Day 5

Today was a very eventful day. We started out from Erick, OK and needed to go through Oklahoma City. In OK City we had to transition from the 40 East to the 44 East. We were sad to say goodbye to the 40 since we had been traveling on it for so many days. The 44 East ended up being a turnpike...a toll road. We got on it before realizing that was what it was and we had not gotten gas or lunch yet. There was nothing for quite a while and were getting concerned about our gas tank getting pretty low. God is so good and took care of it. We eventually found one but had to pay to get off of the turnpike. We did not know we were getting on a toll road so were not completely prepared for this situation. It was a machine that wanted exact change. God is so good and had prepared us for this situation without us not knowing it.

While in Albuquerque, NM...two days earlier...I had tried to get Rory a water from a vending machine with a dollar bill. However, the waters were all out so it gave me change back in 4 quarters. I ended up needing those 4 quarters for the exit off of this turnpike.

The turnpike machine was not responding to the change I had put in. I ended up having at least $2 in change...God is good...but it still had a red light. I asked the driver behind me what I was supposed to do...since I am not used to these things...and he told me he would drive through. So, I took his advice and drove through. It beeped at me like I was breaking the law...but I knew I hadn't. I ended up asking the girl in the gas station we went to and she told me that we wouldn't get a ticket for it since the cameras didn't work in that area. I was thankful. I had paid...so I knew we were right before the Lord. While at this stop area, we got some lunch and ended up meeting a pastor and his wife. We talked with them for a bit about the ministry the Lord was calling us into and they told us of the ministry they were doing in that area. It was a neat time of fellowship. Rory ended up going after them, when they had left, and asked them for contact information and prayed with them. This was a divine appointment. God is so faithful!

Texas and OK are currently struggling with fires due to the dryness and heavy winds. We ended up driving through an area where there were fires next to our side of the highway. I had never been that close to a fire like that before. They were not big fires but there was a good amount of smoke. Both states have lost over 4,000 acres from these fires. Please pray that they will be stopped soon. God is good and kept us safe through that.

We made it to Rolla, Missouri. When checking in, the woman who was working the front desk told me that a week ago it had snowed 8 inches here. Not far away, where her daughter lives it had snowed around 1 1/2 feet...yet today it had been 83 degrees there. Wow! We had been prayed for before we left that God was taking us through a window to give us good weather and get us to our destination safely! I cannot tell you how much that has been true! This account of Rolla, MO was a GREAT example of this!! God is so faithful! We are so grateful!!!! He is soooo good!!! :)

Day 4

We woke up feeling much better! Rory was still a bit weak but doing well. He did an amazing job getting our luggage on top of the car and secured down even with not feeling 100%. We were happy to get back on the road and thankful that the Lord had healed our bodies! God is sooo faithful!
We made it from Albuquerque, NM to Erick, OK. Erick is just inside Oklahoma about 10 minutes. Around suppertime we had stopped for gas in Amarillo, TX. Our car was down to a little over a quarter of a tank of gas left. It took a little under $10 to fill our car. This was an amazing miracle. We have never seen our car fill up for this small amount even with how cheap the gas was. We were and are so thankful to the Lord! The weather has been amazing and we haven't needed our tarp over the suitcases. The kids have been amazing and really are enjoying the trip. Jacob even said on the 2nd morning in Albuquerque, NM. "Mommy, this was so fun to stay in the hotel one more day. It was like a vacation!" Sometimes things look different than what we are expecting but the Lord shows up and shows us His purposes. He has really been telling us to relax and enjoy the trip. He doesn't want us to stress about getting there as quick as we had been planning on but to really enjoy this time together as a family. We are really trying to purpose in our hearts to do that. God is sooo good and sooo faithful! We truly love Him and are thankful to be in His family!

Day 3

We decided to stay in Albuquerque, NM one more day to try and get over feeling sick. Rory has a 100.8 degree fever, with the chills, yucky feeling tummy and Dana still feels junky and a yucky feeling tummy. We are praying that we will feel better enough to get on the road again tomorrow.

Day 2

We made it to Albuquerque, NM. It was a long day of driving. The kids have been doing great making observances of what they see in each state. They have been making lists of what they see. This is a great way of learning about each state that we go through. It has been fun. They have been doing great in the car as well. At lunch we had them run around a sidewalk a few times, racing one another, to get all their energy out. It seemed to really help. :)

At one point in the day, Dana started to get the aches you get when you're getting sick. We have also been feeling other attacks by the enemy and were praying through them. We put worship on in the car and really felt the Spirit's Presence with us. We just really know that God has something great coming. This trip has been proof of it. God is so good and is so faithful!

Day 1

We got away late but finally got on the road. We ended up making it to Kingman, AZ and stayed in a Motel 6. They were out of WIFI rooms so we had to enter this day late. :)

As we headed out on the road we were going to make a left turn. Rory did not see a car turning left from the oncoming traffic. He saw the back door as we were about to hit it. He quickly tried to swerve to miss the car but knew he couldn't make it. However, we didn't hit the car. He asked Dana how we missed that car and she told him that she had no idea because she had her eyes closed. LOL :)

We know it was a miracle and God was protecting us on this journey!