The Van Saga

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We're back. Alive. In a manner of speaking… I spent most of the day Friday looking for rental vehicles. Nobody had any vans – not good. Well nobody had any cars either, not in Sioux City anyway – also not good. They either didn't have any to rent, or they wouldn't let us take them one way to St. Louis. Alamo would, but for around $400. So, as a last resort, I tried Alamo again and had 'em check Omaha, NE – two hours away. They had a full-size available. So I made the four hour round trip with my wife's Aunt Cynthia (her and Uncle Brad bailed us out of this mess by letting us stay the night at their house in Carroll, NE). We swung by the body shop first in Sioux City so I could strip the van of all our remaining goods. That was hard, and awfully final. I Left My Van in Sioux City –> there's a country music song in there somewhere.

Finally, I made it back to the house around 10:30 PM. We loaded up the stuff in the Chevy Impala. Crammed is more like it. The kids were crammed in the back like sardines, with stuff jammed wherever we could find room. In that condition, then, I drove through the night on the long, eight hour voyage remaining to us. My wife slept in shifts, when not forcing herself to stay awake and keep me conscious (she hadn't slept much the night before, for obvious reasons). The kids did so well. They slept all night, except for very brief periods when we stopped to get gas for the car and caffeine for me. They never complained, and through all of this, have remained cheerful and cooperative. They make me awfully proud.

St. Louis was a very welcome sight at 7:00 AM this morning, two days and one van less than we were originally planning. I just got up (had to sleep, couldn't stay awake any more). The kids slept 'til 12:00 PM. Fortunately, we only have an evening meeting tomorrow, and it isn't far to drive.

All in all, we've done very well. I had plenty of time to think while driving back from Omaha, NE, and it occurred to me that were very blessed in all this. Yeah, we lost a good vehicle, which is a drag. Yet, nobody was killed or injured. We have a working vehicle at home to tide us over until we can locate a replacement. We're not out any money (the van was a gift), and we have enough to pay all our bills and to spare. Through it all, I had the peace that passes understanding, which I'm beginning to realize includes my own. I remain confident that just as God gave the van to us, and took it away, He can give us another that will be as good or better. He made a man blind from birth so Jesus could heal him in John 9. He had to deal with blindness until then, so God could be glorified. He took our van away, so He could be glorified in giving us another. It will all be for the best, once enough time has passed for us to see everything yet to be revealed. God is building His message in us, and teaching us to trust Him, which will certainly have to do in the years ahead.

God bless you folks, and thank you for your prayers and encouragement in all this.

Van Update

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Last night we called Anna's Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Brad. They called friends of theirs, Norm and Dawn Breece, who lived close by. They really came through for us. Norm called a tow-truck for us, and he and his wife ferried most of our belongings and us over to their house to warm up and wait while Cynthia and Brad were en route (they live an hour away). Then we loaded up and headed to their house in Carroll, NE. We crashed that night. I slept, but Anna did not, being all wracked with guilt and worry like she was.

We just got the word on the van, and it wasn't good. It's totalled. The frame is badly bent, and can't be pulled out without significant expense. So, this wonderful van that God provided is now ruined. I have to rent a car to get us the rest of the way to St. Louis, and we
have my work van to get around in. We won't be able to make any long distance trips in it because it's too small for us and our stuff. Fortunately, our meetings in the next week or so are relatively close, but I don't know what we're going to do after that. Please pray. Not the way I was planning on beginning full-time deputation…

Prayer Request

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Howdy folks! We are in Sioux City, Iowa at the moment. We took a special trip up to Rapid City, SD to visit Anna's Grandfather, Burton Brush, who is dying from cancer. On the way back today, we got in a wreck. Anna was driving while I was trying to get some sleep. It has snowed and iced pretty bad in the Midwest the past few days. She was pulling over to use the bathroom at the Sioux City welcome center of all places. While coming around a turn , she hit a curb that was covered by the snow, and skidded into an oncoming vehicle. The other car was taking up more than its fair share of road apparently, and she was trying to stay out of the way. Everyone is fine, thankfully, but it doesn't look good for the van. We have family in the area, so we have a place to stay while we get it fixed. However, we only have liability insurance. The van's a 92 Chevy G20 with 138,000 miles on it. It's spacious and has plenty of room for all six of us (my 6' 6" frame included), and all our stuff. It was supposed to be our deputation vehicle for the next little while. God provided it, and now it seems He has taken it away. I have nothing to replace it with and no way to do so. We had just gone full-time as missionaries, meaning, I quit my secular job. Then, as if it wasn't already bad enough, the Sioux City Police saw fit to give her a ticket for 'failure to control the vehicle'. Awful nice of 'em to kick us when we're down like that. I don't know what we're supposed to do. I have a meeting in MO in a few days, and we need a way to get there. Please pray for us. Pray God will provide. Pray that Anna doesn't kick herself over this too bad (she was pretty broken up about it). Pray that we'll be able to get back in town soon, if possible. Pray for safety for all missionaries who are on the road, and wisdom for me as I try to figure out what to do about this.

Wrapping Up

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Welcome to 2005! We got a much needed rest around the holidays. I've been pushing very hard so as to make a successful conclusion to the year, in an attempt to get us on firm footing for the big transition to full-time mission work on January 1. So, we were all quite tired, and it was about time to just rest. We got lots of sleep, spent time together with family and with each other, and just caught up a bit.

The kids had a great time of course. The boys got a wooden train set, and Spider-man action figures. Elizabeth got one of those Little Tikes kitchenettes with all kinds of pretend foods, and dishes, and a stove and a sink and a microwave and a phone, and she is, of course, loving playing with it. The LORD provided some much needed money to buy these gifts, and it was very encouraging to me to be able to give some good presents to my children.

The end of an era has occurred. I have worked a job in one form or another since I cut grass for money as a 12 year old kid. That ended on December 31, 2004. I am now a full-time missionary, on deputation and on the way to Uganda, East Africa. It feels kind of odd, and, although I won't miss having to race out in the morning every day to get to work, there is a slight sense of loss. My employer was sad to see me go, because God had really prospered me in that job, and I hated to go as well. Nevertheless, it is truly great to be able to serve one master, and be focused fully on the great calling of God that He has placed in my heart. I can set my own schedule, manage my time more efficently, and get the work of the ministry done more easily now that I no longer have to answer to a secular job.

No sooner had the year ended, than we were driving up to Scotts Bluff, Nebraska on January 1 to visit my wife's uncle, Donald Brush and his family, and to be in a meeting in Bible Baptist Church in Scotts Bluff. The main reason we made the trip is because a) Don recommended that if we could, try to get a meeting in January, and this was the only weekend still open, and b) Burton Brush, Anna's grandfather, is probably dying, and we felt an urgent need to get up to Rapid City, South Dakota quickly to visit with him and Mildred. It seemed very apparent what God was setting up for us to do, so we changed our plans and made the trip. It's been great. It was a real pleasure to get to visit with the Brush's (Donald). Our kids and their kids are close in age, and they had a great time playing together. The meeting in Bible Baptist went well, and we were able I think to be a great encouragement to the Pastor, and ministered to the Church. There a great bunch of people, and it was a joy to be in their church. Afterwards, we drove to Rapid City, SD to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Brush. Got to see Mt. Rushmore on the way (coolness), and some buffalo (more coolness). While in Rapid City, we have a Wednesday night meeting in Emmanuel Baptist Church, and will be showing our slides. We'll be here 'til Thursday, and then back to St. Louis to crash, catch up, and get ready for a meeting in Sweet Springs, MO on Sunday.

Be praying for Bro. Brush. He's having a lot of trouble sleeping these days, and is very tired. His illness is wearing enough without the lack of sleep to exhaust him on top of that.

MISSION: Uganda Blog Update 12-22-2004

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Greetings, folks!

We were in Philadelphia Baptist Church in Philadelphia, MO (close to Palmyra, outside Hannibal) for their missions conference this past weekend. We were there, on our way to Uganda, East Africa, and so was Lenelle Smith, on her way to Ivory Coast, West Africa, so it was all African missionaries. It's always good to meet other folks on their way to Africa, who share your burden for the continent. Africa's a big place, and you can't really run out of work to do or places to go and work as a missionary. The need is ever present, and never diminishes. We had an all African dinner on Saturday, featuring food from Ivory Coast. It had a lot of curry in it, which I thought was really tasty, but which apparently lit some folks on fire. We all wore our African garments, and had some good fellowship with the people.

Sunday went well. We all slept like the dead on Sunday afternoon, and then got up to pack. My nimble-fingered, future pick-pocket daughter spirited away my travel alarm clock, which I need to make sure I wake up on time in the morning. My wife set it down for second, and turned
to get something, and <POOF>, it was gone. It turned out later that she'd been "helping pack", and had put it in her suitcase. Overall, it was a great conference, and I'm glad we got to attend, especially this late in the year.

We're getting ready for Christmas now, as, I'm sure, are all of you. We're looking forward to the break. It's been exceptionally busy, which is good, but physically very tiring. God bless all of you during the Christmas season. Looking forward to the many exciting adventures that lay ahead in the year to come. Be praying –> the sun goes down on my secular employment on January 1. We will officially be full-time then. We'll be driving up to Scotts Bluff, Nebraska on January 1 (hitting the ground running) for a Sunday meeting up there in Bible Baptist Church (Don Brush, Anna's uncle, is a deacon there). Then we'll swing north and spend a few days in South Dakota with her grandparents, Burton and Mildred Brush. Grandpa Brush is not doing well. The cancer appears to be winning, so we wanted to go see him while we still can. Pray for his health, and for his family's comfort. The board of Pioneer Bible Institute is meeting near the year's end to transfer leadership to his son, Don Brush, so pray for him as he takes on this huge responsibility. Pray for us as we engage in an insane amount of driving, that we won't have any car trouble, or accidents, and that I'll be able to stay awake.

Merry Christmas, one and all!!