We rolled into town on Monday the 19th. After 5 weeks of meetings, and wonderful visits with people from all over, it was nice to stop rolling and sit for a spell. We are still getting set up, though most of our unpacking is done.
RADIO STUDIO: I went to the studio to start setting it up and opened the door to a musty smell. Looking at the marking on the door, it appears we had a pile of rain and some flooding in the studio, so unfortunately the carpet got wet and I will have to move all the furniture out of the way to pull out the carpet. It’s not like a permanently installed carpet, I will just have to roll it up and get it out on the drive way to sun and bleach, both of which we have plenty of! The weather has been very nice at about 25C or 77F, sunny and calm. Robin and I went out to turkey dinner on Christmas eve which is a nice break for her at this time of year.
CAR: As mentioned previously, our plan was to purchase a car while in AZ. Unfortunately, the used car market is so high with limited availability we could not find what we were after, so we decided to just buy a new one since Ford has a 0.9% interest on their financing. So we were about to buy a new one, but there was a stipulation in the financing which won’t let you drive across the border to Mexico. LOL. They will let you go to Canada but not Mexico, so we decided to just order one and pick it up potentially on our way home and leave the old car in AZ. Such is the auto plan for now.
However, that left us with the dilemma of what to do with all of the supplies we had ordered which were going to get packed in the ‘new’ car. It’s kind of funny how the Lord provides things. A brother in our Riverview church had donated a bicycle for me to use down here. When I was there, he said, “here take two” and then he said, “here, take a bike rack too!” I wasn’t planning on taking all that down, but I thought since we would be getting another car, I would have room. 
Anyway, long story short when we got to Tucson where Bill Odom was waiting on the side of the highway with two bundles of acoustic insulation batts for the recording studio, I wasn’t sure how they would fit in our packed car. I thought about it a bit and figured out a way to strap them on the back of the car and hook the ties straps onto the fenders. That was us… one of those Youtube videos you see of people coming out of Home Depot with materials tied onto the roof… But, like I said, we made it.
Thanks to your prayers and the kindness of the Lord, we drove all the way here without a problem, even at the border. I had prepared my heart to spend two hours unpacking everything at the border if need be, but the kindness of the Lord waved us on through.
COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: We have scheduled a P conference along the border of Colombia/Venezuela for January. I will fly from here on the 10th and be there for about 2 weeks. Reports from E say there may be about 500 coming. They will have to pitch their hammocks along the river. More on that trip later. The Lord is impressing on my heart to have the theme of the conference titled “The Unity of the Body of Christ” as there has been brewing division and sects creeping into the P nation now for some time. I have invited everyone and would like to give delegates from every group to have a turn to speak. Pray for unity. The more I grow in the Lord the less picky I seem to become about where people are in their faith. Somehow that makes sense. There has to be a lot of room for people’s individuality and stages of growth in which they are at.
HOWARD and SUSAN: I continue to hear Howard to be about the same, which to me is good that he isn’t worse. I really feel for Susan. What a trial. They’ve been trying to raise money for a medical flight down here, but their insurance company won’t cover them if they leave Canada. Yet the doctors say there’s nothing more they can do and encourage him to go home. The flight was $68k CAD to get them here, so Susan has decided to go back to the RV plan and save their money which they have been raising to help pay for his recovery since they will be out of insurance once they cross the border. I just heard that someone from here in Mexico who has a 40′ RV is heading up this week to get them and drive them back down.
JORGE and SOLE: It was so nice to see Jorge and Sole again. They are doing so well, growing in their faith. They are such an encouragement to me. Jorge is now working regular hours at the orphanage and also pastoring the small church here.
BIBLE SCHOOL: Bible school starts on the 23rd of Jan. I will get back from Colombia and start teaching likely the next day.
Just wanted to briefly check in. Thank you so much for all you do for us. You are much appreciated. I will be in touch with more details as they develop.
t.