Meet Winnie

You might remember a post about a month or so ago where I mentioned that Nathan had a seed of an idea planted in his mind by some missionary friends.  That idea was to travel in an RV while we do deputation over the course of next year. As homeschooling parents, our friends had expressed the difficulty of doing school each day in a different place.  One day at a library, the next day at a home, the day after that at a fast food restaurant... (you get the idea).  Then, when one of their children had a meltdown (usually from the stress of frequent transition, something we had little difficulty envisioning happening with our Els), often the only private place they could find to retreat would be a bathroom.

Add to that, the cost savings of having a place to sleep, a place to make simple meals, a place to 'spread out' all the while traveling with a little boy in the midst of potty training (with short legs, mind you -- there are some challenges to which we still haven't figured out solutions) ... it seemed ideal for our family at this particular stage in life.

After doing a little bit of preliminary searching, I quickly dismissed the idea of traveling in an RV as a pipe dream because the only way we could afford such a vehicle would be if God literally dropped it in our lap.  About a month after sharing this idea with a very few close friends and family, we get a phone call from my parents.  Driving through Green Valley, they took a street they had never been on before and guess what they found in a driveway at the dead end?  An RV for sale!  And the price was within our meager budget!  They sent us photos and we pondered it for a couple of weeks, mulling over the decision of purchasing a vehicle that was older than the students who had just graduated from Asbury.

It had a few things going for it besides the price tag... The interior appeared to be in excellent condition.  The mileage was a mere 69,000 miles (not bad for a 1985!) and the engine was diesel (which, when made in that era, tends to last much longer than their gasoline equivalents).  Nevertheless, wanting to be good stewards of the little bit of savings we had, we debated and waited.

Then in early June we had our meeting with the team at Cincinnati Childrens about creating strategies for working with Ellie and all of a sudden, the decision to purchase the Winnebego was a no-brainer.  We gave the green light to my parents and a few weeks ago they drove it down the road to their home.  Tonight we got a phone call that she's been all tuned up:  new fuel pump, new wipers, new belts, new AC... She's been declared road worthy!

So, as we begin planning our months of homeland ministry assignment, we have an extra measure of excitement and a little less concern as we see how God is taking care of details like a cozy home-on-wheels where we can drive and sleep and eat and do school, regardless of which state we happen to find ourselves in!