day 3

arriving at our rooms for the night, we found ours already inhabited. he was not very happy with us for moving in on him. we closed him in the bathroom and he got out whatever way he had gotten in...

what a lovely and restful place!
we were hot and sweaty and the pool felt WONDERFUL!
these lovely wrought-iron tables and chairs were beautiful to look at... i loved the design!
but not so comfy to sit on! but i love the pattern...
katie found a kid to play with, of course...
and the meals were delicious.
hit the road for another day of driving. colorful towns and roadside stands.
then we played tourists for awhile at the beach... aren't these little dresses cute?
relaxing at the beach...
we stuck our feet in the Gulf of Mexico.
ah... i'm always loving it at the beach!!!
beach vendor...
a flower growing at the side of the road pavement...reminded me of morning glories...
and a sea-horse for you, jessie!!! you know what to do...
challenge of the day... flood waters. this was a 2-mile stretch of water over the roadway...
we followed a semi through the water...
we passed by a town completely under water. my heart was broken for these people whose homes and belongings were lost or destroyed...

a shot of the flood waters on the roadway taken through the passenger door...
the other challenge of the day... the van over heated and we had to stop in a little town where clint borrowed a mechanics tools to work on it. we had quite a lovely time with a wonderful family, which i will tell you about tomorrow. God is keeping us safe and well and providing well for us. thank you all for your prayers! they are working!

day 2

loading up for day 2 of driving...
we drove through a lot of very colorful towns... a visual eye-feast!

then out into beautiful green countryside, where this awesome peak loomed over part of our drive... we weren't sure if it was always this green or if this was just the result of the rain from the tropical storm that blew through.
all day the sky provided these awesome cloud formations... about 5:30pm we began hunting for the night's lodging. having a 15 passenger van with a trailer attached provides some real challenges to finding a hotel for the night. most of the places don't have room to park our rig. about 8pm, finally we found a place that would accommodate us. in fact, they were in the street waving us in! after we pulled in and parked, the whole driveway behind us filled up with other trucks and cars, all towing a second vehicle. and semi-trucks. and trucks pulling truck... the next morning, they were all gone before we even rolled out of bed. we were so thankful to the Lord for this rest stop! there was even a pool we cooled off in before bed. so day 2 was safely and soundly behind us.

into mexico...

crossing the border... a 6 hr. process... the big brown fence marks the border.
we were running ahead of tropical storm Hermine. this area had been flooded the day before.
and it rained. it really really rained!
but we got south of the storm before it came inland. and then the weather turned hot and sultry again. we drove for a few hours, then found rooms for the night.
eating dinner at 10pm. mexican food...YUM! now for a good night of sleep...
thinking of you all. hope all is well with everyone. you're in our prayers and we are so thankful for yours. sending our love... may God bless you wondrously today. don't forget to watch for Him moving in your life today.

texas...

a wonderful place to stay in fort worth and we were truly pampered!! thank you, judith and rod...
we were refreshed, physically and mentally and spiritually.
i put this picture on the last post but lost it at the bottom...this is the 911 memorial in fort worth texas. it's a very beautiful memorial to the flight crews.
nick wisdom, clint's son, who decided to come down with us. yes, there is some teeth-gritting when you're cooped up in a van together for a 10 hour day's drive... katie remarked that she was looking forward to having no brothers on this trip, and then nick came along and picks on her just like a brother...
my daughter, katie, caught this gorgeous texas sunset as we neared our destination for the night.
God blessed us with a good day's travel and we cross into mexico in the morning.
God bless you all! our prayers are with you... and our love.

from colorado to texas...

leaving colorado for our day's drive to texas.
oh man! look at this cool "junk"! wish i could take some of this home...! good thing i can't fit it in the van. or the trailer! and then i would have to fly it home... nope...no shopping, shari.
gassing up in texas...
here we are, at the angels' attic, the consignment store that is run by the methodists from the white chapel. they raised the money, through their store to buy the bigger trailer we are taking down with us.
they put up a sign on the trailer and parked it near the store to show people their part of our mission trip.
our visit to white chapel methodist church...
here is where they started with a handful of people, about to shut down the church.
here is their building now (at the left) and their little old church (to the right).
this is a tiny memorial chapel on the grounds.

we were curious and clint knew the ponders, so we all went inside. it was simply beautiful!
the ceiling had a beautiful mural painted on it.
we had a beautiful, sweet time of spontaneous worship and praise while sitting in here, resting in the Lord's presence.
our missionary and fearless leader, clint wisdom.

we leave to go through mexico monday morning and covet your prayers. we love you all!!!

last night in colorado... we spent the night at this lovely ranch with a charming log home.
and yes! the horses were friendly!
here we have the trailer inside the trailer. and our luggage will be locked inside these trailers from border to border through each country, til we arrive finally in costa rica.
here's our home away from home for the next 7 to 10 days... there are 7 of us in all.
the horses decided they needed to be in our team picture...
the wonderful couple we stayed with...vicky and marv. vicky is the sister to our missionary friend clint, who started us on this grand adventure!