The Beginning

Hi All!

I figured this site might work a little better if I start from the beginning.  After this first post, who knows where I will go, but at least we start here.

Shortly after we were married back in 1982 we spent several weeks looking around at travel trailers and motor homes dreaming of traveling the USA and sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  At the time we had a lot of zeal, but I believe the Lord needed us to grow quite a bit before we began a ministry like this.  We still continued to witness, door-knock, etc. but put the idea on a back burner.

After our 6th child was born we headed to northern Maine and spent a year doing missions work up there.  I believe that during this time the Lord was preparing us for the years we ended up spending on the road.  Prior to heading to Maine my husband began taking homemade signs out by the roadside and preaching.  We continued this while in Maine.

Right about the one year mark, J came to me and said he felt like the Lord was calling us to go on the road.  The Lord had also laid it on my heart to do the same thing, so it was so easy to agree to GO.  We had some planning to do, which included locating a travel trailer.  We found one on eBay and sent a downpayment.  A pastor/friend of ours rode with my husband down to get the trailer.  When they arrived they realized that the trailer had a bent axle.  The gentleman was very nice and returned most of the deposit.  They stayed overnight and prayed about what to do.  They decided to head back to Maine on Sunday and check out RV dealers on the way.  Many were closed, but they found one that was open that had just repossessed a trailer.  Now this was during the middle of winter, and it was severely cold.  We only had $1000 to spend on a trailer.  My husband asked the salesman about the trailer which he said had been brought in and had not even been cleaned yet.  So, they offered him $1000 and said we would clean it.  He almost laughed at them, but said he would speak to the boss even though he was sure he would say no.  Well, guess what?  When my husband offered him $1000 cash, he took it.  We had a trailer!

They towed it back to our home in northern Maine and our daughters and I began cleaning the trailer. This was no simple cleaning job.  They had literally taken the trailer the way it was.  They had cut the water hose, unhooked it from where it was and left everything inside the way they found it.  There were cigarette butts in the sink and under furniture, dirty clothing was everywhere, along with many other unclaimed items.  The other problem was as soon as we sprayed cleaner on the counters, sinks etc. it froze.  Yes, FROZE.  We had a small electric heater hooked up, just so we could stay semi-warm in our winter wear while cleaning.  We managed to get rid of all the trash and get it at least partially wiped clean, good enough to start heading south.

A man we knew who ran a small dealership a few hours away knew what we were doing and asked what we were going to use to pull the trailer.  He knew the Suburban we had and he didn't think it would last long.  He called and told us to stop by.  He had a newer Suburban, obviously in better shape and he offered us a trade!  Yes, he was a brother in Christ, and he wanted to help us get started.

So, we prepared to actually leave.  We had a trailer that we had not actually plugged in yet, a newer Suburban, 6 children and a desire to serve the Lord.  We headed down to New York and parked at a church we had known for a short period of time.  We were able to stay in the church while the trailer thawed out.  Once that had happened we were able to hook up to electric and water and see what would or would not work.  Other than some minor fixes the water heater had cracked from freezing.  The pastor there said he could hook up a new water heater, but he would like to change it from gas to electric and he wanted to put in a slightly larger one.  What a blessing!

After a couple of weeks of rest and doing repairs we were ready to head out.  8 of us, in a Suburban, pulling a trailer, and taking off to wherever the Lord would lead.  No home other than our trailer.  Beginning the adventure of our lives.

More to come!