Arizona

We have been in Arizona for almost two weeks now. The houses we are staying in don't have really good internet access, so I have to think of creative ways to update my blog.
Some friends that we have spent the last two years in training with are staying for a year in Arizona, so we got to go to their son's 3rd birthday party. Micah and Isabella are good friends, so it was fun for them to be together again.

Mariah and Isabella. Isabella loves little babies.

We had a water baloon fight. We thought that it would be fun for the kids. It was at first, but when the moms and dads started throwing them at eachother...the little ones started getting upset! But it was fun for us!!

Micah's and his loot.

The cool cake that was made.

The three year olds and their cake!!! What the party is all about when you are this young!

Utah

The Mormon Temple in St. George.

Utah is a unique state. There are many truly beautiful parts but spiritually there is such a darkness. It was strange thinking that the great majority of people in this state are religious and as passionate about their beliefs as I am about mine.
It is sad.
It really was an eye-opener for me. I have traveled crossed the country and seen many types of people and I tend to assume that they are lost, know very little about Christ and need the Lord, until I find out otherwise.
Here in Utah it was different. These people are lost as well and in desperate need of the Lord, but they are well trained in their belief system...as well as in ours. So when one starts talking about the Lord to a LDS person he isn't starting from scratch. They know the vocabulary, but have different definitions for the words. And they are as bent on converting me as I am in trying to communicate the truth to them.
Our time there was awesome as well as a cultural experience.
Tom and Grace who we met in Wisconsin when we were there with Anarazell have since moved to Utah. It was so refreshing to be back in their house...if only for few days. We did nothing there but rest. Going out for a picnic was the extent of our excursions! Otherwise we just lazed around and had a break from traveling.

Here are some pictures of the time there.

Grand-pa Tom and Isabella cooling off.

Me thinking deep thoughts...or something like that!

Grace needed a shoulder rub so Isabella was trying to help out.

A happy couple!

Colorado

Colorado is an incredibly beautiful state...at least the part we went through. We have found that typically the interstate highways are through the most boring parts of the states...but not in Colorado. Of course alot of the beauty might be just in our heads because of us being so excited to see mountains again! We didn't realize that we missed them so much until we started through them again!
To help the car cool off we stopped at a roadside park and had lunch...and here are some pictures from that.

Finally a picture of all of us together!!

Some of the local fauna...doing what they do!

Jen and Isabella doing the "I'm-so-happy-to-be-in-the-mountains-again" dance. Yes there is a dance for all occations.

Two shots looking at the same view...you can see Denver in the distance. I think they do a good job of mixing city and country here.

Nebraska

"Nebraska...more corn than Kanas" read one t-shirt.
Wow...I am impressed!
I love giving my Nebraska friends a hard time, but we did have a really good time there. The couple we visited there were fellow students with us in Bible school. When we met them, Jen and I had been married for four weeks and they for three! That was six years ago...Yikes!
Here are some pictures of our trip there!

Julie and Isabella making dessert. Isabella's personality showing a bit...

Wyatt and Isabella

These next pictures were from a little town in western Nebraska. When we entered the town they had a sign that said..."Haigler...The Cornerstone of Nebraska".
So we kept our eyes open to see this cornerstone...and this is what we saw...



Hehehe...
We actually pulled over to get pictures of this little town and then this little tractor drove acrossed the road...the only traffic besides ourselves that we saw in this town! Nebraska...you got to love it!!
Next stop, Colorado...

Enroute

We have made it to Western Colorado...Grand Junction. Yesterday was about a 10 hour drive UP the Rocky Mts. That was rough on the car, but thankfully we made it. We stopped about halfway up and let the car cool off for almost an hour and had a picnic. It was beautiful! We have missed the mountains so much! I got some great pictures, but I can't seem to upload here at the hotel, so I will do that soon.
Our destination is St. George, Utah to visit Tom and Grace. They moved there from Wisconsin so it worked out perfect for us to see them on the way! Today is only about a 6hr trip, so we are planning on being there for dinner...Lord willing! We'll see what the day holds!
Please keep us in prayer!

Our Trip Has Begun...

We have started heading west. We are at the second of our many stops. I will try to update as often as I can during this trip. Please keep us in prayer as we have over 3,ooo miles to go before we reach Oregon...

Here are some pictures of our trip so far.

Our first stop...Kansas...the sunflower state.

Our car and trailer. Can't even tell that I just replaced the rear shocks can you? Please pray for us as we travel!!!

The first couple that had us into their house. They were amazing. Their daughter is only two months older then Isabella and they had a blast together.

Isabella and Abby...fast friends.

The family that we went to visit. We were neighbors with them in Oregon for a year and have enjoyed their friendship ever since.

Gearing Up...

Well, we are on our last week here in Missouri.
Finally!
It was beginning to feel like we would never get out of this place. In April-May of this year we took a trip out west...
Then we came back here.
In July we went to Florida...
Then we came back here.
Two weeks ago we went to Wisconsin...
Then we came back here.
It is almost like there is a magnet here that we can't break away from!
Jennifer's sister and family are coming here to attend school in about 3 days, so we figured that since we are here we might as well stay a few more days and see them.
On the 11th of this month...Friday morning...our journey westward begins.
We will be stopping in Kansas...Nebraska...Utah...four cities in Arizona...Califorina...Oregon and Idaho.
GOOD GRAVY!!!
IF we are heading through your area and you would like to see us, send us an e-mail and we will see what we can do.
We are going to use this time to visit friends and family that we probably won't see for some time after this.
We also want to talk in churches about what God is planning for our future. It is going to be exciting to see what doors God opens up in that area as well.
Our ETA in Oregon should be in October some time and then Idaho after that. So we have quite the trip ahead of us. We love visiting people and we like traveling so we are planning on having a good time on this trip, but just the length of it sometimes feels daunting.
Please keep us in prayer as we begin this next chapter in our life!
As a side note, or digital camera is spazing out on us. We are hoping to get it somewhat fixed, at least enough to take pictures during the trip, but as for now we are fresh out of pictures...

Thinking Thoughts and Learning Lessons...

To some extent I think that every person in the world has a somewhat skewed view of God.
Take for example how people react when their plans don't work out. Maybe the air-conditioner in your car broke or you are late for something because you can't find your keys.
I have heard people say, and I used to think, that when something "went wrong" that either God was disciplining you or He was trying to teach you something. I am not so sure anymore. I know that there are times that He uses circumstances to accomplish those two things in someones life, but everytime?
As a human father, when my daughter gets hurt or something doesn't go her way, I might not be the cause of her discomfort, but I can use those situations in her life as teachable moments. Depending on the circumstance I can check her attitude and teach her how she can be dissapointed without throwing a fit. Maybe I can show her the right way to do something. I can come along side of her and help her.
I wonder if many times that is what God is doing.
God created the universe with laws in place.
Take gravity...
Every autumn the leaves fall to the ground. Some would say God is personally knocking every leaf to the ground. Sure I know God could do that, but I believe that He put the law of gravity in place, and so He just let the law work the way it is supposed to.
You might disagree, but hear me out.
When the part on the car goes out, maybe God isn't "out to get you", maybe the law of
entropy that He put into effect at the beginning of time is just doing what it is supposed to.
Maybe, just maybe, He is just using these times (when everything seems to be going crazy) as teachable moments. Just like me with my daughter, God is seeing if our attitudes stay good and if we continue to trust in Him.
So often in America we ask God to fix the problem we are going through instead of asking Him to give us the strength to get through it. Whether or not God brought that specific trial upon us, He is there with us ready to help us thru it.
So now when we pray, we ask God to make our drive, our day, or whatever it is, smooth, but if He chooses not to, to please help our attitude and help us relax in Him during that time.
Take it for what it is worth...