Mission Bakersfield

We have a house.

We lost a car.

A fair trade.

The car died on the way to Bakersfield. It was at the first exit into Bakersfield. All is safe.

We are thankful for the Lord's provision.

More updates later...please pray for our immediate transportation needs.

Keys!

We are set to get keys tomorrow!

Awesome.

Praise God!

One more thing...

We are not in the house yet, though there is some movement to get this done in the coming days or after the holiday break. That would be nice. We do have another issue on the plate.

Our car has hit the wall. Bad things have happened...out of nowhere really. Before moving out, we took our vehicles in for a thorough once over with our trusted mechanic in Charlotte. Made some repairs and off we go. Well, on Monday, on the drive back from Bakersfield to Kingsburg (1 1/2 hours north of Bakersfield) the air conditioner stopped conditioning the air in the car with coolness. It was 107 degrees that day. Then more things continued to happen to the car.

Through some friends, we got our car to a trusted mechanic. The wormhole continued and now the repairs are more than the car is worth. (Sidebar: I also trust these mechanics because our dear friends have explained our story to them and they help out pastors and the like, so in case you are thinking what you may be thinking, know that these guys are good.)

Oh well.

We are not sure what we will do next. It is clear we will need to get another vehicle at some point but we will not worry about that. God will provide...and we have no reason to doubt that.

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."

So they went both of them together.

Genesis 22:8

Please pray that while we go through these difficulties that we will not lose sight of keeping Christ central in our lives and the start of this ministry, that our burden to pray will grow, that our dependence on God will deepen and that Christ will be exulted and honored as we give our lives to this work. Oh, and that we would get in the home soon and find another vehicle at some point!

The Curious Case of Purchasing a Home in California

We are on the cusp of purchasing a home....but we can't. Imagine that for a moment. All your paperwork is signed and completed, you are all set with your lender, you have turned over a lot of money to escrow, you have teams of people lined up to help you move in, clean, repair and paint and yet you have no idea when you will get the keys to your new home.

Ahhh, life with an indefinite close date!

The seller, which happens to be a bank in New York City, has the response time of a dial-up connection using Hulu to watch a movie. Which is just another way to say they aren't responding. We could get our keys today, or Monday or two weeks from now. Sadly, no one knows when it will be.

Yet, in the midst of this perceivable frustration is God's provision. The guest house we are staying in right now is still available for our use. The owner said to us last night if we need it for another or month, it is ours. Awesome. That sort of geneoristy is refreshing and we are very grateful.

Also, I have received interest in our church planting efforts in Bakersfield from a variety of people. Some want to have hands on help, others live in other parts of the country but have family and friends in Bakersfield that they hope we can connect with. It is all very encouraging and affirming. While we wait on a bank, we know that God is certainly at work.

If you have prayed for us, or are praying for us, please pray that we would get our home today. Also pray for wisdom as we begin rallying people around this vision and connecting with people with the gospel.

Holding Pattern

It is good to be in California...though we are not quite settled in Bakersfield yet. Currently, we hope to close on our home by the end of the week. Please pray that all the things that have to go through, go through so we can get our keys by Friday. It seems rather convoluted and complicated to us east-of-the-Mississippi types. Buying a home in California is one sanctifying joy.

So, you may be wondering what we are doing. We have a tent and are roaming the beaches and state parks, trading cigarettes for milk and the like. Our boys think it is an awesome adventure. OK, we are enjoying the generosity of some partners in the gospel. A church just north of Bakersfield in Kingsburg have been big supporters of us and have connected us with some generous people. We are staying in a couples' guest house...one they built to house missionaries on furlough. It has been a tremendous provision!

While we are in a holding pattern, it is encouraging to see the continued provision of God.

We will update as we get settled and established in Bakersfield. We would love for that to be this weekend.

Day Six: Beyond Barstow

We decided to go beyond Barstow today.  I'm typing this blog entry from the comfortable confines of a Holiday Inn Express in Bakersfield, CA.

Our cross-country tour has reached its end!

There are so many things to be thankful for as we reflect on this week...far too many for these blood-shot eyes to withstand this evening.  Know that we are thankful for your prayers and support.  We look forward to updating you as we begin to settle in Bakersfield.  Settle is a good word for this. In my morning devotion today, I was reading a prayer in The Valley of Vision (if you are unfamiliar with The Valley of Vision, check the link).  Here's the line that struck me today:

To this end, O God,

do establish me in Christ,

settle me, give me being there,

assure me with certainty that all this is mine,

for this only will fill my heart with joy and peace.

As we pray to be established and settled quickly in Bakersfield, we don't want to lose sight of being established and settled in Christ.  He is why we are here. He is our source of full joy and peace. We hope to see many Bakersfieldians...Bakersians....Bakos...(I need to look that up), become established and settled in him too.

On a housing note, we hope to close on June 24th or thereabouts.

Exhaustion wins again. 

We are in Bakersfield. 

Day 217: The Grand Canyon

The challenge of driving cross-country with a 26-ft Penske truck towing a car, as well as three boys who want nothing to do with prolonged hours of sitting, finally caught up with us today.  We were all tired and not excited about driving.  Fortunately, today was a down day of travel. We went from Gallup, NM to Flagstaff, AZ, some 2 1/2 hours.  We then drove up to the Grand Canyon and got in some sight-seeing and rock-climbing. 

It was a much needed break from the grind of driving. We stayed a while and here are some pictures from our non-Griswold visit to the Grand Canyon. 

Tomorrow, its off to Barstow...because Chuck Berry said so. 

Day Four: Mountain Time

I've never experienced a prolonged stay in the Mountain Time zone. I've skirted with it, when flying into Denver or Phoenix, but never so much enjoyed its vast features. So, today was a new adventure. 

We started off in Amarillo, where our hotel had a Texas-shaped waffle maker. Of course they would...it's Texas! As we jumped on I-40 West, hoping to get to our next destination of Gallup, NM in a timely manner, two boulder-sized rocks flew up and smacked the windshield of our minivan.  The cracks were immediate and by the time we hit the New Mexico border the "creeping" began.  Hopefully, they won't span the entire windshield by the time we get to Bakersfield.

Shortly after this frustration, I noticed that the rear tire on the auto carrier seemed to be off-kilter.  We pulled over at exit 0.  I have no idea what state we were in, we were in the middle of nowhere and we had no reception on our phones.  I was looking around for an Oceanic jet or a smoke monster. The damage was evident. The tire was shredded. We decided to go on ahead and find some civilization, hoping and praying the tire would stay inflated. We made it to exit 356 in San Jon, New Mexico.  Out in the middle of field resembling something from the X-Files (replete with barren cemetery) was Terry's Service Station.  We had reception on our phone, called Penske, talked to Chad, who worked for Terry, found out that Penske can contract Terry's to replace the tire and also found that Terry's had five tires of our size in stock!! What I feared would throw our trip off in a major way only took off an hour of time....which we got back because of the beautiful thing that is the Mountain Time zone.

I love the Mountain Time zone. More importantly, today was a glaringly bright example of God's good care for his people. His providence and sovereign care during this trip has been very humbling and encouraging.  We enjoyed God today. We even had a nice evening in Gallup with some swimming in the pool, some eating at a Cracker Barrel and the use of our hotel's lovely laundry facility.

Tomorrow we are off to Flagstaff. It is a short drive because we will spend the day up in the Grand Canyon. Hopefully, we will have some cool pictures for you tomorrow. 

Grace and peace from the Mountain Time zone.

Day Three: Goats and Other Unsightly Things

So, when traveling on I-40 West you get the distinct pleasure of seeing the finest back-woods entertainment Oklahoma and Texas have to offer. Three oddities come to mind from the 8 1/2 hours of drive time today.  First, and foremost is the goats.  We learned to have a different set of expectations when pulling into an Oklahoma rest stop. Wandering around the area were two goats...no owners in sight.  A homeless couple was trying to corral them...where I don't know.  We shared lunch with the homeless couple and set our boys onto the corralling task.  Shockingly, the goats ran away.  Unfortunately, they ran away to hide under our Penske truck.

Even more unfortunate was the "help" I was receiving from a shirtless, portly trucker. We tried all sorts of things to get the frightened goats out from under the truck.  I would have thought Shirtless Wonder would have been enough but these were country goats.  In the end, the threat of getting run over saved the day and the goats scurried off to the safety of the oddest rest stop in all of Oklahoma. 

Then, along came Texas...not wanting to be outdone by its rival state, Texas super-sized the cross.  Here's the boast: "The Biggest Cross in the Western Hemisphere, A Spiritual Experience You Will Never Forget!" I couldn't help but ask myself why? Dumbfounded, but then again, they like them big in Texas.

We did arrive safely into Amarillo, TX.  Found our hotel and ample parking and celebrated the conclusion of a long and odd day with a dip in the pool.  All in all, God has been gracious to us as we have had no traveling issues thus far.  Please pray for continued rest in the evenings and event-free days...minus the goats and shirtless truckers...

Day Two: Arkansas Does Exist

I've never been to Arkansas. I always thought it was an imaginary place where generic soda was made.  Come to find out that it is very much real. We made our way today from Nashville to north of Little Rock...beyond North Little Rock to a little town called Maumelle. 

We made good time and were able to sight-see in Maumelle. Pinnacle Mountain provided some entertainment for our couped up boys.  It was a very pleasant ending to our day.

Overall, the trip has been going smoothly. Laura and I are both lamenting the fact that we are getting soft and pudgy from the lack of exercise and the intake of random foods. Sonic milkshakes are of the devil.  Most importantly, the Lord is blessing us with safe travel, good boys and sane parents. We are grateful for his goodness to us.

Tomorrow is a big day of travel. It is the longest day of our trek west. We have to go from Maumelle to Amarillo. Please pray for safe traveling and timely breaks for our boys (and us!) to get some of the built-up, bubbling-over energy out.