Narrow Road Journal

Mission: Accomplished

2006-08-03T18:23:00.000-05:00

Well friends, sadly our time on the Narrow Road Tour has come to an end. But what a journey it has been!!!! 28 states and over 10,000 miles in under 2 months! That's a lot of travelling.

We left Ocean City last Saturday evening, heading for Raleigh. Our original plan was to leave in the morning, but we were invited to boat out to Assateague Island and enjoy the day in the sun with the summer missionaries. We had a great time. Ocean City was definately a highlight of the trip...so many memories from last summer!! It was great to go back and join the missionaries in all the ministries going on all week. We even got to sleep in the retreat center where we lived last summer!

We spent Sunday and Monday unpacking and cleaning Mister George. It was bittersweet. To be honest, once everything was out of Mister George and the seats were put back in...he just wasn't the same anymore. It was if Mister George went on to a better place that afternoon...but of course he is still here with us in spirit and memory!

Brett left North Carolina Monday evening to return to Mississippi. He arrived safely.

Since we've completed the tour, below are some figures you might be interested in knowing about our trip:

Total miles driven: 10, 146
Average MPG: 14. 69
Average cost of gas: $2,89/gal
Most expensive gas: $3.29 (Mission Viejo, California)
Least expensive gas: $2.49 (Gaffney, South Carolina)
Most beautiful state to drive through: Colorado (Brian's opinion)
Favorite places: Colorado, Washington, NYC, OCEAN CITY!!!

We would both like to give a huge THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has been a part of this trip, whether you have kept up with our journal, been a partner in ministry, suggested places to go, provided contact information, given financially, or most importantly PRAYED for us throughout our trip....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We have been truly blessed this summer, and it would not have been possible without all of you who have supported us all along the way.

God is amazing. What else can we say? This entire journey was done through Him, by Him, for Him. As the days and months pass, we will only learn more and more how much God has blessed us on this trip, and how much we have learned about Him, ourselves, our country, and this world.

This will be our last official posting on the Narrow Road Journal, but no worries, this site will remain up and active for as long as you want to continue returning and reading all the posts from this summer! Also, new pictures are finally being posted, so look at see what we did the last part of our journey!

It has been a pleasure keeping you all updated as we travelled. Thank you again for your support and prayers. We love you all!

Signing out one last time,

Peace, love, and good memories from The Narrow Road Tour

OCEAN CITY!

2006-07-25T11:42:00.000-05:00

Alright so first of all we must apologize for the lack of postings this past week. We've been really busy, and internet hasn't been available. When we got to Ocean City, the internet was down, so this is the first chance we've gotten to post! Lots to fill you in on:

We left NYC Saturday morning. As we mentioned before, we did construction on a church in Brooklyn. Thursday was our last day doing that, and Friday we went to do a day camp with kids, but it got rained out! Instead, we were sent to the World Vision storehouse in the Bronx. Unfortunately, they had too many volunteers so Brett and I were told it was our day off. We returned to Brooklyn and slept through the afternoon (at least Brian did). All in all, NYC was a GREAT experience and we are so glad we were able to go and be a part of Missions Connect! Thanks to Joel and Mari for letting us join the crew for the week. We loved every bit of it.

We left Saturday morning around 10am anticipating a 4 hour drive. Of course, we were wrong. It turns out driving in the northeast is just as bad as you'd think it is, especially the NJ Turnpike. Ouch. No fun. Lots of sitting, lots of waiting. Lots of horns. No fun. We were following a youth group that was from Maryland, hauling a bunch of their luggage for them. We met them in Delaware to drop it off, and continued on our way. We arrived in Ocean City around 5:30.

WE LOVE OCEAN CITY! This place means a lot ot the both of us. It is where the Narrow Road Tour had its beginning! It is almost like we never left. The missionaries this summer are great. There are 7 girls and 2 guys..much different than last summer. They are all great people, and we have enjoyed getting to know them this week. Here's a rundown of what we've done, and what we're doing:

SUNDAY: both of us preached at campground worship, Brett at Assateague Island, Brian at Frontier Town. The services went great. Afterward we attended church at Ocean City Baptist, followed by lunch. Sunday afternoon we handed out flyers for Upward Soccer to surrounding neighborhoods. The missionaries had their "goodbye" service SUnday night, so we attended that. It was great. We had a cookout beforehand. After the service we went to Kristin's (a local) house and hung otu and played games. Much of it was like last year! Good memories.

MONDAY: Surf and Sand Clubs in the morning! We do this all week from 9-11 am. We all go to our campgroudns and play with kids and do crafts and songs and Bible story. Brett and I are both at the campgrounds we were at last year. Memories! Monday afternoon we all relaxed on thebeach until it was time to get ready for Parents Night Out at the church, which is a place for parents to drop off their kids for the evening while we watch them, play games, etc. This lasted until 10pm.

Today (Tuesday) we did surf and sand, and tonight is lifeguard ministry. This is our favorite ministry. We sit around and talk to lifeguards about God, life, Jesus, etc...basically answering any questions they have. We have great discussions, and we are really looking foward to it.

Wed-Fri will be more surf and sand. Wednesday night we do a family night at 2 of our campgrounds, which we will both help out with. Thursday night we are showing the Passion of the Christ to international students. Friday night we have a coffee house for internationals which lasts until midnight. All of these are ministries we did last year. We're so happy to be back doing it again!!!

We are leaving Saturday mid-morning probably, and that will be the end our our tour! It's hard to believe its almost over! Where did all the time go? it has been a blast, and we can't wait to get home and tell you all about it. Of course, most of you will only be hearing one side of the story since Brett flies home next Monday! This trip has been a great experience. We have learned so much, and have so many opportunities to minister to others. Thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way.

I can't promise another post this week, perhaps it wil have to wait until we return home. Still, check in and see, who knows? We're very busy and internet is not always available. At least now you have a good idea of where we around what we are doing. Wow...only a few days left. Hard to believe! Looking forward to being home and seeing all of you soon...(both of us!)

Also, we'll post pictures when we get home. No way to do it while we're here! See you soon!

NYC: Mid-week review

2006-07-19T20:02:00.000-05:00

We're still here! We love New York.

We are doing construction all week on a church basement in Crown Heights (Brooklyn). We are working with a guy named Adam, who works for Missions Connect, and an older guy named Jim, who just happens to be the man. We are really enjoying working together. The church is in really bad condition and we are framing some walls and putting up sheetrock. Did I mention that Jim is the man?

Story: Monday was my (Brian) 22 birthday and I got to meet with one of my best friends from growing up. He moved to New Jersey while we were in high school, and I hadn't seen him in 3 years! He called out of nowhere on Monday and it just worked out for him to come into the city and meet me. We had a great time eating dinner and catching up. Brett came and met us later and we wen't to a place called Roxy's in Times Square to get cheesecake....except it cost $8.95 a slice. So...we ended up at McDonalds. You just can't beat McDonald's sometimes. It was great. Imagine having your two best friends (who don't even know eachother) with you on you're birthday. Does it get any better? Not for me.

What else...this city is huge. And HOT, but as I understand it the entire country is hot right now, so you know what we are talking about. We're getting to be regular New Yorkers on the subway. We've only gotten lost/confused 2 times or so. Good times.

Hard to believe only a week and a half left in the Narrow Road Tour! We want to thank all of you again who have poured out your prayers and support, and continue to do so! We have been so blessed. We'll continue to keep you updated. Until then,

Peace, love, and cheesecake (NY style...mmmmm)

so long corn fields, hello skyscrapers

2006-07-17T12:56:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK CITY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Yep, we're here in the Big Apple. Or is it the Big Acorn? No, thats Raleigh. We're in the Big Apple. Greetings!

We arrived here (somewhat) safely on Saturday evening. {Note to Moms: when we say "somewhat" we really don't mean we weren't safe. We were safe. Driving in NYC is just....well, an experience} The plan originally was to arrive Sunday afternoon, but we made better time in our travels than expected. So we decided to come on in to the city.

A note about NYC drivers: they don't know how. Well, let me rephrase. They aren't better, they aren't worse, they're just "different." Different in a kind of "My horn is my best friend and get out of my way and no I don't care if I don't know how to drive within the lanes" kind of way. We drove into the city through the Holland Tunnel, and crossed the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, where we are staying.

We are staying at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, working with an organization called Missions Connect. Brian has friends who are working for Missions Connect, so that is how we have this contact. Missions Connect serves youth groups each week who come into the city to do mission projects. Their focus is to connect people to ministries in the city. This week there are two youth groups here working at 2 different day camps. We are not doing the day camps (at least not at first). Instead, we are (attempting) to hang sheetrock and repair the basement of a church in Brooklyn. It is in bad shape. When we arrived this (Monday) morning, we were a bit surprised. We are working with a guy named Adam, who is working here with Missions Connect, and a man named Jim who is here with a youth group. There is a lot of work to be done on this church, and we aren't sure if we'll be able to do much or not. We will see!

Hmm...what else? We are staying here until Saturday morning. Then we go to OCEAN CITY!! We're excited. God is great, He is blessing us continually every day. We are looking forward to seeing what this week holds for us. Keep us in your prayers! Until then,

Peace, love, car horns, sirens, great drivers, tall buildings, and......apples? from NYC!

ye lovely corn fields

2006-07-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Hello there. This post is being written as we drive through South Dakota on Wednesday afternoon. Ah, if only you could see South Dakota. Interstate 90 is just fascinating. Look! To your left….a field! And look! To your right….another field! And what’s that in the distance? Rolling hills? No, just a mirage. Wow, an overpass….haven’t seen one of those in a while!

Okay so we’re actually really enjoying our drive right now. It’s very peaceful. We just left the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, but that’s getting ahead, so we will catch you up on the latest Narrow Road News:

SUNDAY! We leave Washington. This was difficult because we had become so close to everyone there. We left around….3:30? Yep, that sounds about right. Our goal was to get as close to Yellowstone National Park as possible. And so we drove. And drove. And drove. And….drove. The drive was actually quite beautiful. And can we just say…Idaho doesn’t get enough credit. It was one of the most beautiful drives of our trip. Until it got dark, that is. Driving through unfamiliar mountains at night is not exactly at the top of our “Favorite Things to Do” list. At least not at the top of Brian’s. Anyway, we drove through Idaho into Montana. We finally arrived at Beavertail State Park close to midnight, where we found a camping spot and set up Mister George for the evening. Neither of us slept great that night, and we’re not sure why. Must be something about Montana. Beautiful state, by the way.

Alright I’m back. Ah, but I never told you I was leaving. I was leaving. Now I’m back. We stopped in the town of Wall (yep, Wall) to go to a drug store. Wall Drug to be exact. This place is advertised on billboards every 10 feet for about 100 miles…so of course you have to stop. Neat place. We bought some fudge. While in Wall, we realized something. People don’t usually credit South Dakota with having much to see or do except Mount Rushmore. This, however, is not true. There is quite a bit to do in South Dakota, just check out the brochure section of Wall Drug. But you’d never know it unless you came, so you should come. We also came to the conclusion that there is one thing South Dakota has over all other things: heat. Yes, heat. And not the kind of “Oh, my, it’s quite warm today” heat. We’re talking “Oh, my, I didn’t know my body could actually bake as if in an oven” heat. And there is wind. And not just the kind of “Oh, my, it’s quite breezy today” wind. We’re talking “Oh, my, this is the hottest wind I have ever felt in my life, I think I’m melting” wind. We like South Dakota.

Whoa, that was a bit of a sidetrack. Where were we? I believe we’ve arrived at MONDAY:

Monday we finished our drive to Yellowstone. We arrived in the area after lunchtime. Yellowstone is huge. By far the biggest park we have been in. We decided since we were running out of afternoon, Old Faithful would be the best thing to see. We arrived just as it was finishing, so we had to wait 92 minutes until it blew again. During this time, the floodgates opened from heaven and we experienced on of our first thunderstorms of the trip. Luckily, it all cleared up in time for Old Faithful. If pictures aren’t posted at the time of your reading, check back soon. Monday evening we camped in Grand Teton National Park. The Teton range is beautiful. Very cool mountains. We went to bed with plans to go rafting on the Snake River Tuesday morning.

TUESDAY: We woke up very early and went into Jackson Hole where we were to meet our group to go rafting. We signed up for a 2-man Duckie trip. All in all, there were 12 people in our group with 2 guides. This was the first time Brett had been rafting. We had a great time. We were done by lunchtime, so we spent the afternoon in Jackson Hole searching for the perfect cowboy hat for Brett. Good news: we found one! We left Jackson Hole with plans to be out of Wyoming by bedtime.

The drive Tuesday evening/night was…long. We drove for probably the longest we have driven on this trip in search of a place to stay the night. To all of you who plan on visiting Wyoming, we will go ahead and warn you: there is no good way out of Wyoming. If you are in Jackson Hole and want to head northeast, plan on driving a while. We ended up driving to South Dakota, close to Mount Rushmore. This turned out to be a good thing.

This morning we were up early again heading for Mount Rushmore. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there. We were kindof expecting it to just be a “Oh, well, that’s nice” kind of visit, but it was much more than that. We learned a lot about the history and all behind it. Did you know that 90% of it was done with dynamite? It’s true. We highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance to be in that part of the country.

Wow, so this has been a long post. But if you can imagine driving through South Dakota for 350 miles, you can probably understand why writing a lengthy post is entertaining. With that said, it has been quite enjoyable writing this post. Apologies if you got bored. We are very excited about New York City. Oh…we should mention we heard back from the people in South Dakota. We explained to him our situation, and he was all for it. The guy’s name is Bruce, and he was a real encouragement to talk to. While Brett was on the phone with him, he prayed for our trip and gave us some words of encouragement. This really did a lot for us. Both of us agree that if ever given the opportunity, we would like to come back to South Dakota to do ministry.

For the rest of the week, our plans are as follows: drive, drive, drive, drive, eat, sleep, drive drive……………………………..drive. eat, sleep………………….drive, etc. We are NYC bound! Please keep us in your prayers as we make this long journey. Until we meet again,

Peace, love, and happy traveling (wherever you are!)

UPDATE SINCE WRITING THIS POST: We're in Bloomington Illinois, it is Thursday night. We've been driving all day. Doing the same tomorrow! Other than that, not much to tell. Don't expect another post until we get to NYC. But who knows?

NEW PICTURES POSTED!!! FINALLY!!!

eastward bound

2006-07-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

It is Sunday afternoon, and we are departing Washington heading east. We have prayed about it and have decided that we are going to New York City for a week of ministry. We will not be there until next weekend, however. We will be spending this week on the road (LOTS of driving to do...) heading back across the country. We're heading to Yellowstone/Grand Teton first where we will spend a couple of days, then heading toward Mt. Rushmore before doing some long hauls eastward.

Please keep us in your prayers this week as we travel. We have a long way to go! Not sure how often we'll be able to get on the internet, so no promises about posts. There probably won't be too much to tell, so don't worry. Oh yea, Mister George is all fixed up with a new heater core and a new battery, so he should be good to go.

That's about all we have to say. Washington has been AWESOME! We hate to leave. These people are great.

Peace and love as we head east,

youth groups and iceblocking

2006-07-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well hello. Brett and Brian here. We'll just make this simple: we like Washington. Correction: we love Washington. If you have never been, might we suggest you come? And Oregon, too. Both very nice. Quite nice indeed.

Knowing you are all parched of our more detailed postings, we'll quench your thirst with this one:

Sunday July 2, 2006
We arrive in Kennewick, Washington around 2pm. Knowing that we will be leading a youth rally on Wednesday evening, we go to the church to practice music. Brett is on guitar, of course, and Brian is on keyboard. A girl named Rachel (an intern at the Baptist center here) was helping sing, and her brother was playing drums while his girlfriend played bass. Having never played together before, and hardly knowing one another, it took some getting used to. We decided we would need more practice time, so we set a time for the following night. We switched things up a bit and put Rachel on keyboards and Brian just on vocals. Brian on vocals? What? No way. Yes way.
Sunday night we helped out with a youth Bible study. Josh and Amy (Brett's friends from home who are also interns here) and Rachel lead these studies for about 4 youth groups. We just helped play and lead some opening songs. Good times.

Monday July 3, 2006
We do a community outreach event at a local park for youth (organized by the interns, not us). We brought pizza and games to a pavilion and invited the local youth to come and enjoy it for free. We played ultimate frisbee, and just hung out with the kids. Afterward there was another Bible study at a different church. Again we helped play some songs. After the Bible Study we went back to practice more music for the youth rally. Things went much better, but it was a late night. Lots of practicing, sound checking, organizing.

Tuesday July 4, 2006
Another Bible study for some more youth. And these youth were crazy. Good crazy. We loved it. We sung songs, played games, had a good Bible study, and really enjoyed getting to know these kids. This was all around lunchtime. That evening we went over to Garry's house for a cookout. Garry is the head guy around here, he works with the interns and all of the ministries going on around here. He's awesome. We enjoyed the evening at his house, there was a swimming pool, and lots of other college students. This is something we weren't expecting. There is a group here from Texas as part of the Impact team. This is basically a 2 week summer mission for them. The Texas people are awesome. There are also summer missionaries here who are great as well. One guy, Chris, just has to be mentioned in the blog. He's a sojourner (high school), and is just the man. This guy is hilarious, and has been a lot of fun to be around this week
Tuesday night of course we went to watch fireworks. Quite enjoyable. Relaxing, even.

Wednesday, July 5
The big day. Last minute organizing for the youth rally. Brian is to speak, Brett is to lead worship. Brian is freaking out about what he is going to say. The topic chosen was Freedom in Christ. This was chosen because it is around July 4 and we are all hearing alot about freedom, but we must keep our hearts and minds on teh ultimate freedom we have in Christ. Brian is freaking out. More practicing music, more getting things together. Brian spends the afternoon planning the message.
The youth rally went great. About 70-80 kids were there. Music was great. They seemed very receptive to the message and everything else that was done. We saw alot of familiar faces there, and had a good time talking and hanging out with the kids. Good times. Sorry we didn't get pictures, we forgot. Durnit.
Wednesday night we were introduced to one of the funnest things every invented: iceblocking. What is iceblocking, you ask? Quite simple, really. You go to the grocery store and buy a block of ice. (Never seen block ice before...) Then, you find a hill. A big hill. You put a towel over your block, sit on it, and let'er fly. Amazing fun. Indescribable even.

We are departing Washington Friday morning. The thing is, we don't know where exactly we're going. We havent' heard back from the South Dakota people, so we're not sure about that. There is a possibility we might just head on over to the east coast in the next week and go to New York City and do ministry (NEW YORK CITY!?) Yep. But we don't know yet. We'll keep you posted. Right now, we're just loving Washington. Loving the people and everything about it. God rocks.

And now, a note from Brett:

Doesn't Brian do a great job!!! We are loving it here. It is encouraging to be around and do ministry with other college students from all over the country. I am humbled from the experience we have had in WA. This week has truly been indescribable. We have formed relationships with a lot of youth. They just need someone to love them; to talk to them about God and life. There are so many ministries here. There are like a hundred different things(not quite a 100) going on and everybody means business. So I am pretty fired up. Let's change the world and love the people nobody else wants to. Something I heard at church camp when I was in highschool sums it up:
LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE
so with that said, "We love you God and we love everyone else."
holla back

(Update): We're staying in Washington until Sunday after church. Then we will begin our trek eastward. New York is looking more and more like a possibility, so we'll see what happens.

we're in washington!

2006-07-03T15:43:00.000-05:00

Well, we have offically made it to the furthest point in our journey, Washington! We will be spending most of the week here working with youth ministries in this area. Brett has friends who are working here all summer, and there are some other really cool people here that we have met. We're already having a great time, and we've been here less than 1 day!

Our big event here is a youth rally being held at a local church Wednesday night. This is huge. We are leading music, and giving a message. I (Brian) am going to be giving the message and helping lead worship. Brett is leading worship. I'm actually leading singing....wow. Not much of a singer, but I'm gonna do it anyway! We're really excited about this event. Lots of prayer is needed as we prepare.

There are a lot of Bible studies and other community events going on this week that we are going to be a part of. Last night we were part of a Bible study and then we all went bowling. It was a lot of fun. We met another youth group at the bowling alley who were really pumped up about God and were sharing all kinds of stories and things with us. They were a real encouragement. It is always good to see youth on fire for God who are passionate about ministry.

We have internet, so we'll keep you posted. Thats about it for right now.

Oh yea, and its really hot here. Finally some summertime weather!

Peace and love from Washington

you can't pump your own gas in oregon

2006-06-30T15:57:00.000-05:00

Howdy everybody. Apologies for the lack of postings the past few days. We have been travelling up the coast of California into Oregon, and have been unsuccessful in our attempts at finding internet connections. But alas, we sit once again in McDonalds, happily blogging away as we eat our apple pies.

Interesting fact: it is against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon. In fact, there is a $500 fee if you are caught doing so. You would think they have signs as soon as you enter the state warning of this slight change in the system. But they don't. In fact, in order to find this out, you must pull into a gas station, begin to pump your own gas, and then be stopped by an attendant who will kindly tell you that you are breaking the law. Go figure.

So...we're in Coos Bay, Oregon at the moment. To be honest, there hasn't been too much going on this week except a lot of travelling, but here's a rundown:

Monday we left the Bayhi's home in Mission Viejo, travelling north to WhoKnowsWhere. For some reason, we were both really tired while on the road. We decided to find a beach and hope for good weather. Unfortunately, the California coast is mostly cloud and fog, with cool breezes. We still managed to have a nice nap on the beach for a few hours. When we went back to our car, however, it wouldn't start. And nobody was around. Turns out I (Brian), being the genius I am, forgot to turn off the headlights. Apparently when you fail to turn off your headlights, your car will not start. Mister George is not an exception. Luckily, we found some guys down the road who gave us a jump, and we were on our way. We spent Monday evening attempting to travel up the coast, without much luck. We didn't really have a destination, but of course we were looking for a state park. We didn't find one. The weather was getting back, lots of fog, darkness, and California roads that are not well marked. Finally, we decided to pull into a hotel and check it out. It was a good decision. We spent Monday night in a Travelodge in (Santa Maria?). We slept grrrreat (say it like Tony the Tiger, its fun).

Our destination Tuesday was San Fransisco. We didn't make it. We may have mentioned in a previous post that our heater core is leaking really bad into the floorboard on the passenger side. We decided Tuesday that we ourselves, yes, Brett and Brian the Mechanics (recall Brian's expertese the previous week), were going to fix this problem. We pulled into an AutoZone, got some tools, parts, etc, went outside.....and called our dads. To make a long story short, we didn't get anything accomplished Tuesday concernign the heater core. We decided to wait till Wed. morning and cut the hoses and bypass them (lots of people recommended this), so it wouldn't leak anymore.

We spent Tuesday night in a state park on Hwy 1. It was really cool, beach on one side, mountains on the other. Like the smokey mountains in a lot of ways, except we had the pacific ocean next to us. Slept well. Awoke to fix our heater core. To make another long story short, we didn't fix it. After cutting the hoses and finally realizing we didn't know what we were doing, we hooked them back up and hoped for the best. It's still leaking, but we're going to get it fixed in Washington.

We drove to San Fransisco. It took forever because we took a "shortcut" which truned out to be 100 miles of windy, mountain roads. Very scenic. We did make it to San Fransisco, took a wrong turn which took us through the center of town, and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Neat town. And we were off. We drove to a state park in the redwood forest and camped the night. Can we just say, Mister George is quite a comfortable sleep. Very nice, indeed.

Thursday was a good day. We drove to Redwood NP and did an afternoon hike through the forest. It was about 4 miles, and man are we out of shape. It was great, though. Beautiful. From there we drove to Humbug Mt. State Park (great place) and relaxed for the evening and slept great.

And that brings us to now. We are heading toward Washington. Big event there next week. We are speaking and leading music at a youth rally going on there. It will be Wed, Thurs, and Friday evenings. We're getting there Saturday night so we will spend the week practicing and preparing. It's going to be huge. We'll keep you updated.

Thats all for now. Trying ot post pictures, no promises though. Just keep checking. It takes forever. Also, apologies again for not posting more often. Internet is hard to come by up here while on the road. We'll update as often as possible.

Peace, Love, and full-service gas stations in Oregon!

on the road again

2006-06-26T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well, its time to hit the road again. It is Monday morning and we are planning on heading up the west coast for the next week or so. It's been a great stay here in southern California, and we owe a HUGE thanks to the Lefflers and Charlie and Hilda for helping us out!!! THANK YOU!

Brett arrived back in CA Saturday night after a quick trip home. He came back really energized and ready to go, and had alot to tell about some conversations he had on the plane rides with some really cool people. He's gonna do the next post and hopefully tell you about it.

We attended Saddleback Church yesterday, which is the church of Rick Warren. It was huge!!! Walking the entire campus you would think you were at an amusement park. Very nice. We really enjoyed the service and seeing what it is all about. Rick preached, which was really cool to hear. He is about to go on a 13 country tour, and has been invited to be the first preacher in North Korea in 60 years. Awesome stuff. We also asked the people at church about local missions, but apparently nothing is going to work out for right now.

Our plan is to be in southern Washington around next Sunday for a youth rally, so this week will be spend travelling and being bums once again. We'll be updating as often as possible.

Peace and Love,

Prayer and the Art of ClubWagon Maintenance

2006-06-23T18:47:00.000-05:00

Fitting with tradition, Mister George decided to get sick once again in Brett's absence. You may recall that Mister George decided to get his brakes all messed up a couple of weeks ago while Brett stayed in Mississippi. You know, I think its because Brett loves Mister George so darn much, Mister George can't stand the thought of acting up around him. You should see the two of them together. It's touching, really.

But alas, Mister George doesn't seem to love Brian quite as much. (*tear*) When driving into LA Thursday, we noticed Mister George wasn't shifting gears like he should. In fact, he was stalling out every once in a while when we came to a roll or a stop. No big deal, right? It'll work itself out. Well, it didn't. Today when I decided to take him for a drive around this beautiful little town, Mister George decided to throw a fit. The little gear shift problem from the previous day was now a full blown temper tantrum, and Mister George wasn't gonna let up. He stalled out at every stop, every parking lot, every hill, etc. Had trouble even driving him through the parking lot. Really, when will these vans learn? What an embarassment to try to take your van out in public to show him off and all he wants to do is complain and stall out?

Enter Brian the Mechanic. Yessir, almost 22 years of experience in this boy, and that transmission problem was gonna be fixed, or Mister George was gonna sit in time-out until Brett came back. A few desperate calls to the Dad (everyone knows that dads know everything), a lot of prayer, some new transmission fluid, and a guy named John would be the solution to this problem. Brian the Mechanic wasn't really part of it, let me explain:

When putting in transmission fluid, the first step is always to make sure you know where to put it in. That little black cap below the engine with nothing written on it? That's not the transmission fluid. It is in fact power steering fluid. Applying half a quart of transmission fluid to this chamber will do nothing whatsoever to fix your transmission problem. In fact, it will only add to your frustration, as your vehicle will continue to stall out, and even cut off on you, hence making you think you've ruined your vehicle. It is always better to take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

Enter John the Really Nice Transmission Guy from California. He explained that you must put transmission fluid into the same place where you check it. Fortunately, transmission fluid in your power steering cap will do no harm. John took Mister George for a drive, filled him up with new fluid, and sent Mister George on his way....for FREE! How about that? Only one condition: I must go back to North Carolina and tell everyone how nice California people are.

Dear North Carolina people: California people are really nice.
Sincerely,
Brian

Alright thats enough about Mister George. Took Brett to the airport this morning at 3:30 for his 6am flight. Dropped him off at the curb and came home. Upon arriving home, Brett calls and informs that his flight in fact does not leave until 11am. Good thing he had a pillow! Unfortunately, he will not be home in time for the visitation, but he will be there for the funeral. He will return Saturday night around 9.

Until then, new adventures are waiting here in California. Mister George should be all better now, and he apologizes for his acting like a little kid. It's okay Mister George, we understand. Brett will be back soon.

Peace, love, and nice guys named John from California!!!

PS--the title of this blog is not an original. It was copied from a book titled "Prayer and the Art of Volkswagon Maintenance" by Donald Miller. Donald Miller is an awesome writer. For some fresh perspectives on faith and life, read Blue Like Jazz, or Searching for God Knows What, or Through Painted Deserts. In fact, read all of them. Prayer and the Art of Volkswagon Maintenance is an older version of Through Painted Deserts. It's about a road trip he and a friend took. How about that?

update: california

2006-06-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update to let you know that we arrived this evening in Mission Viejo, California (south of LA). We are staying with the relatives of some of my (Brian) parents friends. We weren't planning on coming to California until this weekend, but we felt the need to come and have a good place to stay due to the circumstances with Brett's grandmother.

Brett's grandmother passed away very early this morning, and he will be flying out of LA at 6am on Friday morning (Pacific Time). The funeral is being held Saturday morning, and he will be flying back and arriving about 9pm Saturday night here in California. (quick trip)

Please keep Brett and his family in your prayers. We'll keep you posted as we learn more about what's going on here in California and where we are going next. For now, Brian is going to hang out here waiting for Brett to return.

Peace and love from the west coast!

2006-06-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD's renown,

for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed."

Isaiah 55:12-13

These words rang true these past few days. Our last post spoke of our climb up Pikes Peak, and hopefully you have had a chance to look at some of the pictures. Well, you wouldn't think it could get any more beautiful than that, but it has!

We decided to leave the Colorado Springs area on Saturday afternoon and head for a camping spot somewhere down the road. We thought Buena Vista, CO would be a good place, but we didn't know if there would be a place to stay! Well, God hooked us up with a KOA right as we entered the town. We told the people we just needed a place to pull in our van and sleep, and they were GREAT. The staff were extremely nice and caring, and we had a great stay there.

We spent most of the day on Sunday driving through Colorado, heading for Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. This was the most beautiful drive we have ever seen. Ever. If you are ever in Colorado, you gotta drive through it all. There was a section of highway from the town of Ouray ("War-ay") to Durango that is called the "Million Dollar Highway" Imagine driving through about 6 Pikes Peak's, every turn you are driving into another postcard. It was amazing!!!

We arrived in Mesa Verde Sunday evening and got a camping spot. We took the opportunity that evening to relax and break out our new chess board (thanks Ashley and Kelly) for a couple of games. For the record, its 1 and 1. Brian whooped Brett the first game without ever losing a piece off the board. Brett whooped Brian the second game...big time. We played a lot of chess last summer in Ocean City, so it was nice to do it again and bring back the memories. All we needed was some cold milk and hot sausage balls!

Our destination for Monday was the Grand Canyon, where we would meet Laura who is doing summer missions there from Mississippi. The drive was vastly different than the day before, all through desert and desert mountains. Still just as beautiful. We arrived in the Grand Canyon yesterday around 3:30. During the drive in, we were able to catch glimpses of it through the trees...and it is unbelievable. If you have never seen it before, words cannot do it justice. You see postcards, you see it in movies, but when you see it in real life, it just about knocks you off your feet (or makes you drive off the road...). We met up with Laura at her apartment and spent the evening relaxing, eating pork chops, and playing cards. (By the way, Laura is our honorary guest today as we post. Thanks to her for the internet connection!)

Story time: We slept in Mister George again last night. Except this time, we slept outside in the parking lot of Laura's apartment. No big deal, right? Well, we were warned before going to bed that rangers crack down on people sleeping in vehicles, and if you get caught they give you a ticket. What a nice thought to go to bed with. We went to sleep fine, but that didn't last long. Neither one of us anticpated the high traffic through that area, but people were coming and going all night! This did not help the paranoia. I (Brian) woke up about 1:30am to the sound of people walking around, cars coming and going, and lights. A bit freaked out, I just knew one of these people would be a ranger and we'd be busted. We had to be very careful not to make any noise or move much because then people would know we are sleeping in the van, and that would just freak people out and cause them to report us. At one point, there was a flashing light and I heard someone tapping on windows around us. Freeze. Don't move. They're coming after us. We're busted.

GOOD NEWS! It wasn't a ranger. However, there was an incident with a young lady who was apparently very upset with another young lady, who didn't mind telling her how she felt. A few choice words, some banging on doors, and we're both freaked out. Good news still, we were never found out. Sigh.

A bit about our ministry: Laura is here working as a grocery clerk, but her job is to get to know other employees and minister to those around her. We are doing something very similar. We have met some people here who we have had some really good conversations with, and we feel like God has put them in our path for a reason. We were out today visiting the Rim of the Canyon just meeting people, talking to them, and learning. It's always great to tell people about what we are doing. We are planning on doing some yard work for some locals here in the park, and hopefully connecting with the people we have met and talking with them more.

We're probably going to leave here on Thursday and head for the Los Angeles area. We have been offered a place to stay and some ministry opportunity, which is a real blessing. Nothign is certain yet, and we still have to see what happens with Brett's grandmother. Pray that all goes well!

That's about all for now. Yet another long post, but yet many things happening. We wish we could tell you in detail about every experience, every person, every conversation, etc, but we just can't fit it all in. Please pray that God will continue to put people in our paths who need to hear and feel God's love!

Until next time,

Peace, love, and some deep canyons in Arizona

canyons, peaks, crazy lady, and mister george

2006-06-17T17:21:00.001-05:00

Woohoo! We found an internet connection! Thank you McDonalds of Colorado Springs! And its free. Thats just good news right there.

Yes, we're in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And can we just say that Colorado has got to be one of the most amazing places in the world??? But before we get in to that, LOTS has happened the past few days....we'll try to fit it all in:

THURSDAY: We left Dallas to head for Colorado. The plan was not to make it to Colorado in one day, but to make it to Amarillo, TX and stay the night. We planned on camping in Palo Duro Canyon State Park (considered a "mini Grand Canyon"). Before leaving Dallas, we met our friend Jamie for lunch. Jamie was a missionary in Ocean City the year before we were, and she was around at the beginning of last summer. It was great to see her and catch up.

We didn't get out of Dallas until around 3pm because we were trying to connect our CD player to the car. We thought we could do it ourselves, but it just wasn't that easy. We ended up at a car audio place that told us that it was in fact impossible, because our model van has only 5 speaker wires, and the new connector thingies have 8. Not compatible. We took this as a sign that we weren't supposed to have music playing all the way down the road. And it has worked out just fine!

We didn't make it to Palo Duro because we took an alternate route and ended up at Caprock Canyons State Park (about an hour south of Palo Duro). This place is literally in the middle of NOWHERE. Nooooooooowhere. Not kidding. We arrived after 5 so the office was closed. We decided to drive around and MAN was it amazing. See pictures for a visual. We ended up finding a camping site, and there was hardly anyone around. About the time we were ready to pitch our tent, a ranger came and confirmed that it was alright to do so. The night was very warm, and although a wind was blowing, we were pretty hot. Not the best night of sleep in the world, but it was still great!

Friday morning we woke up early and headed out. We chose the scenic drive suggested by a ranger. Still in the middle of Nooooooooowhere. Not kidding. Nowhereville, TX, USA. BEAUTIFUL drive. The terrain was beautiful, flat with some hills, and then all of a sudden BAM you are in a canyon. Amazing stuff. Well, to make things interesting, while driving through the second canyon (still in the middle of nowhere), we smell burning. Not good. We pull off the road. We get out. Our front left tire is smoking. No one around. No cell phone service. Ummm...what to do? We let Mister George cool off, and kept going of course! Only this time using as little brakes as possible. We arrived shortly in the town of Claude, TX. Nice town, nice people. We found a guy named Keith who did service and repair.

Backtrack: forgot something. Before leaving the park friday morning, we rolled the window down and it wouldn't go back up! That became our first priority to fix.

Alright, back on track. Mr. Keith spent about an hour with us (he was very busy) and got our window up. He also looked at our brakes and said they were alright. Good news! AND he didn't charge us. Better news!

From there we headed for Colorado, quite a lengthy drive. Along the way, I noticed something dripping on my feet. We discovered it was antifreeze. Near Colorado Springs, we pulled off the road to check it out. Well, we chose the wrong spot. It was in a deserted parking lot, and there was an older lady across the way next to an old beat up RV. She yelled something at us, and then got in her RV, and kept yelling! Crazy lady??? We decided to leave. The leaking problem stopped.

We arrived in Colorado Springs about 6:15 to rainy weather. We found a church online that has a college program meeting at 7pm on Friday evenings, so we made plans to attend. This place was awesome. Not only was this the biggest church we have ever seen, but the college worship program was great. There must have been 750 or more there. Good times! Very encouraging.

Leaving theMILL (thats the name of the college program), we had NO IDEA where we were going to sleep. It was about 9:30. We drove around looking for cheap hotels and they were all full! We saw on the map a state park about 50 miles away, so we decided that was our best bet. Once again, we arrived after closing, so no one was around. Not only that, but it was 11:15, dark, in the mountains, and we had no idea where we were or what we were getting ourselves into. The campgrounds were full, so we decided...hey....we have a bed in our van....why not sleep in it? Oh, and what a great decision it was. We found a nice little parkign area with no one around and parked for the night. We slept like royalty. And no one bothered us! We got up this morning and took showers and headed out.

This brings us to today. With nothing planned, we decided....why not see Pikes Peak? There is a Pikes Peak Highway, and after giving Mister Geoge a little pep talk, we decided to try it. It was 18 miles of uphill wonderfullness. Pikes Peak rests at 14,110 feet! You'll just have to see the pictures...there aren't words to describe it all, and Mister George drove like he owned the place. Good job, Mister George.

At the top, we met three guys who had just hiked up the mountain. We noticed them because they were sitting next to us and one of the guys was reading his Bible. We also overheard them talking about getting a ride down. We struck up a conversation, and offered them a ride. They were a real encouragement, great guys, Christians, offered us some advice on where to go next. We took them about halfway down the mountain to their cars. Meeting other Christians is always an encouragement. We went up to Pikes Peak not expecting anything, and God showed up and gave us these guys to encourage us. It was really awesome.

We also ventured to Garden of The Gods to drive through and check it out. Amazing rock formations. The terrain in Colorado is so diverse and beautiful!

This brings us to now, sitting in a McDonalds, no plans for the evening yet. We're trying to get used to this feeling of having no real schedule, and just following our hearts to where God is leading us next. Even though we don't have offical ministry stuff planned for here, we have seen God and heard him speaking to us all along the way.

Thats about all we can write at the moment. I know, really long post. BUT its been an eventful few days, and it is just awesome! We plan on leaving Colorado Springs tomorrow and heading toward Utah and eventually to the Grand Canyon for early next week. Brett's grandmother isn't doing well, and its looking like he's going to have to fly home soon while Brian stays in the Grand Canyon. Please pray that all works out, we don't know whats going to happen!

Check the pictures link to the right, there are updated pictures (assuming we can get them posted here in the next few minutes...)

Peace, love, and 75 degree weather from Colorado Springs!

Brett is back!

2006-06-14T22:46:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, this is Brett. Today, I flew into Dallas to meet back up with Brian. We visited Dallas Theological Seminary(just to see what it was like). We sat in on a preaching class. The professor introduced us to the class and Brian had to talk about our trip. I'm glad it wasn't me. It was pretty intimidating because they wore slacks and spoke with non-texan accents. Most of them were older and married. After we left, Brian realized he left his camera in the classroom, so he had to interupt the class again to get it. I got a good laugh out of that. As for the trip, we leave tommorrow headed for Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It's like a mini Grand Canyon located south of Amarillo(somewhere between Dallas and Colorado). We will camp there tomorrow night. After that is unknown, we just know we are headed to Colorado and then to Grand Canyon.
The past week I stayed at my Grandmothers house while Brian continued with the tour. I was so isolated from everyday life so I had plenty of time to think. I had many conversations with my Grandmother, talking about life and heaven. I read a book called Making a Difference by Dr. Mel Cheatham. It was a collection of stories about ordinary people that touched thousands of lives by serving God were they where. God spoke to me about what is important in life. He revealed to me that there are hurting, starving, dying people that need our help. There are evil wicked people in our world that need us to love them. Leaving my Grandmother this morning while knowing that it may be the last time I will ever see her was the hardest thing I have yet to experience in my life. God calls us to do great things for him no matter the sacrifice. The Narrow Road Tour is now officially under way. Satan, this ain't what you want. Our God is about to reveal is glory to us like never before. We challenge you, our family and siblings in Christ, to allow God to use you where you are. Thank you for your prayers.
Thank you Jesus for loving us so darn much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Texas

2006-06-13T16:51:00.000-05:00

Howdy from Texas. Sorry for not posting the last few days, I've received word that a new post is due, so here it is!

Again, first things first. Mister George is all fixed up and feeling great. The repairs were cheap, and he drove like a champ all the way to Dallas! What a sport.

I arrived in Flower Mound (outside Dallas) on Sunday about 4pm. Since then its been hanging out with my cousins (Zachary is 9, William is 5) for the most part. On Sunday we went to church in the evening, and then to some relative's house for dinner. I enjoyed visiting the church Sunday evening, it was different than any church I have been to before. Driving in to Dallas, I noticed all kinds of HUGE churches along the highway, and I began wondering if all churches in Texas were this big? I've already heard about many mega-churches in this part of the country (Houston has the largest church in the US), so I was very interested to see what they are all about.

The church my aunt and uncle attend is not a "mega-church" but it is larger than most I've seen in North Carolina! I really enjoyed the evening service. My aunt explained that this church has 4 services each Sunday, all of which are identical. I think this is a neat concept, which allows for people to go in the morning or the evening and not miss out on anything. The kids program was neat as well, they have beepers and ID cards for each kid...how about that? That way, parents can be notified quickly if there is a need.

One thing that is cool about this trip is that we are going to be able to see many different kinds of churches in many different environments. I look forward to learning more as we continue on the Tour.

Brett is flying in tomorrow (Wednesday) around lunchtime. We've been in touch a lot the past week, and we know that we made the right decision in him staying in Mississippi. Please continue to pray for him and his family, leaving his grandmother is going to be the hardest thing Brett has ever had to do. We really don't know what the future holds or what this trip is going to look like in the end, but we know that it is in God's hands and not ours.

We have plans to visit Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) Wednesday afternoon, hopefully sitting in on a class. Both of us are interested in the seminary, so it will be fun to visit and see what its all about.

No "official" ministry is planned here in Texas, these past few days have just been a good time to relax and get our thoughts together. We'll keep you posted on where we are going to be next. To be honest, we just don't know right now. We are heading for Colorado, but don't know what we'll be doing there. Once we leave Texas, we venture out into the great unknown....exciting!

We'll post again before we leave this week. No new pictures to post yet, but I'll let you know when there are.

Peace, love, and some REALLY hot weather from Texas!

(i mean it, its like fry your brains hot here...)

link to pictures

2006-06-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

Pictures can be found at the following link:

http://community.webshots.com/user/narrowroadtour

We will try to let you know whenever we post new pictures. Enjoy!

Arkansas

2006-06-09T18:45:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Helena, Arkansas! It's Friday evening, and it has been a busy couple of days!

First news first. Mister George is in the shop. But good news, he's gonna be OK. When I pulled in to Helena on Wednesday afternoon (the drive went well), I noticed a lot of sqeaking and rattling going on underneath, especially around the right rear wheel. Today I took it to have it checked out, and it turns out the entire wheel was torn apart on the inside. I don't know how it has been working like that! The guy took the wheel off and pieces just fell out. Fortunately, he's gonna have it fixed by tomorrow morning! Answered prayer! It should be in good shape to drive to Texas on Sunday.

Yesterday I worked contruction with four guys, Ed, David, Jerrill(sp?) and Steve. We were working on building a new church. Steve and I spent most of the day trying to put up a chain-linked fence at the community pool. The pool cant open till the fence is up, so we had kids coming up all day asking about it! It turns out putting up a fence is much harder than you'd think. We couldnt dig posts so we had to put it on top of concrete. To make a long story short, our plan didn't work out, and as soon as we got the fence up, it fell. Durn.We came back this morning to do it again, and someone had already put it up! Don't know when, how, or who, but its up.

Today I spent most of my time at the community center here in Helena. It is basically a place for kids to come play basketball, hang out, etc. They are working on organizing a library/play room and an arts and crafts room. I helped one of the summer missionaries, Lucas, design and build a PVC pipe puppet stage. Good times.

Oh yea, forgot some important info! I'm staying with the Newell family, full time missionaries living here in Helena. They are here working on building up the community and getting it prosperous again. You can tell that this town was once a nice, busy place, but its just run down now. The community center is a main project, as well as the pool and some other things around town. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met, and I have felt very welcomed and comfortable here.

Tomorrow is a free day, I think we're gonna go see a movie and just take it easy.

It's strange without Brett here. Still trying to adjust to all of the changes that have taken place in the past week. No word yet on exactly when he's gonna meet back up with me, but it'll be sometime next week. Keep praying for him and his family!

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Kittens (the Newells have 3!)

pictures!

2006-06-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

Just before departure in Raleigh...

They put our name on a sign!!!

The Gaffney Crew

(Front: Paul, Brian, Brett; Back: David, Teyanna, Curtis)

Sooooooooo uploading pictures takes forever. Perhaps we'll make a webshots page or something similar, that way you can see alot more pictures (as of now, we really don't have many more, so don't think you're missin' out!)

some changes

2006-06-07T09:41:00.000-05:00

It's been a few days since we've been able to post, sorry about that. We arrived at Brett's house in Brandon, MS late Sunday night. We had an AWESOME weekend in Gaffney. Sunday morning we led youth Sunday school, and spoke a little in church and even sung a song. Everything about the weekend just blew us away.

It is Wednesday morning now, and we have made some changes to our plans. Due to the situation with Brett's grandmother, I (Brian) am going to Arkansas by myself. I will stay there until Sunday, when I will drive to Dallas to stay with relatives (this has been the plan all along, it's just going to happen without Brett). Next week, Brett is going to fly to Dallas to meet me, and we will continue from there. The reason for all of this is because Brett needs to spend as much time with his family and grandmother as possible. We are still praying everything will turn out for the best.

In Arkansas, I think I will be doing some construction work on a community pool house that is being renovated. I'm looking forward to learning about the ministry going on there. Brett and I both feel that this is the right thing to do. The Narrow Road Tour will not stop!!!! I'm not sure if there will be internet access in Arkansas, so I can't guarantee a post, but I will definately try. I'll be posting pictures as soon as we get high-speed internet.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, and we are eager to see what is going to come of all of this. We do know that it is in God's hands, and because of that we have a peace about it. Please keep us in your prayers!!!!

Peace and Love from Mississippi

Day 2

2006-06-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

Well, 2 days down! It's been a busy and fun day. Last night two of Brett's friends (David and Paul) drove from Mississippi just to play with us as we led worship at the church block party! Isn't that great? Paul flew in to MS yesterday from California, got in his car, and drove up to SC...all in one day. These guys have been great, and it has been awesome having them along with us today.

We spent the day at the church setting up and running sound checks and practicing for this evening. It took longer than expected, so we ate a late lunch (Note: Teyanna makes good tacos). The block party was from 5-7. I had thought we'd have more time to hang out with the youth, but there was so much to be done getting ready to lead worship, do a skit, give a message, etc. it just ate up our time!

God really took over during worship. The music was awesome, Brett and I made up a skit (we performed it basically without really practicing...mostly improv. Ask us about Earl and Bill sometime...). It was just an amazing evening feeling God work around and through us.

Tomorrow we will be speaking and singing a song during the church service, after which we will eat lunch and depart for Mississippi. Hard to believe the first stop of the trip is almost over!

Look for pictures being posted soon, we haven't been able to hook our cameras up to a computer yet, but as soon as we do, we'll post some pics. Then you'll know we're real people! You're probably wondering if Brett even exists...in his words "I can't write a post, there aren't any words to describe it all!!!"

Peace, love, and fried chicken everybody

It has begun...

2006-06-02T23:29:00.000-05:00

Alright, so at this moment, we have come to the end of the first day of the Narrow Road Tour. WOW. We're sitting here at the house of two of the most awesome people in the world. Brett is playing guitar, I am typing, Curtis is playing "photo shoot," and Teyanna just thinks we're crazy. These people are awesome, did I mention that? Seriously, there aren't words to describe it. We got here in Gaffney (well, Boiling Springs) about 6PM this evening. We spent some time just hanging out, and then went out to dinner. We had a great time just talking about life and God and what's been going on....man, we are so blessed!!! (Yes, you are probably going to hear that a lot).

Lots has happened the past few days. LOTS. Tuesday was van repair day. We prayed about where we should take it, and decided to take it to take it to a man named George upon recommendation of someone from church. Well, it turned out to be the right move. Mr. George hooked us up. He understood our situation, and said he would have the van ready for us. He wasn't lying. Thursday we picked up the van and it is running LIKE NEW. It has new filters, new exhaust, new...everything??? And AIR CONDITIONING!!! It is quite wonderful. Yes, quite wonderful. Ah yes, and this brings us to the most important bit of information...we have named our van. Mister George is the name. Yep. Wondering why? Well, we figured why not name it after the man who basically brought it back to life? And to be honest, it just fits. Mister George. If you're wondering in later posts who "Mister George" is, its your own fault because you are not reading this post!!!

In other news, we have hit some unexpected "road blocks" in the last 24 hours. Yesterday Brett found out two bits of bad news, within one hour of eachother. A friend of his from school (Savannah) was killed in a car accident Thursday night. In addition, his grandmother has been diagnosed with a very bad form of cancer, and is not expected to live long. You can imagine the shock from these two events, especially the day before we leave!!! At this point, we are not sure what is going to happen. We do know that it is in God's hand, and that His timing is perfect, and that we must rely on Him to move forward. This has been the story from the beginning of this trip. This trip is by God, for God. It is all in His hands, and because of this we have a peace about it.

Please keep Brett's family and Savannah's family in your prayers. We know God is going to use both of these situations for His glory.

There just aren't any words to describe all of this. Every day God shows us new things, and blesses us in so many ways. It is like a dream.

BLESSINGS!!!!!

About that time...

2006-05-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

Well, it's gettin' about that time. The week we've been anticipating for almost a year has finally come. We're down to 4 days until departure! Brett arrived in Raleigh last night (Sunday), and its almost unreal. This is actually happening! We find ourselves sitting here in awe of what God has done in the past year, and how much we have been blessed while being so undeserving. It seems like yesterday we were in Ocean City, lying on that beach staring up at the sky and knowing that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

It's been a busy day. We woke up early this morning (well, 9:30), ate breakfast, and then set to working on the van. Ah, yes. The van...forgot to mention that! My Dad and I (Brian) picked up the van in Concord Saturday morning. It was a crazy week last week trying to get everything together so we could get the van. The Lord really stepped in and assured us that He is in control. And now we have it! At the moment, it doesn't have AC, and the radio doesnt work. BUT, we're working on both of those things. Even if neither gets fixed...we are so blessed to have this van! It DOES have cruise control and plenty of ventilation (major blessings).

Oh, random story: After picking it up in Concord, we knew the front two tires were in bad shape and needed to be replaced. No problem. Well, an hour down the road, BAM, flap flap flap flap....the front right tire blows! Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic and I pulled off quickly. My Dad and I jacked the car up and got ready to change the tire when we noticed the wrench wouldn't fit around the lug nuts. So we call AAA, and 30 minutes later the guy comes. We tell him our situation. His response "Well, your first problem is you've still got the hubcap on." Oh. Right. The hubcap. My Dad and I confessed later that night we felt pretty stupid, but oh well. It got fixed.

Thank you to Curtis and all the awesome people down at Berry Memorial Baptist Church in Gaffney!!!! We are so undeserving of this van, and you have all given so much and blessed us in an awesome way.

We spent the day cleaning up the van. We took a couple of seats out for space, vaccumed it out, wiped it down, and really just cleaned it up. It's almost like new! Tomorrow we take it for inspection, and pray we won't have to spend tons of money on repairs. We know God has it in control, and we'll get it ready to roll by Friday!!!!

There just aren't any words to desribe all of this. We are so blessed. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us and have supported us all along the way. Did I mention we were blessed???

Until next time, peace and love from two undeserving guys.

The Trip is Coming Together

2006-05-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

We haven't known all the specific details of our trip. We knew it was God's will, but we didn't know how we were going to do it. We didn't know where all we will go, what we would go in, and how we would pay for it. Over the past couple of months, God has answered some of our questions. It is one thing to know how faithful God is, but it is indescribable to experience how God answers prayer. God has given us many places to go and oppurtunities to serve. Berry Memorial Baptist Church in Gaffney, South Carolina has expressed interest in providing us transportation(We are 90 percent sure they are providing a van, but we will let you know when its final). We have recieved financial support from friends, family, BSU, and unknown sources. We still have to come up with a lot more, but we have something to build on. There is no other explanation for what's taking place except God. It's not because of us.
ITS FOR HIM AND BY HIM.
We thank you for your prayers and support.
We thank you Lord for choosing us and for letting us be apart of your amazing plan.
Only a couple of weeks before we take off, stay tuned to see what happens next.

And the winner is...

2006-03-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

We're proud to announce the winner of our unofficial "Most Frequently Asked Question" contest. "Where are you going?" takes the prize with a record of just about every person asking this question...

OK, so there wasn't really a contest. The answer to the question? We're not entirely sure. We do, however, have a projected path (emphasis on the projected). Below is a brief summary of our plans...

Beginning in Raleigh on June 2, we will be travelling clockwise around the country. We'll cover the Southeast the first week, stopping in Gaffney, SC, Atlanta, Mississippi, and hopefully Arkansas. From there we are heading toward Dallas.
From Dallas we will leave Texas and head through New Mexico, Arizona, and part of southern Utah before hitting the Grand Canyon. From there we will head for Las Vegas, then into Southern California.
We'll travel up the coast of California (quite a distance..), stopping along the way, before heading into Oregan and (hopefully) Washington. From there we'll head east either staying north, or heading down to the midwestern states, and into Colorado
From Colorado we'll head east, no plans at this point on where to stop.
We're planning our last stop in Ocean City, Maryland, where all of this began last summer... (what better way to end the trip?)

So...thats a vague idea of where we'll be. Of course, everything is subject to change. Our car may break down in Atlanta (lets hope not). We are open to suggestions, including contacts and ministry opportunities pretty much everywhere. At this point, we've got the Southeast and Texas pretty much planned out...looking especially for places in California, and the Midwest at this point. Again, we are open to places everywhere!

Feel free to post a comment or send us an email with your ideas!

The first post!!!!

2006-03-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Narrow Road Journal!!!

This is the place to come for the most up to date information on what is going on as we plan and prepare for our trip. Between now and June 2 (when we depart), we'll be updating this blog periodically to let you know what is going on with us and the trip. This will also be a place where we will post prayer requests.

After we depart, we'll be updating as often as possible to let you know where we are, what we are doing, and how you can be praying for us.

Thanks for coming! Check back soon for updates!