Darkness and thick mists enveloped me. The sun had not yet risen. Fog swallowed the rays of my light, stopping it in its tracks. Complete silence was unexpectedly interrupted by a loud crack followed by a crashing sound far away. Then silence. Another crash, this one closer. All around me. Everything was wet and cold.
My surreal experience today does not describe some adventure scene out of Lord of the Rings, but rather, a day on Manitou Mountain at YWAM Ozarks during an ice storm. At the time, I was out placing buckets under gutters to collect rainwater. We were without electricity for 6 hours in the morning, and are currently going on 18 hours with no water. It has been raining all day, but the air is cold enough to make popsicles out of all our trees, bending their branches to the ground.
Pulling monstrous branches off the driveway with the tractor, heating water over a propane camping stove, cutting up a tree that went through the roof of our neighbor's house, and driving to my church to fill containers for drinking water - only to find out there was no power at the church! In the process, I went through 4 jackets, 2 sets of long underwear, 3 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of gloves, but I am thankful for my one pair of very waterproof boots!
And now, night approaches, it's still raining, and temperatures are expected to drop. We'll pile the blankets, bring the baby into bed with us, and wonder what tomorrow will hold!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Faithfulness in Little Things
"Lord, you either have to start providing for us, or tell us to do something else." This was my prayer just a couple weeks ago, as we find ourselves facing our biggest financial challenge yet. Following God's lead to participate in the School of Outdoor Adventure and Recreation in Bishop, California this spring, we must come up with funds for tuition, housing, transportation, and expensive outdoor gear. God's provision has begun, and here are a couple recent examples.
I have a small LL Bean backpack. Great little pack, comes with a rain cover. Rain cover broke first time I tried to use it. LL Bean confidently stands behind their workmanship. So I mailed in the rain cover to have it repaired. Instead of repairing it, they sent a different, aftermarket rain cover (for free). This one, however, not only covers my small backpack, but my large one as well. I needed a rain cover for my big pack, an item that usually runs $30 or $40!
Mountaineering Boots. On average, they run about $300. Yeah, that's a fancy pair of shoes! The other day, I'm cruising the net, and visit a website I tend to frequent: steepandcheap. Great site, sells one piece of outdoor gear/clothing at a time, at a very discounted rate, until it is gone. Rarely, however, do I ever see anything I actually need, let alone something I need and that is in my size. Lo and behold, there before my eyes, is a pair of mountaineering boots, in my size, for under $100!
And I can't forgot those that gave me wool socks and wool underwear for Christmas. Thank you! (I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but these were things on my gear list, and I was excited.)
Are you interested in helping us with gear? Go to http://www.campmor.com/. At the top right of the page, there is a gift registry link. Type in either of our names, and you'll find the items we need for the school.
I have a small LL Bean backpack. Great little pack, comes with a rain cover. Rain cover broke first time I tried to use it. LL Bean confidently stands behind their workmanship. So I mailed in the rain cover to have it repaired. Instead of repairing it, they sent a different, aftermarket rain cover (for free). This one, however, not only covers my small backpack, but my large one as well. I needed a rain cover for my big pack, an item that usually runs $30 or $40!
Mountaineering Boots. On average, they run about $300. Yeah, that's a fancy pair of shoes! The other day, I'm cruising the net, and visit a website I tend to frequent: steepandcheap. Great site, sells one piece of outdoor gear/clothing at a time, at a very discounted rate, until it is gone. Rarely, however, do I ever see anything I actually need, let alone something I need and that is in my size. Lo and behold, there before my eyes, is a pair of mountaineering boots, in my size, for under $100!
And I can't forgot those that gave me wool socks and wool underwear for Christmas. Thank you! (I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but these were things on my gear list, and I was excited.)
Are you interested in helping us with gear? Go to http://www.campmor.com/. At the top right of the page, there is a gift registry link. Type in either of our names, and you'll find the items we need for the school.
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