The Lord gave us a good start to our meeting here in Greer, SC today. We saw a young married woman come and trust Christ in the morning service. Her husband was a relative of one of the ladies in the church and the young couple had been the objects of prayer for quite some time. I have a lot of family and friends in the area (I was brought up just 15 minutes down the road in Taylors, SC), many of whom need to get right with God. Please pray with me that they will both attend and be saved.

This morning in Sunday school, I preached a message entitled “The Glory of His Presence.” It was a message from Luke 24 about the two men on the road to Emmaus. After Sunday school, an elderly gentleman came to me and told me that he was a Catholic. He recounted how he would pray often for others and frequently his prayers would be answered, but he said that he could not feel the presence of God when he prayed for himself. After explaining that God’s presence is not necessarily perceived by the physical senses, I began to inquire about his salvation. He told me that he was trusting in Christ and the fact that he had been a good person. I answered from Luke 18 with the story of the Pharisee and the publican. I counseled him to begin reading his Bible, telling him just where to start and outlining a simple plan for him. While he is not saved yet, I have confidence that he will be saved soon. He told me of Catholic Bible studies that he sometimes attended and asked me if it would be better for him to attend a Bible study or read the Bible on his own. I suggested that he read on his own. I told one of the saved couple who had brought him, “I have staked his eternal destiny on the power of God’s Word to convince a man of his need for salvation.” It would not surprise me if this man is in his Bible right now doing just what I counseled him to do. Please pray for George, that the Spirit of God would illuminate his understanding as he reads the Scripture and that he would give up Roman Catholicism and trust Christ alone for salvation.

The meeting is to close Friday night with a special School Night. Please be in prayer that many parents and students will be saved at this special service. God is doing great things already and we look for Him to continue.

Paul

Ministry Update

The Lord gave us a wonderful time of ministry among the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. I was able to preach, not only in the church, but the in tribal jail as well. It was amazing to me how relevant the Word of God was for every situation. As I preached one message, the pastor told of a woman there who claimed to be saved, but was not living for the Lord. When I read the Scripture of Titus 3:1-7, verse 3 read like a biographical sketch of this woman. She did not stay for the fellowship afterward the service, but left in a huff. I would rather see a negative response than no response at all.

Now we are back in the big city with cell phone service, and high speed internet. If you want to send us your pictures of how you were snowbound, now would be the time to do it. Thursday we head back east for a while. We will see some of you and we are looking forward to it.

Paul

Family Update

It has been an eventful weekend here in the Phoenix area. We pulled into Sun City, AZ on Thursday afternoon, and met the pastor at the hotel/RV park. Ahhh… an RV park, where they are set up to handle our kind of rig. No messing around with power boxes in the dark, uphill sewer connections, needle’s eye parking spaces – you know – the normal routine we go through at most churches. We had been looking forward to having some extra fellowship with the pastor and his wife (Ben & Stacy Schwanke) before the meeting started, but found out very soon after arriving that it would not work out. The pastor announced that they had been kicked out of their condo that very day and were living with his parents’ house about thirty minutes north of the city. By the way, it wasn’t because they didn’t pay their rent. Apparently there were some renovations that had to be done, and this was the only time the contractor could get to it. No problem – dinner at our trailer tomorrow, we said.

They arrived the next day, and we had a good time of fellowship and then the men went outside to grill some steaks. While I prepared the rest of the dinner, Paul took charge of the grilling. All was going well, until he noticed that the temperature inside the grill had gone from 300 degrees to 600 degrees in a very short time. Slightly curious, and perhaps suspicious, he lifted the lid. Flames shot out and singed all the hair on one side of his head, as well as his eyebrows and eyelashes. “Wow,” said Ben, never one to overstate matters. Fortunately, no one was hurt, although the grease fire did damage the steaks to some degree. The rest of the evening progressed uneventfully, for which we were all thankful.

Saturday began to look like a normal day. Laundry, household chores, and the kids playing outside were the big items on our list of things to do. Paul noticed that both entrances/exits to the hotel/RV park were cordoned off with yellow tape. Strange, he thought, that they would block off both exits at once. Whatever. Then the neighbors started packing up their motor homes and leaving en masse, some driving over the sidewalk to make their escape. The hotel was repaving the parking lot, as well as the entire RV lot. This entailed moving everyone at least once. The disgruntled seniors next to us decided that they would rather pack up and go to another park to unpack than pack up and move just a few hundred yards. The baton fell on us this morning as we were leaving for church. Could we move to space #46 sometime today? “Sure,” Paul said, “No problem.” We left for church, and after dinner with some of the church people, came back to the park. It only took a few minutes to get everything taken down, and we headed over to the designated space. Then, things began to go bad. Paul backed into the space while I waved my arms back and forth to direct him. The pad was very narrow, and when he pulled onto it, I quickly saw that we would not be able to open the living room slide without hitting the power box. Well, we can always pull back farther – no, the concrete wall would do considerable damage to the rear end of the trailer if we did that. Hmmm. Pull forward – no, now we are hanging out over the driveway. Paul made a trip up to the front desk to find out what was protocol in this situation. “Oh, just pull into the dirt,” they told him. Okaaay. We pulled into the dirt beside the pad and our clearance problems were over. Now we had leveling problems. Simple enough to fix – just a few minutes, and we were level.

I went in to put the kids down for their Sunday afternoon nap and discovered that Abigail had a world-class “blowout” diaper. While I cleaned up the carnage, Paul re-entered the trailer. “Don’t expect me to help you with anything for about ten minutes,” I told him. “Abigail really outdid herself on this one.” He responded with, “We’ve got bigger problems than a blowout.” This was not good. I thought. What is he talking about? “The front jacks aren’t responding at all. Zilch. Zip. Nada.” Ooooh, that is bad. He went back outside, and I finished my disgusting chore. After putting the kids into their beds, I went out to turn on the AC, as it was getting rather warm in the trailer. Poke, poke, poke, went the thermostat, but nothing happened. No lights, no sounds, no power. I went outside to share the glad tidings with my husband. “But the microwave was blinking,” he protested. I went back inside. Sure enough, the microwave was blinking, but still no power in the “nerve center” of the trailer. No lights in the front half of the trailer, and no electricity in the outlets. He decided to check the box. Much to our relief, the fault lay with the box, and not with our trailer. We reported this to the front desk, and asked if we could move to another spot. No, there are no other open spots. Unless you would like to move to #69, which has electricity, wireless internet, and water, but no sewer. Or #47, which has sewer and water, but no power. It has a great little brick patio, though. “Great,” I thought, “Does that come with an electric blanket, too?” No, but for your inconvenience, you get free breakfast every day of your stay in the hotel dining room. Doubtless, replete with foods that the children cannot have, but a great gesture on the park owner’s part. No worries, they said, you should be back to your original spot by Tuesday morning. I am beginning to get a taste of what the Israelites went through during the wilderness journey. Free breakfast, but a lot of moving around without getting anywhere.

After church tonight, we came home and Paul started working on the power problem. The kids thought it was great fun to have the one working light flickering on and off with a strobe effect. Esther was crying incessantly, and I was making the top bunk which had been flooded the night before by the inhabitant. Making an RV bunk is difficult under the best of circumstances, but it was not nearly that tonight. The lone flashlight beam flickered every once in a while, lending a double strobe effect to the task. Esther screeched. It was beginning to remind me of a low-budget horror movie. Thankfully, I didn’t fall off the swaying ladder. Then the process of getting the kids into their pajamas began. “Where’s your shirt? There it is! (lights go out, come back on) There it is again!”

Finally, after the children had been in bed for some time, the lights came on and stayed on – all of them! I cheered, softly, so as not to waken the sleeping baby in my arms. After messing with the box for quite a while, Paul realized that the RV next to ours was just parked in the space, and not plugged in, so he borrowed their power box, and we have heat, power, and sewer. Now if we just had some water…

Ministry Update

God gave us a wonderful time of ministry in California, allowing us to see souls saved at two different churches in which I preached. In addition, we were able to meet a new pastor of a church in which we had ministered before. God really knit our hearts together and we had a lot of sweet fellowship together with him and his family as well as with Tim and Megan Schmidt, friends from college.

The last three pastors that we have been with, including Byron Sarracino on the Indian reservation (see below), have been very refreshing in that they are very immune to ministerial politics. Having seen some politics in California, it is a breath of fresh air to be with people who only want to please God, not other people.

Now we are in New Mexico preaching for a Native American pastor whom we have grown to love. The fellowship with him and his family is always sweet and we are grateful to be here. The meeting closes tomorrow after which time we will head to Phoenix to close out our time in the West. Thank you, as always, for your prayers.

Family Update

I have succumbed to the overwhelming pleas of the masses, and decided to write another update. “Finally,” you think. I do have somewhat against thee, in that you have too much time worrying about e-mails that you haven’t received. Just kidding – we really appreciate each one of you that pray for our family. We have come off of a week and a half of great meetings in California. We made some wonderful new friends, and renewed some old acquaintances. The Lord blessed in the meetings and we saw several people saved both in the services and on church visitation!

Now we are saying goodbye to the sunny west coast, home of the In-N-Out burger, which, by the way, is the best “fast food” you will ever taste. It is worth the trip out here just for the experience! California – the place where you let someone turn in front of you, and they give you the “peace sign.” Where dumpster diving is a way of life. Where fruits, nuts, and flakes are on every corner! This is not necessarily talking about humans, although it could apply in some cases. Ha!

Presently, we are on our way to Grants, New Mexico, just west of Albuquerque for a three day meeting that will close on Sunday. Some of you have asked what we do all day in the truck and how the kids travel. They travel quite well, and today has been especially calm. Since we have been homeschooling Josiah, we haven’t really had to rearrange our schedule for travel until this week. So – we did school in the truck today. It was mostly a day of review, and I had all kinds of flashcards. Addition, phonics blends, one-vowel words, sight words, memory verses, and songs. We have been learning a new hymn each week since the beginning of the semester. This enables Josiah to participate in the song service a little better. He also read aloud several books today, his favorite being “Green Eggs and Ham,” by Dr. Seuss. He was able to read it all on his own, with only a few unfamiliar words. I am so proud of him – he loves his new freedom to read, and it makes entertaining him a lot easier. I think we have heard “Green Eggs and Ham” about five times today, in addition to “The Cat and the Hat,” “One Fish, Two Fish,” and “Hop on Pop.”

Esther has been pretty happy today in spite of being sick. She has slept a lot, and when awake, has been entertained by her siblings. Abigail has been quite a pill today, taking every advantage to plague her younger sister – taking her toys, taking her blanket, taking her pacifier, etc. We were all a little bit thankful when she finally fell asleep. Esther, never one to miss an opportunity, decided to retaliate by yanking out Abigail’s hair bows when her nodding head got too close to the car seat.

Paul likes to listen to sermons on CD while he drives. This keeps his mind occupied, and lessens the risk of him falling asleep on long drives. This is top priority for all of us, as you can imagine. Typically, as we drive, I am multi-tasking. My day goes something like this: put new CD into player, tell Abigail to leave Esther alone, turn up volume on CD so that everyone can hear over “Green Eggs and Ham” being read aloud, tell Abigail to stop hitting Esther, turn on AC since I am roasting on the south side of the vehicle, discuss point in sermon with Paul, correct Josiah’s mispronounced word, tell Abigail to quit kicking the back of my seat, turn AC on again, since Paul(on the north side of the vehicle) turned it off due to frostbite, answer phone, call person back since our reception fades during the conversation, tell Abigail to give Esther’s pacifier back, give kids a snack, give kids a drink, pick up Abigail’s sippy cup and refill it, change CD, stop for fuel, change diapers and take restroom break, buckle kids back into seats, etc. This is repeated several times in random order depending on how long the trip is.

Josiah and Abigail had a first- time experience while we were in Escondido, CA. Josiah came in to tell me that “not on accident” they “bit the grass.” My response was somewhat incredulous. “You mean,” I said, “you ATE the grass?” He nodded, smiling hugely. I figured I would just let it go with only a warning not to do it again in the future, explaining that only horses and cows eat grass, not people. “What about sheep? Do they eat grass?” he asked. “What about deer? What about dogs? And cats? What about…Mama, why are you pulling your hair out?”

Ministry Update

The meeting here in Fundamental Baptist Church in Escondido is going very well. We enjoyed the church ever since we first came, but this time there is a wonderful spirit that seems to pervade the church. God’s people have been so sensitive and the altar has been filled every night with people making things right. The church has a new pastor, their previous pastor having retired. The man that God has brought to the church is a tremendous blessing and God has allowed us to form a real friendship with him and his family. The fellowship with all of the church has been really sweet this time and we praise the Lord for the way He is working. The meeting goes through Friday. Please continue to pray not only for this meeting, but also for next week, that the Lord would open up a place for us to minister.

Family Update

Getting back into the swing of things took a few days for our family as we adjusted to yet another time change when we entered California. We had finally adjusted to Mountain Standard Time while we were in Mexico, so we were ready to take the final step. Dark circles and all, there we were fellowshipping after the services each night. If you do the math, we start our services at 10:00 pm EST. That means if Paul gets too long-winded, which, of course, he never does(!), we get out around midnight, and then talk for another 30 – 60 minutes. Half the time, I get “the Yawns,” as we call them while people are telling me how glad they are to see us again, and what a blessing the service was. I really can’t help yawning. Have you ever tried to hold a yawn? First, your eyes begin to water, then your nose twitches, and finally, your face turns a light purple as you compress your lips to keep from exploding with a yawn in the face of the dear church member who is talking to you. If they get a concerned look on their face, take a deep breath. This will relieve them, and they will continue the conversation. If they don’t notice, and just keep talking, go ahead and yawn, but make sure to cover your mouth. Most people don’t care to see your uvula, no matter how much of a blessing they say you are!

Josiah has entered the doldrums of Kindergarten. He now realizes that school is not always fun, and that he would much rather be playing with Legos than stuck in his desk writing for endless hours. He still does well, though. The distraction level is at an all-time high, however, with two younger sisters always present. I have managed to encourage him to finish quickly with bribes of getting to play in the church nursery when he is done. I really don’t see the appeal of the nursery to a five-year-old, but I am apparently missing something. It is a real incentive.

The other day, we had gone somewhere as a family, and had to get ready quickly before the service. I called out as we headed to the trailer, “Last one there is a rotten egg!” Josiah, who arrived at the trailer first, was highly excited, and said, “I’m the rotten egg!” Then he asked what a rotten egg was. I told him it was very stinky and yucky, and he seemed satisfied with that explanation. Later, however, I realized that he hadn’t quite grasped the concept. As we headed out the door for the service, Abigail said, “I’m the leader!” Josiah followed this with “And I’m the rotten egg!” I guess he thought it was a good thing. Then he said, “Abigail is a rotten egg, too, but I’m the fastest rotten egg!” Abigail did not like to be called a rotten egg, and violently protested that she was not an egg, she was the leader. And so, we headed off to church, laughing all the way.

The kids received a new game today. Whack-a-mole. You can just about guess what that is from the name of it. A battery operated toy that plays electronic music and talks. The gist of the game is to hit the proper mole before the light goes off. It comes with four plastic hammers and when your mole makes his sound, you have to hit it with the hammer. “Duh, yeah, oops, and ruff” accompanied by goofy laughs and music are the assorted sounds of the mole population. The game starts off well enough, but soon a missed mole turns into a free-for all with the hammers, and Whack-a Mole escalates into Whack-a-Sibling. The excitement is terrific, and so is the noise. Paul and I sit back and watch, thankful that we aren’t playing, and that one day, the batteries will die.

Ministry Update

Although I did not hold protracted meetings, it was a blessing to be able to minister beside Jimmy Watson and his family here in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. By this evening, I will have preached four times in two different churches. I have been a silent partner as others more fluent in Spanish have preached the Gospel during church visitation. I have accompanied the men of the church as they joined their pastor to paint the room that is the church auditorium. Most of all, I have accompanied Jimmy as he has worked, doing the mundane tasks of life as well as the more exciting tasks of ministry. We could never say enough about the Watson’s hospitality and kindness to us while we have been here. It has been a very rewarding trip, but we look forward to our next revival meeting beginning Sunday in English-speaking California. Please pray for God’s hand upon us as we travel, but especially as we minister in Fundamental Baptist Church in Escondido, CA. Please pray for the Watson family as well, as they recover from spending nearly two weeks with us.

Family Update

Greetings from frigid Mexico. Obviously, the little black cloud that follows us travels internationally, as well! Temperatures have dropped into the low 40’s each night. Big deal, you may think, but they do not have indoor heating down here. Concrete and tile houses are not very warm under the circumstances. However, the fellowship has been warm, and the memories numerous. I will share just a few of them with you.

The Slide Race

Jimmy took our family, along with Walker and Callie, to a nearby park. They had a small menagerie that he thought the children would enjoy. There were javelinas, raccoons, monkeys, bobcats, peacocks, rabbits and alligators. It was so cold, though, that the alligators would not even eat the food that was given to them by the keeper. On the other side of the park, there was some playground equipment. The kids played on the swings, a mini ferris wheel, monkey bars, and slides. In the far corner was a giant slide – the kind that you might see at the amusement parks. It was about three stories tall and two “lanes” wide. Jimmy dared Paul to ride down the slide, so they both ran up the stairs to the top. On the way up, the two men talked about how there was no handrail to aid a person up the stairs. Had the stairs been in the United States, there would have been two handrails, a handicapped ramp, trampoline to catch you if you fell, and a sign claiming no responsibility for anyone who fell. All of that would have been mandated by some government agency (OSHA or HUD, for instance). Jimmy remarked, “That’s the way it here in Mexico. There are no government agencies to look out for you. It is the land of common sense.” This was going to be good. I suggested that they race, and they agreed.

With that, they were off! Jimmy took the lead, and on the first hump in the slide went airborne. I was taking a video of the race, and the levitation was clearly visible. The momentum gained from gravity and speed combined served to accelerate him toward the next hump. Paul, seeing the impending disaster, slowed down and allowed Jimmy to get ahead even more. When Jimmy reached the second hump, he flew into the air, and remained there for a while, while about eight feet of slide went totally untouched. The look on his face was classic! With a resounding “WHUMP” he hit the slide again, and stopped at the bottom! The race was over. Paul came in second place, but Jimmy was definitely the loser! It was about five minutes before he attempted to stop groaning and get up. In the meantime, I was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh at his calamity. I suppose the irony of the moment was the “common sense” comment made split seconds before! The next missionary package might include a large heating pad, an ice pack, and several bottles of aspirin for future common sense moments.

The next few days passed uneventfully, since Jimmy had to be carried about on a stretcher. Just kidding… Paul and Jimmy painted the church building, and we look forward to seeing the finished product tonight. It rained for several days when we first arrived – this is highly unusual. The locals could not remember the last time it rained in January. Because it rained, the city turned off the water, thinking that we had enough. It only affected the guest quarters, so other than a slight inconvenience, everything went smoothly.

Saturday, Sharon had her first ladies Bible study. I was there, but just listened. There were several ladies present, but none unsaved. During the Bible study, the man from the water dept came to inspect their sewer line. It was backing up, and they thought that because of all the recent rain, the dirt from the street was clogging the line. After inspecting it, the man said that they were not connected to the sewer line – they have a septic tank (a big hole in the ground under their garage). Apparently, the landlady never had the house hooked up when the sewer line came through a few years ago. The tank was full, and had to be pumped immediately. They pumped it out Monday – the smell was overpowering, so we were glad to go see some sights.

Sunday morning, Paul preached again, with Jimmy translating. It is very interesting to participate in a foreign language service. I can understand quite a bit, but it just takes a while to place things in their proper grammatical context. I don’t attempt to say much of anything, except “Hola” and “Adios” with an occasional “Gracias” thrown in.

Over the River…

Sunday evening, we were to go to another church about 45 minutes south of Guasave to be with missionary Tap Hornor. Jimmy packed all ten of us into their Dodge Caravan and we headed out around 4:00 pm. It had finally stopped raining, but everything was very muddy. Jimmy knew of a short cut to avoid the toll of nearly $5. He drove off the road onto a dirt (or should I say, mud) path, and through several fields. It is apparently a much-used road by the local residents. As we came around the corner, there were some men standing by their truck. They said something to Jimmy about the water being high. I wondered what they meant, but my question was never voiced. As we crested the hill, I knew exactly what they were talking about. Apparently, part of the short cut was crossing a small stream. It was quite swollen with the recent rains, and very muddy. I thought Jimmy was going to turn back, but he didn’t. Paul thought that he would not have attempted it had it been his vehicle, but he said nothing. When with missionaries, do as the missionaries do. Nothing worse than a backseat driver in the front passenger seat. Jimmy drove without hesitation into the swirling waters, and I had almost released my breath when the van stalled. In the middle of the stream. It wouldn’t start again. It was after Jimmy’s frantic voice called Tap for help that Sharon and I succumbed to hysterical laughter. This was truly a Kodak moment, and we took advantage of it. Some water was seeping into the van, but not a lot, so we weren’t worried, although it was getting awfully hot with the sun shining down on us. Jimmy rolled down the window and climbed out to survey the situation. He was wearing sweatpants under his dress pants because of the cold, which happened to be one of his most common sense ideas yet, so his dress clothes were unscathed. The children were all agog at being in the “river” in the van. Walker said, “We need a boat to cross this river!” While Tap came with Cesar to pull us out, Jimmy endured lots of laughter, jokes, and comments. There were even some Mexicans who saw us in the water, and decided against going across in their vehicles. Tap pulled us out with no difficulty, and towed us to his house. Add pontoons, life jackets, and an outboard motor to the list for the next missionary package.

The service went well, and we drove a borrowed vehicle back to Guasave since the van was out of commission for a while. This time, Jimmy didn’t go the short cut. We took the long way around to avoid the toll. On the way home, we were pulled over by the military for a drug check. After seeing all the gringo children, they let us go pretty quickly, since there was no room for any drugs in the van. We were so glad to finally get home!
The van is fully operational now after a little bit of work on the starter. We were thankful that it wasn’t a big expense. That would have made it less funny…

Yesterday, we drove to El Fuerte about two hours away, and met “El Zorro.” The hotel was a beautiful place, and we had a nice walking tour. It was where the original Zorro was actually born! The boys were enthralled with his sword, and he even let them hold it. Esther tried to remove his mask, unsuccessfully, I might add. Abigail and Callie cowered in the background. We also toured a replica of the fort for which the town was named. It was really neat. We have really enjoyed our time here, and hope that Jimmy’s common sense will not prevent him from inviting us to come again. Pray for us as we drive back on Friday. Callie has already thanked the Lord that Josiah is leaving. We need your prayers, and so do the Watsons. Pray that the Lord would bless them as they labor for Him in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico.

Paul and Sarah

Family Update

Greetings from Mexico! After and interminable drive, we made it in to Guasave, Sinaloa around 9:30 pm on Monday. The children were all wearing matching shirts upon which were the very appropriate words, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” I thought about writing it on my shirt about eight hours into the drive. We only got lost twice. Here is a brief breakdown of the trip.

5:30 am – start loading all the luggage and missionary gifts into the truck; frequent stops needed to thaw hands and remove frostbitten skin; temperature 16 degrees F
6:30 am – eat breakfast
7:15 am – dress children and herd them into the truck; head out, all the while thinking, “I hope I didn’t forget anything!”

8:00 am – enter Nogales, border town of Arizona and Mexico

We thought at this point that we were in Mexico, but were still in the USA. We were trying to find the place where we were to get our tourist visas, driving permits, etc. We were flagged into a parking lot which we thought was the place to go. It was not. The man told us that he could not give us papers because our truck was too new. This was a very suspect piece of information, so we began to think that perhaps we were not in the right place. After sitting in the parking lot for five minutes, he told us that we owed him the fee for a full twelve hours parking. I was outraged at the gall of the man to flag us in, as if we were supposed to be there, when in fact, it was a shuttle bus agency, and then charge us for the whole day. We left in a hurry.

8:15 am – finally cross the border after driving through frighteningly narrow streets and twisting roads littered with worn-out vehicles and foolish tourists who walked into oncoming traffic with the brazenness of a Sherman tank

8:45 am – decide to turn around because we can’t find the “paper place”

It was at this point that we turned into a narrow curbed road, only to find that is was the wrong place. We had no recourse but to back up into oncoming traffic. This development greatly affected our prayer lives, as you can imagine. When we finally pulled into the right side of the lane, the truck skidded and slipped on a large patch of black ice. We clutched our respective “designated handholds” (aka steering wheel and dashboard) and hung on for dear life. Paul’s first comment was, “I told you they were sweeping up ice!”

9:15 – 9:45 am – sitting in line to get back into the USA

We figured we would go back in and find out where we were supposed to go to get our papers. It was at this point that we want to interject that no one we talked to knew where we were supposed to go. “Experts” in the States provided information that ranged from gross exaggeration to outright falsehood. The border official looked at us with disbelief, and then with a mixture of amusement and pity when we told him our story. He told us that we had to drive 21 kilometers to get to the permit station. We turned around and headed back into Mexico for the second time that morning, this time with great relief at finally knowing where we were to go, and anxiety at all the time and energy wasted already.

10: 15 – arrive at permit/visa place

Paul went in with all of our birth certificates, and truck title to secure a permit to stay in the country for two weeks. He came back out in a while with a frustrated look on his face. “They won’t accept my birth certificate.” Once again, I was outraged, not only at the Mexican government, but also at the South Carolina government that issued the crummy, computer-generated birth certificate. Now what were we going to do? “You have to go in and fill out the paperwork,” he said. As I stomped toward the building, papers in hand, I was thankful that he was the only one born in SC, where they resort to such idiotic ideas. I filled out the paperwork, jumping ahead of the retired couple in line in front of me. This was because they had been sent to the back of the line for not bringing their own pen. Really, the only things in the office were an employee, and TV, and a telephone. I loaned the couple one of my pens, and hurriedly filled in the information. I was then sent to another building to get the vehicle permit. When I handed them the truck title, things began to go bad. Paul’s name is on the title, not mine. My name is on the permit, not Paul’s. “Do you have a marriage license?” they asked. Of course, I do! It’s back in the green file at the trailer… ” What about his birth certificate?” No – that won’t work either… I was getting upset. “Do you have one of your children’s birth certificates?” Yes, but what does that have to do with the price of rice in China? Whatever the reason, they accepted Josiah’s birth certificate in lieu of Paul’s. As I walked away from the counter, I resolved that our next big expenditure would be passports for the family. This idea was heartily seconded by Paul, who was already making plans as he sat in the truck with the wild and happy children.

10:45 am – finally, really, truly on our way
10;45 am – 1:00 pm – drive, drive, drive et. al. ad nauseum
1:00 pm – prepare lunch on the road (figuratively speaking); preparations momentarily delayed by carsick child in the back seat, vomiting up a glass of water
1:10 pm – devour lunch
1:20 pm – 7:15 pm – drive, drive drive et. al. ad nauseum; children figure out what their shirts say, and begin reading them
7:15 pm – stop at Pemex to get food and use “el bano”

Paul was rather nervous because of the loitering hoods in the gas station and wanted me to hurry – he told me when I got back to the truck that the hoods were probably afraid to cross me just because of the way I walked up to the store. Believe me, they would have been messing with the wrong tourist! With only two hours to go, now in the dark, we headed for Guasave like a barn sour horse!

9:00 pm – we are now in Los Mochis, having passed several check points, with armed guards

Some confusion over the map resulted in getting off the main highway and heading into the downtown area. Not good… the resulting terrors still haunt our dreams at night. “Turn this way – yes! That is the direction we need to go! Agh! This is not right!” This followed by more rabid driving (not ours alone). One lane streets turned into two by hurrying nationals who use their horns more than their turn signals. At one point, we were driving in a two lane street, and looked up to see a transit bus (going the opposite direction) pull into our lane to pass a slow moving police truck. As there was nowhere to go, we slowed down (I hid behind the map) and the bus careened around the police truck, who had no intention of slowing down or speeding up, missing us by too little for comfort. Whew! After a few more turnarounds, we pulled across an intersection only to find that the two-lane, bi-directional street had changed to a three-lane, one-way street! “Agh! Turn left! Turn left!” I screeched (nicely, of course). Paul had no other option but to follow my directions, since we had progressed too far into the intersection to turn right, and unlike earlier in the day, we could not back up, since there were several honking cars behind us. Finally, we found our way back to the highway, and made it to Guasave with no further incidents.

9:30 pm – pulled into the Watson’s, jumped out of the truck, and kissed the ground

They were glad to see us, of course, and the further adventures of our two families will be chronicled at a later date. Believe me, they are accumulating already. Jimmy is threatening to “pull the plug” on the computer if I tell about the slide race. Of course, I may not say anything about it, but just put a link to the video footage of the event! Tune in next time for “Adventures with Paul and Sarah!”

Greetins from frigid Mexico. We are suffering right now in unusually cold weather that leaves us around 50 for an overnight low and only around 70 for a high. It is really difficult because every time we go out in the morning, we have to carry a light jacket, only to take if off again later in the day. We are managing, though. Last night, I preached through an interrupter at Iglesia Bautista Betania in Guasave. It was a good service and very educational. More on that at a later date.

A serious prayer request for you. We have a need for a new trailer. The one we have is a wonderful trailer with a lot of use left in it, but we do not have enough beds for our children. We have three children and two beds. Our youngest right now is in a pack-n-play, but there will come a day when she will no longer fit. We really need to sell our trailer and get another one. Other than this e-mail, I do not plan to work much to sell it. My plan is to pray that God will lead me to a person who needs to buy it. I trust that God will give us the perfect solution in His timing.

Thank you all for your prayers. There will come an update later on this week detailing our border crossing saga. May God bless you all as you serve Him.

Paul Crow

The sun bathed the cloudless sky in the pastel hues of morning. Crisp and clean, the breeze gently caressed his cheek. Despite struggling with a virus that greatly constricted his airways, he inhaled deeply the cool air of the morning around him. The newness and freshness of it all foreshadowed a good day to come. It was a good day that would be much welcomed. The previous day’s events had brought more than their share of hardships. The difficulty of a cross country drive had been compounded by a soaking, steady rain that made parking the trailer in north central Louisiana more difficult that it might have otherwise been. In fact, while parking the trailer in the dark, he had turned to miss a small tree. He thought that he had been entirely successful until the next morning, when, after packing up in the rain, he discovered that his front hubcap was missing. After a search over the places that they had been the night before, his wife finally found the AWOL hubcap and he replaced it on the vehicle. It was only then that they started across the country and more specifically through the endless state of Texas. The sun had long set and all the family was more than ready to stop as they passed through Abilene, TX, still heading west. Fatigue had now allied itself with some virus that concentrated its attack on his head and set up military operations in his sinus cavity. As the hours passed by, he filled and emptied trash bag after trash bag with facial tissues, each drenched by the predictable drip that came from his nose. After hours of nose wiping, driving, sign reading, driving, searching for places to eat, driving, searching for a place to stop for the night, and more driving, the combined forces of fatigue and sickness seemed to have weighted his every bone and muscle. After passing through the verdant jungles of Louisiana and east Texas, the family had entered the semi-arid plains of west Texas, spotting an occasional prickly pear from time to time. Rain was a novelty in these parts and the countryside all too readily told the tale. Yet as he set up his trailer that night in the only available campground for miles, a cold rain assayed to saturate his outer layer of clothing and reminded him of his eastern roots.

Thus far had been the events of the trip. Now, the rain in west Texas a memory, the night past and the sun shining, the new day seemed to promise wonderful things. Never had nature’s foreshadowing been so wrong.

His time of solitude ended, he retreated back to his trailer for breakfast and preparation for departure. In genuine altruistic spirit, he offered to help his wife with the breakfast meal preparation. It was then that the ruse of nature’s prophecy began to surface. The grits resided on the bottom shelf of the pantry. To barricade the pantry door, a metric ton of missionary gifts had been strategically planted so as to delay if not deny access to the nourishment contained inside. But on this good day, moving the gifts would be no difficult task. In fact, he need not touch the gifts at all, using the pantry door to displace them and reveal the pantry’s contents within. Blithely bending at knee and waist, he extended his right arm and grasped the cardboard canister of grits firmly. With the dexterity of youth, he pivoted his body on one foot, bringing the grits to where he could vouchsafe them to his wife.

It was at this moment that the prophecy of a good day was dealt the first of many blows. Seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics, the firmly held canister took advantage of the momentum of the spin and used energy to break the bonds of friction and release itself from his grip. With its newfound freedom, the canister hurled itself with deadly accuracy toward the open trash can, performing a perfect flip in the process. All the grits in the canister pressed with full force on the lid, displacing it as if by explosion. Before a full second had elapsed, the grits were free of their canister and almost entirely ensconced in a dirty diaper. The optimism of the morning seemed slightly misplaced at this particular moment, being further injured by a spousal interrogation that bordered on accusatory. “What are you doing?!” To her, it seemed as if he had taken their only available sustenance and used it to practice his slam dunk skills. Deciding that chef’s helper was not his occupation, he fled the scene.

He then decided to help his wife with the ongoing task of toilet training their daughter. He placed her on the seat and told her to remain there until he came to get her. Being a man of efficiency, he reasoned that he could shower quickly and retrieve his daughter after she had finished her business. Before his shower complete, however, he discerned that his daughter had abandoned her post, just before doing her business. Her business had now irrigated the bathroom floor, being slight contained by her two socks and her pajamas. As quickly as possible, he came into the room upon the scene of the most recent accident and began cleaning up the mess. Once again, the myth of the good day had been dealt a serious blow.

As with any road trip, it was necessary to stop from time to time to refuel. As if the good day theory had not been weakened enough, every diesel pump from Alabama to New Mexico refused to read his credit card, causing every fueling to become a major ordeal involving at least three trips to the cashier’s desk. By the end of the day, he was wondering if he had been triple charged for each fuel purchase.

In addition to the fueling episodes, the good day theory was further debunked by an attempt to check e-mail at a wireless-equipped rest area in west Texas. He had passed other rest areas that were similarly equipped, but chose to stop at this particular one. After failing to pick up a signal, he discovered through inquiry that the towers had blown down in a windstorm, and evidently were still not functional.

Throughout the day, other events served to strengthen the nagging feeling that all was not well. Upon finally reaching the desert, he discovered that he had lost his chapstick. His parched lips notwithstanding, he refused the cinnamon peppermint lipslicks kissing potion that his wife offered him.

After yet another relay at the gas station, he looked at his receipt, only to discover that it was not his receipt but someone else’s. It was at this point that the misfortune of before began to pass to another traveler who would now have to pay a higher fuel bill than what he had pumped into his vehicle.

In reality, though, this type of misfortune has followed me this entire trip. I will not bore you with the details of the commode breaking, necessitating that we be without water for a day. Nor will I disclose how our pipes froze Sunday morning. I will also withhold most of the story of how our grey water drain hose froze and nearly flooded the inside of the trailer before we discovered it.

Two things I will say, however. First of all, pray for us because we have to take so much time just to live that I am finding little time to work. Second of all, we are joyful, if weary, remembering that God is in control and no circumstance, no matter how difficult or frustrating, is ever out of His control.

Paul & Sarah

We do hereby certify that all of the above events are true, no matter how outlandish and far-fetched they may seem. “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” is our motto for this update. Questions or comments? Call 1-800-This-Cud-B-U!

Ministry Update

After a long time of being at home and not in regular meetings, we are on the road once more, heading west toward our first meeting in AZ. Thank you all for your prayers and concern for us. Some of you have written and expressed concern since you had heard nothing from us in quite a while. Be disappointed no longer. Here is the first of many (probably) updates as we resume our normal abnormal schedule.

I will advise you to be careful in your fan mail to my wife. Having heard so many suggestions of publishing our updates, my wife has decided to charge a subscription fee of $10 a month.

Family Update

“Boing! Boing! Boing! Woo-woo! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ring-ring!” These are the sounds of our first full day back on the road. While you might be mentally assigning each of the above sounds to a particular member of our family, you would be forgetting the “X-factor.” Battery operated Christmas toys. While some people love these “educational toys,” the adult members of our family have grown to despise them. You can only take so many hours of phrases like, “Hi! My name is Edison!” These toys usually do not last long around our house. You are probably thinking that I secretly destroy the toys so that I can throw them away, but you would be wrong. I encourage the children to play with them as often as possible in order to drain the batteries and put the toy on permanent vacation. Sometimes, I even play with them myself, if the need arises.

Our family has seen enormous growth over the Christmas season. Not in our personal size, although that is definitely possible due to the exorbitant amount of meals and parties in which we participated. I am speaking in reference to the “stuff” we now own. The children, in addition to new wardrobes provided by admiring relatives, received about twenty volumes for their library, toy dishes, six baby dolls, a bow and arrows, approximately 1500 new Legos for the collection (seriously), several battery operated toys, a ukulele, and a kazoo. These last two items were thoughtfully provided by the same person – a childless uncle. He had better hope that he stays that way, because retribution lurks in the misty future. The most unusual gift award went to another uncle. These gifts were stuffed toys in the form of viruses – E. coli and Rhinovirus, to be exact. While these gifts in themselves are nothing remarkable, the questions that they engender are very much so. Have you ever tried to explain to a two-year-old that their stuffed toy is not an animal, but something that makes you sick? Talk about having nightmares! “Mommy, I dreamed that my stuffed rhinovirus turned me into a giant runny nose, and then I blew up!” Well, maybe not!

I was surprised anew at the bad driving of the other people on the road today. I strongly suspect that some of them were still suffering the effects of their New Years’ celebration. Their driving would certainly witness to that. Anyway, we are parked for the night in Birmingham, AL at Mountain View Baptist Church. We plan to head out tomorrow and go as far as we can. This may be adversely affected by the children. Esther cut her first tooth yesterday, and if the second decides to make its way north, our journey will be cut short due to fussiness. Right now, she is happy and glad to be out of the seat for now.

Josiah and Abigail surprised me by getting along very well most of the day. They pretended for quite some time that they were a rooster and a chicken. The resulting “cock-a-doodle-doos” and “bock-bocks” amidst shrieks of laughter was enough to try the patience of any saint, including me. Paul doggedly drove, as if trying to escape the cacophony in the backseat, while I closed my eyes and wished for a rest stop. All said and done, it was a pretty typical day on the road.

Other family news to note – Paul will be turning 30 this Thursday. Please flood his inbox with your congratulations and tacky birthday forwards, complete with the phrase, “If you love God, please forward this to everyone on your mailing list.” Of course, you will all receive a message in return, since we would hate to break the chain. A plague of battery operated toys might befall us if we don’t send it on, you know…

This post was written December 1, 2006. Sorry it has taken so long to post.

Family Update
We are back in North Carolina for a few weeks, enjoying the balmy weather. It was nearly 80 degrees yesterday, and today was slightly cooler at 75 degrees! It is supposed to get cold again next week, but for now, the winter coats are packed away.

Josiah continues to do well, although we thought we might lose him again tonight to an unusual and unexpected hazard. We were walking through Wal-mart and browsing the merchandise, when a very large individual whizzed by in one of the motorized courtesy wheelchairs. As he nearly clipped the corner off my shopping cart, Josiah’s voice pierced the air, “Look, Daddy! A fat man with an earring!” We slunk around the corner of the nearest display and hoped the man in question didn’t fit between the aisles. All fat people are not jolly…

A praise to report: Josiah can now eat venison, turkey, and black beans. Each of these things was previously on his “black list” of allergies, but it seems that the Lord has seen fit to heal him. This is such an answer to prayer! We will take it slowly, but we hope to see more positive responses in the future. Please continue to pray – the Lord is working in our son’s body.

Abigail and Esther both have a cold/cough that they just can’t shake. Please pray that they would get well soon. Abigail and I are in the throes of potty training – for different reasons, of course. She makes the messes, and I clean them up. Not much success yet. Did you ever hear the song, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”? I have a slightly different version that has to do with a clean, dry house. She is continually amusing us with her little girl ways. I asked her a question (relating to potty training) the other day, and she tilted her head to one side and answered, “I’m da Princess, ‘ackshually’!” She loves to wear her plastic beads, and frequently looks like Mr. T’s female counterpart – without the suntan.

Esther is five months old, and trying to sit up. She is very alert and wants to be a part of the action that she sees her brother and sister sharing. She also wants to be a part of the dinner table action. What a fuss she kicks up when we sit down to eat! Many of you have asked is she also has allergies, and we answer, yes, she does. It seems that the culprits are eggs and dairy products, so right now I am on a special diet for her sake.

Josiah is doing well in school, and can now read many words on his own. We were in the truck the other day, and he kept saying, “Mad in Kinna” over and over again. I finally realized the he was reading off the bottom of his toy – “Made in China.” He is counting down the days until Christmas, and asking me every day how many more days it is. I never dreamed that I would one day own a talking calendar. At least it isn’t one of those horrible, tweeting, bird clocks! He was counting down the days until his next birthday, but when I told him that it was 250+ days, he was a little discouraged. I, on the other hand, was relieved when he stopped asking about it. Life’s little pleasures.

We are keeping busy, and we hope that you all will have a wonderful Christmas!