Welcome! Nuestra Casa Es Su Casa ...Our house is your house

A glimpse into the life of Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood and their 12 precious blessings. Thank you for visiting; we pray that what we share here may always bring glory to our wonderful God and Saviour. May you praise the Lord with us for the great things He has done and continues to do as we serve Him sharing the gospel here in the little town of Cuidad Insurgentes, BCS Mexico. He alone is good and faithful!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Journaling Furlough

July 28-29, 2011-
Long day of driving!  We left about 5 am  Lockwood Time :-)...that translates to about 8:47 am real time.  It took Daniel until around 3 am to get everything ready the night before,  and so we thought it would be best if he got more than 2 hours of sleep before making such a long trip.  He is the driver.  And by God’s grace, He does very well! 
We drove all day finally pulling over about 1:00 am to sleep for the night.  The roads were torn up all over due to construction, so while we drove for over 15 hours, we only made it about 500 miles.   The older boys camped out in the trailer and the rest of us found a spot on the van seats or floor, pulled out our pillows and blankets, and slept until around 6:00 am.  We drove to the next town and I bought some juice and rolls for breakfast. Daniel slept for another hour while I fed everyone,  had everyone wash hands/faces, comb hair, and straighten up the van a bit.  While Daniel ate, we all had our quiet time in the van together and then took off to hopefully get to the border this afternoon. 
Daniel was witnessing to a young woman while he ate.  She is completely lost and nobody there is preaching God’s Word.  As we left, she said to Daniel, “How will I ever come to know the truth.  You are leaving and there is nobody here.”  So much need!

____________________________________________________
10:00 am
Thanking the Lord for His protection once again.  We are about 5 1/2 hours south of the border….about 20 miles from the next town.  While passing a semi on  the highway, Daniel noticed a tire on the trailer was wobbling significantly.  The roads here have no shoulder and  often it is difficult to find a place to pull over.  Once off the road, he knelt down by the tire shocked at what he saw.  The lug nuts had all come loose., cutting through completely or into  the bolts and  we  had been within seconds of loosing the entire tire. 

With 2 bolts broken completely off and most all the nuts stripped, there is no way to  pull the trailer.  Daniel and the boys are disconnecting it right now so we can drive the van into town and see if they have parts there


___________________________________________

So much for which to be thankful!  Who knows how long those lug nuts had been loose like that.  Yet the Lord kept us safe all day yesterday even late into the night as well as this morning.  Daniel has just found the parts needed and is pounding away at the broken studs right now.  The children are getting fussy as we sit here in the van waiting, but I’m so thankful that these crying little ones are safe and sound.  We are near the Pacific coast and the weather is cool  Such a blessing as we wait!  The autoparts store just gave Daniel, Timothy, and Elijah free t-shirts. :-)  This is such good experience for them as they help/watch Daniel work. 
My computer battery is about dead.  Hopefully, we’ll be heading back to the trailer soon.



_______________________________________________________
What a trip!  We are only on day 2 and so much has happened!  We finally got to the US border around 7:30 pm or so.  The line was moving quickly and wasn’t too long.  We were almost to the front when several US border patrol agents began running  through the many lanes to one area.  They suddenly ordered everyone in the area out of their cars, drew their guns and one of them began yelling.  The border shut down and we watched as they continued shouting commands guns pointed in he direction of which they were shouting.  Finally, after several minutes, three people, one by one, came out with their hands up and were taken away.  The border re-opened, and we were back on our way.

As we crossed the border, the kiddos all cheered and then, we headed over to what is almost always our first and most requested food stop after arriving in the USA.  Are you ready for this?  Taco Bell!  Really :)  Of course, to us, it is a lot different than real Mexican food, but we just love it and mmmmmmm ...those bean burritos were sooo good!
After eating, we were looking forward to getting into our hotel after another very long day of driving.  We were in our same clothes from the day before, hadn’t showered, and everyone was looking forward to cleaning up , having Bible time/sing time with Daddy, and getting to bed at a decent hour.   But what we didn’t anticipate is that not only the hotel we usually stay in, but every hotel in the entire area had no vacancy!  As we wandered from hotel to hotel, I thought of how there was no room in the inn when Mary was to give birth to Jesus.  
 We decided we’d start heading towards Nevada where the church is where we’ll be Sunday.  After about 70 miles, we found a hotel with just one room, but it was a suite! Oh, the Lord takes such good care of us!   And it cost us less that our normal hotel charges us!  We were so thankful!  The older 3 boys helped Daddy bring in all the blankets/pillows, I pulled out the hide a bed and set up bedding around the room and everyone fell right to sleep.  We have a free breakfast and a late check out so we’ll sleep in, have everyone shower in the morning, and hopefully make a stop at Wal—mart before heading the rest of the way to Boulder City. 

 Good Night

17 comments:

  1. Thank you LORD! for watching over your family and as they minister for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We will continue praying for you. WE are glad that you are safe so far.
    Blessings,
    Dawn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing, and Praise the Lord for his protection and provision!! I was so sad at the thought of that woman's comment. I just know I am going to keep thinking of her saying that...it breaks your heart, but gives you more of a burden to share with EVERYONE!!!

    Well, I just prayed for continued safety for your family. Also that you will all have a very fun and blessed time while back in the U.S.!

    Nicole :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have about three seconds before Granton comes and finds me and Rosie starts crying....but I wanted to say I LOVE reading your journal while on the road!! How fun!! I have been praying for your trip, the kids, your safety.....can't wait to read tomorrows :-)

    ~Cinnamon

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thinking of you and praying for you. GOd's hand is certainly evident. What memories you are making with your children, too. I'm thinking that all these blog posts should fill a photobook by the end of your furlough. Wouldn't that be fun to look through over the years?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so glad you are safe! The Lord is so good to those He loves and who love Him!

    I know the seed was planted in that woman and someone will come to help with the harvest!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's amazing! Praying for you on your journey. I'm really glad that you noticed the wheel before the whole thing fell apart! The Lord watches over His children.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So thankful for the Lord's provision over your family!

    I was wondering how you do hotel stays. Does the hotel make you buy more rooms because of the number of people in each room? Just wondering as we have five children and don't know if we will have to get more rooms, to stay at a hotel.

    schroepfer 7 (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, Lisa~ It depends if we are in Mexico or the states. In Mexico, we can just do one room. In the USA, usually we have to do two, but sometimes, depending on the hotel/person at the desk, they'll let us do one big room. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. God is SO GOOD and it's clearly obvious and evident that His hands are sheltering and providing for you each and every step of the way! Hallelujah for His amazing and wonderful goodness! :o)

    Thank you for taking the time and effort to journal the details of your journey!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am praying for you all as you travel.
    In looking at the map of your journey, it appears you will come right by us through the Memphis, TN area after your KY stop. If this is accurate, and you all need a place to stay, we would love to have you in our home!
    God be with you all as you travel so far!

    Becky in TN

    ReplyDelete
  12. The Lord is truly with you and keeping you safe. We will continue to pray for you and thank you for keeping us updated on your trip! If you need anything don't hesitate to call. Much love.
    Angela :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. So good to hear how your trip is going. Praise the Lord for His watchcare over us. Praying for your safety in travels. Peter asks almost everyday... when are the Lockwoods coming? =) Looking forward to seeing you. LOve, the Andersons in Wyo

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was wondering about the room situation also. We have 4 children and whenever I try to make a reservation for our family, they tell us that they are not allowed more than 5 people in a regular room due to fire code (even if we are quite willing to sleep on the floor and such). This has happened at every hotel I call in Nebraska/Colorado/South Dakota. This is very frustrating to me as we will not get 2 rooms, but sometimes we get a suite. I often wonder how larger families do it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I only have 2 children and 3 hours in the car is about their maximum. How do your children stay engaged in the car for such long trips? Do you stop oten? I would love to know your secret!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a journey you are all having? You will make so many memories as your family sets out to do the Lord's work. God blesses his children, doesn't he?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Im so glad you made it safely. Enjoy your stay in the hotel, and be careful on your next leg of the trip. Praying for you all!

    ReplyDelete

We always LOVE hearing from you! We enjoy getting to know our readers as well. Feel free to email us or comment here and introduce yourself if you haven't already. Have a wonderful day in the Lord! He is so good and faithful!