I Could Never Be a Truck Driver

Well, We made it to Spokane, WA. We arrived on Wednesday mid-morning (Aug. 3rd).  Our original plan was to take turns driving, but once we got going the van was pretty hard to manage, so Mikel got the job of driving the whole way :) The weekend before we left was a little hectic. Friday afternoon was my pinning ceremony for Nursing school (pretty much like a graduation). Right after Pinning, we (being Mikel and I, Mikel's parents, my younger sister Leah, and Mikels brother and sister) all headed 2 hours south of Indianapolis to spend the weekend together. Friday evening we went camping. It was a great time other than being a little hot.

Saturday morning we got up, packed stuff up, and went out on a boat for the day on a lake near by. It was a wonderful and relaxing day. It was such a blessing to be together for a bit before we left for Spokane, AND, it was very special to have Leah and Brian (Mikel's brother) with us since they are usually in Missouri at school.

 Sunday was a sweet day of spending time with church family that we have gotten to be a part of for the past year and a half. They have been such a blessing to us and will be missed greatly.

As for the 34 hour trip to WA -   We left Monday morning (Aug. 1st) at 4am and drove till 8:30 PM Central time. We were able to make it to Chamberlin, SD the first night which was just a few hours short of where we origanally wanted to make it. Tuesday we did the same thing. We could have finished the trip Tuesday night if we had wanted to, however, we knew once we got to Spokane, we would be doing more driving down to Portland the following day, so Wednesday morning we finished the trip off. Once we got to Spokane, we did a few errands, found a bed to sleep on, and rested!! 
Below are some pics of the trip. We tried to get pictures of all the states we went through, but were only able to get two or three.

We got to see some incredible terrain along the way. The first half was a little boring with all flat farmland, but once we hit  Montana and the Rocky Mountains (which I'm a little partial to since I was born in Colorado), it was gorgeous.

Spokane is a very beautiful area as well. We are about 30 minutes from a mountain range, but it's still very hilly.

The van was very weighed down. We pulled my car behind the van, so that didn't help. We did make it without any issues though (praise the Lord for that!). The picture to the right was taken while everything was hooked up and loaded. Then the one below is a picture of how high the tire was after everything was unloaded.

Wedensday afternoon when we got in, we unloaded all of our stuff into a storage unit. It'll stay there until we are able to find a place to stay (which I'll expand on a little later). Thursday morning we got up and headed down to Portland, OR for a close friend's wedding. The wedding wasn't until Saturday afternoon, but because Mikel was in the wedding, we needed to be there several days early. It was a 6 hour drive down to Portland, but didn't seem bad at all compared to the 15 hours we had been doing for the past 2 days.  The wedding was gorgeous and it was so special to be able to see close friends from New Guinea.

Mikel was one of the groomsmen.








All of the PNG MKs (missionary kids) that were able to make it (minus Calvin, the groom):

The majority of the MKs that were there were from Mikel's class in highschool. It's always a blessing being able to catch up with MKs. There's a connection that is never lost, and fellowship with them is so sweet. We are so thankful to the Lord for the time we had together.

We headed back to Spokane on Sunday. When we pulled back into Sokane, Mikel and I both looked at eachother and at almost the same time said the same thing - "I could never be a truck driver!" We sucsessfully drove 48 hours and went through 9 states over 4 days. I think we are done with driving for a while!!!

So, what's the latest news other than travel saga? - HOUSING!!!

We weren't sure what to expect as far as housing when we got out here to WA. Neither Mikel nor I have a job (although we have applied) and we knew that until either of us could secure one, we could not rent anywhere. This meant that the first month or two of 'housing' could be very expensive since we would be staying in either an extended stay or something of the sort. We have been in contact with several people here in Spokane, but no one had really offered for us to stay with them, and we didn't feel right asking, so we were trusting the Lord in that. Before we left from Portland to head back to Spokane, we looked up several temporary housing options that had been listed on Craigslist (one was a studio apartment that needed to be rented for 1 month, and the other was just a room in a house that was for rent). This would have just been temporary until we could get jobs and find an apartment. So, on the way back to Spokane, we called up these two places. When the lady answered the phone, Mikel explained that he was going to start attending Moody soon and we needed a temporary place to stay. Little did we know what the Lord had in store through someone on craigslist!  The lady informed Mikel that she actually attended the 'Moody church' and knew of another lady (Charlotte) from the church who rented space out in her house to Moody students and needed someone to rent from her more long-term.  Not long after this Charlotte called us and introduced herself to us. She said that typically she only rented to single male students, but that recently she and her husband had been considering renting to a couple. Charlotte has faced quite a bit of health issues in the last year including 3 surgeries and full chemo treatment. Between having her thyroid, a brain tumor, the majority of her esophagus and part of her stomach removed, and chemo treatment, she has had no energy to keep the house organized and to entertain students as they usually do. For this reason, they had been praying about, and considering having a couple rent from them so that the wife could possibly help out around the house.
We were able to meet with Charlotte yesterday and spend part of the afternoon with her. She has a basement with two bedrooms, a small kitchen and a living area that she is willing to rent out to Mikel and I. Although this is not what we were oringanally thinking for a long-term place to stay, both Mikel and I, and Charlotte really feel that God perfectly laid this opprotunity in our laps. We are excited that we have a chance to be a blessing to this family and both of our needs will be met in a neat way!

I know that was a very long-winded way to explain that we have found housing, but Mikel and I are still so blown away that God provided all this through a craigslist posting. Not only have we found a more long-term place to stay, but we are also going to be able to bless this sweet wife and husband who have been praying for help! How awesome is our God!!
Mikel and I will move in on Friday afternoon. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on the basement since she has been sick, but we are excited to get in and help out with re-organizing the house. I will plan on helping out around the house as much as I can between work and other activities. This couple has been such a blessing to Moody students here in WA and have been so sacrificial in using their house for the Lord.

Until we move in we are putting more job applications in and getting to know the area. We want to say thank you to EVERYONE who has been praying for us or who has supported us financially in this move. We really weren't sure how a lot of this was going to happen, but the Lord (as always) has proved Himself faithful, and we are so thankful for that. We would appreciate continued prayers as we look for jobs, I take my state boards, and Mikel starts school.

We'll continue to keep you updated as we find more out!