Journaling Furlough- August 11th

Thursday, August 11-

We made it here to Victorville, CA yesterday afternoon about 4 pm.  We left AZ a little later than planned, but we didn't’ need to stop too much and arrived about the time we’d planned.  The night before we left, I had all the children shower/bathe, and then put on their clean clothes for traveling the next day.  Daniel, the older boys and I loaded the trailer/van that night and so when my alarm when off the next morning, all we had to do was change diapers, put on shoes/socks, and comb our hair.  Rebekah and I ironed all our clothes we’d need for church and set them all aside, so when we arrived at the hotel, we just grabbed our toiletry bag and the church clothes, and everyone was able to freshen up and change without having to unload all the suitcases.

Pulling out of Regeneration Ministries in Arizona Wednesday morning

A dump truck inside of the back of a dump truck! :)  The children loved this!

Real life shot. :)  Everyone came into one hotel room so I could make sure they were all ready...hair combed, shoes on the right feet ect...  We were getting ready to walk out when I snapped this shot.  Eliseo was fussing and Josiah was making funny faces in the mirror :)

We had such a blessed time at Bible Baptist Church last night!  It was so good to see some familiar faces as well as meet new friends.  Timothy and Elijah are in charge of our display table.  I need to remember to take a picture of it.  The back drop has pictures of the people/ministry in Mexico and then on the table we have Mexican candy for daring ones to try, toys,  our pet horned toad, and other things from our area.  The boys enjoy answering questions and visiting with those who pass by.  We hope to pick up our prayer cards this Saturday. 

After service, some dear families, one of whom knew Daniel and I when we were really, really young, took us all out to supper.  We laughed, talked, and stayed until the restaurant closed.   We got a great night’s rest and the hotel had a delicious breakfast bar which we all enjoyed...coffee, juice, milk, cereal, yogurt, breads, eggs, waffles, fruit.  And it ALWAYS tastes extra good when I don’t have to cook it :).  I don’t know why, but even a peanut and butter sandwich tastes better to me when someone else makes it.  Daniel thinks that’s strange, but it’s really true! :)

We are all packed up and ready to load up and head to a home of some new friends, but we are having a problem with another one of our trailer tires.  Daniel loaned our trailer, a few months ago, to the high school in our town.  They were taking a trip up the peninsula and back with some of their students and needed something to hold the luggage.  On their way back home, they were in an accident and while they were so good to fix all the damage we knew of at the time, we found some more problems this trip.  Thankfully, Daniel has been able to make the needed repairs thus far and we trust the Lord will help him this morning as well so we can be on our way soon.

Something that I had forgotten about when traveling is the sometimes difficulty of having personal quiet time with the Lord.  Very late nights make it a bit harder to get up early.  At home, if the little ones get up when I’m reading /praying, I can have them play in the play room or give them a snack in the kitchen while I finish.  But in someone else’s home, I have to make sure they aren’t disturbing anyone or getting into every “new” thing they see.  :)  So I was asking the Lord this morning to help us to all do all we can to make that most important time a top priority.  To not let the busy-ness of traveling take away from what is most needful.  I need the Lord each and every day!  I need to hear Him, give Him my cares, confess to Him my sins, and ask for His grace and strength. Just as today’s meals are not sufficient for tomorrow, that time with the Lord is needful each and every day!