March 14, 2008

Well, we are on the road again after spending several blessed days with many saints in Missouri.

We were very blessed to be able to partake of the Wednesday evening teachings. Thursday evening David was able to share his heart on the present state of the Church. As a few of the young brothers there have just come out from amongst a group that was teaching and preaching corrupted doctrines, they greatly wanted to know what we had come through (as we have been part of a similar group). What a blessing!!! (if we learn to look to Christ)

We were also very blessed to share meals and fellowship with a few saints that have been believers for many years.... This was an immense joy as they had shared time with a few of the "hero's" of our faith.

We are now heading to VA, and will meditate and pray about what the LORD has in all of this for us. FATHER please give us your direction!

03/07/2008

Well we are regretfully migrating our way back east.... We are certainly looking forward to seeing those that we love in Christ but I have to admit, I love the west. It is still very wild in most parts and the weather, well, it's not snow. : ) We have just spent a couple of days in the northern Phoenix area and then Las Cruces, New Mexico again. We are now in Northern New Mexico and are migrating East on US 40 if you want to follow our progress on the map. As of now our plans are to head to Oklahoma tomorrow then on to Missouri after that where we will spend some time with some folks out there and hopefully catch up with my sister in Northern Missouri.

Please pray for our trip to OK as I will be visiting with some friends from my past and my hope is that there hearts will be open to hear of what the Lord has done in me.

To all reading, we miss you all and look forward to seeing you soon!

David

03/03/2008

Well, I was finally able to make contact with some of the people that I had known when I lived in CA many years ago (see my testimony for further details). We had made a really strong attempt to find some people in Bakersfield on Friday only to find out that they had moved back to Oklahoma where they were from about 6 years earlier. That trip ended up with a really long trip across a mountain range in the dark with bad brakes (the back brakes on the van started giving us trouble - again). Regardless, Friday left us pretty discouraged as I had really hoped to make contact with these people.

However, this morning just before I left to go get the van worked on my wife encouraged me to look for them in the Yahoo white pages and I was able to get a phone number. First try and I had them. I made the call and was able to speak to them for about 20 minutes. They appear to be doing really well from the worlds perspective and I hope that we can continue conversation further and eventually I can share my testimony with them. We may end up stopping in OK on the way so that we could at least spend a little bit of time face to face with them.

I was able to get the van fixed which is really a longer story than I am able to type and explain but it wasn't cheap. Some labor that was supposedly done by another brake repair station in Batavia really wasn't done and so we were still using parts that were quite old, hence the problem (that and our lovely NY rust). At this point our van seems ready to hit the road again and we are planning an early departure for Phoenix, AZ tomorrow and probably leaving there on Thursday for a strong push towards OK and Missouri.

Please keep us in prayer as we travel and please pray that the Lords direction continues to be clear.

David

03/02/2008 - Sunday

We were really blessed this morning with the opportunity to fellowship with some believers in Los Angeles. I had come across these people as a result of a God Tube video that Chris Smith from Old Paths had sent us. The video was titled, "The Spiritual Famine in America". I had actually forwarded this on to a couple of folks so you may remember the group that I am referring to. I had pulled the address and meeting time off of one of their videos and we as a family decided to make our trip into downtown LA to meet with them on Sunday morning.

When we arrived near our destination we soon found that we were being blocked from crossing East toward where they meet by the Los Angeles Marathon. Bad morning to choose to come I guess.... However, we did find parking and we as a family ran through the Boston Marathon which I later found out was a bad thing to do. We tried to avoid the people and I think we did for the most part. Hopefully we didn't break anyone's stride. : (

We made our way to the address where they meet about 2 blocks away and when we got there we found a door with the numbers on it but nothing else, no indication of a church meeting there, no name, nothing. It was right in the middle of garment district in downtown and there were all sorts of merchants selling wares but here was this place, or more appropriately a door with a number, that we were going into. Regardless, we went in and up the stairs. Thankfully as we went up the stairs we started to hear conversation and there was a real feeling of safety there so we continued on. When we reached the top of the stairs there they were gathered together, not in a way that we would have normally experienced but different, still blessed. Many people came and introduced themselves to us and we were welcomed very openly. Again, very blessed. We were able to meet a man named Minister Facey (not sure of the spelling) and Pastor Cox (whom I knew from the video, his first name is Justin). This gets a bit interesting now....

Before we left Virginia, Ben had taken a few brothers out to breakfast and when I told him that I wanted to meet with these brothers in LA, he told me that he met a couple of brothers from LA when they went to help out at some meetings in Michigan. He provided me with the number of a man named Chris. I questioned him then wondering if it might be the same group of people but he was unsure. During our time here I had not felt led to call this man, not sure why. I guess in my heart I was pretty confident that he would be part of this group but also really hadn't had the time as we had some other things we set out to accomplish.

So, here we are in the gathering of these dear saints and the Lord starts poking at my heart saying "Chris is minister Facey". So, during a period of greeting I had the brief opportunity to ask and when I asked his first name, he said "Chris". Glad the Lord is right or I would have felt foolish. So, I quickly explained my reason for asking and told him that I had his cell phone number on a piece of paper in my pocket. We both rejoiced for a moment and he went back to let Pastor Cox know who we were. I don't know if I am explaining this in writing but I am so often in awe at how God works in our lives, especially in the realm of bringing people together.

We ended up having a wonderful time of sharing and getting to know these people. It ended a bit too early for me as I had hoped to spend a good bit more time with them but His ways are better than my ways. I would highly recommend checking out some of their videos, specifically the one I mentioned earlier in this post at www.p4cm.com. I would however recommend that you not watch it with children present as some of the things they present are pretty harsh.

I am very thankful to find others preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It seems there are so few out there today and there is so much deception that to see another group is a breath of fresh air. Some people may consider me a bit too strong on this area and say that there are a whole bunch of people presenting the gospel in truth but quite honestly, if there is any watering down, any slight deception in the area of the true gospel, then the enemy will use it to deceive people. We need to stand opposed to that. Strongly. Otherwise people will be deceived and will be led to Hell. The path is narrow and there will be few. We NEED to stand firm presenting the full truth in this day.

Please keep these brothers in prayer that they will continue on and that God's hand of protection will be strong for them. They are a bright light in a dark land. Glory to God!

We ended the day by going to Venice beach to watch the sunset and let the children play in the ocean for a few minutes. They had a wonderful time and we were able to watch a beautiful sunset and watch the tide come in. A wonderful way to spend the waning hours of daylight. Almost seemed as if the Lord painted the sky for us directly. We were truly thankful for the picture He painted for us and all those there.

2/23/2008

The weather up on the Mesa's on the Hopi reservation is not very nice and everything here is covered with a serious layer of mud. Makes for some really messy times. We have been enjoying more fellowship with the Toews family and have even been blessed with our first traditional Hopi meal, a soup, some bread and some blue corn tortilla's that are very thin. The soup is something that they would typically make for their "bean dance" ceremony (the women that made it would not be participating as she has put these things behind her) and consisted of bean sprouts, hominy and some other vegetables. All of it was very good and it was a real blessing to receive all this provision.

We spent the day in fellowship, learning more about the Hopi people and getting to know some of the people on the reservation. Truly a blessing.

I went bouldering with Nathan (first real attempt in 13 years) and found that the weight and the age really have affected me.... : ) Also made the big mistake of taking my glasses off and leaving them to lay on a rock where we had our gear. Needless to say, they got broken. Really broken. Glad that I can see for the most part without them as there is not a glasses store anywhere near by (about 100 miles to the nearest shopping).

We spent the evening with a family praying through the house and asking God to provide His protection for this family as they had been feeling the attacks of the enemy. The Hopi people are probably the most spiritual of the native americans and the time of the bean festival which is happening right now is a strong time of spiritual activity. I had already prayed through our trailer on the first night that we were there as we were warned that the activity would be high. I'm not sure that I can describe their festivals, beliefs, and spiritism in writing and I'm not sure how much of it I am at liberty to discuss on the internet so, I will have to keep the information pretty vague, however, I can say that the battle is raging here and the souls of men are the prize. Pray that the Lamb that was Slain would truly receive the reward of His suffering from the Hopi people.

2/22/2008

We started the day in Grants, NM with the temperature about 34 degrees and the skies threatening to snow on us. Before we were too far up the road this was fully realized. Much of our travel today was slated to be on Indian reservation land and a good part of it was at high altitude which culminated with us going across a pass which was higher than 7,000 feet above sea level. Not exactly the way you want to travel when you have 7,000 pound of trailer stuck to your bumper but we really felt that we needed to keep going. As we proceeded into the Navajo reservation the weather didn't improve and by the time we reached the Hopi reservation we were experiencing near white out conditions at some points. The really interesting thing about traveling on the Hopi reservation is that they mostly live on Mesa's. If you have never seen a Mesa, they are high flat pieces of land which are almost like islands. They are really beautiful to look at from ground level but the idea of driving up them in blowing snow is not too appealing. To make matters a little worse, the people we were going to see, The Toews family (pronounced Taves), live on the 3rd mesa and yes, in order to get to the 3rd mesa you have to go up the first mesa, down the first mesa, up the second mesa, down the second mesa, up the third mesa.... Again, all in snowy conditions. When we arrived we found the church road to be quite muddy and we ended up getting the van and trailer stuck on the way up the driveway. Russ and his son Nathaniel hooked up their 4 wheel drive Suburban and pulled the Van and Camper far enough up the driveway that we were able to get the camper set up so that we could stay in it. It was quite an eventful day of travel. However, our time there became quite restful right away.

Upon arriving we were warmly greeted by the Toews family. The welcome and the warmth of their home was truly appreciated and we were immediately put at ease. I can't begin to praise God enough for the rest He brings in the home of those that love Him. We spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know one another and later that evening we were introduced to the Hayah family. This family is a real blessing from the Lord Jesus in so many ways. They are from the reservation and became Christians only about 4 years ago but God has been graciously growing them so abundantly! Their testimonies are a real joy to hear and it is even more of a joy to see that they are on a real solid path.

Colossians 1:3-6 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

More on our time here in the next couple of posts.

David

2/21/2008

We started out in Las Cruces, New Mexico and ended our day in Grants, NM. A total of 280 miles. Not exactly a hard days drive but the winds were horrible and we have a 32.5 foot trailer along with a 12 foot long van all stuck together with a very heavy duty hitch. In short we are pushed about like a sail on the sea.

For about 30 miles we actually traveled on the old Route 66. It was quite a desolate drive.

By the end of the day we discovered that the passes we had just driven through had either been closed due to high winds or there was a travel advisory issued against traveling in these passes (gusts of 55 mph). The Lord as been so merciful to us in protecting us.

It was our original intent to drive onto the Hopi Indian Reservation in North eastern Arizona to visit and encourage our friends there, but the winds slowed us down. We thought we should stop in Gallup, NM, for the night but were advised against it by our friends in Arizona as the neighboring Navajo Indian Reservation is a dry reservation (no alcohol / no liquor). The town of Gallop, NM is quit a wild place and can be dangerous to outsiders. (A town that definitely is not dependant on the tourist industry)

Please pray for our protection from the spirits throughout the reservations (there are many of them, spirits and reservations).

Lord, Please illuminate our path that we would have your sure footing. Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Robin




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I may be over spiritualizing things a bit but I have likened our trailer to being that of our flesh and our van as being that of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

They fight one against another and our driving when it is windy is often like that. So far the flesh has been bucking us the whole trip but the Spirit is overcoming! Glory!

Just a simple man with an eye on Jesus!

David