Tour Scrapbook

Sunday, November 3
We replayed the Saturday night service two more times. The crowd was moved to tears each time and the response was overwhelming after the service. † One lady shared with me the custody battle she was to face during this week. Out of money, she said she couldn't keep fighting. I was able to pray with her, having no idea the agony she was feeling, but knowing God knew her pain. We met so many wonderful people that day. It's amazing how your heart has room for so many people! We are constantly amazed at the number of really neat people we meet! It is overwhelming sometimes.

Tonight Chandler Christian was going skating, so we tagged along. What a cool place! One of the pastors shared a short devotional in the middle of the skating rink. They asked if Laurie and I would sing a song. Who would've thought! Singing for the skaters!! "Jungle Baby" was appropriate! We met a couple from another church, Trish and Vince who had a little girl. They made time after the skating party to come see our buses and visit some more.

Monday, November 4
Today was one of our days off for the week. We had school and worked on things that needed to be done. Then we moved to New Hope Community in Gilbert, AZ to get ready for the next day.

Tuesday, November 5
Laurie wasn't feeling very well, but I had no idea until after the program. She was great! The ladies at New Hope were again so sweet and opened their arms to us. One lady called and offered for our children to come play in her back yard. Another gave us directions to all the "good" parks in town. We always invite people to tour our buses after a program because we realize what a miracle they are. They are a gift from God so we share them to let people see what God can do. Their comment is always, "Wow! This is beautiful!" (Thanks for such a great place to live you guys!) Deborah Defisser was great! She has seen their group almost double in size from last year. The only problem all the MOPS groups have is childcare! For every mom, there are usually at least 2 kids, so it creates a big expense for them and a space crunch! After the group, we were able to have time to get email at the church and have a picnic "on the grounds!" The kids rode their bikes and played hide-n-seek. They make their own fun pretty much everywhere we go!

e moved back to Chandler Christian then went for dinner at the Kaiser's home. Tom, Marie, Matt and Alex provided not only a meal for us, but invited other kids and families over so our kids would have children their own age to play with. We enjoyed the fellowship. Avery and Crislynn got to take a bath in Ms. Marie's bathtub. Marie invited us to share with the Christian Club that she and some other parents started at Basha Elementary in Chandler. How fun!

Wednesday, November 6
At the Christian Club this afternoon we shared with the elementary students about what it means to take a step of faith. Our older children talked about what they liked and disliked about being on the trip. Alec said he liked to be on tour because he gets to be with his family, but the downside is that it is crowded in the bus. Abby said the hardest thing was missing her friends at home but that she likes being with her cousins. Britt also misses her friends, but likes all the places we get to go. She showed her pictures of holding the tarantula at the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver. The kids toured our buses and signed our guestbooks and scrapbooks. One little girl said, "I could live in here…for a week!" I asked her about 9 months and she said, "I don't think so!" They were very well behaved.

Lisa Spidel offered to take our children to church with her on Wednesday night, then go to the bus, get them ready for bed and let them watch a movie! We took the kids to church and someone asked if we would sing "Happy Birthday" to the pastor. We did and as we left, Laurie and I talked about how we loved spending a week at a church. We knew them and they knew us. We appreciated Lisa so much. She was able to see things that we needed and meet our needs. Date night was a definite need! Pat and I, Charles and Laurie all had the chance to go to dinner and be away for a few hours. The transformation in all of our attitudes was amazing! Nobody had been ugly, but we were all just joyful again. Thank you, Lisa (and Lisa's children!)

Thursday, November 7
This morning we sang at Chandler Christian's MOPS group (thanks, Rose!). The childcare at this church was amazing. Our children were excited about going to "Kingdom Kidz" because the workers greeted them at the door telling them all the fun things they were going to get to do. I love that as a mom! Our kids see lots of nurseries, so making it fun for them is really important to us. We asked Lisa if the childcare workers could come to the concert on Friday for free and she thought that was a great idea. One of the ladies shared with me after the Friday night concert that her husband had just started a job and so they were watching how they spent their money. She had purchased a ticket anyway knowing she would be encouraged as a mom. Then, Lisa gave her check back because she had worked in the nursery. She was very excited and brought her husband to the concert! They were very glad they came.

Tonight we went to Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona (Northwest Phoenix). Pat met a few friendly maintenance men, and then met the senior pastor. Pat commented on how friendly the guys were and the pastor told him, "I tell them that we are all about people, not buildings. The first person someone is going to meet isn't going to be a pastor. It will be a maintenance man." They have 8000 people that pass through their services on weekends (6 services plus a "prime-timers" complete with gospel music on Wednesday.) Pat saw the pastor again three days later and the man remembered his name! It made me realize that I need to pay attention to people and take care of needs I can meet for them. I get so busy with my own needs (and wants!) sometimes, that I don't see what I can do for other people. Don, the pastor, took the time to help us know how to get out of the parking lot in our buses between services on Saturday night. I'm so thankful for the people He puts in our path to help us grow.

Christ's Church sponsored a Mom's Night Out for their MOPS groups and any other moms that wanted to attend. They have three groups there, a morning MOPS, night MOPS and teen MOPS. Again, they just love people and meet them where they are. † One mom of 5 told me that she felt the spirit of God for the first time in about 6 years that night. She was encouraged with the news that God is our perfect father. When she hadn't been given the best heritage in life, she could learn from Him. † Another lady shared that she had been yelling at her children and needed this message "right now" in her life. "For such a time as this" is a statement we have felt God lead us to and now have heard people say over and over. God knew years ago that people all over the country would need His message of encouragement. He raised us in the home, church, and community that would help prepare us for this time and for the message He has given us to share. We had a wonderful time with those ladies and enjoyed bringing them to our "homes" after the concert. It's much more comfortable and easy to talk when someone comes to your home. I thought for the first time how neat it is that people get to come to our bus homes all the time and we have lots of "real" conversation there.

We put the kids to bed and drove back to Chandler Christian after dumping and re-watering at a Flying J truck stop. We like those nighttime drives. It's good connect time for us as couples and also time to journal!

Friday, November 8
Today was a schooling, family day for us. (Charles schools the kids on the mornings we sing.) Brittlea has been so excited this week to be able to read from ordinary books. I love seeing her eyes light up! Later in the day one of the moms took our kids to play at Burger King (in the same parking lot as the church) while we prepared for the evening Parents' Date Night. Laurie and I (and Davis) cleaned the buses - a never-ending chore - while the

guys set up the product tables. When we arrived at the church, we were greeted by dinner, a room full of snacks, and flowers! The crowd was a mix of guys and girls who filled up the tables plus some. The response was overwhelming. † In tears, a mom shared how she had felt so guilty about getting angry with her daughter and was relieved to know she wasn't the only one, but wanted to do better. Her husband was touched and encouraged us to talk to dads, too.

Saturday, November 9
After the concert last night Alec had some friends (Jake and Alex) over to watch a video and spend the night. They rode bikes in the morning on the church parking lot. He was so excited to have "guy" friends! God has provided lots of little boys along the way, but this was the first time any of them had spent the night at Alec's bus. Someone from the church brought us leftover breakfast from a men's breakfast. Saturday afternoon we took the kids to a play place called "Jeepers." Someone from Christ Church had given us passes along with tote bags full of games, books, and "Dad's" root beer! The kids really enjoyed Jeeper

.We met Tony and Cindy Burgarello at the info desk at Christ's Church and attended the 4:00 service with them. After church they took us out to dinner at Buca di Beppos. The Burgarellos have 4 children, so combined we had 6 adults and 10 children…quite a crew, but such sweet people. Leaving Phoenix was hard. The friends we made there, like the friends in Colorado, are precious to us. What a gift! After an exhausting pace of a week, we are now on our way to California. We're in Lake Havasu City, AZ tonight and tomorrow to see the London Bridge, then California on Monday. Pat and Charles have so much responsibility on this trip. We just pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and were greeted by the happy street sweeper who cleans the parking lot every night. His first words to them, "You guys gettin' ready to move?" I am so proud of them for doing something that neither of them could have imagined; working really late hours (it's 12:53 am), putting bikes and scooters up over and over, checking the water in the middle of the night to make sure we could wash a load of sheets that had been thrown up on…lots of things that aren't glamorous, but they do them without complaint. Way to go guys!

-- Sharon