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He wouldn't let the newspaper print his story because they were going to make it all about him and he wanted it to be all about God. He might be a little irritated at me for telling you but...I just gotta tell you about this guy. He inspires me

His name is Jeff Holley and I would guess he is forty-ish. He has been a business man for the past twenty years and has done very well for himself. Just a year or two ago, he found himself living on the west side of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The west side is where the "haves" live. The east side is where the "have-less" live. He and his wife and four kids lived in a $400,000 home. They had a big screen TV and all the good things that go with success. He was a Christian, went to church, was active in the community and coached a young girls' basketball team. Life was good then one of his basketball players, age 10, got Leukemia. She fought hard and went through a period of remission...then it revisited and a bone marrow transplanted was needed.

Jeff and his oldest daughter Kayla went to visit their young friend and brought her a team jersey and a basketball. As they were leaving, the cancer stricken young girl said, "You know, Coach Jeff, I win either way." He looked at quizzically. "If this bone marrow treatment works, I get to stay here with you and Kayla and if it doesn't I get to go and be with Jesus. Either way I win."

Jeff's life took a turn that day. He told God he wanted that kind of child-like faith. Jeff started working with some of the less fortunate kids in the area and would bring them to his home. They would look around and say "Wow! You're rich!" What he had taken for granted was treasure to them! He listened to some of the stories the kids told about their life. He couldn't believe it. Sex abuse, domestic violence, parents in prison, drugs, alcohol...could this be happening in Bartlesville?

Each night after work, Jeff would return to his nice home and have a good meal. Each night he would think about these kids who had nothing to eat and no one to care for them. He was feeling the nudge of the Holy Spirit and finally he told his wife Marci, " I'm selling everything!" She looked at him with a look that said "What took you so long?" and said "Okay."

Together they started Vision Onward which is a non-profit created with the purpose of igniting a passion of unity among the churches in Bartlesville. The idea is to bring them together in action to serve their community. But Jeff didn't just talk the talk. He really did sell everything! He moved his family into a fixer-upper on the east side of town and he bought vans to pick up kids and bring them to church functions. He started after school activities and even put a couple of brothers in the Lord on his payroll to help him in his vision.

Jeff told me "if we really wanted to love our neighbor as our self, we'd see to it that he lives as well as we do." I had never heard it put that way before. I was convicted! Jeff is not a theologian or a philosopher...this man is a disciple of Jesus Christ.

He was making a healthy living and could have stored up a bundle for his family but he decided to invest. No he didn't invest in Wall Street for his family's sake. He invested in the one stock that always multiplies and never loses its value...Love. He did it for Christ's sake and for the sake of his community. If you're looking for a man to look up to or a cause to support, consider Vision Onward .

OOOOOOklahoma!

We made it to state number two...only about ten more to go!

God continues to show Himself every single day. Robert & Tyler stopped me to see what I was up to..these are a couple of nice guys who are in their early twenties, with pierced tongues, earrings and tattoos. Not my style, but a couple of God's children expressing themselves in a fashion this sixty-three year old doesn't understand but God whispered..."You don't have to understand them, Nick, just love them."

A little later down the road, a car stopped and out jumped a couple of friends from Kansas City; Randy & Elizabeth Davenport. They travel the country doing prison ministry. With Randy's music and Elizabeth's preaching they make a powerful team for the Lord. Take the time to check them out.

Next, we get a call from our good friends Don & Pat Knepp and they are only an hour away! Wow! How great it is to see folks from home on the road. They graciously treated us to a night in a hotel...how sweet!

The next day, we met Jeff Holley & Jeff Berg. By now we'd walked through Dewey and into Bartlesville. These guys do youth ministry in both towns. They work with the churches to make sure none of the kids fall through the cracks. When you think of middle America, you think wholesome and safe but unfortunately, drugs and alcohol have left their mark on families here too. Parents on coke or in prison leave many kids without direction and that's where these two come in.

They embraced our ministry and invited us to speak to a group of young men Wednesday afternoon. We talked with these guys for over an hour and half. Telling stories, answering questions and asking some. It was great! That night there was an after "the pole" event.

Meet me at the pole is a youth movement that encircles the world. Each September junior high and high school students gather around the flag pole to pray in the early morning. The youth ministers in Dewey & Bartlesville worked together to put on an evening event as well. Over 500 students attended. There was food, music, a clean comic, more music and Lucy and I were asked to address the crowd for a few minutes. These guys trusted God enough to allow us to speak without knowing what in the world we were going to say...that, my friends, is faith!

After the event, we got to speak to a number of young people one on one. Let me tell you this, if there is one thing people need in America...it's encouragement! They couldn't get enough of us telling them that their dreams were awesome, they were smart and that God loved them... And...it's all true! It felt so good, Lucy and I could have stayed their all night!

The next morning I was walking by the American Baptist School and a young man named Michael waved at me from across the street. I crossed over to say hello and he said, "You guys did good last night." This coming from a teenager is a huge compliment! A moment later a lovely young girl (perhaps his sister) named Addie came out and we talked for awhile before they had to go to class. That day, I can't tell you how many cars passed us honking their horns and waving. We had only spoken for five or ten minutes but God touched lives and it felt good.

Water, Water Everywhere…Sort Of

Life on the road grows more interesting every day.

We have two water tanks. One is to hold fresh water for showering, drinking and washing pots and pans. After the water is used, it is contained until we get to a place where we can dump it out and fill up with fresh water. This used water is referred to as gray water in the RV world. Some of the water is diverted into a secondary water tank used to prime the pump to flush the toilet. This used water, after being used, is delicately referred to as black water.

Sunday, we filled up our tanks with water, went to church and after service was over we came out to find we had no water in our secondary tank to use for bathroom duties. I looked under the RV and it looked like it was raining. The secondary tank was doing its impression of a sieve.

Oh what to do, what to do! But of course…head for Wal-Mart, the place of great bargains and all night bathroom facilities. Lord, help us think through this dilemma.

We decided to “improvise” as best we could, get a good nights sleep, walk in the morning and look at the tank to see if we could apply some LocTite to the leaks as soon as the sun came out and everything dried out.

Monday morning was a beautiful day for walking; cool, overcast and the sky was bursting with the magnificence of God. We walked about four and a half miles and it started to thunder and rain…then it cleared. Walked about three miles and it really poured! There was a little town just a few miles ahead of us and so we drove in to see if there was any chance of getting some water inside our RV instead of just all over it. The rain was on and off. We stopped at the Christian Church of Caney and met a very helpful woman named Darlene. She told us where the outside faucet was and, in between showers, we filled up our the primary tank.

Now the way our system is currently working, we can carry water and take a shower but can’t transfer it t the secondary tank to use the bathroom facilities. Looks like there may be porta-potti in our future!

Right now it is storming like crazy outside and we have water everywhere…sort of.

Click!

Did 12.6 miles on Saturday, my best so far plus Lucy and I got to talk to a variety of different people.

There were these guys that had Hooters on their plates. One fellow informed me that he only talked to God when he was p_ssed off. Now when you meet folks with this kind of attitude who stand there looking at you with their arms folded, there's not much you can say that they will listen to. I find it best to smile, be friendly and encourage them to investigate Jesus Christ for themselves. I believe that with the mere mention of His name, the Holy Spirit goes to work on that person's heart.

I believe each person has a combination lock on their heart and every combination is different. Seven clicks to the right, three clicks to the left, nine clicks back to the right and...Pop! The heart opens up. I also believe that the name of Jesus Christ is a click. People always ask how many people I've led to the Lord. Truth is I don't know. I'm just a little ol' safe cracker on the road. You see it doesn't matter to me if I'm the first click, a middle click or the last click, the heart doesn't open until all the clicks have been hit. That's why it's so important that you and I publicly acknowledge the name of Jesus Christ.

Don't worry about the reaction you get from people. Folded arms and cold stares are just defense mechanisms that say "I'm afraid but I don't want you to know." The Holy Spirit of God uses all of us to bless all of us. As God's people, we don't have to convince everyone to believe as we do. The Bible didn't say "Go and convince." It said go and tell (Mark 16:15). Just get in the habit of sharing the name of Jesus Christ and the next time you do, if you listen real carefully, you'll hear it...click!

Ready To Go Forward...Again

Yesterday we cut out the molded carpet, completely emptied our tanks and we treated the infected areas with bleach, water & a bit of liquid soap. We turned the generator on, put the fans on to circulate the air and spent the night in a motel. The next step was to call our prayer group at Southwest Community Church in Olathe for a little supernatural support.

This morning, we took the RV to the mechanic as soon as they opened their doors. The owner was a bit gruff at first. We may have talked to him before coffee. At first, he said he couldn't help us but then he said to bring it back in an hour or so and he'd have one of his guys look at it. Around 9:15am I was getting ready to re-visit the mechanic when Lucy received a phone call from one of our prayer partners. Arnold was down the street! He had driven two hours to check on us and see how he could help. This guy doesn't just pray; he acts!

It felt good to have Arnold here. He is an electrical engineer and can translate mechanic-ese for me. The fellows at the Car Shoppe pulled the cruise control unit and pronounced it dead. They couldn't repair it or replace it...but...they did have another idea. As I understand it, the speedometer line is connected to the cruise control unit which is connected to the transmission. They suggested we do a daring cruise control bypass.

The cruise control was removed and bagged (as a keepsake I suppose) and the line from the speedometer was connected to the transmission. The next step was to see if the patient would register speed and miles traveled. With a nervous flutter of the heart, I turned the ignition key, put the Yellow Submarine in gear and gently drove down the road. Twenty...twenty-five ...thirty... thirty-five...woo-HOO! We''ve got speed indication! Now did it also measure mileage?...six-tenths...seven-tenths...we've got contact, Houston! I've never been so happy watching a speedometer!

The next project was to get some one inch screws and fix the panel that we had duct taped yesterday. That done, we re-treated the carpet and decided to monitor the smell to make sure we had things handled. We filled our tanks with fresh water and tomorrow we begin the walk again. Instead of driving back to the rest area, we plan to begin from where we are right now...Independence, KS. It doesn't matter if the miles we walk are in a line, as long as they total 3300 when we are finished.

We're ready to go forward...again! Tulsa, here we come!

Patience in Tribulation

The RV is beginning to take over our life. It seems like everyday something goes awry. Now we understand that everyone has setbacks with their home, vehicle or job but our RV is a condensed combination of all three!

Recently we've had a "mystery" leak in two spots in the RV. We've been wet vacuuming for the past few days but the smell got to be a bit much last night. Actually it was horrible. We called Gary Johnson, a Good Sam director for this region to inquire about an RV repair shop nearby. We had the good fortunate to meet him on the road in Chanute a few days ago. The closest shop was forty miles away in Columbus.

On the way over, one of the panels between the back tire came undone. Lucy spotted it in her rear view mirror. We duct taped it together until we got to the shop. When we got there at 8:30am they told us they were backed up with work for two weeks. He called another shop but they were busy for the next two weeks too. Sometimes, we think the repair guys see our unit and figure it's a problem to work on and to get parts for....understandable but frustrating at times.

On the drive back, our speedometer stopped functioning. At first, I didn't have the heart to tell Lucy but after a few minutes of digesting the situation. I let her know. She just looked at me and sighed. When we got back, we dumped our tanks and decided to to tear up the carpet and padding and see if we could spot a leak and remove any mold or mildew that might be forming. A gentleman told us to treat the area with bleach, water and a little soap. We put the fans on the areas as well to dry them out. We're staying at a motel tonight and we'll go to the mechanic's the first thing in the morning to attack the speedometer issue.

In the meantime, we called our prayer warriors at Southwest Community Church and asked them to pray for protection, provision and good health.

Romans 12:12....Rejoice in hope...be patient in tribulation ...pray

Passing It On

This day reminded us of every single person who has helped us through these journeys.

We always wanted to repay you and couldn't. Today we got a chance take some of the love you poured into us and pass it on.

Been a little bummed that we’re not walking more miles than we are. Today we were determined to do better. Got off to an early start; we were off and walking at 6:45am. It was a beautiful morning; cool and overcast. “God, if you can keep like this all day, I can walk 100 miles….welll, maybe 13.”

I was a mile and half into my journey when I spotted a vehicle on the side of the road. Couldn’t tell if it was a truck, van or car but the hood was up and the passenger side door was wide open. As I got closer, a gray haired Mexican man with a cowboy nodded to me and a younger fellow came out from around the back of the car. If he was surprised at my attire, he didn’t show it. I glanced at their plates and noticed they were from Michoacan (state southwest of Mexico City). Niko, his son Edwardo and his parents were headed to Iowa to attend his sister’s wedding. Niko speaks a little English since he works at the American Embassy but I speak no Spanish so I called in the calvary…Lucy! Yesterday we had no coverage from AT & T so it was amazing our cell phones worked.

I love to watch Lucy interpret. Many people can speak two languages but Lucy does both of hers with love. She has the gift of making everyone feel at ease. She found out that they had a fuel pump problem and that he could fix it if they had the part. We offered to take them back to Chanute and get the part.

Since Lucy was the only bilingual person she had to go with Niko & I to town and that left no one in the car that could speak English. We knew people would be stopping to see if they could help because that’s what Americans do. We also suspected they might encounter a state trooper or two, so we left them one of our ministry postcards and told them to have the officer call us if there were any questions.

About fifteen minutes later, the state police called Lucy and she explained the situation. The officer said, “Well I was just checking to see if they were all right. I didn’t know they were with you.” Lucy said she started to laugh and then just thanked him and said “God bless you.” He thanked her very much and she said he sounded like no one had ever told him that before.

On the way back, we met our 13^th police officer of our journey but this time it was because I was in a hurry to get Niko back to his family. I did a California roll through a Kansas stop sign. Doesn’t work. The officer came up and said, “I thought you were suppose to be walking.” He graciously gave me a warning and a brief lecture. He was right. I was wrong. What else can I say.

It took another sixteen mile trip back to Chanute to get a tool (and yes, I made sure I made a complete stop at every stop sign). Lucy assured Niko that we would not leave them until we were sure they were up and running. Let me tell you, where they broke down didn’t even have any cows around let alone people. Between the time it took to run back and forth, get the old part out and put the new part in, it was 5:30 in the evening. Lucy & I remained with our friends all day until Niko got the van running. Lucy suggested we could follow them for a bit to make sure they were alright but Niko assure her they would be fine. Finally it was time to say goodbye…we prayed with them, hugged, smiled and bid them farewell. Dios los bendiga, amigos!