This was an unusual year in that many of us across this nation have struggled financially.  Yet, those of us who dedicate our lives to the mission of spreading the gospel do not allow circumstances to stop us from the mission that God sends us on.  Sometimes, God uses these circumstances to put us in the right place at just the right time to build others up in Christ.  This happened to us this summer.

This year by the first of July our income had completely stopped.  I wondered if we were going to be able to take our scheduled August trip to Colorado.  Mike felt confident that God wanted us to make this trip.  Since we didn't have any work coming in, I suggested that perhaps we should leave a week earlier than planned.  Neither of us knew that God was using our finances to push us toward divine appointments.

By the end of our first day of travel, we had reached Birmingham, Alabama.  To our disappointment  we found out that the power converter had gone out in the trailer.  We learned real quick a trick of the trade was to use a battery charger to supply what we needed until we could replace the converter.  The next traveling day we arrived in Louisiana when the temperatures were around 106 degrees.  This heat continued through Texas.  As we got into Texas we had a blowout on the truck.  Believe me, you don't want to be sitting in that heat for two hours.  Yet that is exactly what happened to us.  We called Good Sams Club and sat under the trees as far as we could get to stay out of the sun.  After an hour passed, we decided this might be one of those divine opportunities to pray.  The presence of the Lord came down bringing a refreshing and wonderful visitation.  We prayed for rain to cool down Louisiana and Texas.  As people were driving at high speeds past us, we were seeking God on their behalf.  It rained that night and it was cooler the next day.

The trip on over to Colorado wasn't very eventful.  We spent a week in a wonderful campground but for some reason it was a struggle to talk with people about the Lord.  I was beginning to feel as if I wanted to go home.  Yet, we continued our mission and headed toward southern Colorado.  Although, we had been told our diesel truck would pull just about anything, it didn't want to make it over that mountain.  We both agreed we needed more specific directions from the Lord.  We decided to change our plans and headed north.  After that, the trip started going smoothly.  We also started getting better gas mileage.  God was setting up for divine appointments.

When we arrived in Colorado Springs, it was a very nice campground but we were informed that we wouldn't be able to use their laundry facilities because the wells were drying up.  This caused us to seek out a place down town to do our laundry and another setup by the Lord.  As I was standing outside the facility, the girl who worked there started talking to me.  As it turned out her mother had passed away and her dad committed suicide right afterwards.  This girl was devastated.  God sent us there to extend His love to her.  She acted shocked that anyone would offer to pray for her. 

At another place we stayed, we were preparing to leave a campground at 6:00 in the morning, when a man met us.  He said he had just found out his daughter has breast cancer.  Having gone through breast cancer, we were able to minister to him and pray for his family.  We met several other people along the way, who were new to the Christian faith.  They needed encouragement.  Its always encouraging to me to see how God lifts a discouraging countenance and people go their way feeling excited about the mercy and love of God. 

Although we were able to minister to folks along the way, we didn't feel as if we had accomplished the mission we had set out to do.  It wasn't until we arrived back in Texas that Gods mission was revealed.  On the day of arrival, my daughter became so ill that I had to remain with her for three weeks.  Had we not left Florida a week earlier than planned, we would not have been in Texas for the divine appointment God had for us there.  God used her situation to His Glory.  

I encourage you to submit your plans to the Lord and see what He has in store for you.  Sometimes, we need to change our plans to find His extra special blessings. 

In Christ We Abide,

Peggy & Mike