If they are not against us, they are for us

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will, 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice" Phillipians 1:15-18

It shouldn't suprise me that there is a large number of churches and demoninations present in the country of Belize, but I guess there is more than my research led me to believe. It all makes sense though because this is the "uttermost parts of the earth" and we were called to these places, and on top of that for probably the same reasons we chose Belize it is the geographical "cornerstone" to central america, and also a peaceful country, that is multicultural and english speaking. I think statistically catholism is the largest demonination, but we have seen influences from the menonite, seventh day adventist, LDS, baptist, nazarene, methodist, and some bible churches as well. But as Paul rejoiced so should we and despite Christ being preached we should press on and fulfill our calling and rejoice.

Our aim when we arrived to Belize was to seek two things: a peaceful and hospitable place that would receive us and a larger city that was multicultural, where God could raise up leaders and send them back to the countries and villages that tthey originated from to mulitply the ministry. We also aimed to check out five of Belize's bigger cities (pop. 9000-15000), and those were Corozal, Orange Walk, Belmopan, Dangriga, and Punta Gorda. Corozal is the town we are living in now, it is in the northern part along the ocean bay and has a strong mexican influence. The people we have met are friendly, but also quiet and reserved to their own things and business. Orange Walk is the second largest town in Belize and located in the northern district along a river. It is close to one of the most popular mayan ruins and offers more of a city feel. The city is busy, some what cramped, but offers better shopping and resources. Belmopan is the capital of Belize and located in the center of the country. It became the capital back in 1982 when Belize received its independence from Britain. Although it has been established for thirty years, developement is slow and it felted kind of broken, distant, and almost in a stage of rebuilding. Dangriga is towards the southern part of Belize and is an ocean city along the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately ocean life is non existant in Belize until you venture out to the adjacent islands, so Dangriga didn't offer much when it came to the ocean. It was a town similiar to Corozal, but wasn't as multicultural and was definitely dirtier and streets were cluttered. All these things said we did realize that we were moving to a third world country and the wealth and abundance of America was not going to be found, but I guess given the short time we visited these places our first impressions were as described. We chose not to visit Punta Gorda because it was just to much driving, and althogh many said it was beautiful, they said it was more of a sleepy town without much life and culture.

Enter God's providence. Our three day tour of Belize started in the north, then to the central, then to the south, and back again. In all of this we needed a place to stay. Our camping book only had two locations both outside of the city of San Ignacio, one to the east and one to the west. These sites were centrally located and offered the perfect location to venture out from. When we entered the San Ignacio area from the east it was our plan to stay at the first place on our map, but by God's providence it had been sold and the new owners changed the business plan and they no longer accepted RV's. So being this close San Ignacio we could either turn back to a sign we saw advertising RV parking or pass through town and try the other site on our map. We chose to go into town check it out and stay on the west side. Our trip into town was a little missed guided into some one way streets, but when we finally got our bearings we drove through to our destination to get settled in. Our campsite, although empty, was inviting, open, and perfect for the dogs and family. With only a few hours of daylight available we decided to walk into town to check out real estate, schools, and businesses. It was amazing. The town was located in the mountains/hills of Belize along side a major river. The downtown area, actually felt like a downtown, and it had life and culture, and tourism. Everyone was greeting us and had a willing hospitality to talk and guide us around. The hilly nature of it reminded Tiff of the town of manitou springs in Colorado. The real estate agent showed us rentals for $200-$1500 USD, business was growing, and the school system was similiar to that of Corozal. For what I think was the first time, we really felt like we were home, praise Jesus. This was our third town and we kind of didn't even want to check out the other towns or for that matter even leave, but we did anyway the next day. The town was awesome, it offered mountain adventures, river swims, waterfalls, a golf course, mayan ruins, the temperature was much more moderate and nights were even cool, and it is 30 minutes from Guatemala and the Capitol Belmopan, and it is also 15 minutes from Spanish Lookout which is the mennonite town, which offers better shopping and work.  Although we had a few more cities to visit, we knew God has spoken and revealed His place for us.

So anyway it is our goal and desire to finish out our month lease in Corozal and then move to San Ignacio, Belize, probably for what will be the long term. Thank you for all your prayers and God's guidance. Please be praying for us, mo, work, a place to live, and most importantly that God would be preparing peoples' hearts to come into a saving knowledge of an eternal relationship with His Son, Jesus.

Tropical Depressions and more Faithfulness

"Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." 1 Peter 4:19

Our plan for the first week in Belize was to camp at the Carribean Village for a week while we searched around Corozal and other towns to find a place to live. But driving in under a tropical depression, with a rain soaked van, some weary people and dogs, and a credit card that wouldn't be accepted caused us to reevalute our situation. Parked under a huge palm tree at the empty campground, to protect us from the strong winds and rain, I left to the park office to begin my research to try and find a place to live. They had some brochures inside, there was some information on the internet, but all without promise or within reason. Most places were being marketed to wealthy travelers and not those who just wanted to assimilate into the culture. But in God's faithfulness the owner of the campground pointed us to a property around the corner that had apartments and availability. So in the rain we put together the bikes and the bike trailer and headed off into town to find a place to live.

The first place we arrived seemed ideal, but had a painted sign that said "No Pets." This was a problem although we began to speak with a lady and her daughter, who translated, about the apartments. They had two available apartments. An upstairs house for $400/mnth and a downstairs apartment that was coming available on friday for $300/mnth. We asked about the dogs and said we would be willing to put down a bigger deposit for them. They told us there husband/father would be home in 30 minutes and they would talk to him. So we took the tour and as we were leaving the father pulled up and we agreed to rent the upstairs house with a bigger deposit. The apartment downstairs was probably more ideal but it wasn't available for four days which after the campground at $20/day would put us about the same price as the house. So we agreed to the house with the option to move into the apartment the next month. What a blessing, a fully furnished home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full kitchen, and even a washing machine, a earthly blessing for sure. That morning I had called our bank and increased our debit card to $500/day, so we told the family we would ride into town and get part of the money and deposit today and the rest tomorrow, which was sufficient for them, and they were gracious enough to clean and prepare the house for us while we were away. So anyway we rode into town in the rain to look around, get money, and get familiar. We arrived back to the house, I rode my bike to get the van, and we began to move in. It was amazing, in one day to find a place and get settled into our new country, Praise Jesus. As we unpacked it was astonishing how much we had actually brought in that little van. Three bikes, a bike trailer, bike accesories, household goods, bath goods, sporting goods, food, pots and pans, electronics, lots of clothes, dog food and accessories, it was almost never ending.

                                    

So anyway we have a master bedroom with a bath, Mo has his bedroom next to us, and the third bedroom is the dogs room/garage. Then we have an additional bath, living room, dining room/office, and kitchen/laundry. So beautiful and much more than we could ask for.

We will be visiting other towns over the next week, Orange Walk, Belmopan, San Ignacio, and Dangriga, to see where God would have us live. Corozal is a great place and might be the eventual place we settle, but please pray for God's guidance, will, and a place of peace and hospitality.

Day 6: Crossing the Border and Faithfulness

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Sunday was a great day of rest and rememberance in Christ in His creation with our new family, just across the border from our "promised" land. But sunday night brought in a tropical depression, which brought in strong winds and constant rain with some breaks in between. When I woke up Sunday morning there was a clear break in the weather so I took the dogs to the ocean, pulled out some water drenched blankets and pillows, and pulled out the computer to blog about day 5. It was so perfect and calm, but what i didn't know was it was the calm before the storm. As I sat on the coast to write I began to notice a black line moving across the bay towards us, and as it approached I hurried to grab up the computer and cables to run to the van as quick as possible. I was able to make it to the van but I was wet and the dogs were soaked and I didn't have time to grab the blankets and pillows that were drying. So anyway an hour later there was another break, and during this break we hurried to pack everything away, including the even more drenched blankets and pillows, so that we could make it to the border to cross into Belize.

It was looking to be another long day of adversity. Rain was strong, roads were flooded, and it wasn't stopping for two days explained some of the locals. So these things made our border responsibilities that much more difficult. At the border we needed to get our passports stamped, get the dogs through animal customs, get our car fumigated, pay duty on our van and any other items they deemed necessary, and also sign up for insurance. This process in mexico only took one hour or so but what we would find out is that is was going to take six hours this day. That meant allot of walking inside and outside to the different buildings in the rain, and it ment Tiffany, the dogs, and mo waiting in the car (a rain drenched, wet dog smelling van with all the windows rolled up) while I worked out all the formalities.

Basically after getting our passports stamp, we were hooked up with a broker who was to be payed a fee as he walked us from building to building to finalize everything else. The processes were very slow and there was allot of hurry up and wait. I basically was taken from car evaluation, to immigration, to animal control, to broker offices, to cashiers, and back and forth and back in forth till everything was stamped paid and put in place. Thankfully there was some breaks in the weather which allowed the dogs and the family to get out and walk around. We also were very thankful for Gods faithfulness in the whole process as well. The biggest miracle came about with our duty on the van. First the government official was very fair on the evaluation, because he valued it at $1200 american where he easily could have $5000 based on NADA values, which at a 60% duty would have been $3000 instead of $800. And regading the $800 to this day I still don't know how the payment went through, other than the grace of God. Before our leaving Tiff and I lowered the balance availability on a card in the event we were robbed, so when I found out the duty on our car I asked to check the internet for our credit availability and we only had $550 available. So we had $250 cash, $150 debit, and $550 credit but the problem was they would only recieve one form of payment, and we also had pet passport fees, immigration fees, and insurance fees to pay. So in my faithlessness I didn't know how this was going to work, which meant our car stayed at the border and we would have to ride in the rain into town and find a place that received dogs and us. And then to make matters worse, we could only withdrawal $150 a day and it would take three days before a credit payment was posted, so this ment no van for three days, it was not looking promising. But by grace our credit card went through and it received the $800 payment and we were on our way into Belize. We were also blessed with a duty officer that chose not to tax us on any of the other goods in the van or have us throw away any of the food we had left. 

Six hours later, rain soaked, stinky van, whiny kid, wet dogs, and broke we moved onto our campground in Corozal.

Thank God for his Faithfulness

PS Sunday night brouht a smile to our face because the owner of the campground and resturant we were staying at asked us how we found his place, so we showed him the book we had been using on camping in mexico and belize. Well anyway he was so excited that he was in an american book, I think it made him feel like a rockstar. He brought all of his employees around to see it and they made copies. He was so "pleased in his heart" that he was buying us margaritas but we had to cut him off at on the second because we didn't know how far he would go. Pretty cool stuff.

Day 5: Happy Fathers Day - Our Father is Good all the time

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

A relationship with God is not about getting Him to do what we want it is more about Him getting us to do what He wants. We pray to the Father not to change His mind and heart, but we pray to change our mind and heart. We ask not for our will but for His will in our lives. He speaks to us through His Spirit, His Word, and His people, and we speak to Him through prayer. So I am not one who believes that God is a God who makes us rich and healthy, actually on the contrary most of his followers and even His son were poor, homeless, and died an early death. Our purpose in life is not to know and love the things of this world, but to know and love the God who created this world (1 John 2:15). James actually rebukes the twelve tribes and tells them that their prayers were empty and hindered because they were asking from evil hearts with selfish intentions (James 4:2-3). However when you are pursuing the heart, mind, and will of God I do believe that this verse in Ephesians applies, God does really give far more abundantly than we could ask or think.

I believe this verse sums up so much of our trip. I say this based off of our time in the campground in Chetumal, but there are so many more details that God has given to us that just keep adding up, so many to discuss or even remember, from the ideal size and functionality of the van, to acquiring mo and his passport, to finances, to people we meet, to informaion given at the right time, to missing the devastating weather that hit mexico, to all the gifts, to all the resources, and on this day we were able to talk to two families of menonites, who grew up in belize and were able to share so much valuable information regarding religion, roads, weather, culture, pricing, work, etc... about Belize. And all of these things are such true blessings and bring so much joy to a childs heart of our Heavenly Father. I can't explain how God has cultivated such a heart of gratitude and thankfulness towards His salvation, adoption, kingdom, friendship, and fatherhood.

This would be my first fathersday as an official father, but I don't think it has fully set in yet. With our travels to Belize taking so much of my thoughts and time, I haven't really had time to settle down and realize that God has brought an adopted son into my life, just as He adopted and brought me into His life and His family. Our friend Brian Suave said that it is amazing that God chooses to share the name father with us, and this statement is so true. Please pray for me and my little man Mo that I may raise him up in the compassion and fear of the Lord and that my parenting would draw Him closer to our creator and not push Him away.

Happy Fathers Day with much Gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Day 4: The best day before the Best Day

"On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together." Acts 20:7-8

We have been traveling in our van for almost three or of the last four weeks. First it was to Utah and back to Colorado for Mo, then from Colorado to broken down in Kansas, from Kansas to Missouri, Missouri to Arkansas, Arkansas to Texas, Texas to Matehuala, Matehuala to Puebla, Puebla to Villahermosa, and finally Villahermosa to Chetemal. During all of this we have experienced so many things, joy, stress, anxious dogs, crying kid, car failures, friends, Gods hand, packing, unpacking, walmarts, mehcanics, family, lakes, foreign countries, pools, good food, promise, hope, instruction, adoption, arguments, smiles, sore bodies etc... just life, life in Christ in a fallen world.

But in all these things, I think one of the best days came before the Lords day. The last day was one of our shortest days without too many hiccups. We got out on time, we didn't run into traffic, good roads, nice temperature, dogs slept, kid slept, not much fighting, just a gift from God. Every other day we arrived later than we thought we would, but this day we arrived on time and did not have to rush to feed the dogs, appease our child, set up the camper, go to the bathroom, make dinner, and prepare for bed, aside from some stress of all the three weeks of driving and achy bodies it was one of our best days.

As Christians we gather together on Sundays because this is the day the Jesus rose from the dead and conquered sin, satan, death, hell, and demons on our behalf. We gather as a community, as a family to worship, to remember, to celebrate, to learn, to pick each other up, to love, to fellowship, to gather. And in God's great timing what a great day we had before the His great day of rest and rememberance. We arrived in time to get a true full day of rest, first in Him, but second in His creation. To wake up to His rising of the sun, a day of true worship and praise and honor to a heavenly Father, a heavenly Dad who cares and loves his children.

O what a glorious day.
Thanks Dad for finding us safely and for this day you have created.

Day 3: Why fear man, when you can fear God?

"And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God." Luke 16:15

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 1 Corinthians 7:1

Mankind was freely given and identity through creation, in Adam and Eve, in the Image of God. But becaue of the lie of Satan mankind chose to achieve their own identity to become like God and to find life and wisdom apart from Him. So in our first physical parents Adam and Eve and our second spritual father Satan we were all born into this world with the desire to achieve our own identity and find life and wisdom apart form God. This is where the choice to fear man or fear God enters time and space. Do we trust in what God says, who cannot lie, or do we trust in what man says, who is born of the the father of lies. If you can measure sin, I belive that the fear of man is one of the greatest sins of our time. We choose to be directed by what people say and think and not what God has to already said. We believe in the Big Bang, apes that turned into humans, positive thinking, plurality of Gods, spirituality, self esteem (pride), the power of knowledge, etc... All of these things build up self and diminish God, they cause us to trust in ourselves and not in our Creator. They have a false sense of hope and reality but always end in despair, the need for more, and death. Knowledge and wisdom of this world has entitled men to believe somehow that we have all the answers and we can overcome what Christians know to be the curse of sin. But history shows that man, government, power, wisdom, education, military power cannot reverse the evil that exists in the heart of man and in the world as a whole. So in turn we listen to man and not to God. We trust in man and not in God, and we are all guilty of this.

Most people in America would say they are free, that they are not slaves, that they do not serve a pharoah or a ceasar, but I would say differently, I would say that they are slaves to fear, the fear of man. Jesus teaches that the one who sins is a slave to sin. They rely, trust, and believe in the wisdom of man and neglect the wisdom of God. We revolve our lives, our finances, our families, our labor, our goals, our philosophies, our fears around mankind and not the word of God.

"For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." 1 Corithians 1:19-31

And this is not to say that we should neglect the things of man, but they should have no authority against the things of God and the thoughts and plans he has towards us. Gods thoughts and plans for us was to preach the Gospel in Belize and if we would have put our trust and fear in the things of man we would have missed out on the things God has established for us. After all the warnings and attempts of persuasion, and the lies of the enemy we chose to trust in God and not in man, and in the end we came to understand that it was all hype, all sensationalism, and lies trying to thwart the plans of God in the lives of those He has created and chosen. To the demise of many, most will regard the things of man and miss out on the salvation of God. They will trust in the idea that there is no God, or that everyone will go to heaven, and listen to the lies of man, and not the truths of God. They will end up neglected so great a salvation, so great a love, and will chose to pursue and achieve their own identity, instead of freely receiving a new identity, life, and creation through the grace and gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Day three was a pretty straight forward of driving, peace, and safety, and got me thinking about how I in someways and at some times began to listen to man and doubt God, which was evil and faithless. But even when I am faithless God is still faithful, and I praise him for that. We drove through some beautiful country, next to a volcano and down the side of an awesome mountain. We did run into some adversity regarding are camping location in Villahermosa. Both sites were no longer available so we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express and enjoyed the amenities. Tiff and Mo slept in the room and I slept in the parking lot with the Dogs. Our first two stays were at higher altitude and were somewhat cold, but this night was at sea level and much hotter and humid. I fell asleep to the sound of two panting dogs, traffic, and people enjoying the resturant near by, but actually had the best night sleep of the trip so far. We enjoyed nice showers and a nice breakfast of beans and eggs in the morning. We also filled up on water, and we thank our friends Kate and Charlie for the water filtration pump, it has come in handy, although we still have texas water in the tank of our vanagon. And I almost forgot, at one of our gas station stop we ran into a family on their way to cancun who were originally from whereelse, Boulder, Colorado, who now live in mexico. And we also had another American come up to us from Arizona who saw the plate and he too was originally from boulder colorado. This was our second encouter with americans, but this time three groups all originally from Colorado.

Please in your life do not waste your life achieving some false identity, repent and freely recieve the identity that God has given through His Son, one of righteousness, hope and peace.

Day 2: Two missed exits and a confused GPS

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." 1 Peter 1:6-11

I thank God that we do not have a King, a Savior, a Friend, a Brother, a God who is not far off. We do not serve a distant God who sits on a throne and just watches, but we have a God who chose to enter into our folly and our rebellion that he may sympathize and endure the same burdens and trials that we go through.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16

When Jesus is the most weighty and precious possession in our lives, then all other things begin to seem meaningless and empty. So when you face trial or adversity you are able to suffer well, because you have a King that can sympathize with you, that will walk with you through the suffering, will teach you in the suffering, and in turn you begin to know your King more and you become more like Him, growing to sympathize with others who are going through trials in their lives. Thank Jesus that he chose to come into human history, to become like us, to become the least of us, and to live the perfect life on our behalf, take upon his body and soul the wrath of God that we deserve, to die the death that we are condemned to, to bury sin in the grave seperating its consequences as far as the east is from the west, and to rise again conquering sin, satan, death, hell, and demons on our behalf. What great news, what a great salvation, what a great God and Savior.

So on day two of our journey when we were side tracked twice off exits and lost in the forth largest city in Mexico, we did not have fear admist our trial, we had the comfort of the Spirit of a conquering savior admist our trial sympathizing with our distress and helping us to find answers and the way back to our toll roads and destinations. And through the distress not once did we ever fear for our situation or our lives. The exits in mexico can be very tricky because they lack good signs and are very abrupt sometimes, so because of this we accidently missed/took two wrong exists which put us off our intended highways and searching for a place to turn around, and turning around in mexico is not just getting of the next exit and getting back on, their infrastructure isn't always like that. We had a GPS but it wasn't always accurate and some times landed us a little off the mark, so we had to do it by sight and in cooperation with GPS program. The first exit took us into the outer edges of a major city and the second missed exit forced me to do a U-Turn in the middle of the highway, which later caused me some distress because it also caused me to miss the toll booth, but we worked it out in the end at the other end of the toll road. But the two missed exits didn't compare to the getting lost in rush hour in the forth largest town in Mexico. Our travels took us around the largest city, Mexico city, and into a city called Puebla. Our GPS wouldn't take addresses so I put in coordinates to our destination and in all the crazy traffic (they don't have lanes on the city streets, its basically drive as you can find room and a place to fit into) neglected to look at the map in our camping book that gave more specific direction. So inspite of the written map we followed the GPS, but it landed us in the wrong spot in some back neighborhood where the locals did not know of the place we were looking for. So we headed back to the main roads where traffic was now even worse and forced us into another neighborhood because we could not turn around. Anyway 45 minutes later after asking for directions, going down one way streets, and watching the sun begin to set we found out street and three men who flagged us down to guide us in to our location. The three men lived in the resort we were going to, and one spoke great english and was a huge fan of volkswagon westfalia's. Anyway the place had so much character. I don't have a picture but it was a mix between RV park, apartments, housing, and resort. So we parked began to set up camp and prepare our bodies and minds for the next day. I will say this was one of the longest days of my life I was ready to call it a night.

Thank God that He is not one to keep us from suffering, or take away our suffering, but He is one who suffered for the whole world and walks with us through our sufferings showing us how to suffer well and rejoice always in the praise of His name, His salvation, and His victory over our rebellion ad folly.

Day 1: Jonah I know how you felt, you ran and I laid out a fleece.

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." Jonah 1:3

To compare Jonah's situation to my situation is an understatement but in some ways I believe I know how he felt when God asked him to go and preach to the whole city of Nineveh. Jonah was asked to go to a city that hated his people, sought to kill his people, and he was told to bring a message of bad news:

"And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jonah 3:4

There wasn't even the promise of hope, just a message of judgement and perishing and for me and my family we were just traveling into a country of the unknown to blend in and pursue our journey to Belize (and these people weren't even against me), but when the flesh is weak and grieved it is very easy to come to the end of yourself and even so much so that I laid out a fleece before God. In the book of Judges God asks Gideon to rescue his people, and in Gideons distress he comes to God for a sign, twice.

"And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." Judges 6:36-40

Laying out a fleece and asking for a sign from God is very infrequently seen in the Bible and therefore should be something that is very infrequently done in the christians life (this was the first time during our calling and the first time in my christian walk that I had ever been to a point to ask for a clear cut sign). You can see Gideons fear in verse 39 regarding God's anger towards his request, and recall that Jesus even rebuked the jews for there need for a sign:

"But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:39-41
Early in the morning on the day we were to cross into Mexico, while my soul was feeling like a "grasshopper", and as I looked at my family I asked Jesus, if this is your will for me please show me a sign, a sign of reservation at the border, whether it be our side of theirs. I knew God has the power to control a mans heart (we even witnessed this first hand in the court room at Mo's custody hearing), so I asked for a sign of reservation from someone regarding our travels into Meixco.

God answered very clearly. Our time at the border was about as smooth as it could have possibly been and all the people were helpful and hospitable. We paid the toll on the US side, drove right through customs on the Mexico side with no vehicle check. Then we needed to get our tourist cards and register our vehicle for travel. I thought this process would be confusing and time consuming, but our crossing had small lines and all the resources we needed all in one place. There was a bank, a copy place, immigration, and vehicle registration all in a well kept building that looked like a airport check in lobby. God had answered and we were on our way to his calling.

Our first day was about 560Km and in our car that was about 7hrs. The first town we entered into was on the border and was called Reynosa, and our first experience coming out of immigration was a guy running a stop sign and almost hitting us, but after that it was a clean vibrant city with, color and life. People were not in fear they were just living normal lives as they walked the streets and went about their busniess. There was even real horse power, horse drawn truck beds, it was awesome. Our travels took us on toll (cuota) roads the entire way to our destination. In between we saw a large precense from the federal police and military, which is the governments way to create authority and fear against the rising crime. Most of their questions were conversations about our car, our dogs, and Mo. Nice people just doing their job to make Mexico an even more beautiful country. We learned about the roads, turn offs, gas stations, towns, and the culture as we passed each Km throughout the day. Their are villages, people, children, goats, cows, bus stops, bicycles, horses, and donkeys all along the side of the highway. The things we saw would make american moms gasp at the potential danger. All of these things plus huge speedbumps are why they don't recommend you to drive at night through Mexico.

Anyway we made it safely and timely to our first destination in Matehuala, which was a nice resort called Las Palmas with an rv park, villas, putt putt golf, and a pool for Mo.

Praise Jesus for our first day. 

Like Grasshoppers

Thus they told him, and said, "We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit."Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. "Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us." So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size."There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Numbers 13:27-33
Sitting on the other side of the border it is easy to look towards Mexico, and unknown country, with unknown cities, unknown peoples, unknown dangers, and to feel like grasshoppers in the eyes of these things. It is easy to hear the unfaithful spies and their discouragement and their unbelief in the promises of God. But in the midst of the doubt there is always a Joshua and a Caleb (today that came in the form of a little lady from conneticut named Naomi and Mary at the insurance agency. Naomi has a daughter who lives in central mexico and travels to the United States three times a year, and mary confirmed the safest route through the interior of Mexico). The jewish nation were comissioned to enter in Canaan, the promised land, but because of the fear of man and not the fear of God, they received death instead of life and the promise. As sons and daughters of God we trust and have faith in God, but our faith is not blind our faith is based on assurances and evidence,

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

God had shown himself true to the nation of Israel, but they had no faith they were filled with unbelief in His promises, His evidences, and the substance of things hoped for, so in turn they perished in the desert, they never received life or saw the promised land. God has shown Himself so true in our journey to Belize, and our faith is so full of evidences along the way. As christians our faith is full of evidences such as: archeological, linguistical, historical, genetic, and genealogical. The bible is the most supported ancient manuscript, and most of all the testimony and evidence of justification and forgiveness of sins to all men who repent and believe in the Son, Jesus.

Pray that God has favor on us and show us Himself strong, the true promise land, and gives us encouragement, strength, and a humble will to persevere. So that he will be lifted up.

From the Apostle Paul,

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again." Philipians 1:15-26

Do not fear adversity, Expect It.

"After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Acts 14:21-22

As people we all go through trials and we all suffer because of sin and our rebellion before God, but as Christians we are promised that we should suffer and be tried for our faith in Jesus. Peter even teaches us that it is God's will for us to fill up the sufferings of Christ for following Jesus, 1 Peter 3:17. Unfortunately I believe that most of us even as Christians still suffer because of our evil and not because of our devotion to Christ 1 Peter 4:15-16. But as Christians we should not be anxious or fear adversity and the works and effects of the enemy but we should expect them when we strive to be more like Jesus. Peter teaches us to suffer well in his first book to the churches, its not about will we suffer it is all about how we suffer. But we as Christians also have a hope, we have a just and loving heavenly father who is mindful of us and finds favor on us, despite our good or evil. He is for us and not against us. Tiff and I experienced this while broken down in Kansas. Some may say our failed transmission and cv axel was a sign that we should turn back, but as a Christian is should be a sign to keep pressing forward, knowing that the enemy's works and effects desire to thwart the will of God in our lives. As Paul teaches in 1 Cor 15 we must have Christian stubborness, we must be steadfast, immovable, and always abound in the work of the Lord. We know that King Jesus is for His Kingdom coming and therefore he is for those who push back the gates hades. Despite our plans being thwarted we saw our conquering King run to our rescue. With a classic van which parts are hard to come by we looked to be stranded in KS for at least a week but maybe two. The friendly people of KS worked diligently to get us to the right foreign auto place and there was even a vanagon guy in town, but none of his sources had our transmission, so it looked like it might have to come from either one of the coasts. Which meant a long time, shipping costs, and it would probably be used from a junk yard with no idea of miles or quality. So to help these guys out who were already up to their neck in jobs I called the people I came to know back in Colorado and they all pointed me to one guy, who gratefully had one lying around. Gods first favor on us. Then we began to research how to get it out here, and remembered that Tiff's cousin was coming out the next day to visit the same family we were going to before we broke down. God's second favor on us. So long story short and five favors later, my sister, Carrie, picked up the transmission east of Colorado Springs, gave it to her husband, Wayne, who drove it to denver to give to tiffany's cousin, Kyle, who left the next morning for MS and dropped it off in KS for installation. So within one day we found a transmission, shipped it to KS (for free), and had it installed by some gracious mechanics, and we were on the road that night. Honor to those who helped and Praise to Jesus

This left us one day in MS for the lake and one day in AR to visit Tiffanys cousing, Tyler. We are so grateful for everyones genorosity and hospitality over this last weeks and months.

Carrie Sisco Martinez - Thanks for your gifts, Mo's life jacket, bike, and picking up a transmission on your way to your son, Olivers, Dr's appointment.
Wayne Martinez - Thank you for taking time to drive back to denver to drop off the transmission, even though you just had driven back from there for work.
Kyle and Lauren Foster - Thanks for picking up the transmission and dropping off to us in KS.
Mechanics in KS - Thanks for doing everything you did to accomodate us and get us back on the road.
Walmart Parking Lot and Travel Centers - Thanks for the free stay.
Brad and Doreen Foster - Thanks for your hospitality and generosity to let us stay with you and all the gifts you gave to us for our journey, and dragging our old transmission back to the Springs.
Rick and Cathy Sisco - Thank you also for your hospitality and generosity and putting up with us for 5 months.
Tyler and Angela - Thank you for probably what is our last home cooked meals for a while, for your generosity and hospitality. For your gifts to Mo and the GPS, which by the way took me on some random toll road, so you owe me 50 cents. jk :)
Dan and Valerie Wilmot - Thank you for your gifts and generosity and taking our old transmission back to the guy so we can receive our core charge back.
God our father - Thank you for sending your son and finding favor on Him, the world, and all of your sons and daughters. May you be glorified and may your Son be lifted up in all of these things.

We are so grateful,
Chris, Tiff, Aundreus "MoMo", Ceydie, and Shadow

Riches, Family, and Comfort: Broken down in Junction City, KS

Jesus teaches at the end of Luke 9 that riches, family, and comfort will hinder us from the kingdom of God. This morning as I was thinking about our mission, and what it really looks like to camp in a van with two dogs and two and a half people, I was awakened by the reality that this isn't going to be easy or comfortable. Which led me to meditate on these verses and really question whether I am really willing to give up my comfort to see the kingdom of God. For me the family and riches were things that were easy for me to leave behind and things I found in Jesus, with a new church family and eternal inheritance, but this morning comfort became a reality and I found myself realizing that my true comfort wasn't being found in my Savior. I was creating a functional savior in this world that somehow gave me what Jesus was intended to fulfill in me, I am a new creation, my identity was solely to be in Him. My mind was taking me to the point of should I put this behind me and give it all up because of its potential enduring difficulty or should I in faith and grace press on, persevere, witness and partake in the Kingdom of God. Comfort all of a sudden was hindering me from running the race set before me. And all in God's providence he was preparing my heart and mind to encounter our first trial some four hours later.

When we pulled into Hayes Kansas last night to camp in the parking lot, there was an unusual noise coming from what seemed to be the transmission, thinking it was because of heat we parked and slept with no thought of it. We woke up at five to get an early start to find that the problem was still there but abbreviated, so we decided to hop on the highway and give it a try to see if the problem persisted or became worse. I don't know if it was the sound of the highway or what, but the problem seemed to fade away in the rythm of the highway. Two hours into the drive we ran into some construction and because we can only go 50mph, I was causing quite a back up and decided to be courteous and pull of to let everyone pass by. Pulling over caused both Mo and Tiff to wake up, and because my eyes were getting sleepy when Tiff offered to drive I let her take the wheel, which put me in the back (closer to the noise). Now that I was closer to the noise, I became more concerned that we should probably pull over and see if an mechanic could put it on a lift and give it a check. Enter Junction City, KS. After an initial look we were pointed to the local euro car mechanic which was drowning in projects, but gracious enough to take the time to fit us it into the day. Also enter the next godly test to my comfort issue and the reality check of that nice comfortable road trip to Branson, MS. After a quick chat and some time on the internet of figuring out what the next day or week may look like we unpacked the bikes to waste away the afternoon while we waited for the news. Searching for dog friendly hotels, maybe future mechanics in our destination place (if we could some how limp our van into branson), and some place to hike, walk, or just hang out, we further began to be awakened to the reality of living out of a van in an unknown town with unknow plans, and also some heat and humidity. God's grace began to also shine more in almost a gentle fatherly way to prepare us for our next few months, and growing us to become content with a lack of comfort and familiarity.

And about the van we found out the grinding was a transmission and a rear cv joint making harmonious music together. So, being that we have an older van, it might be hard to find parts which makes our new home Junction City, KS. Pray that we can rejoice in all things and make the most of our time in Kansas. Thank God also that there is a lake here because we have told Mo he is going to a lake and based on our new schedule we might not get to see the lake in Missouri.

We will keep you posted.