Roadtrip Recap :: (info, photos, & a video)

WOW! I can’t believe I let a month go
by without blogging. So sorry friends! Thanks to those of you who’ve
sent me personal messages letting me know you missed our blogs. I feel
so loved!

Things
have been absolutely crazy since late July. I’m working on a “Friday
Update” for this week, but first I wanted to do a little recap of our
trip down south (where all the craziness began! 😉 Check it out below!

That’s
a little recap of our last trip down South. By the end of our trip, we
didn’t know what day it was, what month it was, or what state we were
in! What we did know though, was how very, very, blessed we are.

We
started this trip with about $10,000 of immediate needs for our
support, The Sound of Hope start up costs, and our upcoming trip to
Thailand. We only had 2 events set up and we were desperate – we needed
God to show up. We stepped out in faith – just trusting that God had a
plan for this trip.

Of course, God always shows up – right at
the last minute! As the days passed, the emails and phone calls started
coming in. Doors were opening for us! Our 2 scheduled events quickly
multiplied to 8 events, and soon our schedule was booked solid!

By
the end of our trip, God had blown us away with His provision. Our
Thailand tickets were paid for, the camera we bought for The Sound of
Hope (with our personal money – in FAITH God would provide) was paid
for. The Sound of Hope had more money to meet our administrative needs
AND more money raised to support the precious children we care for
overseas.

We also had some very generous people donate towards
our personal support (which is how we get a paycheck). At the beginning
of our trip, we were facing a deficit so great that we feared we would
have to quit our mission work for several months and find another way
to pay the bills. Now, while we are still greatly in need of new
supporters, our account is much healthier than it was!

We
are SO thankful to all of you who let us stay in your home, speak at
your church, or hold an event at your place of business (and those of
you who facilitated those events and came to support us at the events!)
THANK YOU to each and every person who made this trip possible – we
could not have done it without you!

Cincinnati, OH
Our
first (and last) stop on our trip was in Cincinnati, OH with Josh &
Shelly Daniels. Unfortunately, we forgot to get any pictures….
probably because we were just having too much fun! Josh & Shelly –
thanks so much for being our stopping point to and from home! Your
hospitality made our trip so much easier. We love you guys, and we love
spending time with you!

Memphis, TN
On our way to Monticello, we made a dinner stop in Memphis to see Rusty’s sister Tracy and to meet her fiance Frank!

Monticello, AR
In
Monticello we spent a few days with Rusty’s family, visited with Ashley
Hillis (a former World Racer), and spoke at the First United Methodist
Church of Monticello. This is Rusty’s home church, and they were
WONDERFUL! We always enjoy our time with them. I was invited to sing
for the 1st and 2nd service, and in between all the Sunday School
classes came together for us to share about The Sound of Hope and our
upcoming trip to Thailand! Here’s a picture of me singing during the
1st service….

We
always try to visit Rusty’s Uncle Charles when we are in Monticello. He
will be 93 in October and is still sharp as a tack! We love hearing his
stories of growing up during the Depression and all the family history
he knows!

Cabot, AR
Rusty’s
best friends live in Arkansas, and we try so hard to see them all when
we visit. In the middle of a crazy Sunday (we had 2 events in the same
day!) we found an hour to head to Cabot so we could see Josh, Kristy,
and Carly Fleming.

Heber Springs, AR
After
our quick visit in Cabot, we were off to Heber Springs to visit New
Life Church. We were able to share with the church about our mission
work and we had an incredible prayer time where they all circled around
us and prayed. It was SO encouraging!!!

After that we stayed up
until about 2am visiting with the Keeter family. We absolutely LOVE
Lane and Denise, their son Trip, and their sweet little girl Chancey
(whom we met for the first time on this trip!) They are such a source
of support and encouragement for us! We also got to meet a very special
friend of the family named Mio who is such a JOY! By the time we went
to bed we were all zombies (and needless to say, forgot to get a
picture!) Whoops! I guess we’ll have to come back soon for another
visit…. 😉

Fayetteville, AR
The
very next day, we were off to Fayetteville for an event at Arsaga’s
coffee shop. Here we sold merchandise and took donations for The Sound
of Hope. Several of Rusty’s friends from TV stopped by to visit and
show their support. It was SO nice to meet people I’ve heard so much
about! (we were so busy visiting, I forgot to take a picture!)

The
next day we rested and spent time with the Tucker family. Chris &
Carrie are old friends of Rusty’s and have some of the cutest little
girls in the world! (see the picture above) We love spending time with
them!

Tuscaloosa, AL
Bright
and EARLY the next morning, we were off to Tuscaloosa. This was an
unplanned event that opened up at the last minute (thanks God!) so we
drove all day just to make it in time. I made sure to stop on the way
in to get some Holy Water though…. I couldn’t go into enemy territory
without it! (HA!)

We
were given the whole service at The Church at Tuscaloosa – what a
blessing! I got an opportunity to sing with their very talented worship
band (which almost never happens on the road). They were AWESOME! It
was truly a blessing to get to sing with them! Below is a video Rusty
made of me singing, “None But Jesus”….

We
had some amazing friends show up to support us in T-town. Below are two
of my dear missionary friends – on the left is Jenny Brown (my mission
partner from my 2 summers serving with the NAMB in Oregon) and on the
right is Caroline Dorning (my roommate during my time at AIM in
Georgia). LOVED seeing these girls!

Birmingham, AL
Next
up was an event in Birmingham, AL at O’Henry’s Coffee House in
Homewood. A big THANK YOU to Lisha Li for setting this up for us! It
was a great time to sell some merchandise that benefits orphans and to
visit with our sweet friends who came out to show their support.

With Shelley, another sweet Auburn friend!

Working the merchandise tables!

Click on people’s faces in the photo to tag them.

Nedra & Jeremy Springer stopped by to show their support too.
They run an AWESOME non-profit called SheDances.

The
Owen family made a surprise visit! They were some of my very first
supporters (I would not have gotten to Swaziland in 2007 without them!)
We went to church together in Auburn, and they now live in Jackson, TN.
I had no idea they were going to be in Birmingham that day, but it was
a GREAT surprise!

Birmingham to Oxford to Birmingham
After
our event at O’Henry’s we went to Oxford, AL to stay one night with my
family, and then BACK to Birmingham for a wedding reception! By the
grace of God, we were able to work our schedule so that we could make
it to this event. Courtney is a dear, dear friend of mine (and was one
of my bridesmaids) and her (now husband) Paul is another good friend
who was our wedding videographer! These two were tying the knot in a
small, family ceremony, so this was our chance to celebrate with them!

Oxford, AL
On Sunday we had 3 more events (yes, all in the same day!) We started the morning at
Friendship
Community Church, where we had the whole service to share about our
mission work. They were so receptive and supportive!

After that,
we drove straight over to First United Methodist Church of Oxford.
(Thanks to my friend Julie Talley for setting this up!) We were
introduced and had a few minutes at the start of their mission Sunday
to share about our work. Then we were given space in the lobby to set
up our prayer cards, merchandise, and talk more with people about what
we do!

Once we were done with those events, it was time to drive to….

Helena, AL
Here
we spoke to a small group at Annah Grace & Jeoffrey Morgan’s home.
Annah Grace is another wonderful Auburn friend, and she set up this
night for us to share. I was so excited to see Annah Grace, but by the
time we arrived we were EXHAUSTED. Lucky for us, their small group was
absolutely INCREDIBLE! They were so, SO encouraging and excited about
our work. It was truly REFRESHING to be with them!

Unfortunately,
I can’t find my pictures of our time in Oxford or Helena. I’ve either
lost them or deleted them… (so sad! go figure, in my exhausted state!
haha!) So, just imagine very welcoming, beautiful people in both cities!

I will leave you with one last picture though. You KNOW you’re back down South when the temperature gauge in your car reads….

This
was the one thing that made us happy to be heading back to Michigan!
(Though I’d endure 107 degrees for Chick-Fil-A & sweet tea anyday!)

WHEW!!! If
you made it through all that – CONGRATULATIONS – you deserve a gold
star! As you can see it was a very BUSY but fruitful trip! Again –
THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of it!