While you were sleeping...

...we avoided an accident!  And yes, you might recognize that title from a movie that was made a few years ago.  But it seemed to fit perfectly.  Except in our case, God's angels were working overtime last night.

We were on our way to the Anza-Borrego Desert for a few days of R&R before we headed into San Diego.  Bill and I were talking in the front of the RV and I had just finished saying, "Well, we need to make sure we pray often to stay aligned with God's will as we continue growing Believer's Bridge."  The back wheels fish-tailed and we swerved into the other lane.  There was no on-coming traffic which was the first praise.

Bill gently guided the RV back to our lane but it felt like we had blown a tire so we pulled over on the shoulder as far as we could.  Adrenaline running, Bill and Robert jumped out the RV and started looking to see what was the problem. 

After a few minutes Bill came back and said he couldn't see anything.  He turned the engine on and tried moving the RV forward.  A horrible noise came from the back but the RV didn't budge.  So the guys took the car off the back and Bill got the idea to see if he could back up the RV.  It started to back up but the whole RV shook and made a horrible noise and stopped.

As he went back outside he saw one of our wheels in the middle of the road!  After recovering it he looked at the area and found that the lug nuts had broken off and the second tire (the RV has 2 wheels per side in the back) was still on but angled funny.

What seems to have happened is the lug nuts broke and that made us swerve but the tires stayed on.  Second praise.  If they hadn't, we are pretty sure the RV would have fallen on it's side or at the very least ruined the axle by breaking or bending it and who knows what other damage could have happened.

As it was, the wheels stayed on until Bill backed the RV up, but only one came off while the other continued to hold the RV up.  Third praise.

We have AAA RV coverage (fourth praise) so they were finally able to locate someone who could tow the RV backwards to a tire auto shop in Brawley, CA.  The town was only 12 miles from where we pulled off the side, but the tow driver had to come from 85 miles away. 

Bill put on the flashers to the RV and car and put a flair on the road since the RV was barely off the side of the road.  The fifth praise was it happened on a straight stretch of road with clear visibility on both sides.

So we slept in the RV (the tow driver put the tires back on, but w/o the lug nuts and bolts) in the auto tire parking lot and Bill talked to them in the morning.   The owner of the shop seems to be a Christian and Bill also told him about our work in Peru.  I believe he is from Mexico.

Right now we are waiting for Bill to come back with more lug bolts but he has to drive to El Centro to an Auto Zone which has them for $2.50 versus the $15 ones they originally wanted to get. 

SO, we are all safe and VERY thankful for the miracle that happened.  Thanks to all who pray for us!!  There seems to never be a dull moment around here...  Once we get the wheels secured we plan on heading to the desert and RELAX!!!

The "crooked" tire

The huge tow truck hooking up the back of the RV

And that, folks, is what an axle looks like...

Have home, will travel...unless the wheels fall off.

 "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³ And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴ Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."  Colossians 4:2-6 

Praise and Prayer, and everything in-between

We left our house Thursday, November 10th, heading west, with stops in Texas, Arizona, Utah, and eventually California. 

Praise: We were able to speak at two Sunday School classes at Kingwood Bible Church and reconnect again with some new supporters.  (We had a salsa and chips "picnic" in the parking lot as we sat around and talked.) 

Praise:  We were also able to see family on Bill's side who "happen" to live in the same town (most assuredly a God coincidence.)  They treated us out to eat and boy, did our kids eat!  Good thing both places were buffets.  At any rate, it was good to catch up.

Another praise:  About 1 1/2 weeks before we left, we were able to get renters for our basement.  It is only temporary, but helps keep the house occupied while we are gone and also will help our support.  However, we had been using it for our office and had to move everything out (and think about packing for a 3+ month trip.) 

Prayer:  We ended up with colds, all at different times and various degrees.  Not fun, and added more stress.  Please pray we will recover soon as we still have coughs and some yucky stuff.

Here are some photos of time spent with family in Texas.  We went to a park and it just happened to be Pioneer Days.  They had hey rides, rope tying and all kinds of other things.

Reproduction of a storage area.

Fun on stilts.

Homemade see-saw.

Hmmm, barely enough room for four.

Since we were in Texas and we had to go through this area, we decided to stop by.  Can you guess where we went?  (btw, this became a field trip for the boys... how fun!)

The famous Alamo church building/fort.

Our next stop was Arizona.  So, we stopped by the PIMA Air Museum.

There are hundreds of airplanes!  And the kids had fun pulling each other in the green wagon...

A retired Presidential airplane.

Our next stop was Ogden, UT to visit Becky's family. 
We made it there just before the snow started falling.



There's a few more praises:  we have set up a new program called, "Pennies for Pastors".  This is a way that anyone can help an indigenous leader/pastor just by giving loose change.  So many pastors in the Andes region of Peru where we work go without basic needs that we set this program up to be used in churches, classes, organizations, you name it, to encourage anyone ages preschool-100yrs+ to help other believers with basic needs.  Due to the exchange rate, pennies and loose change can make a HUGE difference to someone in another country.

We set up a website for it at:   www.penniesforpastors.org

SO, the main praise is:  we will be launching the program with Washington Heights Church's Awana program starting January 2012.  If you think your church or organization would be interested, let us know!!

Also, we will be speaking to the pre-K-2nd grade next Sunday at Washington Heights about our mission work, and then onto the Spanish church (also part of Washington Heights) to present to them.

It has been good to see family again and soon to celebrate Thanksgiving.  And on Saturday we will be celebrating Becky's parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. 

There is a LOT to be thankful for!!  We hope "y'all" have a wonderful Thanksgiving too!