Blessed Again!

Wal-Mart moved and didn't tell our GPS!

We drove to Gaffney after walking on Saturday. We had told our friend Arnold of that we would come hear The Riverside Boys (Gospel Music ...Southern Style...864-545-6734) on Sunday morning. We had overnight-ed at Wal-Mart so we only had to drive 11 miles in the morning and we gave ourselves forty-five minutes to get there so we felt confident that we'd make it in time for 9:15am Sunday School. The address of the "Save More; Live Better" giant listed in their Atlas was an old address and so our directions took us north instead of south. Grrrrr!

Now I hate being late. I really hate missing Sunday School because each Sunday is an opportunity to hear a teacher that we may never get a chance to learn from again. There's great wisdom in many of these Sunday School classes. They haven't written a book or been interviewed on Oprah but they know how to live the Word of God and I enjoy learning from them. So when we arrived at 9:30am, I was muttering! Then I noticed...no cars! The sign said Sunday School was set to begin at 10:00am. They forgot to update their web site...bless their hearts! My mumbling slowly turned to thanks as God told me one more time to rest in Him.

This morning was a special day. There would be Sunday School, worship service, a traditional potluck lunch and then our guys...The Riverside Boys! They sang about four or five songs and then took some of their "stage" time and asked us to come speak to the church. As they introduced us, they encouraged folks to contribute to our journey as they were able. We were stunned! These guys gave us some of their time and now some of "their money"...they don't have an ounce of selfishness in them!

After the service we were approached by a woman from another church and we went on to speak at her church that evening. God allowed us to be blessed and be a blessing! How fortunate we are to work for our God!

Lockhart, SC: Population 617

He got a call from his daughter about a man on a mission so he made a sandwich, picked up two bottles of water, hopped in his pickup to hunt me down. Arnold Childers is a sweet, likeable man and it took us all of twenty seconds to strike up a friendship! I learned he was part of a group called The Riverside Boys (They don't have a website but if you want to hear some good Gospel Music...Southern Style...call 864-545-6734). I asked if they would be singing anywhere while we were in the area and learned that they would be at El Bethel Baptist Church in Gaffney on Sunday. I said we'd try and make it, gave my friend a DVD of Zacchaeus and took a cold bottle of water to go. Arnold said he'd go home and get Lucy a couple Gospel music CD's.

There was a truck stuck in the road ahead and a young couple drove by taking a picture of me with a cellphone.I only met them for a moment. They are having issues in their young lives. He is a veteran of Iraq. She is a young bride trying to stand by her man. It's been tough...things have happened and some things they caused to happen. They invited me to their church for Wednesday night service and I said I'd come.

I saw an open spot for Lucy to park and I called her but...no cellphone access!! Well, I had walked over two hours and it was getting very warm and humid. I saw an old shack with a bit of a roof over it's porch. I figured I'd just sit and wait and sooner or later Lucy would come rescue me! Just as I had sat down, a car pulled up. Chris was a sales rep whose curiosity got peaked when he saw me walking. When I mentioned my phone dilemma, he offered me his phone. Verizon gets better coverage here than AT&T and we managed to get through to Lucyah.

I introduced Chris to Lucy when she arrived. She excitedly told me that she had met Arnold and his daughter, Monica and that we were going to speak to the youth at their church that evening. I said, "We can't. I already made a promise to this young couple that we'd go to their church." Chris just looked at us and said with a grin "I think it's time for me to go." We assured him we would resolve the situation with an arm wrestling match and we gave him a DVD before he left.

"What time does your church service start?" I asked Lucy. "7:00pm," she replied. "How about yours?" "7:00pm." I sighed. Neither one of us had a phone number for our new found friends.

"What's the name of your church, Lucyah?" "First Baptist." "Where's it at?" "Lockhart." "Mine too! Turns out we met four people from the same church! Thank You, God!

When we got to the church, Monica greeted us and informed us that Pastor Ben had suggested we speak to the entire congregation! That shows a lot of faith on the pastor's part! Since it was a lovely night, we had the service outside. Instead of doing a presentation, we talked about the journey... why, where, when, who, what and how! It was a wonderful evening! More beautiful than I can possibly say. After we spoke, the children gathered around us and laid hands on us and their parents laid hands on them and the rest of the congregation laid hands on the parents. Everyone prayed over us and then Pastor Ben closed. When prayer was completed, they began to sing over us..."It Is Well With My Soul."

I would have loved to have been a bird looking down from above. Surely we were arranged liked a big beautiful flower of prayer and worship with two tiny servants in the center of it all. Oh my! It was overwhelming.

Afterward, we went inside (to the air conditioning) for soda & pizza. Monica was sweet enough to order a sheet cake that said "3300 miles for Christ" on it. We sat around for another two hours just talking and laughing with folks. Glen Steen, one of God's men, left for a moment and then came back with a beautiful sturdy walking stick made of dogwood which he was gracious enough to gift to us.

These are the people of America....giving, loving, kind, open and generous.

Please! Please! Please! Do not be deceived by the networks and the newspapers....television is not reality. If you want to learn about the reality of America, get out and let the people talk to you. Listen to them and you will hear the heartbeat of God in the land of the free.

A Call Started It All!

She stopped. We chatted. Then Tan called her friend Lisa who was a photographer for the local TV station. Lisa came looking for us but we had stopped for lunch at a place Tan suggested.

Now Sally is a columnist for lives in Hartwell, Georgia but writes for a South Carolina newspaper. She was going to Jim's Grill for lunch when she met Lisa, camera in hand on the street. "Whatcha up to, Lisa?" "Looking for a little guy doing a walk for Christ," Lisa replied.

At this point Sally comes in to Jim's, sees me and says "Are you the guy walking for Christ?" "That'd be me," I replied. "Well, there's a lady with a camera looking for you outside." "Tell her to come on in." The next thing we know, we're sitting with these two ladies and answering questions in between bites of lunch. That Saturday we walked through Anderson, South Carolina and the Anderson Independent did a nice story on us and that began the next flow of blessings (as it turned out all the TV slots were booked so we missed our chance for a "reality" show).

We learned that the article was reprinted in other small town publications over the next three to four days. Then Margaret stopped and she was excited! She told me to be careful since there was a psychiatric unit nearby...we laughed together and she asked where we headed. I told her our tentative route for the rest of the week, bid her good-bye and went on my way. I hadn't gone too far when I looked across the street to see a lady waving hello.

I crossed over and met Patti Hedgepath Lusk. Margaret had called her. She said she worked at the Neal Creek Baptist Church and invited me in. I told her to go on in and I would call Lucy & then wait for her. As Lucy pulled the RV onto the parking lot, Eric & Robert pulled up. They were carpet layers on their way to work when they spotted me. We had a great time talking, laughing and enjoying Robert brag on his two year son Robert Christopher Sherman!

We finally got into Patti's office and found out she was "volunteered" into doing an article on us for their local paper. We also found out she is a musician, author (new book just out!....entitled God's Order) and songwriter! After spending over an hour together, we decided to let get back to work and we headed out to the RV for a nap. A few hours later, Patti brought her husband Scott and her mom Jean over to meet with us. We spent another hour or so huddled in the RV and Patti asked us if we would come and do a Zacchaeus presentation at her church Wednesday evening.

Well, we're always delighted to tell a story but we never anticipated the response from this small country church! Pastor Don Harper stood up when we were done and he asked for a love offering but he included a request. He asked that those who were blessed by Zacchaeus would also give us their name, address and telephone number and he did the same. He looked at me and said, "If you ever get in trouble, no matter where you are...call us! We'll come and get you!" He went on to tell us how they wanted to count us as their missionaries to America. We were stunned, amazed and tearful. When the collection was taken up, we had a generous offering and a stack of names, addresses and phone numbers! They also filled the RV with water and hooked us up to electric for the night!

The blessings didn't end there! Patti gave us a number of a newspaper reporter in Lauren with instructions to call her when we got into town. As I walked into town, the first spot I saw for Lucy to park was in front of Lauren Middle School. As soon as the RV pulled up, the principal came out and I thought "Uh,oh....we're in trouble." (Funny how the sight of a principal at any age causes your pulse to race.) Dr. Harris had read the sign on the RV and came out to see what we were all about. We chatted for a few minutes and I gave him a Zacchaeus DVD. While this was going on, Lucy called Judith Brown with The Advertiser. As they were talking, I was changing into my 21st century clothes and there was a knock at the door. It was Dr.Harris. He wanted to know if we'd like to have lunch with him at the school. We said, Sure" and asked if we could bring a friend and he said, "Of course."

Judith is a person you like instantly! No pretense and no nonsense. We talked and laughed over a plate of catfish and vegetables and Judith took pictures of us with Dr. Harris and the entire kitchen staff. After lunch, she spent another hour or so visiting with us in the RV and then we re-met her at a local coffee shop about an hour later. In between Judith and the coffee shop, we visited our friend Patti's sister Colleen who lives in Lauren.

The next morning as I'm out walking, I see a car drop off a person about fifty yards in front of me. There's a camera dangling and despite the bright sun, I see the now familiar form of our friend Judith. Someone had called her at 8:00am to give her a "news tip" about a strange little guy. Unbeknownst to us I was walking very close to her home. As we walked along she took more pictures until a car stopped. Out walked Mark who was on his way to a "Warrior Run" in Atlanta. He was tattooed, dressed in a kilt with a large Batman buckle and had pieces of bone tied to his beard. He said he had to stop because "you look as interesting as me!" Hmmmm....was that a compliment? I don't know but it made me smile!

A few minutes later, Judith's husband James, stops by while she is clicking away at these two very unusual looking men. After our friend, the warrior, left...James & Judith invited us back to their home for coffee. It was an enjoyable morning as we sat around the kitchen table and talked like we knew each other for years. We liked them so it was an automatic "yes!" when they asked us to join them at church on Sunday.

Their church embraced us and we enjoyed a wonderful meal with their worship leader Marsha, Pastor Herb and others....one person makes a phone call and we are overwhelmed with blessings!...and to think it all started with a good Tan!

A Glimpse

Crossing into South Carolina has been a lovely walk. The roads are narrow but the sweet smell of honeysuckle and the birds singing so beautifully in the early morning just fill my spirit with joy.

This morning I saw a blue bird flitting by and the flash of his brilliant blue wings caught my attention. My eyes tried to follow him into the trees but he was too quick. I asked God to give me another look. It was then I heard God speak to my spirit. He said, "Why is it, Nick, you always ask for more but you aren't grateful for the glimpse of My Glory you get?"

Was that true? Sadly, I agreed that the answer was yes. It seems like I always want more. Whether I spot a deer in the woods or a raccoon crossing the road, a cardinal swooping through trees or a woodpecker hard at work, I'm always asking God for more and never thanking Him for the glittering glimpse I received.

As I walked along, I asked God to show me how to be grateful for the glimpses and then I started to notice things....the forest was a lovely dark green with cleared away spaces between the trees...squirrels pranced around and then I saw the house. Just before I blessed the home, I noticed it had a sign in front of it. It was the ten commandments! God was giving me another glimpse. He wanted to see if I learned anything. Here before me was a glimpse of the values these people had. I didn't know much about them. Were they Republicans or Democrats? Did they agree with the recent health care plan or our immigration laws? These things I didn't know but I did get a glimpse of what they believed in...God!

I hadn't gone far when a car stopped me. The couple were on their way to have their traditional Saturday breakfast with their children and grandchildren. O my! God had given me another glimpse....of their values. Family was important to them!

Thank You, God, for opening my eyes. Thank You for allowing me to appreciate the glimpses of Your Goodness in the world. May I never ask for more until I have learned to appreciate what You have already graciously given me.

Carpet!

After spending five days, not walking....two days at the repair shop and three days waiting for things to dry out...it was great to get out and get re-started on this 3300 mile walk for Christ.

We had some issues with our water pump, conveniently located under our bed on, and surrounded by, carpet. Carpet in an RV is put there I believe strictly as a selling tool. Other than that, I don't see it's usefulness plus you need to carry a vacuum to clean it!

After the carpet and underlying padding gone soaked twice, we had to deal with the odor. We stopped at Lowe's and got the latest and greatest "anti-mold" treatments. God blessed us with good weather and a steady breeze so we left the RV windows and overhead vents open to air out our 29 foot tin can. Even after three days in a motel the moldy, wet carpet smell lingered.

We tried to sleep in it the RV one night and we both got sick.We decided to tear the carpet and padding out, treat the underlying wood frame with bleach and go to a movie while that smell faded!

Finally we can breathe again and I managed to walk 11.7 miles today...should be in South Carolina by this weekend.

A Couple of Things

It was about 7:30am Eastern time, the road didn't have much shoulder and the traffic was loud as it whizzed by. I barely heard the phone ring. My son Frank who works in Las Vegas was calling before he went to work. In an effort to hear him, I stepped away from the traffic, turned my back to the speeding cars and faced the trees that lined the road.

After about ten minutes, the flashing blue lights of a police car pulled up in from of me and my conversation was interrupted. The officer called out to me "You alright, sir?" I assured him I was and he said "We got a call that you were standing staring into the woods." I started to laugh. The officer smiled and said, "We just get the calls and I follow them where they take me." I explained that I was doing a walk for Christ, had gotten a call from my son and gave him a Zacchaeus DVD. I asked if there was anything I could pray about for him. He didn't hesitate ..."Safety."

This brief moment reminded me of a couple things....

1) People care. Someone saw me and was concerned and did something. Don't be afraid to take action. Better to care and be mistaken than to be apathetic and be regretful.

2) Police do more than chase down bad guys; they serve and protect us. We need to pray for safety for them and peace for the hearts of their families.

Can't Say That Word Anymore

Been using it a lot but we can't say it anymore.

Serendipity is defined as unexpected good fortune. Lucyah and I decided we can't use that word anymore because as servants of the Lord...we expect good fortune! God never surprises us but He always amazes us. Here's our latest blessing....

We attended a midweek service at Trinity Baptist Church....Pastor Jim greeted us and once the service started, he invited us to speak to the the dozen or so people that had attended. After he preached, he announced that the offering was going to be given to us. After the service ended, he invited us to hook up to water and electricity at the church. Such a gracious man! But... that was not the end of it.

That night, we turned on the water to shower and....we didn't have any! When I went outside I saw it had all rundown the driveway of the church. I filled the tank up again, turned on the pump and nothing happened. No water for the kitchen or bathroom and then Lucy discovered wet carpet around the base of our bed. Pastor Jim came over to check on us and offer us the shower at his home! I shop-vac'd the carpet while Lucy showered and then it was my turn.

The next morning I called Apalachee RV in Auburn, GA. I expected them to have me bring it in on Monday but I was surprised to hear Dave say, " Bring it on in this morning and we'll take a look at it." The water pump is located under the bed so Lucyah & I removed all the bedding, folded it up and made it to the RV repair shop by 8:30am.

It took them less than an hour to locate the problem with the pump, fix our turn signal and locate a problem we were having with the refrigerator. Bob, the technician who worked on our rig, came back to the waiting room to tell us that the work was completed. He said, "Your bill is a buck seventy-five." To tell you the truth, I was happy to get out of an RV repair shop with a bill less than $400.00!

Lucy paid the bill while I spoke to a another RV'er. As we walked out to the RV, I asked Lucy what the bill with tax was....she said...nothing! The bill wasn't $175.00....it was $1.75! They charged us for a lightbulb and Tracey (the General Manager) paid for that!

Their only comment to us was "Thanks for stopping in. Have a safe journey.' As we drove off, we were stunned! God continues to bless us over and over again. Lucyah decided we wanted to be like God. We want to bless people whenever we can. Please join us as we pray for this business to increase and prosper for their actions represent their heart and their heart is good.

Email Dave or Tracy a blessing today..... service@apalacheerv.com

An Older Timer Shares

"What are you up to old timer?" I squinted as I looked into the sun..."OLD TIMER?

I thought to myself, "You talkin' to me, buddy?" but I heard myself say, "I'm walking for Christ; praying for America....anything I can pray for you about?" Turned out he had a son who was a truck driver who got hurt on the job but didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to lose any hours driving. The back injury got worse and now he can't drive. He can't get compensation because he didn't report it when it happened. The young man is twenty-three and feels like his life is over. All he ever wanted to be was a truck driver. I asked if "we" could pray for his son, he said I could but he had to run some errands.

I continued to walk and I spoke healing into his son's body, peace into his mind and life into his spirit. As I spoke to God, I thought about how many people have no confidence in prayer. They hope or wish it will work....they'll try it as a last resort...but....they don't really believe God has any interest in their every day life.

I felt the same way until I started to read God's Word. Jesus told us to "Have faith in God. Whoever says....and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for you." Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive." Jesus said, "I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, He will give it to you." I decided to believe what Jesus said and that has made all the difference.

A Week of Serendipties...

It was a hot and sticky day. Summer seemed to have arrived early. We parked outside the First Baptist Church of McDonough, flipped on our generator and let the air conditioning flow. Aaaah!

I was on the phone with a friend when a gentleman waved at me and made his way to the RV. I excused myself from the call and met Tom who is the Director of Facilities at FBC. I thought he was going to ask us to move. Instead he offered us the hand of friendship, a tour of the church and an introduction to Dr. Charles Thomas, the senior pastor. Pastor Charles invited us into his office and then surprised us with an invitation to return and present Zacchaeus at their mid-week service! We were delighted and agreed to drive back! Pastors many times are planners and we don't often get a spontaneous invitation like this. It's encouraging when you meet someone who embraces you and your gifts.

As we continued walking, we landed in Conyers home to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. What a lovely, peaceful place. We wandered the grounds for several hours and then joined the monks for Vespers (evening prayers). Their day is divided into prayer, work and reading...perhaps a lifestyle we could all benefit from.

After returning to share Luke 19:1-10 in McDonough, we were on Rt 20 heading northeast. Traffic was fast and furious. It reminded us of California, except traffic in Georgia moves! I was ahead of Lucy and found a Waffle House restaurant parking lot for her to pull into. As I was watching for her to approach, I stood on the corner and blessed the cars and trucks as they passed. A gentleman saw me and thought I was a Buddhist monk.

He came offer to share the Gospel with me but then he saw the cross that I wear and looking a bit bit perplexed, he said, "What...what's going on?" I shared what we were doing and why and gave him a Zacchaeus DVD. He said he was going to call his pastor. He took out his phone and said...."Wait a minute, I am the pastor!" We laughed and at that moment Pastor Matt Murphy of Greater Love Church in Covington, Georgia and I became friends!

Just about then Lucy pulled up in the Christ-mobile and the three of us sat and laughed and prayed together. Pastor Matt invited us to pray about coming to speak at their Sunday evening service. Wow! Another unexpected opportunity to share our gifts! Whenever God gives us opportunity, we say "YES!"

We continued on to Lawrenceville and located Atlanta's International House of Prayer. Here they praise God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with live music! As soon as stepped into the Prayer Room, we cried, but they were beautiful tears. It felt like we were home. After spending several hours there, we decided to take Saturday off and hang around the prayer room the entire weekend before driving back to Greater Love Church.

Zacchaeus was received very well. This church family reminded us our home church, Southwest Community, in Olathe, KS. It was a small church overflowing with hospitality and love. We went out for a meal with them after service and didn't want it to end. Thunder storms were forecast for the wee hours of Monday morning so they let us hook up to water and electric for the night. So here we sit....warm, safe and dry. Blessed by God all week long and looking forward to another week of traveling with the Lord.

Father, we have done nothing to merit your favor yet you pour Your grace upon us day after day. You love us because Love is who You are. We thank You, Timeless One, for Your hand upon our life; for new friends each week, for Your attention to the little things.