On the road

Whew! What an undertaking it’s been to begin this journey to the Gulf Coast to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. Most recently, the story has involved a marriage tester of packing for the trip, deciding what not to bring, cleaning the house, and storing stuff away to make room for our renter/housesitters. Before that, it was concern over raising funds for the BR apartment and finding an interim radio station manager for Chris, people to watch our house, and a safe place for Karen’s dad, whose condition has deteriorated since late January. Prior to that, far more faith was required when we both had to put in requests for a leave of absence at work even before we knew where we'd be, what we'd be doing, or who we’d be working with. It’s like we’ve seen the giants in the Promised Land, but have chosen to face them, and God has amazed us with His miracles. We're blessed that this trip combines both our yearning to do Katrina relief and our dream to travel the country by car too.

Not only has God come through with all the misc. things like a good place for Karen’s dad, people to cover for us while we’re gone, and the funding (thank you to all of you who gave – the funds were all raised!), but He has also provided in all the big ways: wonderful people to work with who share our vision and outlook on life, an apartment to live in, and even – only God could work this out – a couple to work with who are living in the same apartment complex as us and who are homeschooling their kindergartener! Yes, Andrew’s been enthusiastically invited to join “Rainbow Academy.”

Without a clear leading from God, we don't think we would have had the faith to do something as "crazy" as this. That's a story we haven't shared much. In the midst of all the planning for the trip, most of our conversations have been about what we're going to do and what needs to be done to make it happen. Only with a small few of you have we shared what inspired us to go in the first place. Now that we are staying at Karen’s parent’s home for a few days – between the chaos of packing and the upcoming flurry of activity – perhaps we now have a clear mind to share that story. Chris’s story is the more familiar type of “calling” testimony, so we’ll begin with his and then move on to Karen’s somewhat dramatic story . . .