NH Trip Part 10 - Waterbury, CT & a Prayer

This semi-truck we passed said, "St. Michael protects our drivers".

We believe (on the other hand) that our Sovereign God protects us when we drive, not a (so called) saint, a rabbit's foot, lucky socks, or genuflecting just right.

Only the Sovereign God prepared some shade trees, by a park & ride parking lot, just off of exit 21 in Waterbury, CT, for our family when our van lost power.

Only the Sovereign God knew that the Brass Mill Mall would be only two blocks away from the park & ride lot, so that Kristi and the kids could wait in the air conditioned food court till our van was finished getting fixed.

Only the Sovereign God orchestrated the AAA approved tow truck to be in the proximity and was able to come in 20 mins. to tow us to the local garage.

Only the Sovereign God cleared the garage's appointment schedule on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend to fix our van in under two hours.

Only the Sovereign God, not St. Michael.


Kristi happened to be driving at the time. She turned on the blinker to change lanes and nothing happened. We turned off the AC (even though it was a very hot day), turned off the tape deck, and rolled down the windows. We were losing power.
We were just coming into Waterbury, CT around 2 pm on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Traffic was slowing down, but not yet bumper to bumper. We exited off the next ramp but had to stop at a traffic light. Everything was off and nothing worked. I asked Kristi if we still had gas power...she said it was starting to sputter. Looking up at the light, I saw it was still red. Ugh!
The intersection was at the top of a hill, and to the right was a park & ride lot.
"Just run the red and start coasting down the hill", I told Kristi.
As I was speaking, the light turned green and Kristi stepped on the gas and it got us over the hill and with enough speed to turn into the parking lot and into a shady spot.


We got out of the van and put a blanket down for the kids to eat some snacks. I talked to an elderly lady who was parked next to us about the details of our location and about the mall nearby. After that, I called AAA and put in a request to come and tow us to the nearest garage to fix our van. The AAA lady said it would one hour until the tow truck could come. Hanging up the phone, I walked back to the "picnic" area we set up to talk to the kids about how God is going to have to help us today. I started to tell the boys that we need to pray about the situation, when Jordan interrupted and said, "Daddy...we already prayed with mommy".
"Oh, really?", I replied. "What did you pray for?"
"That the tow truck will come quick and fix our van", he replied.
Apparently, while I was on the phone, Kristi had already talked with the kids about how God will have to help us. Talk about a perfect Deut 6 moment!



Our van's battery had three bad cells, thus causing the alternator to burn out. The garage replaced the battery and the alternator. From Waterbury, we then drove back to my sister's house in Flemington, NJ to spend the night before we drove another 400 miles west to Cleveland, OH.

Come back for our next adventure about "Patience & Wendys"
Thank you for praying for our family and following our blog, ministry, and adventures on pre-field ministry.

NH Trip Part 9 - Tour of Boston

Pastor Clouse sponsored a Christian Heritage Tour for the missionaries in attendance. They bused us to Boston for the day to view the following sites:

-Bunker Hill Monument
-USS Constitution (virtual tour)
-Old North Church
-Copp's Hill Burying Ground (more info)
-Paul Revere House (more info)
-Faneuil Hall
-Boston Massacre Site (more info)
-Old State House (oldest surviving public building in Boston)
-Park Street Church (formerly pastored by Harold Ockenga)
-King's Chapel (first church of England in Boston)
-D.L. Moody conversion site
-Tremont Temple Baptist Church (first Intergrated church in America)


Our favorite part of the tour was the ferry ride across Boston Harbor (probably since the air was cool and it was a very hot day in the city).


The day was a special time for me as a dad to take Jordan and introduce him to sites and events in American History and Church History.








For lunch we stopped at Quincy Market (take a virtual tour HERE). Pastor Clouse gave each missionary $5 to help with the cost of lunch, so Jordan and I had $10 to spend. We decided to buy some Italian penne pasta with bell peppers and sausage. I promised Jordan an ice cream cone, so I ordered him a small vanilla cone. Look at the photo above...does that look like a small cone to you? It had three scoops! Needless to say, I HAD to help Jordan manage the licks due to the hot weather.

On the way home, Jordan did not sleep, but was very tuckered out. Later on that night, he fell asleep pretty much as soon as he hit the pillow (which is rare, by the way).

A public thank you to Merrimack Valley Baptist Church and Pastor Clouse for hosting this tour. It was very informational and enjoyable!

In the next post, you will find out about "East Waterbury, CT & a Prayer".

NH Trip Part 8 - GMSA Meetings

Merrimack Valley Baptist Church in Amherst, NH, hosted the GMSA Annual Meetings. Special thanks to our host family for putting us up in their home for 4 nights.


During the week there were various types of meetings and sessions.
Above was the Argentine Field Report, given by Tom Gibbons (Arg. Field Dir.).


Men's strategic planning meeting.


One of the biggest blessings to our family was the opportunity to meet and get to know the other GMSA Appointee couples.

From R to L: Dan & Liz Thompson (Chile), John & Jackie Albaugh (Chile), Mariano & Becky Proto (Uruguay), John & Kristen Ball (Uruguay), Dan & Diana Kunnari (Chile), & David & Kristi Flinck (Chile). Click on picture for larger view.

Pray for all of these families as they strive to be the next generation of God-honoring missionaries in the Southern Cone of South America.


Kristi & I were asked to speak to the Sparks on Wed. night.
I used one verse (1 Tim. 4:12) to challenge them to not let anyone tell them that they cannot serve and obey God because they are too small. Even at a young age, these children can obey God and their parents and be an example in their conduct.



The next post will be about my trip with Jordan to Boston.

NH Trip Part 7 - Flemington, NJ

Here are some pictures and commentary about our three days in Flemington, NJ, visiting David's sister and family. (Note: there will be no pictures of my sister and family, to respect the wishes of anonimity. Sorry for those who know her and want to see pictures. Not my call.)


"Grandma?...Grandma?...It's me, Jordan."
Jordan playing with his cousin's toy cell phone.


"If I could just get this thing to move"
Ben at the nearby park.


Kaylee beating on the playground with a stick.


Ben experimenting with new ways to swing.


Jordan pushing the limits of his balance. It's hard watching as a parent and not spoiling their fun by saying, "You're too young to be doing that".


Ben (our resident hippie) during a dress up time at his cousin's house.


"What you lookin' at?"
Kaylee with her spaghetti sauce goatee.


We enjoyed our time with family for the three days and recharged our batteries before our busy week in NH with the GMSA meetings.

Coming up in the next post..."4 Days in NH"

NH Trip Part 6 - Kaylee & the Chocolate Factory

I was sitting in the hotel going over our travel route for the day, when I noticed that Hershey, PA was very close to the freeway we were going to take.
One of the kids favorite movies is "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (old version).
We had some extra time, so we decided to stop at Hershey's Chocolate World for an hour.

Parking was free!





We bought the kids some red licorice (non-messy in the van).


We all rode on the Great American Chocolate Tour ride together (which was free as well). Click on the link to see more scrolling pictures of the ride. The kids loved the ride and it was very informational as well as entertaining. The ride was 15 mins. long and explained the process of making chocolate from the beans in South America to packaging candy bars in Hershey, PA.


Jordan & Ben's favorite part was the singing cows.


There were miniature factories where kids could walk through and pretend to make Hershey Kisses.


If you are looking for "All Things Chocolate", this is the place for you.
Any type of candy bar.
T-shirts of your favorite candy.
Personalized chocolate wrappers.

We were there a total of 55 minutes, but had a blast. A good break from the van. From there we drove to Flemington, NJ to spend several days with David's sister and family.

Come back for our next post about our time in Flemington, NJ.

NH Trip Part 5 - Hotel Livin' & Driving Stories

In Toledo, on Tuesday night, we checked into our hotel, got into our room and I plugged in our laptop to charge while I unpacked the van. As soon as I plugged it in, the breaker blew and all the lights went out. Great. Now what?
So I walked down to the front desk and told them about the problem. They replied, "Oh, yeah, that is the same room where it happened last week".
Making a long story short, we asked for another room and they gave us a slight discount for the trouble. Unfortunately, the new room was on the second floor.


Kaylee is the only one who gets the same bed every night - her Pack-n-Play. Pack-n-Plays are wonderful to have on deputation.


The boys are used to sleeping anywhere (on the floor, couches, and beds) but when we stay at a hotel, they sleep on a Queen.


Kaylee "helping" me push the cart out to the van.


At the Super 8 in State College, PA on Thursday morning.


As for driving stories...
-Construction is ALWAYS a blessing!
-We were cut off by the same semi-truck twice and almost run off the road. We did contemplate calling the "How's My Driving? number on the back of his trailer.
-On the way to Toledo, OH, we had to park under an overpass to get shelter from the hail, high winds, and heavy rain for 10 minutes. That same cell produced some Tornadoes in OH.
-In the photo above, Kristi is reading her library book and is almost finished, but unfortunately we forgot it at the hotel in PA.


-The children were given 3 audio CD's of children's character building stories by some friends on this trip. They have been enjoying them being played on the DVD player. The above photo is what we see in the rear view mirror often (but not always).

Tomorrow's post will be about "Kaylee and the Chocolate Factory"

NH Trip Part 4 - Chicago

Monday & Tuesday were spent in "the Windy City", home of the Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Soxs, & Deep Dish Pizza. Special thanks to Uncle Steve & Aunt Jean for letting us stay at their house.


After supper, we decided to all take a walk down to the nearby park and stretch out our "van weary" legs. Kaylee's favorite spot is on our shoulders.


On the far end of the park was a pond full of little fish. Ben, and his trusty magnifying glass (carries it everywhere...even sleeps with it), watching the fish.


On Tuesday morning we drove into downtown Chicago (glad I don't have to do that everyday) for our appointment with the Chilean Office. Kristi renewed her legal paperwork and we started the process for the three children. During part of the time Kristi was in the office getting pictures taken, and I had all three kids out in the lobby...well, Kaylee wanted Mommy, Jordan & Ben were full of energy and excited about being in a skyscraper. In the above photo, Kaylee is banging on the receptionist window yelling "Mommy", Jordan & Ben are making faces at the receptionist, who is laughing and not getting much work done.

Come back tomorrow for the next post about "Hotel Livin' & Driving Stories"

Note of Praise: Another church from Minnesota took us on for support this week! That brings our level up to 50%. Halfway there!

NH Trip Part 3 "Fun on the Farm"

Saturday night through Monday morning found our family just outside of Allen, WI on the McLain Family farm. The McLains have been supporting us for several years now and we stopped by to give an update on our deputation process as well as my trip to Chile in Jan.


The Country Girls & The City Slickers
Kayla & Marisa show the boys "Kaylee" the Chicken


The Line-Up (L to R) Kayla, Jordan, Kaylee, Kristi, Ben, & Marisa (oh, and Maggie the dog).


Jordan (also known as "Agua Man") stationed himself by the hose watering...well...everything in sight.


Ben & Kaylee deciding who would go down the slide first.


Ben & Marisa


Kaylee enjoyed her free reign outside exploring the huge lawn, but watch out for Maggie coming from behind!

Come back tomorrow for more adventure from Chicago.