January 2019

Hey y’all!

Well God has definitely shown us where He wants us. Without a doubt. He wants us in Westport, WA.

The boys love the school, and have been involved with many different activities so far this year. TJ is an active weight lifter as well as being the starting JV offensive Lineman with a spot on the Varsity team next year. Lucas has progressed so much in reading, and now recognizes words fairly regularly, his teacher is a huge blessing, and has figured out the key to unlocking his brain! He also played PeeWee football part of the season, but decided to stop because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, which is understandable. He wants to try soccer next season, so that will be neat!

We have been given multiple opportunities to be active in our church, with me being one of the drummers on Sunday morning services ( another guy and I switch every-other week), and we have helped at several functions at church, including the Halloween Trunk-or-Treat. I had photos, but they seem to have disappeared......

So here’s the main reason behind this update. We are selling the bus. God's Grace Skoolie will no longer be ours. It will be having a new home in Phoenix,AZ. God has provided us a new home, being a Jayco travel trailer. It has a bunk house for the boys' room which give them the room two growing boys need. God has shown us that He wants us here, so we are acting on it. A more permanent home, but still with the ability to travel if He shows us to head out again in the future. Granted we have to sell the Subaru and Jeep to get a truck to pull the trailer, but that’s in the future, and God will provide that when we need it.

Ok, well I guess I’ll sign off for now, we’ve really loved traveling and meeting new people and seeing new places and spreading Gods love. Thank you everyone for reading our blog and following us through our travels. Please continue praying for us, that God continues to use us for His Will.

Praise the Lord!

June, 2018 Westport, WA

Hey y’all! Sorry for the delay in posting, we have just been super busy this month. 

On the 1st we moved to American Sunset RV Park in Westport Washington. This place is super nice! They have a heated outdoor pool, a decent sized playground, paved roads, 20amp/30amp/50amp plugs as well as water, sewer,and cable at every site. The staff are all work-campers, and are super laid back and friendly. It’s almost exactly 1mile to the beach which is a State Park, so while there is a $10/day or $30/year pass required, there are multiple bathrooms, showers for surfers/swimmers, and the normal cleanliness of a State Park. 

We feel that God is leading us to hang out here for a while, and even to enroll the boys in the school here for next school year, both boys need to have friendships that last longer than a weekend. We have fallen in love with the town, found an awesome church that has a good sized youth group (South Beach Christian Center), and the friendliness of everyone we meet is totally awesome. There is even a wicked cool surf shop here less than a mile from us! TJ is trying to get a job at one of the many “Mom-n-Pop” restaurants in town, since they will hire at 15yrs old. 

We did end up traveling back to Idaho for my best friends Celebration of Life, and while we were there, God provided us with a new (to us) Subaru Outback, that is  like the one we owned 3or so years ago. Our GMC broke the clutch fan and blades and shroud en-route to Idaho and we didn’t have the $400 to replace it. We ended up giving the car to a good friend of ours that could fix a car, just not afford to buy one. God blessed not only us, but her as well with a new vehicle. 

Praise the Lord for He is Great! He provides all our needs!

So while this will be the last post for a while, please continue to pray that God uses us for His will, and that We keep our eyes on Him. 

God bless y’all!

May 10, 2018 Ocean Shores Washington

Hey y'all!

So here we are in Ocean Shores,WA in JB's RV Campground. Now, we've stayed in some really nice places and we've stayed in some pretty "sketchy" places during this adventure, but this place is kinda a mixture of both.

The good: we are just about 50yrds from sand trails that lead another 100yrds to the beach, so that's cool. Especially since we can drive right out on the beach and for miles up and down the beach as well... that's really cool! The surf is rougher than other places with only 8-9seconds between waves (makes paddling out a bit more difficult, as well as recovering from eating it a bit harder), but it's good to learn to handle the rough waters with the calm waters.

The bad: the bathroom/shower-room has to be the worst we have yet to experience. It is a shared one room bathroom with one shower (no door, just a nasty shower curtain), 2 toilets, and 2 urinals. The door doesn't lock or even close completely, so we had to fashion a lock with a piece of 550cord. There are holes drilled into the floor just outside of the shower pan to let water drain onto the ground, so the floor is getting soft there....

That's all I have to say about that.

The managers/owners however are great people, and very helpful when registering, but unfortunately that doesn't quite make up for them not cleaning the bathroom in at least a week (hairs, webs, no TP at all, and dirt everywhere). We had planned on staying here for the summer, but ya, NOT! We will be glad to move on the first of June.

We found a beautiful RV Park (American Sunset RV) in Westport, WA that has multiple clean, seperate showers/bathrooms, and it's only about a mile to the beach. We have learned that the bathrooms will be the first thing we check before paying at any other place we go!

We plan on staying there for the summer, so I might not update this to much. However, if God does something with us, or an amazing thing happens I will definitely bring y'all up to speed!

Well, I guess that's it for now, Please keep praying for us, that God will take us where He can use us.

God Bless!

April 2018 one year in the bus

Hey y’all! So one year in the bus, wow! What an adventure it has been! We’ve seen so many places, met so many people, enjoyed the company of many great churches, it’s been great!

Now  even though we miss our home church, and our family and friends there, we feel that this journey has made us closer as a family and closer to God then we’ve ever been before. The faith that God has given us during this last year has been almost scary at times, up and leaving a place that is comfortable for an unknown place, gets scary, but  with God as our pilot and director and protector, we’ve been fine.

So we are going to do it again. Leave the security of Crescent City,CA for Ocean Shores,WA. We found an RV park 1/4mile from the beach that looks like a pretty nice, so we are heading out tomorrow morning. Please pray that everything goes good and that God gives us the opportunity to spread His word.

I’ll update when we are settled.

God bless y’all!

A month away..... 3/29/18

Hey y'all!

So we have a new thing going on, we have to be in Idaho for doctor appts and various other reasons, so we decided to store the bus for the month and stay with family.

The fuel cost to drive the bus and car the 800 miles back to Kooskia, along with space rent at an rv park there, would have left us with little money left over, so that's why we decided to just take the car.

I won't have cell service once we get into town (gotta love tiny towns), so I'll update when we get back to the bus on or around the 1st of May.

God bless y'all!

3/7/18 Crescent City, Ca Round 2!

Hey y'all!

So I'm writing this one on Sunday the 11th, but should have written it on the 7th, so that's why the date is the 7th.

Anyways, we made the drive. We are back in Crescent City, CA. So glad to be done that drive! Before we drive the bus back across, we have to have the gears re-done in the pumpkin, 60mph max takes FOREVER!!!! Either change the gearing, or we will have to get a new commuter-style bus... Like a greyhound, or a tour bus. (Preferably one with a toilet already installed and working!)

So, back to the trip.... We ended up staying in truck stops the entire trip, which saved us easily $300+, so while it was cold at night, it was a good thing. We drove from Gautier, MS up through Shreveport, LS. Then we drove up through Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM, then on to Flagstaff, AZ. From there we went through Bakersfield, CA up to Yuba City, CA where we stayed 2 might because of family we have there.  On the morning of the 7th we headed out for the final 300+/- miles up to Crescent City.

Needless to say, we are glad to not drive for a while! We are grateful to have the opportunity to be back at the beach, it is absolutely beautiful, even though we need to buy Wetsuit boots and gloves so we can surf for longer than 45min or so! Shanesta and Lucas need new wetsuits with long sleeves and legs, the summer suits don't really work in 50degree water! But that will come with time. The days of board shorts and t-shirts to surf are on hold for a while! Hahaha!

Well that's about it for now, we are heading back to Idaho on the 1st of April, so I will update more later.
God Bless y'all!

Leaving Mississippi, heading West

So after a very long, warm, sticky month We are leaving Mississippi tomorrow. (WoooHooo!)

We met a bunch of nice people here, went to a great church, and enjoyed the respectful attitude of most people here in the South. We got to put our feet in the Gulf of Mexico, grabbed some of the white sand, and found out the reason there are no surf shops around this part of the country.... It's the same reason they're are none in Idaho.... No waves!

So here's our basic itinerary for the next phase of traveling:
Here to Shreveport, Louisiana
To Childress, Texas
To Albuquerque, New Mexico
To Williams, Arizona
To Bakersfield, California
To Corning, California
To Crescent City, California
We will travel about 400miles each day, some days more depending on how we feel, but we only have the car dolly for 8days, so we will see how things will go. Both Shanesta and I will be sharing the driving, and we will be Boondocking at truck stops or Walmarts along the way. I'm not sure about updating as we travel, it depends on service, and how tired we are.

I ask that you pray for us, that we remain safe and that God puts His hand of protection around us and our bus and car while we travel. Thank you all for your prayers so far, please continue!

God bless y'all, talk to y'all later