So like this is my third try in getting this posted. Two times now I'm almost ready to hit the publish tab, and poof, something happens and all my work is gone. So they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking

While in Bridger Montana, we had fun playing floor hockey!


In Cody Wyoming we spent some time with the Atnip Family,
They had a dirt bike just my size! (haha)
Its little 50cc motor didn't have quite the power as there Sportsmen 700.


But it would get me around, barely.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so. Its been a good week as we have made our way up the western coast, and now we will be heading eastward. God's creation is awesome, the mountains, and water falls, it has been beautiful driving. We tried to see some Red Woods in California, but after driving twenty minutes and and five miles on the little road that leads up there, the trailer had dropped off the shoulder because of the steep turns and we blew a tire . So we turned around and went back to the Interstate.

A big highlight in California was spending time with Caleb Nelson.
The San Fransisco bay!

(if you look close, you can see Alcatraz on the left)

Multnomah Falls My favorite photographer!

Bethany at work!

Charissa has adapted well to life on the road!

Back on the road!

What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar. Pro 19:22

All right, its been a while since I have posted, and, well its kind of like this -- I've been busy. We finely made it out to Californa. After a week and a half of working on the bus it was good to get on the road. We drove though the beutiful rocky mountains and after a full day of driving it was a welcome break to stop at a rest stop just into Utah.

The rocks were great for running, climbing, hiding, and burning up a lot of bottled up energy.

No need to worry, Andew was able to pull himself up, or maybe he just stood up.

And welcome to "sunny" California!

Take the old one out, put the new one in, give the wrench a whirl for our trip west must begin. That's been the song around here this past week. The axle housing had to come out to fix excessive ware in the spindles that was caused by spinning (bad) bearings. Also the transmission we found was the same as gone. After looking it over it made us wonder how it even made it this far. Today the new differential came in and tomorrow the new transmission will get here, and the axle housing should be done. So we will be putting everything back together tomorrow and Saturday, and Lord willing will be on the road Saturday night. We have had to cancel and postpone a few thing this weekend, Lord willing, we should be able to be out in California by Tuesday for a school we are supposed to be at.

Some "minor"....or more like major repairs.....

This has been another education for me in the art of

"bus mechanics"

Umm.....I think theres supposed to be a wheel here

Yesterday we were at the shop getting the bus ready to go, changing oil, checking water level and transmission fluid, ect. Last thing we checked the differential oil, and the plug which is magnetic showed a pretty display of metal. So we drained it out and the oil had a metallic look to it. A good friend (thanks Ragnar) helped us, or I should say, we helped him take out the "drop box" and what Ragnar affectionately called "the pumpkin" (the differential) out, They were in really bad shape. (Silver Eagles had the drive shaft go over and past the drive axle, connect to a "drop box", which is just three gears that then go back into the differential from the front.) So this morning I took the parts into Lincoln so they could rebuild everything. Ragnar said he didn't know if we would have made it back from California had we left the way it was. God had led me to pray yesterday morning that if there was anything that needed attention before we left that he would show us, praise the Lord He did. Fixing it before it left us stranded with a tow bill, possibly having to fix it on the road, and the interruptions to our commitments, God was and is taking care of us. We do not sing till Saturday evening in Los Angeles and we think we will be able to have everything back together and be able to leave Thursday. With a couple big days of driving we will get there in time. You can pray that there would be no delay for those rebuilding the differential, that we would be able to fill our all our commitments and opportunities that God has given.

What a weekend we have had! 220 children and about 60 staff, and two big days learning about our King Jesus. It is what we called, "The Quest". Themed around a drama about Andrake, who is a young boy on a quest to become a knight in service to his king. He finds that to serve his king is to keep the kings word and serve those of the kingdom. That happens to be returning a fair young maiden that had been kidnapped, back to her father.

The 50-60 staff volunteers

Lady Rachel leading songs!

Long ago, when knight saved maidens......

The drama team!

Getting ready for scene three!

"Andrake", "Lark", and "Sir Conley"

Buyer beware of the smooth talking peddler
I have just the thing for you!
Turneus (Matthias) and Ichacus (Me) steeling away a Damsel in distress.
(we were called the Turn and Itch crew)

Trying to "explain" our "little brother Del"

All three of us are brothers, we all have the same father......and mother too! Run for it!Dellia is found and on her way back home!
Andrake gets knighted for his brave service to the King and the people of the kingdom.

Will we serve the King of Kings with all our hearts?

This week has been quite an eventful week. On Tuesday dad and I flew (do to weather we flew the airlines) to San Antonio Texas with one way tickets to look at a 45ft Silver Eagle coach we expected to drive back. It was dark when we got there Tuesday and so we decided to make a final decision until we could look at it in the day light. It was a good thing we did, there were a lot of things that would need work that we did not have the time or desire to deal with, and dad did not have peace about it. So we told the lady that we did not want the bus, and she drove us back to the airport, we got there about 12:30. So I got my computer out and begin to look for flights back home, and while I’m doing this dad gets a call from a friend, who we knew was trying to sell there 45ft Silver Eagle, and well I don’t want say to much to early, so just stay tuned to our Family’s Journal, and in the next week or to you will hear the rest of the story. Ok, lets see, where was I, Oh yes, Dad I were stuck at the San Antonio airport with no tickets to get home. Well it was getting to be about 1:10 and I finely found some really good priced tickets online, the only problem was the flight left at 2:10. So dad went to the counter to ask about a flight home. About ten minuets later he comes back, “lets go our flight leaves at 2:10". So we run and check in our luggage and get in line for security. Its now about 1:30 and the line is long. We get through security and are putting our shoes back on at 2:00, our flight is at gate 15, so we run to the gate and sit down in our seats at 2:05, whew, we made it. We had a three hour lay over in Denver and landed in Omaha 9:18 that evening. It was good to be home.
The verse that came to mind is Pro. 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

After over seven weeks on the road we are finally home!! You can pray for us as we try to find a replacement bus/coach within the next three weeks before we head out west.

We (that would be us oldest eight children) are helping with taking care of the children for the Nebraska state home school convention as in years past. We will have about 200+ children the last Friday and Saturday in March. And as in years past there is a drama with a theme and biblical life lessons, and last year I made the drama team....as a bad guy. So this year you'll never guess what part they gave me....yep, another bad guy part. They say its cause a I make such a "good" bad guy. But I can't help but wonder, if there is such a thing as a "good" bad guy. Although I must say it is a fun part, and I'll give my best at being a "good" bad guy.

One thing on the trip that really touched me, and I'll share it with you is while ministering in prison, one of the prisoners made the statement that the first time he used a fork and spoon was in prison. Most, if not all these guys came from a rough family background, or no family at all. It made me think, what did I do to grow up in a family that loved me. Absolutely nothing, God placed me here, and for that I am very thankful. But if I had a childhood like most these men behind bars, most of whom either do not know there father, or hate there father, and wish they had never known him because, he was so abusive, I would be right in there with them. Its great to see how God takes and changes anybody when they surrender to His Lordship. For its not that I am better than they, I need God's grace, and forgivness just as much as they do. It is by God's grace and for knowledge (nothing to do with me) that I have grown up in a loving family, but to whom more is given, more is required. Its not how many talents I have, but what am I doing with the talents I do have, or should I say, that God has given me?

This afternoon we enjoyed our last full day in Orlando. We were able to spend the afternoon with the Timothy Pent Family, who had just gotten home Friday after serving as missionaries in South Korea. Back home if you were to go to the lake right now you would bring your ice skates, but not here in central Florida. The Pents had a boat, so Andrew and I were able to try wake boarding for the first time.

Getting up out of the water was bit tricky, but both Andrew and I were able to manage it on the second try. Although Andrew had the advantage having watched me do it first. Bethany is so good at making me look good!
This may look like a cool wakeboarding trick, or something like that. The truth be told, it ended with a big splash!

Something like this.

And here is my brother Andrew! He did pretty good too!

And yes, Andrew had some good splashes as well.

Yesterday we went salt water fishing with some friends in Tampa Bay, near St Petersburg Florida. The friends we were with told us you never know what you might catch when fishing in the bay. We caught 33 little silver looking fish, I forget what they were called, so little silver fish will have to do. I do know that they tasted real good. One of the guys that took us fishing caught a puffer fish. Unfortunately Bethany was not there to take a picture. But this fish puffed up so tight, it look like a ball, and it bounced like one to.
Then, just before it was time to go I got a bite on my line. I knew it was something bigger than normal. After five minutes of fighting it finally came to shore. It was a sting-ray!

Its weighed about 15-20 pounds, and had a wing-spand of about two feet or a little more.

Don't worry, we stayed clear of the stinger.

The stinger is the trophy of the animal. Kind of like the antlers on a buck. So we cut that off. I guess there is some meat in the wings, but we did not have time to work it up. So I will have to wait for another time to get to taste sting-ray.

Ok, I'll tell the painful truth. The truth is we went to the beach yesterday. The painful part is we all got fried; sunburnt real bad. Although it was fun. Swiming in the waves -- and chek out our sand art. This one, as you could guess, is mine.

Well its been a while since my last post. When were on the road I do not seem to have the access to the internet as when at home. It has been a "exciting" trip so far. God’s protection is amazing. With the bus accident, the fact that we all walked away is a testimony that God is never caught off guard. There is no accidents in God’s world, just creative ways for him to bring glory to his name. In all that happened we never missed a program. God has got us where we needed to be, to glorify his name. Amazing.

Last night Dad got sick, and about a half hour before the program was to start dad said he was feeling really bad and was going to stay in the bus. So we had to do the church service without him. Rachel wrote the program and every body pitched in to fill the void while dad stayed in the bus and prayed for us. It went pretty well, although you could tell we missed dad. It was a good stretching experience for all of us. Dad’s feeling better this morning.

Our cousin Nicole flew down and is going to spend the rest of our trip with us. It has been a lot of fun to have her along.

Well I got to go till next time remember to “Whatch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. 1Cor 16:13-14

We just finished our last prison services in Alabama with We Care, and had a great week. Going in the prisons was great and I really enjoyed it. I mean, I would never want to live there, but being able to go in and share with men the love of Christ. Hearing the testimonies of how Christ takes a life everybody gave up on, everybody but our loving savior Jesus, and changes their heart. That person is not “the same person”, but a new creation in Christ. Then to realize that if it were not for that same work in my own heart, I would be in the same place as them. That makes me so thankful for God’s grace.

Wow, tomorrow we will be leaving for a seven week trip down south, for two prison crusades, two family seminars, and a lot of services in between. As you can imagine, life is pretty busy around here at the moment. Dad and us boys are doing last minuet repairs and such on the bus, to get it ready for the trip. And the girls are doing a lot of cooking and packing.

One thing I wanted to get done before we left was to take FAA CFII written test. (FAA is the Federal Aviation Administration, CFII is the Certified Flight Instructor Instrument.) The test went well and when the test administrator pulled up the score, I scored a 98%. Which is real good, but means out of the fifty question on the test, I only missed one. One away from perfect. I was real happy about the good score, the best I have ever scored. But to be only one away from perfect, is perhaps just a little disappointing. Kind of mixed emotions, yea I got a good score, but I could have done a little better. I suppose its all what standers we hold ourselves to. Is good, good enough? Or is my best effort the only thing that is good enough?

Col 3:23&24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Home after seeing family over Christmas and New Years. And
for Christmas on mom’s side of the family we decided to go bowling instead of having the traditional gift exchange. So everyone got to bowl, even down to little five year old Nathanael. I watched as he struggled to carry the ball the lane and then set it down. He leans over, and with all his might he rolls, or should I say pushes the ball as hard as he can. What seemed to be minuets later, the ball is two thrids down the lane and Nathanael gets all excited. The ball is heading straight for the head pin. And what looked like slow motion, the ball hit’s the head pin a little off center at a speed you’d expect the ball bounce off it, and one by one the pins start falling down hitting each other. And I’m still not sure if the ball made it to the back row of pins or not, but when it was all over, all the pins were down. That’s right my little five year old brother Natanael bowled a strike, and boy was he happy. The thing was, he got as many strikes as I had got that day.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
God was born in the flesh so we could be born of the Spirit.
Jesus was born because we die, and he died so we could live.
God came and lived with man so that man my live with Him forever.
It was God, who out of his great love for every person that He left his
throne and all its glory above and was born a baby in a manger to live a life
unto a cruel death so we could be resorted into a personal relationship with Him, which is the greatest gift of all.
Have a very merry Christ centered Christmas.

Praise The Lord, We got the bus done and it works great!! Thans for the prayers!!

Things are picking up as we get closer to Christmas and I am finding myself down at our shop helping to put an automatic transmission in our bus. It had a five speed manual that was starting to show signs that it is thinking about quitting. So here we switching it out, trying to have it all done by the time we leave this coming Saturday Morning. We are hoping to have the engine and tranny set back in the bus by tomorrow evening. That would give us Thursday and Friday to hook every thing up and make sure it all works. You can pray that everything goes well and that we will get it done in good time.

And just for fun, here is some facts I researched on the internet:

As I have talk with people about my flying I have ran across two types of people, those that love flying and those that are scared to fly. Now there is some middle ground, as there are few who are not scared to fly, they just do not like it, which is the case with one of my sisters. However, for the most part, fear is why most people who do not like fly, do not like to fly. Nevertheless, it does not take long to find out that flying is not what scares people; it is crashing, and being injured or killed. So I decided to do some research and find out, just how safe is flying, what are the odds of being injured or killed. What I found was that chance of being killed in an airplane accident was approximately 1 in 350,000. That is quite safe considering that your chance of being killed in an auto accident is almost 19 times greater at 1 in 18,585. Yes, the only thing that scares me about flying is the drive to the airport. Then I found something that really got my attention, and that was that chances are 1in 4,745 that you die falling out of bed, no wonder we say bed time prayers. You can sleep good though, because the odds of a meteor falling on you house is only 1 in 182 trillion, at least we don’t have worry about that. However, you had best be careful taking a shower as the odds of fatally slipping in the bath or shower is 1 in 2232. And whatever you do, do not go to the hospital, as the odds are 8 out of 10 that you will die in a hospital. So if you can make it out of bed, through the shower, and survive the drive to the airport you have the worst behind you, and are in good shape.

Habits, What are they? Do we make habits or do we simply change our habits to make better use of the time? Lets say someone goes to the coffee shop every morning and gets a donut and coffee. Then he decides he wants to start running to get rid of some of them donuts. So instead of going to the coffee shop he goes and runs a couple miles. Know the question is, did he (a) Make a new habit?
(b) break an old habit?
Or c) simply change his habits?
We could say he has made a new habit, because he is doing something he was not doing before. We could also say he broke an old habit because he is not doing something he always used to do. Also, instead of eating donuts and drinking coffee and gaining weight, He is now running and getting in shape. Therefore he changed his habits. So tell me, Which is it?

Ps 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Ok, here is a little riddle that I came up with. I hope you like it.
Last winter we were down in Florida at a having breakfast at a restaurant, the date was March first and we were celebrating my brother Andrew’s birthday. For on March first Andrews birthday was yesterdays tomorrow, but it was not on that day, that day being march 1st. How can that be? And when is Andrews birthday?