WE'RE GOING TO PERU!!!!!!!!!!

Just thot ya'll needed to know that!  We peered over the cliff...held our breath and took the plunge.  Which we had hoped to do anyway, but right after we took out the loan to pay for our new siding, we found out that Mike's job was ending in April (right before the mission trip) and we decided to put everything on hold...because you know...that's what sensible people who try to be good stewards do... right???  Well....maybe not.

So we put our mind to a few solutions, which all fell through momentarily...and finally decided to just hand it to God and ask HIM to figure it out.  We scraped up the down payment for the plane tickets and drove to Cleveland, TN on Sunday to hand over our cashier's check (because someone didn't pay attention to the little piece of paper in the checkbook box that says "order new checks now". LOL!  They will arrive on Tuesday.)  Of course, we doubted and questioned the wisdom the whole way to TN, but once we committed, I've been very joyful.

But let me back up....

Saturday morning we visited Mike's mom's house (she passed away last year) to collect our old boxes that we had stored there.  We couldn't remember what all we had, but figured we would just need to take it all to the dump anyway except for my old pew, a dresser and a headboard/footboard.  Looks like my brother-in-law's got carried away and already burned all my boxes. :-)  But I'll forgive them because the contents probably weren't worth keeping anyway. But after making a phone call to said Bro-in-law, we spent the day going through papers and finding old church White Wings, and a few BTI books.  We picked up a few items that held no sentimental value to anyone else, just nick-nacks and stuff that they were going to get rid of.   It was bitterly cold on Saturday, but a good day to go rummaging around in a barn (no snakes), but Mike did disturb a little mouse's nest while shaking a box and it hopped out and scared Mike to death. hahahahahahahahahahaha! (I was the one standing outside the barn, telling to him to look in the box. :-)   By Saturday night, we came home freezing, tired and covered in dust.

Sunday morning, we went to church to make sure that I taught the 3-7 year old class. I don't have an assistant and I can't bear the looks in the triplets eyes when I tell them on a Sunday NIGHT that we're not having Sunday School...much less not having Sunday School on Sunday MORNING!!   When Mike dismissed the congregation from preliminaries and said, "you are dimissed to go to Sunday School"...all three turned around to me and gasped in excitement saying "SUNDAY SCHOOL!"    Those boys LOVE Sunday School.   We learned about the shepherd boy David (I think I'm a couple of Sunday's behind on the literature, but we'll catch up) and had a visit from our "sheep-dog" puppet which they named BINGO.

Immediately after Sunday School, we got into the truck and drove to Chattanooga to first drop off my old kitchen table, two chairs, Chris' bicycle and some other stuff at Alaena's new apartment.  We stopped to eat lunch first in Trussville and then Mike did something silly.  He loves to stop in Rising Fawn, GA to get gas at the Love's Truck stop because gas is cheaper there.  BUT...he pushed the gas tank to it's limit and we were going the last few miles on fumes and Mike's pleading prayer.  I was pondering out loud for his sake "does God answer desperate gas prayers when you know you should have stopped to fill the tank two exits ago???" and commenting on how "bitterly cold it is outside for those who have to walk today."  Hahaha!  God must have had mercy on him...because we went about 25 miles AFTER the gas light came on and the truck only sputtered once up a hill.

We did make it safely to Alaena's house 3:00 their time, unloaded the truck, toured the apartment and she put us to  decorating which entailed moving a bookcase and setting up the old table.   She now has a cozy eating area, but we lost track of time a little bit, making us only a couple of minutes late for church at Zion Hill.   Even though the deadline for the Peru trip was on Friday, they said we could bring the check to them on Sunday instead. 

Bro. Werkheiser was in charge of the Evangelism service that night and Bro. Grayson Kent preached the message...which of course the whole service is what we needed to hear.  The message was "Being "interested" is not the same as being "committed" and that God needs people to "go" even though there is "no road" before them."  (okay...okay...we turned the check over to Bro. Smith and Bro. Werkheiser right after service. lol!)  Before the message, they annointed people for various things and I once again thought "I think I'm better now, so I won't get prayer"....and then remembered that the last annointing service I thought that, I woke up in pain the next day again...so I rushed up there real fast because I though they were done praying and got annointed.  The Lord blessed me good and I didn't wake up in pain this morning...so I accept my healing!  The service got me in the mood for BTI and the Assembly and it's only MARCH!

After church, Bro. and Sis. Smith treated us along with Alaena to Dairy Queen and we fellowshipped with them, the Anders, the Werkheisers and Sis. Hawkins.  Not much different then our gang back home, but I spared them all "the karaoke". ;-)  When Sis. Werkheiser got to telling us stories of Bro. Werkheiser's trip to "Peru" and the original plan of a 10 hour bus trip in Peru after the flight..we were thinking we might retreive that check from Bro. W's pocket ;-)  (I told Mike that they don't tell you that stuff till AFTER you pay)...but Bro. Smith assured us that we would be flying into another city this time, so there would not be a 10 hour bus trip and Bro. W. told us that those stories didn't involve Peru, but was in Bolivia instead.  Whew!!!!!! 

Since it is easier for us to stay up late then it is for us to wake up early... we drove home after the fellowship and arrived in our driveway right at midnight, which wasn't too bad.  The only problem we had was when Mike asked me right about the time we hit the Birmingham city limits if I had "signed the check?"  What!  I was supposed to sign the cashier's check!!!!!!!!!   I told him, I would drive back up there tomorrow if I had to!  I waited till a decent hour on Monday morning to text / email Sis. Smith and have her ask Bro. W.  if I needed to come back up.  I'm originally from "the west" (well kind of) and driving 3 hours isn't that big of a deal.  But we called the bank this morning and found out that all was well.  You don't sign cashier's checks...the bank does.  I THOUGHT it was signed already when I looked at it and they had not given me any other  instructions!  Whew!!! 

Now...we'll do our part and let God do His and guess what!  WE'RE GOING TO PERU!!!!!!!!