My Website is Back Up!

After being down since my hosting agreement expired in January, the site has been relaunched as Godskingdomfirst.ORG (instead of .NET). The .net domain name was only renewable if I continued to be hosted by the same provider, but I found one that hosts for free. I only needed to register a new domain name, hence the change.

I made some changes to the layout and some of the content as well. The biggest change in content is a reworking and reorganizing of the "Future Events" page. The biggest layout change is the new Home or Index page, which has a site overview that includes graphics, making for a more attractive welcome. The rest of the stuff that used to be on the Home page is now on a separate page, called Introduction.

The link to my site in the right hand corner of this blog page has been updated to reflect the new site name. Click there to visit it.

Blessings and Hope

When we reached Seattle, we had virtually nothing left. Patrick and Michele were gracious enough to share their food with us, as well as giving us rides to some places. Michele is a wonderful cook, so we ate well while we were there. And while they thought the kids were annoying us, we actually had fun with them. Jacob is two, and at that stage where he gets into EVERYTHING. (They call him "Destructo-Boy!") But he would look up at me and say my name (repeatedly) and babble something else incoherent, and want to climb in my lap. Yeah, he'd have his screaming sessions, but it all balances out. (Easy for me to say since he's not mine, right? I pray for Michele and Patrick.) And Rachel is five (almost six) and has quite the wit for her age. At one point I had said something strange, and she replied, "I wish I had a pie to put in your face!" I thought I would fall over laughing. She gives great backrubs too!

Anyway, when we returned the truck, the rental people mentioned that it had been due back at 1 pm , so we were supposed to be charged another day, as well as being charged for the mileage we went over. For some reason they didn't charge us for it, nor did they charge us for cleaning it, because the rental place in Georgia hadn't checked the box that said we would be charged for cleaning. So we didn't have to pay anything extra.

We still needed to find work and a place to live. Most places here will not rent to you if you haven't been working for a while. And we didn't have any money for a down payment. I wrote to a pastor friend of ours, Chuck Jones in Pomona, CA, with whom I had corresponded for some time and finally met face to face at the Ministers Conference at the college. He was able to help out by sending us some money to help us get on our feet again. The family of God is so wonderful!

As we looked for housing we discovered how much things cost here. We would not be able to put down a month's rent plus security on much more than a studio, if that. It was starting to look like we would have to stay in a rooming house or something till we got settled. I was starting to get anxious, I have to admit. And so were our hosts, as their apartment complex only allowed people to stay with them two weeks. One afternoon we prayed, and within an hour Melodie had a job and our tax refund check arrived. And because of the amount that I had paid for tuition at ABC, we hadn't owed any tax this year. (It was called the Hope Credit.) Therefore we got everything back that had been deducted from my job in New York, which was over $2000! I had known how much it would be but didn't think I'd get it so soon, especially since it had to go to the college and then get forwarded to me here. Melodie didn't even know how much it would be, so she was even more surprised.

Shortly afterward, we found an apartment that we could afford, and when we filled out the paperwork (there was tons of it, more than Melodie had to do in the army or when she worked for the government!) it turned out we needed less than we thought for a security deposit, plus they were taking $25 off the first month's rent, which isn't due till June 1st because it's so late in the month.

The place is on the south side of Seattle, and you go through a lot of industrial areas to get to it. But the complex itself is surrounded by woods and there are lots of trees along the streets too. It's only one bedroom, but we can upgrade if a two bedroom is available when we have the money. The kitchen is tiny, but the other rooms are good size. It's not bad for now.

Melodie is working for a temp agency scanning documents at a bank. It's not what she wants to do for the rest of her life, but it's paying more than she has ever made at a job before. Meanwhile I have had several interviews. I haven't gotten hired yet, but I didn't even get as far as interviewing in Georgia. The bus system here is great. You can get anywhere on the busses, although it takes a while. So I'm not limited as far as location for a job. And I don't have to pay these outrageous gas prices!

Then I got some interesting news. I wrote in my previous blog that my mother had died the day before we were to leave. It turns out now that I have a sizeable inheritance coming, which surprised me, as I didn't think she had very much after all her medical expenses and other things. But a check is on its way even now. So that takes the pressure off financially, and maybe there is a job for me that I have to wait for.

I still wonder what God wants me to do, and what I want to do, and what I can do, and what I'm doing here. I try not to get anxious about it but sometimes it's hard. But God has blessed me so much already, I have to leave it in His hands. He holds the future.

P.S. - Melodie's pictures from our trip are up on her Photo Album site. Click on the link in the right hand column.

Big Country

It seems like we were driving forever. We left on Friday evening, April 18, after loading the truck and cleaning out the apartment at ABC. We wanted to at least get as far as the state line before we stopped for the night, and we did. Just over the line in Tennesee, we passed Chattanooga and continued west, stopping for the night at Nickajack Lake.

We were given a larger truck than what we had reserved (and charged a lower rate because it was their error). We had the bed on edge and tied in place to hold everything, and when we stopped for the night we untied and laid the bed down and we could sleep in the back of the truck. That was the plan anyway. That first night the door wouldn't shut all the way because the bed was about an inch too far out. So I had to rearrange stuff and get the bed to fit, and it was raining, so the edge of the bed got wet. Still, we were able to sleep and the bed dried out the next day, so things worked out.

Louie seems to like road trips. He was quite comfortable on the seat between us, and whenever we stopped he took his command post on the dashboard.

The next day we continued through Tennessee and Kentucky, passing by Nashville (below).

That night we stopped in Illinois, and the following day we crossed the Mississippi and passed through St. Louis. Melodie got some good shots of the arch. Looks like half a McDonald's, doesn't it?

From there we crossed Missouri, turned north just before Kansas City, and headed north through Iowa. Council Bluffs had a whole riverboat theme on the river.

By Tuesday, we had gone through the rest of Iowa and into South Dakota, stopping at Mitchell for the night. Wednesday was when we had to figure out how to continue since we ran out of money (see previous blog). We were finally able to resume on Thursday.

The rest of South Dakota was a long haul, and then we stopped to see the world famous Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

Melodie has several pictures from there, which she will be putting up soon on her photo site. We then continued west, and hit a huge thunderstorm at Rapid City. It was so bad we had to pull off and wait till it stopped, as I couldn't see anything in front of me. But we finally made it out of South Dakota alive!

We stayed overnight in Gillette, Wyoming. In the morning we awoke to a view of The Devil's Tower. Well, the sign SAID Devil's Tower anyway. I later found out that the sign was referring to the road which led TO Devil's Tower (made famous in "Close Encounters"). But this was a pretty cool looking mountain anyway.

We drove through a corner of Wyoming and crossed into Montana. We discovered that it was still winter in this mountainous region. Although beautiful to look at, it was COLD in that truck at night. We survived thanks to lots of blankets and body heat (including Louie).

We crossed Montana, and then a narrow strip of Idaho. This was actually the most beautiful scenery yet, looking down from the mountains into a deep valley, but the pictures didn't come out for some reason.

We crossed into Washington, and kept driving and driving, trying to find a place to stop for the night. Mile after mile of nothing passed by us. We finally got off at an exit where there was a gas station, but it was closed. Fortunately there was a small place across the street where you could get gas with a credit card after hours. It was expensive though, so we got enough to get us to the next town, where we could fill up for less. We spent the night at Moses Lake.

The last day of travel took us over and through the coastal mountains just east of Seattle. These were even more breathtaking than what we'd seen in the Rockies, with their pointed, snow-capped peaks. But sadly the last batteries in Melodie's camera were dead, and she couldn't get any more pictures.

We finally arrived in the Seattle area, and were warmly greeted by Patrick, Michele, and the kids. After a long trip through eleven states we were happy to be anywhere! But it was nice to have a warm, loving place to sleep that night.

Next time I will write about how God has blessed us since we've been here.

A New Beginning

I had a MySpace blog earlier in the year, but it was mostly complaining. And hardly anybody ever read it, which was part of what I got into complaining about. Besides, what friends I had on MySpace were all younger than I am (as is often the case there) so I didn't really fit in. After a while I deactivated my account, and recently decided to attempt a "real" blog.

I had been at Atlanta Bible College, and thought I wanted to be a pastor. Now I'm not sure what I want to do, or what God wants me to do. Neither my wife nor I could find work in Atlanta, and we ran out of money. The bad news was we had to leave. The good news was that they were willing to write off my debt and even give us money to help move.

We knew a couple in Seattle whom we had met in Syracuse, NY (where we lived before coming to Atlanta) and they offered us a place to stay until we got settled, if we wanted to relocate to the Seattle area. After much deliberation we decided to take them up on it.

While getting ready to move, I received word that my mother was in the hospital with pneumonia and was not expected to make it, due to weak heart, lung problems, and other ailments. The day before we were to leave Atlanta, she passed away.

This added to the overwhelming feelings of depression that I was already feeling, from not knowing what to do with my life, and having difficulties in relating to people. It reached the worst point when, midway through the trip, we ran out of money. The truck was getting way less mileage than we had anticipated, and in Mitchell, South Dakota, we were down to the last quarter tank with no way to get any more gas.

I tried calling my family, but they had just spent what extra money they'd had for Mom's funeral. I was in such despair I wanted to give up, but my wife managed to keep her head about her, and made some phone calls to people we knew back in Georgia. By the next day we had enough money to continue, thanks to the generous help of friends in Georgia.

They also prayed for us, and it made a difference. When I woke up that morning, I was not feeling the overwhelming depression and heaviness that had enveloped me the day before. We set out on our way, trusting (albeit timidly) in God's providence.

Next post, I will continue with our adventures moving to the Other Coast.