doctor said it went all the way through his toe. He's doing a lot better now, thank the Lord.

Later I will tell about the current condition of the bus and our schedule. For now, we are staying in a motel in Gaylord awaiting insurance to do whatever it is they need to do.

Thank you all so much for praying for us! I know this could have been LOTS worse, and God knew exactly what He was doing.

More later!

The Ogre of the Rolling Raub Ranch

Driving through Wisconsin, we're having good driving weather and great safety. Good driving weather, to us, is an overcast day, and maybe some light sprinkles. That means we don't roast in our tin oven on wheels! And then, of course, safety means that the white cloud of smoke we saw coming from the trailer we pull really was nothing, and we didn't run into the eighteen wheeler who honked at us as we pulled out. A few close calls here and there, but, as Ma Ingalls says, "All's well that ends well."

We've not been near any military bases within the past week or so, and I really miss it. But, thankfully, the Lord is opening up opportunities to still impact the military for Jesus. A church in Kentucky has taken our ministry on as a project, and they took it upon themselves to work with Bearing Precious Seed in Milton, Ohio to create a beautiful full-color cover for a John-Romans for our ministry. Then, they also paid for production of about 8,000 of them, and called us to ask where to send them. Well, wouldn't you know that the three bases we've just been at are wanting materials to pass out on their bases!! I think it's amazing how God works on one side of the country to bring about the desired effects on the other side of the country, and how God uses His people, poor and dumb as we are sometimes, to put forth His Word! Praise His Holy Name! So, within a few days, there will be some wonderful John/Romans with "Compliments of Eagles' Wings Military Ministry" on the back going out into three different bases across the United States! God is so good.

Family wise, we finished up our second week of school. It's been easy and rough at the same time. Most children are doing great, and one is having some problems. It makes it very difficult for me, because not only do I need to teach Jason second grade and grade four students' worth of papers, but I also have to keep calling back some people to do their work right, or complete their work, etc. I feel like The Ogre of Rolling Raub Ranch, but I have do keep some semblance of discipline amongst the troops.

I've been working bit by bit on my book, though, and I enjoy that. It is difficult, though, because the subject matter is very pertinent. To those of you who are praying for me about that, I want to thank you and ask you to keep it up! It will be a loooong time before it is finished, but I do not intend to let it go.

A verse for today: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Prov 3:5-6 How much we can trust Him! How faithful He is! How good to know that He wants us to trust Him! May we give ourselves completely to Him, as a living sacrifice.

Another Casualty...

We had some good meetings at a church near McConnel AFB. It is a blessing that these past three churches we’ve been in by military bases all want us to come back to help them establish ministries to reach the airmen. One of the main purposes for this trip through here has been to help establish a relationship with the churches, and present them with their options for reaching their local bases. Then, once they understand the possibilities and options, they can pray about it, and the Lord can touch the heart of someone in the church to work the base. It seems like a long, drawn out procedure, but it is necessary to establish a ministry that will last.

Meanwhile, there has been another casualty from the power surge we experienced the other week. Our back air conditioner bit the dust, which is very sad, because it for our bedroom. Our room is about eight feet wide, seven feet long, and the distance from floor to ceiling is about six feet, two inches, so it’s easy to feel claustrophobic. I don’t mind when the air is nice and cool, but when it gets stuffy and hot, it is virtually unbearable. This past Sunday, when it was time for the regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon nap, it had to have been at least one hundred degrees in there! I decided to move, and got into Lydia’s little cubbyhole, after setting up a myriad of fans to direct cool air back to the bedroom. Awhile later, after it had cooled down quite a bit, I checked to temperature, and it read, “90 degrees!”

Thankfully, on Monday, My Beloved took the front a/c, which we don’t use much but still works, and switched it with the back a/c. Whew! I was finally able to sleep Monday night!

Today, we are driving across Kansas. With the heat index somewhere around 105 degrees, I am praying that our generator and air conditioners keep up!

Verse for today: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 We will always have hard times, setbacks, and trials, but our God is stronger than them all! It is not whether we can handle it, but can God handle it. I know He can!

Driving in the rain...

The Lord graciously provided, through the pastor of the church which had the errant wiring, a new printer and a CPAP machine for my hubby. Now the only thing that needs replaced is the battery charger, which we'll take care of in the next few days. We have determined that, praise God, the air conditioner and refrigerator are both OK! Thanks to those who prayed for us!

We arrived safely in OKC (Oklahoma City) last night, but not without blowing a tire on the trailer. The rain from Alex kinda dampened the tire rescue effort, so eventually it was determined that I would just drive the truck the rest of the way in to lighten the load on the trailer, since it still had three more good tires. Today, we will get a tire and a spare, too.

Strangely enough, when we arrived at the campground, we were unable to shut off the bus engine! We had heard of that happening, and it is not good - I guess these engines can take a fit of "running away" if the situation is just right. My Beloved pulled the battery cable, the fuel lines, and shut off every switch he could think of, and finally the engine starved of fuel and died. Whew! I have a saying, "If it's not one thing, it's another!" I guess that goes for our travels, for sure.

After we get these things squared away, we are heading out for Coffeyville, Kansas, where My Beloved is teaching Sunday School tomorrow morning, and preaching in the evening. Thanks for praying!

It's always interesting and encouraging to see how God will work out every situation we come across as we seek to serve Him. One thing's for sure: (Here's today's verse, folks) "...He is, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him!" (Hebrews 11:6) Praise Him in the sunshine, and in the rain as well!

With Opportunity Comes...

The Lord has so kindly blessed us with several open doors at some military bases already. There are folks burdened to reach the military, ready and trained at Dyess AFB in Abilene, as well as some near Shepherd AFB. (Shepherd is a training base, where approximately 1/2 of the Air Force comes through at some point in their career, so it's a very strategic location.) I am very thankful for these open doors!

But, with opportunity always comes adversity. Though our engine and generator did ok during the leg of the journey to Wichita Falls (a special thanks to those who prayed for us - it's not "healed" yet that we know of), we had some trouble when we plugged in to our destination. Apparently the church was wired incorrectly, and we ended up frying some of our appliances! :0 Our printer blew fire (didn't catch, though), and my husband's CPAP machine blew out. Our central air conditioner is not cooling very well, and our refrigerator may not be cooling well, either. Please continue to pray for us as we deal with this new "dilemma!"

Today's verse: "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength..." (Isaiah 30:15) May the Lord give us the strength to do His Will, not our own, and to do it with confidence, knowing we are perfectly in the center of His Will!

A few more pics...

Here are a few more pictures of the beginning of our trip. We passed a huge oversized load, which was being carried on about 5 trucks. Kids sure did like it! When we finally arrived at our campground and set up camp, the kiddos had to blow off some steam...

A Few Photos...

Here are a few pics to help you get a feel of what it's like with "Raubs getting on the Road."

Jon is taking pictures of the kids with his new Blackberry before he leaves for work.

Jonathan going to his car...it was really sad to see him drive away, and know that when he came back from work, we would be gone...

I will try to post some more pictures later. At this point, I'm not good at posting pictures, and I don't really have time to do more right now. It's time to make dinner, and the natives are getting restless! :)

"How do you do it?"

We have safely arrived here by Dyess Air Force Base, setting up camp, getting ready to execute Operation Naaman here. Our drive was relatively uneventful, but the engine and the generator were both running very hot, so we had to go slowly. We successfully stretched a 2 1/2 hour drive to about 4 hours. Pray that we can get this situation resolved before too many more miles.

I am often asked, "How do you do it? How do you go travel like you do, and remain sane?" Well, there are several different ways to answer those questions, ( like...maybe I'm not really sane! Lol!) but Ive been thinking a lot about my two main guiding principles. They may not sound like much, but they have been given me by God and have guided me through my Christian life so far. I know, by God's grace, they will lead me on the rest of the way...

1. My husband and I decided a long time ago, perhaps before we were married, that we would not be so attached to any location that we were not willing to go somewhere else if that's what the Lord wanted.

2. I married my husband, not my house or even my children. I enjoy my home, and I love my children, but where God leads my husband, He leads me (and the children still living at home). I love my grandkids, but it would be better for them to have grandparents that are in God's Will than close by and out of God's Will.

So, really, it's not so hard after all. It's simply following what the Lord has shown me so many years ago, and I'm very thankful for God's guidance.

Today's verse: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..."

Pulling out Tomorrow!

Yesterday, we loaded up most of the food, the kitchen stuff, and school supplies. I also did a lot of cleaning in the bus, of things I do not normally get a chance to do, like cleaning out the filters of the air conditioners.

Today we are loading all clothes, except for the clothes we are wearing tomorrow. The hardest part is trying to figure out what we will need for the next six months!

Tomorrow is the day set aside for "last minute items" (which I know can be tons!) and for actually pulling out. I don't know why, but when there's a big trip like this, actually leaving can take awhile.

Everybody is excited to be moving into their own spaces in the bus. Each of the kids can decorate their bed area however they want, so that is fun. Soon we will be ready to roll!

My verse for today is: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." We need to work hard, because today is THE DAY to get it done!

T-Minus 3 days and counting...

Lots to do! Today, we head to the bus to give it a final wipe down, and then back to the house to begin loading containers to take over. I am hoping to get all the school things and office supplies loaded today, as well as winter clothes.

Each of us gets to take a container of our own personal "stuff" to keep in the bus bay, as well. Hopefully we can get those packed and loaded today.

Lord Willing, we will be all working together, so I can spend time with my children while working. I sure do enjoy being with them!

My verse for today: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God..." Ps. 42:1

To be ever mindful and longing for His presence even while we work is a bit of Heaven on earth!

Blowouts, Bedlam, and Being Blessed

Yesterday we had a trailer tire blow out on us as we were driving to Big Spring. After Kev checked it out, he came in and said, “OK, this is what we do in this situation. Since we have three more tires on the trailer, we will take off the Expedition and the bad tire and drive the rest of the way separately.” Soooo… I finished up making dinner while he took the tire off and then drove the Expedition the 35 miles into Big Spring (which, by the way, was Big SpringS at one time until the government decided to try to harness the springs and ended up blocking all but one…)

We got in to the church at 6:15, and discovered two very important things: 1) they had no suitable hookup, and 2) it was actually a MEETING!! By this time, it was 6:35, and they very kindly took us out to an RV park 9 minutes away from the church, and some of us weren’t even dressed yet! Needless to say, panic and bedlam ensued, but my husband did a great job of presenting the ministry and preaching. We sang “I’m blessed,” and “What Love.” It all was a bit hollow without the boys, though.

Anyway, my husband is on his way back from getting 4 new load-range E tires for the trailer. he Lord has been so good to us, to take care of us as He does.

I’ve spent most of today prepping and staining the door frames to the shower and toilet room. They look really nice, except…. Some of the stain got under the masking tape I put on the wallpaper! Ugh! I don’t know what I’m going to do about that. We'll hafta see.

Tomorrow we are planning on polyurethaning. I have several volunteers!