Happy Thanksgiving from Cottondale, FL

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Some serious storms blew through Southern Georgia Wednesday night, but that didn't hinder us from going to church...We went to Fellowship Baptist Church and shared our testimonies. They are such a close family with a huge heart for missions. After we spoke, the men came up and prayed over Chris, and the women did the same for me. Then even though the service went a little long, people stayed and talked with us and shared stories from their own lives. We met a lady named Allison and her family, and we found out that her brother is Mark Hall of Casting Crowns. We were pretty amazed because we had heard that she lived in Bainbridge, but we didn't really think that we would meet her. The man who was supposed to bring the message, Mike, came up at the end with his wife and shared some of their story with us. He also showed us the sermon that he was going to preach...Psalm 139:1-6...you guessed it...the same verses we read at the beginning of our testimonies. (another example of God probabilities) Of course, "The Family" stayed to talk with us as well...such amazing people! Steve is also the associate pastor of the church who works with the youth. So he invited Chris to speak to the youth at breakfast on Thursday morning. He was a little nervous, but he did a really good job. He spoke about the body of Christ and how we all have a role to fill. Then he challenged them from Jeremiah 1...God's call on Jeremiah's life. After the breakfast, Derrick took us by his office. We met several of his co-workers and supervisors and told them about our hike. They, too, were so friendly...there's something special about these Georgia people. (Our staying with the Coxes has been a blessing both ways--they are so amazing and loving...they just accepted us right in & Derrick just had knee replacement surgery, so he's been in the house a lot. He's a servant and loves to be around people, so it's been a little hard on him...we were able to be his wheels for a few days...it was tons of fun meeting his friends and sharing with them.) John and Denise's son, Bradley, and daughter-in-law, Kelly, lead a college and career Bible study on Thursday nights, so they all came over to the Coxes' house so that we could meet with them (left to right...on the front RE, Josh, Amy, & Kelly and in the back CE, John, Matt, Amanda, Eddie, Andrew & Bradley). I was able to share with them about Abraham and Isaac. God had burdened my heart with the story of Abraham's immediate obedience and Isaac's not questioning his father's faith. As we shared together from Genesis 22, I learned that they had just discussed same story during Sunday School the past week. Amazing...God connects the dots!! After the Bible study, Kayla Hawkins & Amy stayed the night with Kayla Cox, and we all watched a movie and hung out!!

On Friday, we thought it was time to go. So as Allan Williams requested, we called him and told him that we thought we were supposed to go to Marianna, FL. Right as he was pulling up, we got a call from Tammy Highsmith letting us know that they were going to be in Bainbridge for the YMCA All-Star soccer tournament because Jacob made All-Stars. The director of the YMCA in Bainbridge heard we were in town and invited us to speak at the team chapel on Sunday morning. I was so torn. We really enjoyed spending time with the Highsmiths, and it was a really great opportunity for us to speak. But Allan was waiting outside. We decided to leave, but I felt unsure the whole time. Then, he got a speeding ticket just as we crossed into Florida. Chris and I both felt terribly, but Allan seemed to just take it in stride. Well, we ended up taking a picture with the patrolman...that probably baffled him. (This was yet another thing that made me think that I had made the wrong decision.) When we finally got to Marianna, Chris and I wandered around for a bit. He told me that the decision we made to leave was right, and that I just needed to start trusting...no more second guessing. That was really hard for me! Chris also decided that we should have "date night" to celebrate 7 weeks on the road. We ate supper, watched a movie, and stayed at Hinson House Bed and Breakfast. We ate supper at a place called Jim's Buffet. The waitresses there were very interested in what we were doing and asked us tons of questions. Cheryl prayed over us before we left. We were yet again amazed at their generosity. At Hinson House, the room we ended up staying in was supposed to be $74, but when we got ready to pay in the morning, Mr. Riley would only take $30...again we see our mighty God's provision. He knew that we needed some rest and relaxation because He knew what was coming. We've seen God work in some amazing ways before, but this one left us a little dumbfounded...we walked 8-9 miles to Cottondale. We were planning on eating lunch and continuing on our way to Chipley (where I lived in 1986). As we walked on Hwy 90 West, we saw our first hiker/hitchhiker. In all our travels, Lloyd was the first one we saw!! As Chris talked with him, he shared something we learned from Pastor Jimmy in SC...don't ignore the people who come across your path. They are there for a reason...you can either impact them for good or for bad. Interesting that he reminds us of this lesson we learn over a month ago now...On our way into Cottondale, we met a lady who told us that we should eat at Tom Thumbs. It's a convenience store, so we weren't so sure about that. We saw two other ladies parked at the farmer's market, and they said the same thing. So we went to Tom Thumbs...We placed our order, and they told us that it would be at least 15 minutes because they were right in the middle of changing the oil in the cookers. Several delays...interesting...then it happened...Hailie and Guy Adams walked in. Hailie will be three December 17th, but she is not shy at all. She walked right up to me and started talking. I couldn't believe it, and when I learned her name and age, I was even more amazed. I cried when I left the Lynette household in September because Haley is 3, and I wouldn't get to see her growing up over the next year or son. God brought another Hailie into our lives. Chris came back from the bathroom to find me chatting and playing with Hailie, so he did the only thing for him to do...He started talking to Guy. Before long, Guy shared that Hailie's mom left her dad about 2 years ago. She basically had no desire to have any contact with Hailie either. Her dad sank into deep depression, and he took his own life in June of 2005. Guy loved his son so much that the only thing that kept him moving was Hailie. He worked double shifts at the prison where he was a guard to show that he was stable and could provide for her. He went to all of the psychologists and said all of the right things so that he could prove that he was mentally fit to be Hailie's guardian. For one year he worked to prove that he should be the one to care for her. If he failed, Hailie would be placed in the custody of the State of Florida with little chance of Guy's being able to find her. In June of 2006, Guy was awarded custody of Hailie...He's her dad now. Our hearts were touched so much! We finally go our food and they got theirs...then they left. Oh, we knew without a shadow of the doubt that we were in the right place!!! We left the store just praying for them and knowing that God was guiding us. It was about 4 pm when we started the 10 mile trek to Chipley. We hadn't even walked a mile when we heard the horn blow and a car pull off the road in front of us. It was Guy and Hailie...He got out explaining "I've never done this before, but I'd like for you to come home with us if you don't have any other plans. I'll take you any place you want to go in Chipley tomorrow." Amazing! Hailie and I played for several hours while Chris and Guy talked about the death of his son and his battle for Hailie. He feels like she's all he has now. We learned that Stephanie, Hailie's mom was supposed to come for a visit the weekend before last, but she made excuses and never showed up. (Guy was going to drive 45 minutes to pick her up and bring her to Cottondale so that she could see Hailie.) The same thing happened this past weekend...tons of excuses. In his anticipation of her coming, he set up a room for her in the house and had everything put in place including pictures and toiletries to make her feel welcome. Guy realized that he must have really set that room up for us. He's so glad we are here. Chris and I decided that it would be better for Guy to choose our church on Sunday. I called several people that the Lord put on my heart, and I asked them to pray for Sunday and for this family! We went to the Assemblies of God Church in Cottondale...Guy's brother, Alex, and his family attends there as well. They weren't able to be there on Sunday, but we are hoping to meet them. The service was good...Pastor Lamb spoke about Thanksgiving and our need for Jesus' touch. He is moved by love to cleanse us, to heal us, to fellowship with us. Hailie had a good time in Children's church, so we are praying that they will continue to go to church. They need a church family....kinda like "The Family" that we met in Bainbridge. That's what Christians are supposed to be, right? I thought strongly about the song by Casting Crowns...the lyrics ask, "If we are the body, why aren't our arms reaching?" I know that some times people don't want to be reached, but Guy and Hailie need that touch. I began to wonder how many times I missed the person who God brought into church on Sunday morning. How many times had I missed the hurting person that I should have reached out to? I don't know...I just pray that God continues to make my heart soft and sensitive. I don't ever want to miss Guy or Hailie or who ever He brings across my path.

Sunday afternoon, we met the back door neighbors who have a horse, and we went to the park to play with Hailie. We had tons of fun swinging, sliding, and running around. Sunday evening, Guy said that the other reason he was looking forward to Stephanie's visit was to put up the Christmas tree. He said that is one of the hardest things for him to do alone, but he wants Hailie to have one. He asked if we would help. We were excited because we didn't think we would get to do that at all this year, but as we are coming to learn God provided!! Later that night, I got in touch with the FCA area director here in North Florida, Sean Aland. He put me in touch with the Huddle Coach at Chipley High School, Karen Pritchard. She thought that it would be possible for us to speak at the High School on Monday. So on Monday, we went to the gym expecting a small group of students since the meeting was extremely short notice. No, there were between 150-200 students. It was amazing. We shared with them the story of Guy and Hailie and asked them to pray for them. We also told them of our plan to go to Wal-mart to buy presents for Hailie's Christmas. The students were excited because they usually buy Christmas presents for several families in the area. After hearing about Guy and Hailie, they wanted to give some money to help buy her gifts!! We met several of the students on the leadership team after the meeting. What a great group!!! One of the guys Sam Toole told us that Pastor Lamb (the same pastor from Sunday) taught at the school. We couldn't believe it...only God can arrange meetings like that. After we ate lunch, we went to his classroom and shared a little of our concern for Guy and Hailie. Please pray with us that God will touch their hearts and that church will reach out to them!! Hailie and Guy came back to pick us up and then we headed to Wal-mart. We were able to get lots of toys and books (Thanks to "The Family" in Bainbridge for the ideas !!) for Hailie and get it all hidden in the car without her knowing anything!!! We were hoping to go back to Chipley today for the soccer games, but it's not going to work out. We are in Marianna instead. Guy needed to run errands and see his mother, and we needed to up-date the website. Maybe we'll catch them another day?! Guy's brother, Alex, has invited us all for Thanksgiving, so we are planning to stay here to celebrate with them. I'm going to try out some new recipes that I have learned while on the road!! Pretty exciting!! Also be in prayer for our departure. We are concerned that it will be hard on Guy and Hailie. We are just trusting that the Lord is going to provide others to come along beside them and love them!! Well, we hope that you have an amazing Thanksgiving, and that you take some time to give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for you over the course of the year. If you are like us though, you won't be able to tell of all of his blessings in one day's time. Our God is so wonderful and loving to us!!! We'll be in touch after Thanksgiving! We love you! God bless you!

Our friends from Rayann's in Bainbridge, GA