The slogan of the Campground where were staying this month is "Living the dream". And many of the retired people we see come and go here with their 800 ft motor-homes, boats, and SUV's are living their dream. But, I assure you this is not our dream. Some of you may have romantic thoughts about downsizing all your worldly possessions, and traipsing around North America in an RV with no agenda and no cares in the world. But for us, this Journey is not the realization of a romantic dream. It is a step of obedience. We have given up a stable comfortable home, for a small older motor-home with no hot water. We have downsized our wardrobe's from one dresser per person and closets of clothes and shoes to a couple pairs of pants and a hand full of shirts per person. We have given up a regular income, for a un-stable financial future. We have given up the 'Normal' North American life. Yes it is our choice to give up all of these things, and we do it with joy, knowing that we are doing our best to be obedient to what we feel the Lord leading us to do. In preparing to move into the MH we had to sell or give away alot of things. Some of those things were very special to us, and had been prized possessions. We knew we wouldn't have a ton of money for this trip so we've been saving and preparing for it for almost the last year. We have been able to pre-pay for a small storage container for the next year so that we could store a few of our belongings for when we come back. We have also been able to purchase travel insurance for the next 6 months(which isn't cheap for a family our size), as well as AMA. We were able to pay cash for the motor-home, and purchase a dolly so we can bring our mini-van with us. We are still hoping to pre-pay for our Van insurance for the next year, but haven't been able to yet because we had to put new tires on the van last week because the mechanics shop didn't want to let us take it the tires were so bald. Even though we have had some minor setbacks, God has been faithful through it all. But, even though we trust God to provide that doesn't let us off the hook from doing our part. We sold our car, we sold our laptop, we were able to sell a litter of puppies, a bunch of Shayne's tupperware, book shelves, handmade toques, and anything else we could part with that would fetch a price. The Lord even provided me with some part time work over the past few months that fit into my internship schedule. We believe that we have done everything in our power to prepare for this trip, and even though we don't know how we are going to be able to pay for this trip yet, we can confidently stand in Faith for God to provide the resources we need. Yes we are having fun and enjoying ourselves so far, but the Journey has only just begun and we haven't even left lethbridge yet. One can only guess at the challenges and trials we may encounter during the next year. But we know that our God is faithful, that he is trustworthy, and that he will meet all of our needs as we walk in obedience to Him. And we are willing to put everything on the line to prove it to the world. Please pray for us that God would continue to meet all of our needs, and that he would give us favour and good fortune as we travel. Thanks for following us and supporting us. We have already seen some miracles, and are believing for more. We know that the Lord will speak to the hearts of the people He's chosen to support us financially during the next year, and on into the future as we pursue our dream of doing Missions work in Africa and beyond.
The Schafer Family
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