We are on missions

What does missions mean to you?  Does it mean going overseas to preach the Gospel?  Maybe it's the Mormon faith how the teens go on missions all over the world including the U.S.?  

When the Lord chose us to go on this mission minded life, it was not an easy thing for us.  We owned 2 cars - owned them- they were paid off.  We owned our truck, we owned our trailer but it wasn't built for what God was calling us for.  So we traded that in for one that would work.  We were told to go after the one.  We were not sure or even for certain what that meant except we knew the person.  I had not seen that person in over 20 years.  I had only met him 5 times in my entire life.  He chose to leave our lives when I was 5.  He came back into my life much later, but he was not the person I thought he was.  I always saw him as a knight in shining armor. I always thought he would come and save the day.  Little did I realize that self-centeredness really took over and we had been left.   We put in a resume to work camp in the campgrounds and our first call was Rhonda from OKC East KOA.  She said they would train us and we could leave after 5 mo. We sold everything, I mean everything! We sold two cars, a house full of furniture, gave stuff away, took 6 huge tubs of material for quilting to the ladies at church so they could continue making mission quilts.  I left "my church kids", all 160 of them.  I had had over 100 leaders as well.  It was so tough to leave them.   I had had opposition with some members the year before for doing an alter call, they were so angry, but God was repairing those wounds and they were all my leaders.  God was working all things together for His Glory.  I let one older gentleman know before I let the whole team know, he was one that had been causing difficulties but he was so awesome.  Even when we have returned to check up on everyone, he has been quick to give hugs.  during that time we worked 50 hours a week and never did not fill up but just on our own. But in ministry you don't, you have to seek the Lord out and Get filled with HIM when you can and have to otherwise you don't have the fuel for the fires.  Love the Lord, Love what He does in us.  

So we took off and found God in the midst of all things and healed from ministry  So we watched TBN and healed and soaked in before we pushed into the next phase.    So, God had a plan.  We were on missions and we were enjoying the love of others.    

We have found a church in every campground we have been in. In OKC we found a small little church that met on Sunday nights, we worked Sunday Mornings.  It was powerful, spirit-filled and awesome.
We moved on to FL and found one small Vineyard Churches. They really concentrated on serving one another on the inside and outside.  They embraced newcomers and taught well.  During both these times, I was finishing my Bachelors Degree in Theology.  I became ordained in 2011.  It was the most powerful time for us.  We were completing the mission that He sent us on, that man in my life gave his life to Jesus, was baptized and worked hard on changing the mind, but the heart was elsewhere.  Along his journey, he attended Bible Studies, but the heart was not really changing,  his past kept creeping back in.  He lost a long-term relationship and other things crept in.  I was so dishearted at what was happening, not sure how I was feeling other than let down.  This man says he is changed and he truly is, but not in the way I had hoped for.  Learning what a walk away from the heart is has been difficult.  The mind wants Jesus, but the heart fights for the Lord's rights to it.  How many of us deal with this everyday?  How many are struggling with the old stuff and can't get to the new yet?  Many.  My hope is one day, when the heart is ready, Jesus will say "Man I have missed you!"


It began it's own teaching in how missions work and how to really learn to lean on Jesus even in the hardest of hearts.  Well, we are all on missions.  If you are a follower of Jesus, wherever you go you touch lives for Jesus.  You don't have to preach but you have to live a life that is worthy of your call.  But you do need to live your life that follows Jesus.  You are a disciple, which means that you are still learning discipline and that's not always easy.

My advice, in church ministry or in life ministry, Believe in Jesus, the power of prayer, the belief in others, the strength within and the outlook to reach higher and better and lastly to serve the Lord with Honor and Valor.

Over the years, we have worked 5 seasons in different parks, taking a 3 1/2 year break because we didn't trust the Lord like we should have.  We got really scared after one of our jobs fell through because of a terrible boss.  We left in the night and ran like mad to safety or so we thought.  It wasn't necessarily "safety" but it was time to think and try to figure out why we faced what we did.  It was a huge Giant in the Land and it was difficult at best.  We worked 8-5, 5 days a week for less than $8 an hour, which was so dumb.  We moved to a local campground and got better jobs that paid better and when the campground decided to change out their power system, well our trailer felt the change.  We had a 2 yr. warranty on it and thought we needed to put it in the shop.  That began a spiral out of control for us.  Fear took over and we ended up purchasing a house on a retirement pay and 2 min. wage jobs.  We were fixing to be over our heads again.  I felt like we were to start a daycare, which took us into further debts, we had none when we started this journey.  That lasted a year.  Loved it and didn't love it.  It was 70 hours of work a week and not much time off.  I had done some trainings through a gal from TX A&M and when they were hiring, I applied and got the job.  I was able to start the Monday after we closed the Daycare.  The job was hard, but loved meeting all the countries that came through the doors.  Steve got a job back at the Power Plant where he retired from and began his journey on shift work yet again.  The days were long, the nights when he was working were longer.  I worked on receiving my CDA and got it in 4 mo., finished the class and waited for the NAEYC group to issue it.  I was able to get my own class of kids and loved it. 
Life wasn't what we had planned, but understanding how family dynamics work, how parents see things now, and what I could potentially learn for ministry later was huge. 
All the while, the trailer sat out on the pad, begging to be used.  We had become weekend warriors again. 
In Dec. 2014, some things had shifted and we were missing our ministry, the road and the freedom.  During this 3.5 years of stick and brick living, I obtained my CDA (Child Development Associate Degree) and learned a valuable lesson.  We prayed about what we were to do, the house was eating our paychecks, bit by bit.  The taxes were increasing as were the house bills.  Desperation set in.  It was time to sell.  I loved the house, but hated the money going out every single month for a place that we just lived in.  For some reading this, you may understand but for many, paying for a house is the American dream.  Not ours.  Ours is living on the road.  Meeting new people with great stories and like minded.  So, we put our house on the market at the end of January and it sold in 6 weeks.  We didn't walk away with much but we walked away not owing.  We traded our paid for truck and trailer for a motorhome and a tow trailer to haul my truck and the Harley.  The Harley was Steve's Christmas present in 2013 and it was also paid for.  The motorhome and tow trailer are also paid for. 
We never did really find a church home in that 3.5 yrs.  We found a lot of them, but nothing that met our needs and hopes.


During our first gig out for the 2nd time, we drove through the Panhandle of TX, New Mexico, and Arizona.  We stopped much along the way, and Steve attended an RV Tech school in Mesa AZ so he would be familiar with rigs and trailers. Our bucket list had the Grand Canyon on it, ck.  We drove through Vegas, but at 65 ft. long, kinda hard to stop.  We headed to Beaver UT. 

God sent us to what was for some a "Promised Land", for us it was an opportunity.  We met so many wonderful people.  Some full time and some weekend/vacation warriors.  We are on the road again.  We got involved again in a church.  We saw Zion and Bryce and my family came down from Montana. 

And this we need to remember always...

My hope is one day, God will open the door for a church ministry, in a place we know he has called us to.  But until this Titus 2 woman will continue to play in the highways and byways of our great
country.